Konoha.

In the scorching summer of August, although the Ninja World War had begun, it was mostly localized, and Konoha Village was still enjoying a brief moment of peace.

On the rooftop, leaning against the railing, Tsunade had returned to the village, tying her hair into a ponytail and changing into a refreshing crop top that revealed her midriff, underneath which she wore a fishnet shirt.

“Shinju, happy 12th birthday!”

Standing on the rooftop, Tsunade said with a beaming smile, facing Shinju, who wore a Konoha headband.

Upon hearing his sister congratulate him and noticing the gift in her hand, he instantly displayed a tsundere expression.

“I’m not a kid anymore; you don’t need to give me any birthday gifts.”

Though he said this, the happiness in Shinju’s eyes was impossible to conceal, and he had already accepted the gift.

Seeing this scene made Tsunade chuckle softly, teasingly saying,

“Go ahead and open it; it might be a gift you’ll like.”

With Tsunade's teasing laughter, she lazily leaned against the railing, affectionately watching Shinju open the gift, though a hint of seriousness lingered in her eyes.

Inside the beautifully packaged metal box, Shinju's face immediately showed a look of shock upon seeing the gift.

“Sister, could it be...?”

Shinju was utterly astonished; he was far too familiar with this gift.

Tsunade, smiling lightly, replied,

“That's right, this is the necklace of the First Hokage, our grandfather.”

Hearing this confirmation, Shinju's face lit up with excitement.

“I love it so much, sister!”

Looking at Shinju's thrilled expression, Tsunade casually asked,

“Shinju, it’s your birthday today, but I heard you’re going out on a mission tomorrow?”

In her seemingly casual inquiry, Shinju, caught up in his happiness, didn’t notice his sister's probing tone. Instead, he nodded excitedly, almost without hesitation.

“That’s right, sister! I received this mission yesterday, and I’m heading out tomorrow with Orochimaru-sensei!”

To reassure his sister, Shinju lifted his head, showing a sincere smile.

Witnessing this scene, Tsunade's smile hid a trace of gloom deep in her eyes.

Was Orochimaru really involved in this?

She didn’t dare to think, but this was her little brother, the future of the Senju clan.

Shinju's laughter echoed in her ears as Tsunade teasingly remarked,

“Well, I know that little brat from the Uchiha clan in your class is strong enough to surpass you and become the top student; otherwise, you would have become my subordinate long ago.”

Upon hearing this, Shinju immediately smiled.

“Don’t worry, sister! Even if I become the top student, I will still choose Orochimaru-sensei. But I think that Uchiha Yena will definitely give you a headache.”

Mentioning Uchiha Yena, Shinju couldn’t help but show a smirk of schadenfreude.

The brother and sister spent the day laughing together, celebrating Shinju's twelfth birthday.

Yesterday was a scorching sun, while today was overcast.

The weather seemed to reflect some impending event.

At the gates of Konoha, Orochimaru led Shinju’s team as they quickly rushed out of the village to carry out their mission.

As the group left, Tsunade appeared from the shadows under a large tree outside the village, her expression serious as she looked at the scroll in her hand.

“A simple C-rank mission involves a group of wandering warriors coming through. During this time of war, intelligence within the Land of Fire should be taken more seriously; such a low-level mistake should not happen!”

“Especially at such a close distance to Konoha!”

Tsunade analyzed the information in her hand and couldn’t find anything unusual about this mission, no matter how hard she tried.

If not for someone telling her, she would never have believed it.

After all, this mission could be completed in one day and return to the village; how close was that!

Which ninja was so hard-headed? Even if they were, how did they manage to evade the layers of patrols within the Land of Fire?

After all, this was during a war!

However, since this involved her little brother, Tsunade's expression turned grave as she vanished into the shadows. She chose not to follow Shinju's team.

After all, with Orochimaru around, it would be too easy for her to be discovered if she followed them.

She decided to reach the destination first, as Orochimaru's team would undoubtedly slow him down.

...

Half a day later.

In the dark forest, several shadows darted past.

With a scream, one figure gradually lost color in his eyes as his neck was snapped by a snake.

The snakes were then retracted into Orochimaru's sleeves, who revealed a sinister smile.

The next moment!

A shadow flashed past Orochimaru; it was the excited Shinju and his two teammates.

At this moment, Orochimaru murmured with a smile,

“Shinju, you’ve already shown great momentum; it seems you’ll adapt to the battlefield in no time.”

Shinju, as a member of the Senju clan, possessed chakra that surpassed that of his peers in both quality and quantity; as long as he gradually adapted, he would definitely possess the strength of an elite chunin.

However, just as Orochimaru felt satisfaction for his disciple, an explosion sounded, and a burst of flames illuminated his pale cheeks.

At this moment, Orochimaru's golden snake-like eyes narrowed in shock, staring in disbelief at the distance.

“How is this possible?!”

The two lower ninjas were stunned; they had faced life and death before, but this time the person who died was different!

The flames lit up the faces of the three.

In the distance, amid the flames, Tsunade's eyes were filled with raging fury!

“Why are there explosive tag traps here! And so many of them!”

She had arrived over an hour earlier than Orochimaru, observing in the shadows, and had not noticed any issues with the wandering warriors.

But she had witnessed everything with her own eyes!

These explosive tag traps were set up to lure Shinju in!

So there was only one truth!

The traps had been laid out long ago!

Is there really such a coincidence in the world?

“Shinju!”

A panicked shout came from his two companions, but amidst the flames, Tsunade suppressed her anger, directly throwing out a prepared corpse.

At the same time, she threw down the necklace she had given Shinju yesterday, which hung around his neck.

She had thought she wouldn’t need it anymore, but unexpectedly!

Whoosh!

Amidst the flames, Tsunade quickly vanished with Shinju, leaving only the raging fire behind.

The current Legendary Three Ninjas were not yet famous!

Among the Legendary Three, Tsunade was still the strongest, followed by Orochimaru, with Jiraiya at the bottom.

After all, ninjas needed resources, and Orochimaru had not yet begun his research on forbidden techniques, nor had he developed that nearly indestructible physique. (Uncle Snake almost died from explosive tags when he defected.)

Jiraiya had not yet learned Sage Mode.

As the princess of the Senju clan, the resources Tsunade had access to were beyond what ordinary people could imagine.