"Alright, alright! I'll go!"
Genqing could only raise his hands in surrender.
"Good! That's settled."
Chiri nodded in satisfaction, ruffled his hair, and pushed him toward Tsunade.
"He's yours for now. I've got things to handle."
"Mikoto, you'd better get to school too—you're about to be late!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Mikoto gave a quick goodbye and dashed off. Tsunade also waved her hand and left with Genqing, leading him all the way to the Hokage's building.
Then—BANG!
She slammed a kick straight into the Hokage's office doors.
The doors hit the wall with a crash, shaking dust down from the ceiling.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "…"
Genqing: "…"
Both of them stared in mild disbelief.
Yup, that's Tsunade alright…
Hiruzen massaged his temples in frustration.
"Tsunade! Can't you just use the handle like a normal person?"
"This month alone you've broken my door five times…"
"And aren't you a teacher now? Can't you set a better example? This kind of behavior will rub off on the kids!"
He wasn't sure when it started—maybe twenty days ago—but Tsunade had become more defiant and disrespectful with him.
He was getting real tired of it.
"Hmph. I'm used to it."
Tsunade crossed her arms and proudly raised her chin.
"Anyway, I brought the kid. Say hi and let me take him to school already."
She had long since lost any remaining respect for Hiruzen. After what he did to the Senju, kicking down a door was being nice.
"You…"
Hiruzen sighed, then turned toward Genqing with his best grandfatherly smile.
"You must be Uchiha Genqing. I'm the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen—your master's master. Did Tsunade tell you about me?"
He immediately sensed the vital life force flowing within the boy.
This child doesn't resemble someone born sickly at all...
Uchiha must truly have discovered a remarkable method for restoring vitality!
And that chakra level... astonishing. It's on par with a Jonin already? Just after one day of training? This is a prodigy!
If I can win him over... it'll make controlling Uchiha much easier in the future...
Thinking of that, Hiruzen's smile grew even warmer.
Though Genqing found it disgusting, he still put on a polite smile and bowed.
"Yes, my teacher mentioned you. I am Uchiha Genqing. Pleased to meet you, Lord Hokage."
"Hahaha!"
Hiruzen laughed warmly.
"Just call me Grandpa!"
"Huh?"
Genqing froze.
What's this old man up to now? Trying to claim seniority over me?
"Pfft—"
Tsunade snorted, eyes narrowed mockingly.
"Really now, old man? You bullying a kid?"
"Even if Genqing dared to call you that, would you dare respond?"
"You know Chiri will beat you to death, right?"
Calling yourself Genqing's grandfather, when you're the same generation as his mother? Shameless...
"Er…"
Hiruzen suddenly realized the implications.
His body stiffened.
"My mistake! Sorry! Truly sorry!"
"I just forgot that Genqing is Chiri's son. Silly me!"
"Really, you should just call me 'Uncle Hokage,' alright?"
"I'm only a little older than your mother—it's more appropriate."
"And this was all Tsunade's fault for confusing me! Haha!"
He waved his hands repeatedly in apology, sweating bullets.
If Chiri finds out, she'll absolutely use this as an excuse to hammer me... and she doesn't play fair.
"Understood."
Genqing nodded calmly.
Internally, though, he was shocked.
So that's how much influence Mom has… even the Hokage's terrified of her?
Now I really want to know what she did in the past...
But he didn't dare ask her directly.
He valued his life too much.
And even though he agreed not to tell, he totally planned to spill everything to his mom later.
Yeah, I said I wouldn't tell… but I lied. What're you gonna do about it?
Still, he knew his mom wouldn't strike now.
It wasn't time to openly oppose Hiruzen yet.
Uchiha still needed a few more years of quiet development.
Once they were ready, then they could settle the score.
"Good, good!"
Hiruzen sighed in relief.
He then tried to engage Genqing in small talk, hoping to probe some useful information—but Tsunade cut him off at every turn.
He quickly realized that as long as Tsunade was around, he wouldn't get anything out of the boy.
And more importantly—Genqing was smarter than expected.
So he backed off and dismissed them.
Of course, he wasn't giving up. Now that Genqing would be attending the Academy, he'd have plenty of time to influence him.
He's only six. How clever can he really be?
I've got years to slowly indoctrinate him...
Later, at the Ninja Academy
Tsunade brought Genqing to the vice principal, explained the situation, and handed him off to Class A's homeroom teacher, Kuroda Ichito.
"Whoa, who's that?! He's so handsome!"
"Judging by his clothes, he's from the Uchiha clan!"
"Hey, Seichi, aren't you an Uchiha too? Do you know him?"
"Uh… I think he's Uchiha Genqing from the elder's family. But… he looks so different now!"
As soon as Genqing entered the classroom, the students started whispering excitedly.
v