But she couldly punish him for that. She wasn't going to beat up a child, no matter how infuriating he was.

  Suddenly, Tsunade chuckled.Tsunade gred at Shin. The little punk was clearly looking down on her, yet he de.

  "You've got guts, kid. Rec from your 's destru so quickly."

  She pced a hand on Shin's head, ruffling his hair with more force than necessary.

  As she messed up his hair, she realized how soft it was. It was almost addictive.

  Looking at his cute little face, she couldn't resist ping his cheek. So soft, so adorable!

  Kushina, seeing Tsunade manhandling Shin, yelled, "Hey, stop that!"

  Shin wasn't happy either. Tsunade might enjoy ping his cheek, but he found it extremely annoying.

  Having his face pinched by a woman? Humiliating!

  "Get your hands off me! I don't like being touched by men," Shin said, scowling.

  "Men?"

  Tsunade froze. 'Was he blind? Where did he get the idea that she was a man?'

  "Kid, you o get your eyes checked. I'm a woman, not a man," Tsunade said through gritted teeth.

  "Hah! I may be young, but I know the differeween a man and a woman. You doly scream 'Woman' to me."

  Shin's eyes drifted towards her chest, his expression a mix of disdain and disbelief.

  Tsunade's face flushed red. This brat was deliberately mog her!

  "Prisunade, we found two survivors!"

  Tsunade, about to give Shin a piece of her mind, gred at him o time before turning towards the newers.

  Two males, one around Shin's age, the other in his twenties. Both Uzumaki survivors.

  Shin reized the boy.

  "Uzumaki Kai, long time no see. How's y?"

  Shin gave Kai a sly smile, which earned him a gre filled with anger and a hint of fear.

  Kai was the son of Uzumaki Hikaru, the Taijutsu master whose physique Shin had copied. Shin had broken the boy's leg during their previous enter.

  He hadn't expected Kai to survive the destru of the . The kid was lucky to be alive.

  Tsunade's eyes flickered between Shin and Kai. There was definitely bad blood betweewo.

  But she wasn't ied iing involved in a squabble between kids. She turo the older Uzumaki.

  "What's your name?"

  "I... I'm Uzumaki Hikaru. A Jonin of the Uzumaki ."

  "Do you know who attacked the ?" Tsunade asked.

  "I don't know. I was scared, so I hid right away. I don't know what happened after that."

  Hikaru hung his head in shame, earning a sful look from Tsunade.

  This guy was older than her, yet he was a coward. When his was in danger, he hid like a rat.

  Tsunade wasn't even as old as this Hikaru. Despite calling Shin a "kid," she was only sixteen.

  But in the ninja world, sixteen wasn't that young. During the Warring States Period, people were already married with children at that age.

  Tsunade ordered her men to tinue searg for survivors while iigating who was behind the attack.

  Judging by the water damage and the traces of Lightning Release, she had a pretty good idea.

  If her suspis were correct, there wasn't much she could do.

  "Kid, what's your sunade asked Shin.

  Shin was getting tired of being called "kid." Too bad he couldn't beat Tsunade in a fight.

  He estimated her strength to be at elite Jōnin level, definitely strohan him.

  "I'm Uzumaki Shin. And don't call me 'kid'. You'll regret it when I'm strohan you."

  "Regret it? Heh, I'll be waiting for that day," Tsunade said with a smirk.

  Shin snorted. She might be looking down on him now, but she'd sing a different tune when he surpassed her.

  "Shin, I'm hungry," Kushina tugged at his sleeve.

  Shin took out some dry rations and jerky. It wasn't much, but it would fill their stomachs for now.

  Three days ter, the bodies of the Uzumaki members were buried, including Shin's grandfather, the elder.

  Seeing his grandfather's body, Shi a strange mix of emotions. He hadn't been close to the man; they had barely ied.

  But he still felt a pang of sadness.

  After the burial, they set off for Konoha with Tsunade.

  Shin carried a katana strapped to his back. It was over three feet long, with a simple gold design on the hilt.

  He had found it in the Uzumaki shri was incredibly sharp, able to slice through stoh ease.

  He hadn't tested it on steel yet, though.

  They sailed towards the Land of Fire. Shin stood at the stern, watg the Land of Whirlpools disappear over the horizon.

  Kushina stood beside him. They didn't know when they would return.

  "Feeling sad to leave?"

  Shin and Kushina turo see Tsuanding behind them.

  Kushina puffed out her cheeks, gring at Tsunade.

  Shin was also keeping his distance from Tsuhe woman was relentless, stantly ruffling his hair and ping his cheeks.

  He was annoyed, but he didn't want to reveal his strength, so he hadn't resisted much.

  He wondered if she had some weird fetish.

  Kushina's reason for disliking Tsunade was simple. She hadn't even ruffled Shin's hair or pinched his cheeks.

  Yet this woman was doing all the things she hadn't do felt like Tsunade was stealing Shin away from her.

  "When you get to Konoha, think of it as your new home. In time, you'll fet all the unpleasantness."

  "Hmph, we don't need your f words. e on, Shin." Kushina gred at Tsunade and dragged Shin into the . This woman was the source of all her unpleasantness.

  "That little brat..."

  Tsuiced the hostility.

  "Could she be... jealous? Does she like Shin?" Tsunade wondered.

  "Kids these days, maturing so fast. That girl's only five, right?"

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