It was obvious that Shengshu's gaze belonged to that dog.
Wrinkles creased the corners of Kawakaede's eyes. He was a superficial man. He truly envied his future children—they would never go hungry.
Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away and bade Tsunade farewell before leaving.
Thinking back on that banquet, Tsunade's figure had been absolutely stunning!
He walked slowly toward home, guessing that his older brother had likely gone to the weapons workshop. If he returned now, he'd surely get scolded.
Kawakaede gave himself a mental thumbs-up for his cleverness.
With war on the horizon, the streets of the village were nearly empty, and those who were out hurried along—ninja on important missions.
Kawakaede passed through a secluded alley, where even sunlight struggled to penetrate.
Suddenly, a sense of alertness gripped him: he realized he was being followed.
After traveling through time and space, Kawakaede had started engaging in commerce alongside his training. He wondered why anyone would be tailing him, since he hadn't provoked any enemies.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
Kawakaede stood still, voice icy, eyes fierce, staring at the shadow before him.
"Haha, you really are a genius of the Hatake clan."
A seemingly young ninja stepped out from the shadows.
He had long hair and wore no forehead protector. His attire marked him as a Konoha Jonin, with a family crest shaped like a ping-pong paddle on his shoulder.
The visitor was from the Uchiha clan.
"Uchiha?"
"What's going on here?"
Kawakaede furrowed his brow, wondering if he had offended the Uchiha by supporting Tsunade.
No wonder they had been annihilated so easily despite their apparent magnanimity.
"Are you and your Hatake clan planning to join the Senju clan?"
The young man's expression was serious, his tone arrogant—truly fitting for an Uchiha.
"Do I need to report to the Uchiha about who I choose to befriend?"
Kawakaede found it almost laughable. The Uchiha were nosy beyond measure. Family feuds were not mere words. Even if the Senju had integrated into the village, the Uchiha remained wary.
"If you can make friends with others, that's great. But if you befriend the Senju, naturally we'll have doubts."
The young Uchiha advanced step by step, his expression serious, as if ready to fight at the slightest provocation.
"I, Kawakaede Hatake, will never accept threats from anyone."
"Uchiha, if you respect me, then don't interfere."
"If you don't show me face, I'll bury you in the ground. What can you do to me?"
The boy knew this encounter wouldn't end peacefully, so he didn't bother speaking politely. Here in Konoha, he feared no one.
He raised his hand, and an eight-sided Han sword appeared.
The Uchiha's eyes focused, three magatama Sharingan suddenly appearing, but he didn't even notice how the sword had manifested.
"Three tomoe… you really overestimate me."
Kawakaede's face held a look of disdain, sword in hand, standing unflinchingly.
"Quite loud, aren't you?"
"Today I'll teach you a lesson. Not everyone can be your friend."
Kawakaede felt like he'd swallowed a fly. You wouldn't dare trouble Jiraiya or Orochimaru, but treat me like a pushover?
The Uchiha boy's expression darkened. Never before had anyone spoken with such arrogance in front of an Uchiha.
He drew a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and threw it at Kawakaede.
Forming hand seals, he shouted:
"Artistic Fire Escape, Fireball!"
Kawakaede refused to endure the strength of a Jonin-level jutsu.
He raised his sword, deflecting the kunai and dodging its trajectory.
Unexpectedly, the kunai spun back toward him.
The Uchiha's kunai technique was remarkably complex.
"Thunder Escape, Palm Lightning!"
Kawakaede lifted a hand, releasing a bolt of lightning that shattered the kunai.
"A strange technique… doesn't even need hand seals."
The Uchiha sighed, watching Kawakaede charge toward him.
"In the presence of these eyes, everything you do is in vain."
Confidence radiated from him.
No sooner had he spoken than the figure vanished, and in the next moment, the young Uchiha was thrown backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
"How could he be so fast?!"
Blood trickled from the Uchiha's mouth; shock and disbelief covered his face.
He crouched on the ground, clutching his abdomen—injured, but alive.
This was because Kawakaede had exercised mercy; had he wielded that sword fully, the Uchiha might not see tomorrow's sun.
"Blindly copying others?"
"Come back when your perspective broadens."
His words dripped with mockery. Kawakaede never gave the bullied a moment's respite.
It seemed the Uchiha clan's current strength was mediocre. Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, they could achieve nothing extraordinary.
Kawakaede had already sheathed his sword. Such matters didn't warrant using force.
He didn't even look at the Uchiha again. If he weren't concerned about explaining things in the village, he would have killed him outright. Why bother with such complications?
A minor injury would suffice to remind the Uchiha: I, Hatake Kawakaede, am not a pushover you can bully at will.
No sooner had he spoken than the Uchiha had left the alley, disappearing from sight.
Even after watching Kawakaede depart, fear lingered on the Uchiha's face. Truly, there existed someone so fast that even his Sharingan couldn't keep up.
Cough, cough.
He spat blood, staining the ground red.
"Hatake Kawakaede… I, Uchiha Fugaku, will remember you."
This man was the next heir to the Uchiha clan. If Kawakaede knew, he might have killed him on the spot.
He had never seen a clan head tolerate someone slaughtering their own clan members. Why keep such a person around?
Not long after Kawakaede left, the ANBU arrived, finding the injured Fugaku.
Fugaku claimed he had been injured while sparring with a friend, asking the ANBU to escort him back.
The ANBU could tell he was lying, but given the Uchiha's strength, they could only begrudgingly comply, taking him back swiftly without lingering a second longer.
Supported by clan members, Fugaku treated his internal injuries and then went to the assembly hall.
Seated cross-legged in the center was a middle-aged man, resembling Fugaku somewhat, with a gloomy expression.
This man was the current Uchiha clan head and Fugaku's uncle.
"Can't even handle a small matter like this?"
"He's only a Jonin from a minor branch, yet you want the ANBU to escort him home?"
Clearly, the uncle was dissatisfied with Fugaku's performance. Such a Fugaku would struggle to earn trust and succeed as the next clan head.
"Captain, Kawakaede was too fast. I couldn't even react. Not a single move came in time."
Fugaku admitted Kawakaede's overwhelming power—if he lost, he truly lost.
"What?!"
Had he used a forbidden technique?
The clan head panicked, standing abruptly. He had assumed the worst case would be mutual losses, not such a crushing defeat.
They believed Kawakaede had wielded some immensely powerful forbidden jutsu.
"I don't know. After he defeated me, he told me to widen my gaze and look for him again."
Fugaku recounted everything Kawakaede had said.
"Hatake Kawakaede… absurd."
"How could he know the Mangekyō's power? He's just a frog in a well."
"Forget him for now. War is about to begin. I'll make the ninja world feel the weight of the Uchiha name once again."
The clan head braced himself, but things didn't go as he hoped—the coming war was not the Uchiha's battlefield.
"Then I'll go heal."
Fugaku trembled as he left the room, returning to find someone to treat his injuries. His chakra surged within him. This Kawakaede Hatake was a strange man.
His speed was extreme, he could escape lightning-fast without hand seals, and his physical strength could even disperse his chakra.
"I must awaken the Mangekyō before I can fight him."
Meanwhile, Kawakaede returned home leisurely, completely unaware that he had just given Uchiha Fugaku the opportunity to unlock the Mangekyō
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All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this "Naruto: Tsunade the Fugitive Healer" is 30 chapters ahead there