"Lord White Fang." Haruto Saito tilted his head and saw White Fang, momentarily stunned before asking, "Did you just get back? Something wrong?"
"There is…" White Fang maintained his shocked expression, nodding heavily. His voice was slow and restrained. "However, I can wait outside for you two. Apologies, I didn't mean to see…" As he spoke, he took a few steps back, raised his hand apologetically, and then disappeared.
"Huh? What's with him?" Haruto asked in surprise.
"No idea, so weird," Tsunade responded.
The two turned their heads simultaneously, exchanged a glance, and then—seemingly realizing something—both locked their eyes onto Haruto's right hand…
His right hand was still pressing on a place it absolutely shouldn't be.
Shit!
Haruto's mind trembled violently, his face showing sheer panic.
Tsunade appeared to be in a daze.
"This was an accident!" Haruto shot up like a spring, speaking at lightning speed. In the next moment, he burst forward, crashing through the window and escaping.
Outside the main building, in front of the entrance, White Fang stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes blank. He looked like he had suffered a severe mental shock—a complete worldview collapse! Tsunade was twenty-two, Haruto was twelve… What the hell were they doing?
Crash!
The window shattered. Haruto shot out and, with a quick maneuver, landed beside White Fang, urgently pleading, "Lord White Fang, take me away from here! My life is in danger!"
White Fang grabbed Haruto and disappeared like the wind.
Speed was White Fang's forte. In all of Konoha, he was among the fastest, unparalleled among his peers. Only someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, using a secret technique, might be able to surpass him by a fraction.
In just a single breath, White Fang brought Haruto outside the estate.
Yet, the estate remained silent. Surprisingly, Tsunade did not go on a rampage and chase after them.
"Hurry, Lord White Fang! Don't stop!" Haruto urged anxiously.
White Fang had no intention of stopping. He had come to fetch Haruto on Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders, to bring him to the Hokage's office.
Inside the main building of the estate—
Tsunade, still stunned, slowly sat up. Her eyes flickered as she looked down at herself, smoothing out the wrinkles on her clothing caused by the earlier pressing. She then glanced at the shattered window and grumbled indignantly, "Damn brat, lucky you ran fast!"
Yet, she showed no signs of pursuing him. Instead, she smirked slightly and muttered, "I know it wasn't on purpose… Why'd you run, then?"
Her expression was strangely complicated.
Inside the Hokage building, along a corridor by the window—
White Fang flashed into appearance, bringing Haruto along before finally releasing him. Haruto was still nervous, glancing outside to sense if a certain enraged woman was storming after him. But there were no signs of an incoming violent aura.
"Haruto, you are truly a warrior!" White Fang said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"It was a misunderstanding! Just a misunderstanding!" Haruto quickly explained. "What warrior…? I didn't expect even Lord White Fang to joke around."
"I'm not joking. You truly are a warrior!" White Fang insisted, raising his thumb again with a serious expression.
"Please, just stop. What kind of warrior flees for his life like that?" Haruto grumbled, feeling uneasy. Would he ever be able to get along with Tsunade again?
"Come on, the Hokage is waiting for you," White Fang said.
"Oh, when did you return, Lord White Fang?" Haruto asked.
"Noon."
"I heard from the Hokage that you were injured. Is it serious?"
"I'll live."
As they walked and talked, Haruto kept glancing out the window, wary that someone might suddenly crash through it.
Before long, they reached the Hokage's office.
The door opened abruptly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, seated behind his desk, looked up, frowning slightly. Naturally, the ones entering were Haruto and White Fang. However, Haruto was still in a bathrobe, his hair messy, looking like he had just woken up and hadn't freshened up.
His disheveled appearance was clearly disrespectful toward Hiruzen.
"Sensei," Haruto greeted as he walked up to the desk.
Hiruzen studied him from head to toe.
Haruto immediately understood what that look meant and hastily explained, "Uh… There was a little accident…" As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at White Fang. That guy wouldn't blabber about what happened, right? It was really just an accident!
"When will you hand over the techniques from the Meiji clan?" Hiruzen got straight to the point. He had no interest in knowing what accident occurred. For a restless troublemaker like Haruto, mishaps were expected. Since White Fang hadn't mentioned it, it clearly wasn't a big deal.
"Uh… I need to go back and get them," Haruto hesitated. In truth, the scrolls were stored in his inventory space, but he couldn't just pull them out like magic. That inventory was a crucial function of his system, something he had to keep secret.
"Fine, retrieve them later," Hiruzen said. "Also, the estate you requested should be ready by noon tomorrow. I'll have someone inform you."
Haruto nodded but seemed distracted. His eyes kept drifting toward the window behind the desk.
"There's one more thing," Hiruzen continued, tapping his fingers on the table. "I intend to have you join the Anbu."
"Huh?" Haruto's attention snapped back to Hiruzen completely.
Join the Anbu?
Hiruzen brought this up so suddenly, with no warning at all. Haruto wasn't prepared for this! The Anbu weren't just ordinary ninja forces—they were Konoha's elite, directly under Hiruzen's command.
"What do you think?" Hiruzen asked.
"Well…" Haruto hesitated. In truth, he didn't want to join the Anbu. Anbu members had little freedom, whereas mission-based ninjas like Tsunade had high flexibility. Their missions were dangerous, but outside of work, they could do as they pleased.
Although joining the Anbu would raise his status, he was already Hiruzen's direct disciple—he didn't lack status.
"Sensei, why did you suddenly decide to recruit me into the Anbu?" Haruto asked.
Hiruzen noticed Haruto's reluctance. After a brief pause, he explained, "White Fang led a rescue mission to the Land of Rain. It was a difficult operation. Orochimaru and his team found you first and led you to safety, but White Fang and the rest of the Anbu encountered greater dangers. They even clashed with Hanzo. By the time they escaped, every member, including White Fang, was injured. More than twenty Anbu died in the Land of Rain, and several others were left disabled. The Anbu needs fresh blood, and I'm recruiting several ninjas from the village. You are just one of them."
Haruto understood now. He hesitated before asking, "Sensei, can I refuse?"