"That punch wasn't bad."
Uchiha Yuan grinned slightly and said,
"Since you struck first, it would be impolite if I didn't return the favor."
In the next instant, the blonde girl's expression changed drastically. She immediately leapt backward.
Boom!
Like thunder exploding from flat ground, Yuan suddenly twisted his body and swept out a powerful roundhouse kick. The air itself burst apart with a deafening crack.
"Tsunade-sama, are you alright?"
The blonde girl flipped backward and landed lightly on the ground, where Shizune quickly stepped forward to support her.
A strand of golden hair drifted slowly down in front of the girl.
Then she felt a faint chill across her chest.
Looking down, she saw that the front of her clothes had been sliced open by a smooth cut—as if by a sharp blade.
"You brat…"
The blonde girl glared fiercely at Yuan.
"I didn't expect the Uchiha clan to produce another powerful ninja."
"Kid, tell me your name."
Although Yuan already knew that the blonde girl was Tsunade in disguise, he still pretended ignorance.
He glanced at Shizune and asked,
"I heard you call her Tsunade-sama just now. Could it be that this arrogant blonde girl is related to one of the Sannin, Tsunade?"
Then Yuan turned to the blonde girl and examined her carefully.
"Blonde hair… and your face resembles Tsunade by seven or eight parts."
"I see."
"You must be Tsunade's daughter."
He paused, then turned to Chiba Sōichi and the others with a smile.
"I wonder which lucky man managed to father a daughter with Tsunade."
"If this news reaches Konoha, many men in the village will probably drink themselves into despair."
The blonde girl's fists clenched tightly.
Cracks suddenly spread across the ground beneath her feet.
"Shut up!"
She roared angrily.
Heavenly Kick of Pain!
Whoosh!
Her figure shot forward like lightning, appearing above Yuan in an instant before bringing her heel crashing down.
BOOM!
The ground shook violently.
Dust erupted everywhere.
Yuan raised his fist and blocked the descending kick head-on.
A large crater formed beneath his feet.
The blonde girl bounced backward and landed with a graceful flip.
Then—
Her appearance rapidly changed.
In the blink of an eye, the youthful blonde girl transformed into a mature woman with a voluptuous figure.
Seeing this, Chiba Sōichi and the others were shocked.
They immediately bowed respectfully.
"Tsunade-sama!"
Tsunade, however, kept her eyes fixed on Yuan.
She noticed that when she reverted to her original form, Yuan's gaze briefly lingered on her chest.
"Hmph. Insolent brat," she thought coldly.
Because her clothes had been torn earlier, the transformation caused the already stretched fabric to pull open further, revealing a large patch of pale skin.
"You managed to block my Heavenly Kick of Pain."
"You are definitely no ordinary Uchiha."
Tsunade said seriously.
"Uchiha Yuan greets Tsunade-sama."
Yuan met her gaze calmly and spoke with a composed expression.
"Uchiha Yuan?!"
Shizune suddenly cried out in surprise.
Tsunade turned toward her.
"Shizune, you know this kid?"
At the beginning of the Third Shinobi War, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki and her lover Dan had both died in battle.
The trauma had caused her to develop hemophobia, forcing her to leave the battlefield.
For the past several years, she and Shizune had been traveling throughout the Land of Fire instead of returning to Konoha.
Because of those losses, Tsunade deliberately avoided anything related to Konoha.
However, Shizune still maintained contact with the village.
After all, Tsunade's identity was important, and Konoha needed to know her whereabouts.
Thus, Shizune was familiar with recent events in the village.
"Tsunade-sama, Uchiha Yuan is another genius of the Uchiha clan after Shisui the Body Flicker."
"On the Sand battlefield he repeatedly shattered Sunagakure's forces."
"He earned the title 'Konoha's Most Ferocious Tiger.'"
"And it's said that in the Land of Hot Water, he even forced back the Fourth Raikage."
Tsunade's expression turned serious.
"This kid forced back the Fourth Raikage?"
She studied Yuan carefully.
"It seems the Uchiha clan is about to produce a truly terrifying figure."
"The old man is going to have a headache."
Shizune then asked,
"Uchiha Yuan, why are you here in Tanzaku Town?"
"Did you come looking for Tsunade-sama?"
Yuan chuckled lightly.
"We are merely a group of exiles."
"Today's meeting with Tsunade-sama is nothing but coincidence."
"Exiles?"
Tsunade frowned.
"What did you do?"
Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
"It seems Tsunade-sama hasn't heard about Orochimaru's defection."
"We were once his subordinates."
"After Orochimaru defected, we were implicated and exiled from the village."
"We are now being sent to guard the southern border."
"Orochimaru defected?!"
Tsunade's face filled with shock.
"Why did he defect?"
"Rumor says he was secretly conducting forbidden human experiments."
Tsunade's gaze instantly sharpened.
She stared straight at Yuan.
"You keep calling Orochimaru 'senpai.'"
"What exactly is your relationship with him?"
Yuan laughed softly.
"Tsunade-sama… are you worried that I might be Orochimaru's accomplice?"
After saying that, Yuan simply walked past her and exited the alley.
Tsunade instinctively considered stopping him—
But in the end, she remained still.
She watched silently as Yuan and his group walked away.
After a moment, she sighed softly.
"Shizune… let's go."
Shizune asked worriedly,
"Should we send a message to the village?"
"That Uchiha Yuan seems to have a deep connection with Orochimaru."
Tsunade shook her head.
"The village's affairs have nothing to do with me."
Then she turned and walked toward the other end of the alley.
"Let's go to the Matsubara Casino."
"I have a feeling my luck is about to turn."
"I'm definitely going to win several rounds."
Meanwhile—
At a crossroads in Tanzaku Town, Yuan and his group were suddenly intercepted.
Sarutobi Seijirō appeared with four subordinates.
"Finally found you."
He looked relieved upon seeing them.
"There was some disturbance in Tanzaku Town earlier."
"I was worried you might have gotten involved."
Yuan replied calmly,
"Don't worry."
"It was just a dispute at a casino."
"We merely had a few drinks at a tavern."
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