Chapter 2

A young boy rushed to the side of the bloodied Sarutobi ninja, his voice full of panic. "Uncle Himura, are you okay?"

Yusuke recognized the red-eyed girl beside him and could guess who these two were. As if nothing had happened, he smiled and walked up to the young girl, Kurenai Yuhi. He squatted down, patted her head gently, and said with a smile, "Little sister, this isn't something kids should see, okay?"

Kurenai trembled under Yusuke's hand and asked in a shaky voice, "Why... why are you hurting people?"

"No, I'm protecting the peace of Konoha," Yusuke replied solemnly. He pointed at the bloodied Sarutobi ninja and the other Konoha ninjas around him. "I suspect they're undercover agents from another village."

The surrounding ninjas looked at him in disbelief. Several of them were from the Sarutobi and Shimura families—hardly undercover agents.

But as a six-year-old civilian, Kurenai believed him. "Really? Are they really undercover agents?"

"Of course," Yusuke said with a serious nod, gently pulling her closer to him. "Stick close to me, and I'll protect you."

Seeing his uncle beaten so badly and the girl shrinking into Yusuke's arms, the boy, Asuma, was furious. "What nonsense are you talking about? Uncle Himura is my father's cousin! How could he be an undercover agent?"

"What's all this commotion about?" A familiar voice interrupted them.

Everyone turned to look. Kurenai's eyes lit up, and she rushed out of Yusuke's arms to throw herself into the man's embrace. "Dad!"

"Good girl," the middle-aged man responded with a smile. The newcomer was Konoha's elite Jonin, Shinku Yuhi.

But Yusuke's attention was drawn to the group behind Shinku, led by a woman in a gray ninja suit. Her striking features and perfect figure were unmistakable—Tsunade, the princess of the Senju Clan.

Though she looked about 20, Tsunade was actually in her late twenties, almost thirty. The group accompanying her consisted of members of the dwindling Senju Clan, who had suffered devastating losses in the Second Shinobi War. Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, had also died in the conflict, a tragedy some attributed to Danzo Shimura's poor judgment.

Tsunade's expression showed a brief flash of surprise as she saw the bloodied Konoha ninjas lying around the street. But she quickly regained her composure, having long realized the darkness of Konoha's political struggles. She stayed in the village only because of the last remnants of affection she had for the place her grandfather had founded.

[Ding! A new sign-in location has been activated: Senju Tsunade.]

[Sign-in reward: The Chakra Reserve of the Senju Clan.]

Yusuke's eyes lit up at the system's prompt. Although White Fang had been strong, he and his son shared the same weakness—limited chakra reserves. This was why White Fang had struggled against the likes of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. With a larger chakra reserve, White Fang's chances would have drastically improved.

"What's going on here?" Shinku Yuhi asked, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic scene.

"Oh, isn't this Princess Tsunade?" Yusuke suddenly appeared in front of Tsunade, startling everyone. Not even Shinku, an elite Jonin, or Tsunade herself had noticed his approach.

Before Tsunade could react, Yusuke had grasped her right hand, his handsome face only inches from hers. "I've heard so much about you, Princess Tsunade. You've done great things on the front lines, saving countless Konoha ninjas. But why are you back before the war is over?"

Tsunade's eyes flickered with a hint of unease as she replied, "I had some matters to attend to..."

She tried to pull her hand away, but to her surprise, she couldn't budge it. Yusuke's grip was like a vice.

[Sign-in complete in 45 seconds... 44 seconds... 43 seconds...]

Yusuke had no intention of letting go before the sign-in was complete.

"Hey, let go..." Tsunade began to suspect Yusuke was deliberately taking advantage of her when another voice interrupted:

"Excuse me, friend. Tsunade is clearly uncomfortable. Would you mind letting go?"

Yusuke raised an eyebrow and looked to his side, finding a tall, slender man standing there.

"And who might you be?"

"I'm Kato Dan, the patriarch of the Kato clan," the man replied politely, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of jealousy as they glanced at Yusuke's hand still holding Tsunade's.

"You're not dead yet?" Yusuke's casual question wiped the polite smile off Kato's face.