Night.
Uchiha Jinzō vaulted out of the inn window, landing lightly on the empty street below.
"Noob."
The insult slipped out automatically as a small, bead-eyed creature poked its head out from the collar of his shirt. The little snake blinked at him, unimpressed.
Jinzō smirked. He'd left a tracking mark on White Fang earlier. Just accusing the guy wasn't enough—no, he needed evidence. Hard proof. Which was why he'd busted out a tracking ninjutsu specifically to pin him down.
"Alright, Xiaobai. Where'd he go?" Jinzō asked.
The tiny snake sniffed the air, flicked its tail, and slithered forward like a makeshift compass.
Jinzō followed, muttering under his breath, "Once I've got dirt on him, let's see how smug he acts." His teeth ground together. The way White Fang had played him earlier—yeah, no way he was letting that slide. Usually, he was the one messing with people, not the other way around.
But hey, if you wanted to play dirty, you had to be strong enough to back it up. Otherwise, you got flattened. That was the unspoken rule of the shinobi world.
The streets were deserted, shops long closed, lanterns out. Jinzō frowned.
"Is there even a brothel in this dead-end town?"
They circled the streets, only for Xiaobai to stop in front of a familiar building.
"…Noob," Jinzō muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The snake blinked innocently up at him, tail twitching.
"You just dragged me in a circle, didn't you?"
Xiaobai looked up at the inn, then tilted its head like a confused puppy. To it, buildings were all the same.
Jinzō sighed. "Why do I even bother with you? Your IQ's tragic."
A clang broke the silence. A window creaked open above him—White Fang's room.
Sure enough, the legendary jōnin leaned out, spotting Jinzō immediately. "What are you doing sneaking around at night?"
"…Heh." Jinzō forced a laugh. "Didn't you say you were going to drink?"
White Fang's lips curved in the faintest of smirks. "Where would you even find a brothel in this backwater? If you want to go, tell me next time. When we're in a real city, I'll take you."
To Jinzō, that smile wasn't friendly—it was villainous.
Then White Fang casually tossed something out the window.
A bundle of clothing.
Jinzō froze. His mark—the very proof he'd planted—was stitched onto those clothes.
White Fang knew. He'd known the whole damn time.
"…Tch." Jinzō's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"Alright, get back inside and sleep," White Fang said, shutting the window as if nothing had happened.
Jinzō tilted his head back, staring at the bright moon overhead. The man was untouchable. The strength gap between them was a canyon.
Still—Uchiha Jinzō didn't forget insults.
White Fang, you bastard. ×2.
The next day, Konoha's great gates came into view.
Two gate guards in flak jackets lounged by the entrance, bored. But when their eyes locked on the silver-haired figure approaching, they blinked, rubbed their eyes—then shouted at the top of their lungs:
"Lord White Fang has returned!"
Jinzō, walking a few steps behind, winced. How the hell do guys with voices that deep shriek like fangirls?
The cry carried across the village like a ripple.
In moments, the streets rumbled. Ninja leapt from rooftops, civilians poured from alleys, the crowd swelling like a tidal wave. The shouts grew deafening:
"Lord White Fang!""Konoha's White Fang!""Welcome back, White Fang-sama!"
Jinzō hung back, slipping past unnoticed. Even the gate guards abandoned their posts to join the flood of people lifting White Fang into the air like a conquering hero.
Jinzō stood alone on the sidelines, his face unreadable. But his eyes… his eyes drifted to the Hokage Tower.
High above, a lone figure stood at the window, smoke curling from his pipe.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, watched the cheering crowd with an expression like carved stone.
Jinzō narrowed his eyes. White Fang's popularity… for Hiruzen, it's poison.
But politics weren't his game. He was an Uchiha, and in Konoha, that was already a death sentence. Genius or not, the higher-ups would happily grind him into dust.
So he turned away and headed home.
Only to stop cold in the doorway, his brow twitching violently.
"…Kittens?!"
His voice boomed through the house.
The floor, the tables, the furniture—every surface was covered in cats. Cats of all shapes and colors, meowing and rolling around like they owned the place.
"Great. My house is a cat nest now."
The cats all turned to stare at him. Then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, they started talking.
"Uh-oh, the human's back. Will he kick us out?""Don't worry, Meowth'll handle it!""But he called Miao Ba's name…"
"Shut. Up!" Jinzō snapped, letting his killing intent roll out. The cats froze mid-meow, fur standing on end.
A tiny white kitten slinked out from the back room. The second it spotted Jinzō, it bolted—only for him to snatch it by the scruff.
"Fix this. Now. Or we're having cat stew tonight."
The kitten's eyes went wide. "N-no need! Cat meat's sour, not tasty at all! I'll fix it!"
Jinzō snorted. "Good. Because if you don't, Xiaobai eats first."
The snake poked its head out from his collar, tongue flicking.
"…I'll do it right away!!" the kitten squeaked, scrambling off to chase the other ninja cats away.
Jinzō folded his arms, exhaling through his nose. "Finally. Peace and quiet."