Tsunade declined Heiyan's invitation.
To her, the Leaf Village was a place of sorrow. She'd rather wander for more than twenty years than return there, much less see the people she once knew again.
"Alright."
Heiyan nodded slightly. Since Tsunade wasn't willing, he naturally wouldn't insist. After exchanging a few farewell words, he turned and walked away.
"..."
Tsunade watched his retreating figure. For some unknown reason, her heart felt hollow, almost desolate.
No way! You're not actually falling for that guy, are you?!
Suddenly realizing this, Tsunade shook her head violently, trying to erase Heiyan's image from her mind.
She realized she couldn't keep going on like this. Otherwise, she might actually fall for him—a man more than twenty years younger than herself.
Thinking about this, she took a deep breath and made a decision. Then, turning to Shizune, she ordered:
"Pack up. We're leaving. It's time we got out of here."
She planned to leave Tanukichou Street and keep wandering across the nations, determined never to see Heiyan again. Hopefully, this distance would calm her restless heart and let those unrealistic dreams fade away.
After all, she was already an old woman past fifty.
That same day, after Heiyan headed toward Konoha, Tsunade and Shizune also set off shortly afterwards. Thus, both parties briefly went their separate ways.
Half a day later.
Walking alone along Konoha's streets, Heiyan strolled leisurely.
Several days had passed since his last return to the village. The biggest change this time was the unusually vibrant atmosphere. The Chunin Exams had drawn many outside tourists coming to watch, making it a grand event celebrated throughout the shinobi world.
On his way back home, Heiyan also spotted participating ninja from various villages. These energetic youths were about to fiercely compete for the rare Chunin positions.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Heiyan detected chakra fluctuations from a nearby alley, as if someone was fighting.
He approached the alley entrance and indeed saw Team 7 and Gaara's Trio from the Sand. They had just experienced a minor confrontation, but naturally no real battle broke out within the village.
After exchanging some sharp but restrained words with Sasuke, Gaara turned and walked out of the alley with Temari and Kankuro.
The three teenagers passed right by Heiyan.
Unable to resist, Temari turned her head to glance several times.
"There sure are many good-looking guys in Leaf! That Uchiha kid is pretty cute, but this man with flowing white hair is even better looking—a true hunk! No wonder they say like produces like. Sigh, our Sunagakure has nothing but rough-skinned guys all over the place."
She murmured quietly to herself, then cast a disdainful look at Kankuro beside her.
Unexpectedly, Gaara also stopped. He turned around to stare at Heiyan's retreating figure.
Unlike Temari's girlish fascination, Gaara frowned, his expression uncharacteristically serious.
"That man... is extremely powerful."
With those words, Gaara continued walking toward the mouth of the alley.
"Tsk tsk, to receive such high praise from Gaara—Konoha truly harbors hidden dragons and coiled tigers. No wonder it's the leader among the Five Great Ninja Villages."
Kankuro murmured in admiration. He exchanged a glance with Temari, then followed Gaara away.
In an alleyway.
Heiyan approached the three members of Team Seven.
This was the first time he had met the trio—Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura—from the original timeline.
"Woah!"
When Naruto saw Heiyan, his eyes lit up as he eagerly stepped forward, blurting out with wide-eyed curiosity:
"Big brother, your hair is super long—and white! Was it born like that or did you dye it? And those horns on your head, are they some kind of decoration? Can I touch them?"
His manner instantly made him seem like an old friend.
"Naruto!"
Before Heiyan could respond, Sakura stomped over angrily. She gave Naruto a punch on the head that left a lump, making him cry out in pain with tears streaming down.
Then, she forced Naruto down by the head and made him apologize to Heiyan. Smiling apologetically at Heiyan, she said,
"I'm sorry. This idiot always acts like this. Please don't take it seriously."
"It's fine."
Heiyan smiled faintly. He walked forward and gently patted Naruto's head. To the shock of all three members of Team Seven, white smoke rose from the bump before it quickly disappeared.
"Huh? It doesn't hurt anymore?"
Naruto touched his now smooth scalp, amazed.
"Are you a Medical Ninja?"
Sasuke, who had been standing nearby striking poses trying to look cool, finally spoke up, surprise flickering through his eyes.
After all, Medical Ninjas were extremely rare.
"As you can see, I'm a medic ninja trained in Medical Ninjutsu. For a long time now, I've traveled across the countries of the ninja world healing people while also tasting delicacies and taking in the beauty of each land I visit."
Heiyan said smiling toward Sasuke.
"Wooow, that's such an enviable life!" Hearing this, stars practically sparkled in Sakura's eyes as she looked at Heiyan with deep admiration.
"You're Genin from Konoha, right? The reason I came to Konoha this time was specifically to watch the Chunin Exams. I wish you all the best, and I'll be rooting for you."
Heiyan reached forward again to ruffle Naruto's head, encouragingly telling the trio.
"Heheh, just you wait, Big Brother! I, Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf, will definitely come in first place without fail!" Naruto raised his fist overhead confidently declaring.
"As for me... I haven't even decided yet whether I should participate..." Sakura mumbled quietly, clearly lacking confidence.
"Glad I got to meet you all today. See you later. If you successfully become a Chunin, Naruto, I'll treat you to dinner—you can order whatever you want."
Heiyan waved goodbye to the three while promising to treat Naruto to a meal.
"All right!" Upon hearing this, Naruto became even more motivated.
As Heiyan passed by Sasuke, a small smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. He gave the boy's shoulder a light pat and whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear:
"You resemble your older brother quite a bit."
With those words, he drifted away.
Sasuke shuddered violently, his pupils sharply contracting. When he came back to himself and wanted to chase after Heiyan to ask further questions, the other man's figure had already vanished without a trace.
At the center of Konoha, on top of a tower.
Heiyan stood there, eyes closed, using [Chakra Ripple] to replace his sight as he "looked" outward in all directions.
The invisible [Chakra Ripple] spread in all directions like waves, covering the entire village and capturing every detail of movements within its borders.
Suddenly.
Swish.
Heiyan's figure instantly vanished. The next moment, he appeared outside the village, beside some secluded bushes.
Three freshly killed ninja lay on the ground—faces brutally carved away, clearly victims of deadly ninjutsu.
This was Orochimaru's doing.
It seemed that after being defeated by Izumi in the Land of Wind, that snake bastard hadn't fallen into despair but instead proceeded with his original plan, infiltrating Konoha and preparing to cause trouble during the Chunin Exams.
Heiyan waited patiently to see how Orochimaru would perform.
Next, he planned to return to the lodging house where he was staying.
As it happened, just outside the inn, Heiyan ran into a group of Chunin Exam participants. From the forehead protectors they wore, he knew they were ninja from Kusagakure.
Normally, genin from such a minor hidden village wouldn't draw Heiyan's attention. Yet among them, one figure instantly caught his eye.
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