The next day, Uchiha Chiya led the Uchiha members back to Konoha.
As soon as they entered the village, on both sides of the street, the villagers noticed the Uchiha group and stopped one after another.
In their gazes, there was actually a faint trace of admiration and respect.
This was different from before Chiya became clan head.
This time, not a single person looked at the Uchiha members with fear or with the kind of eyes one uses to avoid a plague.
"Chiya-sama, you are back!"
A middle-aged villager greeted Chiya while holding a child, his face full of a happy smile.
Not long ago, something he was selling had been forcibly taken by a drunk man. It was because a ninja from the Uchiha patrol saw it.
They stopped it quickly, and right there in public, read out the violation of Konoha's rules.
The drunk was subdued and taken away, and later the losses from his stall were compensated.
Toward the actions of the Uchiha, more and more villagers had begun to understand.
"Chiya-sama has been away for so many days. You must have worked hard!"
Another villager on the side of the street could not help but speak up.
As the Uchiha walked toward the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters, the sounds of praise from people on both sides of the road rose one after another.
Before, when Chiya had left the village, he had already arranged for people to stir up the topic.
The mission of the police force.
It had originally been about capturing the criminals who were stealing children, and that directly concerned their personal interests.
Naturally, they paid close attention to it.
With such a large family and clan, no one ever knew when a child in their own home might be kidnapped.
The Uchiha had struck swiftly and decisively, and everyone had seen it with their own eyes.
This time, gathering the full strength of the Uchiha and leaving the village together had drawn a great deal of attention.
Now returning in triumph, it was clear that the one behind it all had been caught, and the villagers were pleased.
Hearing the cheers all around them, the Uchiha members following behind Chiya could not help but stand up straighter.
Their faces carried pride.
They looked at Uchiha Chiya walking at the front with complex gazes.
'It was precisely under the leadership of this person that the Uchiha had undergone such a great change.'
'Not only had the clan's standing in the village risen sharply.'
'But it had also made those of them in the police force feel a far greater sense of honor and fulfillment.'
They were all elite members of the Uchiha. Before joining the police force, they had been full of spirit and confidence.
But after actually getting involved in the work of the police force, they found the reality was very different from what they had imagined.
Every day was spent dealing with ordinary cases inside the village.
Things like catching drunks who were causing trouble, and countless other tedious matters.
Because they sometimes enforced the rules too strictly and showed no leniency, they could clearly feel that many villagers had misunderstandings about them.
With the proud nature of the Uchiha, they rarely bothered to explain themselves.
Over time, their reputation in the village gradually dropped. And because of the particular nature of their duties, their own combat strength had also declined somewhat.
Reality had beaten them until they felt numb.
This had already gone seriously against everything they had imagined for themselves.
"Go report to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters. You do not need to work this afternoon. Rest well."
"Everyone has worked hard on this journey."
Chiya suddenly turned his head and instructed them.
"Yes, Clan Head!"
The Uchiha members straightened their expressions.
The moment his words fell, Chiya's figure vanished in a body flicker directly toward the dango shop.
Just now, Chiya had caught a sharp glimpse of a familiar figure entering the place.
Chiya arrived at the dango shop and pushed the door open.
He swept the room with his gaze and stepped quickly to sit down beside her.
Dazzling golden hair, and a captivating, delicate fragrance drifting from her.
Her refined face wore no expression at all, which gave off a cool and distant feeling.
Today, Tsunade was dressed in a deep blue kimono with gold patterns embroidered on it.
It gave her an appearance that was both elegant and noble.
The sleeves of the kimono were wide and swayed gently with the motion of her eating dango, adding a touch of softness.
Her figure was stunning, with beautiful curves, and even wearing the loose kimono could not hide it.
'It really set the blood rushing.'
Tsunade.
"You are back?"
Tsunade set down the bamboo skewer and swallowed the last dango in her hand.
It seemed she could not stand Chiya's burning gaze.
Her face flushed slightly, and only then did she turn her head to acknowledge him.
"Yes, I am back. Everything went smoothly. Thanks to your necklace."
After saying this, Chiya took out a delicate necklace from inside his robe and put it on Tsunade with his own hands.
Tsunade froze.
"How did you..."
Tsunade pointed at the necklace, her eyes full of confusion.
After fastening the necklace, Chiya reached under the table and took hold of her soft and delicate hand resting on her leg.
"I came across it by chance during this trip out of the village. I thought it looked nice, so I bought it."
After heading to the Land of Rain, he had come across a shop. Chiya had liked the look of several pieces there, so he had bought a few to bring back.
"Is that so?"
Tsunade murmured softly. She looked down at the necklace for a moment, then turned her gaze toward Chiya.
Compared to a moment ago, her eyes now held one more part warmth.
'Sometimes, to keep the small joys and freshness alive in a relationship, giving a small gift really was the most effective and simple way.'
'Feelings need two people to tend to together.'
'If one person keeps giving endlessly while the other feels nothing, then no matter how intense the feelings once were, given enough time, they will grow cold.'
Before this, Chiya had already received the most precious gift Tsunade had to give.
Of course, not the time at the izakaya, but rather the necklace representing good luck that she had given him when he left the village.
When Chiya left the village for a highly dangerous mission, she had asked Orochimaru to pass that lucky necklace to him.
Of course, Chiya knew she meant well and wanted him to come back safe.
Tsunade herself did not know just how strong the buff that lucky necklace provided truly was.
Tsunade fiddled with the delicate and beautiful necklace around her neck.
She looked up at Chiya, and faint ripples appeared in her eyes.
She looked as if she were about to, about to...
"Tsunade, Tsunade!"
Seeing the change in Tsunade's gaze, Chiya moved to stop it quickly.
'Tsunade, it was the middle of the day. What were you thinking of doing?'
Before Chiya could act, Tsunade leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead.
The warm and moist feeling touched and then parted in an instant.
"Chiya, thank you."
Looking at Tsunade, whose breathing had grown slightly quick and whose face was flushed, Chiya struck while the iron was hot, his eyes turning with a thought.
He gently put his arm around her shoulder.
"No need to thank me. If you really want to show your thanks, let us train together when you have time.
I know several high difficulty taijutsu moves. Training them would probably not be so easy. Do you want to learn?"
Tsunade's expression stiffened.
The touched look on her face vanished at once. She gave a cold snort and stood up.
"Do not even think about it!"
Tsunade took two steps away, then turned back and looked at Chiya with suspicion.
"Wait. Where did you learn so many taijutsu moves from?"
A chill crept up Chiya's back.
"Reading more books and researching more, of course."
Tsunade held her gaze on him for a long moment before finally withdrawing it. She looked at him with a mildly fierce expression.
"Come to the izakaya tonight. I will deal with you then."
Tsunade finished speaking and turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Tsunade's footsteps paused.
She turned back and looked at Chiya, her eyes full of confusion.
"Tonight, wear this same outfit."
Tsunade shot him an annoyed look, then disappeared from view, her wooden sandals clicking as she walked.
Chiya watched Tsunade disappear, and only then let out a breath of relief.
'In his previous life, he had had many taijutsu teachers.'
'Tsunade, you really need to learn taijutsu.'
'Learning one more skill is always good.'
'Tsunade, how could she not understand how to enjoy life like this.'
'It seemed like he would have to slowly guide her along himself from now on.'
'Well, he would start with Yakushi Nono first.'
'She was much more gentle than Tsunade.'
Chiya rubbed his stomach. He had come all the way here and had not even gotten any dango.
"Boss, give me a few tri-color dango!"
Chiya took his tri-color dango and returned to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
"Chiya-nii!"
A surprised and delighted voice reached him.