In the past, if Tōshirō had said something like that, Tsunade would have punched him on the spot, using the excuse that her size was perfectly normal. But now, she proudly puffed out her chest, brimming with confidence:
"Are you blind? If you don't want your eyes, I can dig them out for you. It's not like you've awakened the Sharingan all these years anyway."
Tōshirō scoffed dismissively. "Who knows if you used some kind of forbidden jutsu to modify your body? How else could you change so much in such a short time? You think I'm stupid?"
"What did you just say!?" Tsunade's eyes widened in fury, her voice rumbling like an impending volcanic eruption.
Seeing the two about to start a brawl, Orochimaru quickly intervened, "Tōshirō rarely comes back from his travels, so let's not fight."
Jiraiya chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, we're all comrades. Let's just sit down and talk things out."
Orochimaru continued, "A new barbecue place just opened in town. How about the four of us go there together?"
Hearing this, Tōshirō and Tsunade each huffed but eventually backed down.
Orochimaru sighed in relief—he had finally managed to stop their argument.
But the peace didn't last long.
At the dinner table, the two, who had just quieted down, soon found themselves irritated by each other's presence again, resuming their verbal sparring.
It was as if they hadn't had a proper outlet for their frustrations while apart, and now that they were together again, they were determined to argue until they were satisfied.
Sensing that things were escalating, Orochimaru quickly changed the topic, "Tōshirō, during your travels, have you heard of a certain group?"
"Huh? What group?"
Tōshirō, parched from arguing with Tsunade, took a sip of water.
Orochimaru spoke slowly, "The Phantom Troupe."
Tōshirō froze, setting down his cup, confusion written all over his face.
Before Orochimaru could continue, Tsunade interjected, "The Phantom Troupe? You mean the group that's been committing major crimes all across the nations over the past six months?"
Tōshirō looked baffled. "I haven't really been paying attention. Tell me about them."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes mischievously. "You want to know? Beg me, and maybe I'll tell you."
Tōshirō waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly, then ignored her entirely and turned to Orochimaru. "So, what's this Phantom Troupe you mentioned?"
Orochimaru organized his thoughts before explaining, "Simply put, they're a gang of kidnappers responsible for a series of major incidents across different countries. Because they appear and disappear like phantoms, leaving no trace behind, people started calling them the Phantom Troupe."
Tsunade added ominously, "You travel alone—one day, if your luck runs out, you might just run into them and get robbed."
Tōshirō smirked. "They'd have to be idiots to waste their time robbing a broke guy like me."
He casually picked his nose with his pinky, flicked away whatever he found, and looked completely unconcerned.
Of course, in reality, this organization had everything to do with him…
Every single kidnapping carried out by the Phantom Troupe had been orchestrated by him.
He and Kakuzu had founded "Akatsuki," but they weren't stupid enough to openly name their criminal syndicate.
"Phantom Troupe" was a name others had given them.
Tsunade frowned in disgust at Tōshirō's crude behavior. "Tōshirō, you're absolutely disgusting. We're eating, for god's sake. Can you at least try to act civilized?"
Tōshirō shrugged, completely unbothered. "What's the big deal?"
Tsunade groaned, grabbing her head in frustration. "I'd love to meet your future wife just to see what kind of person would actually fall for a guy like you."
Tōshirō grinned and gestured excitedly with his hands. "That's easy—she'll definitely be a smoking hot babe with 36D-sized breasts."
Tsunade sneered. "Wow, dreaming in broad daylight now?"
Tōshirō smirked, throwing her words back at her. "Speaking of which, I'd also love to see what kind of guy would marry a violent tomboy like you."
Tsunade clenched her fists threateningly. "You wanna die?!"
Orochimaru and Jiraiya exchanged looks and let out a long, helpless sigh.
"Ahh… here we go again with these two…"
—
After finishing their meal, the four of them stepped out of the barbecue restaurant.
Just then, Tsunade suddenly remembered something. "Sorry, I have training today. I need to go."
Orochimaru muttered, "Man… Tōshirō rarely comes back, and now you're leaving…"
Tsunade shrugged. "It's not like this is the last time we'll see each other."
As Tsunade spoke, she intentionally glanced at Tōshirō.
Their eyes met, and without needing any further words, Tōshirō immediately understood. He nodded knowingly. "In that case, let's call it a day for the gathering."
Seeing that Tōshirō was about to leave as well, Orochimaru asked why.
Tōshirō smiled and explained, "Naturally, I need to return to the clan first. I haven't been back in a long time."
Having not seen Tōshirō for a while and wanting to catch up, Orochimaru chose not to press the matter. "That makes sense. Well then, see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you."
—
Upon returning to the Uchiha clan grounds, Tōshirō first went to visit Elder Itachi.
He had a great deal of respect for Elder Itachi.
Throughout his growth, Itachi had helped him a lot. Not to mention the most recent favor—pulling him out of prison. That alone was a debt he could never forget.
"You're just planning to stay for a little while before heading off on another journey, aren't you?"
"The world is so big… I just want to go out and see it." Tōshirō knew that his reason sounded flimsy, so he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Perhaps disapproving of Tōshirō's lack of focus on the ninja path, Elder Itachi let out a sigh before saying, "Your timing is just right. The younger generation is having a sparring match today. Go participate—I want to see if you've been slacking off in the past six months."
"I understand."
Without any objections, Tōshirō followed Elder Itachi to the clan's training grounds.
At that moment, the younger members of the Uchiha clan were already engaged in intense battles.
Someone noticed Tōshirō's arrival and greeted him, "Tōshirō, you finally decided to come back, huh?"
Tōshirō nodded in acknowledgment.
Over the past few years, he had received a lot of support from the Uchiha clan, and as a result, his attitude toward his clansmen had changed significantly. At the very least, he no longer acted as withdrawn as before.
In the past, many younger Uchiha resented how much attention Tōshirō received. After all, why should someone without a Sharingan get so much special treatment?
However, after Tōshirō won them over through sheer ability, they all obediently shut their mouths.
After all, in the world of ninjas—especially within the power-hungry Uchiha clan—strength was everything.
Tōshirō scanned the area and finally locked his gaze on a young boy. He greeted him.
Hearing his name, Fugaku turned around to see Tōshirō and smiled with delight. The two exchanged a few words.
"Get up there and spar a bit."
At Elder Itachi's command, Tōshirō didn't say much and simply leaped into the center of the arena.
His opponent, Uchiha Tsuchien, was momentarily surprised to see that Tōshirō was his challenger. He was about two years older than Tōshirō and stood around 170 cm tall.
Tōshirō had developed quickly, so he wasn't at a physical disadvantage.
"So my opponent this time is you, huh? Looks like this clan match won't be boring after all…"
Uchiha Tsuchien's interest was piqued. "I've fought Ice Release users from the Yuki Clan before, but I wonder how someone with Uchiha blood like you uses Ice Release."
By contrast, Tōshirō looked completely uninterested—not because he underestimated his opponent, but because in his original plan, after visiting Elder Itachi, he was supposed to spend time with his girlfriend.
Now he had to waste time fighting some guy instead.
But since this was a direct order from Elder Itachi, he had no choice but to go through with it.
As soon as the referee announced the start of the match, Tōshirō made the first move.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Several fireballs shot from his mouth, speeding toward his opponent.
A good opening move to test his reaction speed.
(End of Chapter)
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