Konoha: Uchiha's Two-Way Travel in One Piece

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"Fine! I agree!"

Kaito sighed helplessly, raising his hands in defeat.

"Good! That's settled!"

Uchiha Jiri nodded in satisfaction, patting Kaito on the head before pushing him toward Tsunade. "Take him with you. I've got things to do!"

"Mikoto, you should head to school too. You're going to be late!"

"Yes!"

With that, Mikoto bid everyone goodbye and left quickly.

"Let's go too," Tsunade said, bidding farewell to Uchiha Jiri and motioning for Kaito to follow.

---

After a short walk, Tsunade brought Kaito to the Hokage Tower.

Without hesitation, she kicked the office door.

Bang!

The door groaned pitifully, slamming into the wall with enough force to shake the office. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

The Third Hokage: "…"

Kaito: "…"

Both of them twitched slightly at the corners of their eyes.

Yep, that's Tsunade, all right.

The Third Hokage looked at her with a mix of exasperation and helplessness, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Tsunade! Can't you just use your hands to open a door like a normal person?"

"This month alone, I've had to replace this door five times because of you. And you're a teacher now! Can't you set a better example and mind your image?"

"You're going to corrupt the kids."

Frankly, the Hokage had no idea why Tsunade's attitude toward him had worsened so much in the past twenty days. Her personality had become increasingly erratic, and it was giving him a headache.

He was pretty sure he hadn't offended her recently.

"Hmph! I'm used to it!"

Tsunade crossed her arms and raised her chin arrogantly. "I brought the kid, didn't I? Introduce yourselves quickly so I can take him to school!"

With her respect for the Third shattered, Tsunade couldn't care less about his peace of mind.

Besides, what was a kicked door compared to what he'd done to the Senju clan? She considered herself restrained.

The Hokage shook his head helplessly before turning to Kaito. Forcing a genial smile, he said, "So, you're Uchiha Kaito? I'm the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Did your teacher mention me?"

As he observed the boy, Hiruzen couldn't help but notice his vibrant vitality, far surpassing most children his age.

"This doesn't seem like a sickly, frail child born with deficiencies at all," he mused.

"It appears the Uchiha have mastered an extraordinary way to restore vitality. I must find a way to obtain this technique."

Such a method would benefit not only him but also the Sarutobi clan.

"And this chakra… It's substantial. Yesterday, his reserves were minimal. This must be because he just started refining chakra. Already comparable to a jonin… truly a genius!"

"I'll have to take him seriously and figure out how to turn him into my ally," Hiruzen thought.

If he succeeded, it would be much easier to deal with Jiri and the Uchiha clan in the future.

This thought made his smile toward Kaito even more enthusiastic.

Although Kaito felt repulsed, he maintained a polite demeanor, smiling and nodding. "Yes, my teacher mentioned you. I'm Uchiha Kaito. Pleased to meet you, Lord Hokage."

"Haha!"

The Third Hokage laughed heartily. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Grandpa!"

"Huh?"

Kaito's face stiffened. He was certain this old man was trying to take advantage of him.

"Heh!"

Tsunade's expression turned mocking as she shot a sidelong glance at Hiruzen. "Seriously, old man? Picking on a kid now?"

"Even if Kaito dared to call you that, would you dare respond? Better watch out—if Lord Jiri finds out, she might just beat you to death!"

How shameless could he be?

He was clearly from the same generation as Lord Jiri, yet he wanted her son to call him "Grandpa."

Ridiculous.

"Uh…"

Hiruzen froze, realizing the implications.

Tsunade's words hit home. If Jiri found out, the consequences would be… severe.

He immediately waved his hands nervously, laughing awkwardly. "My mistake, my mistake! I apologize!"

"I got confused because Kaito is my student's student. It slipped my mind! My fault entirely!"

Turning to Kaito, he quickly added, "Kaito, I'm sorry! How about you just call me Uncle Hokage from now on? I'm only a year or two older than your mother, so it's more appropriate."

"Also, I was misled by Tsunade! Haha!"

"And please, don't mention this to your mother. We wouldn't want to trouble her unnecessarily."

He could already imagine Jiri using this as an excuse to make his life miserable.

"Uh… understood," Kaito nodded.

He now had a clearer understanding of his mother's intimidating reputation.

"What exactly did Mom do in the past to make even the Hokage so wary?" he wondered, though he didn't dare ask her directly. He feared the consequences.

Still, he fully intended to tell his mother about this incident.

What? He promised the Hokage not to?

Well, promises can be broken. What could he do about it?

That said, Kaito doubted his mother would escalate things right now. The timing wasn't right for a major confrontation with the Third Hokage.

The Uchiha needed a few more years of steady development before settling scores.

"Haha! Good, good!"

Relieved, Hiruzen ended the conversation with Kaito, trying unsuccessfully to glean more information.

Tsunade firmly blocked his attempts.

Realizing he wouldn't get anywhere with her around, Hiruzen concluded the meeting and sent Tsunade and Kaito off to the academy.

---

Shortly after, Tsunade brought Kaito to the Ninja Academy.

After explaining the situation to the vice-principal and meeting the first-year elite class's homeroom teacher, she handed Kaito over and left.

The teacher, Kuroda Ikko, led Kaito to Class 1-A just as the lesson was about to begin.

"Wow, who's that? He's so handsome!"

"Judging by his clothes, he must be from the Uchiha clan! But I don't recognize him. Why is he joining now?"

"No idea!"

"Seiichi, you're from the Uchiha clan too. Do you know him?"

"Uh… I think he's Uchiha Kaito from the great elder's family. But he's changed a lot!"

As Kaito entered, the classroom buzzed with curiosity.

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