Seisui patted his chest with confidence and said,
"I'll be back in no time. If you can't finish the food, just pack it up and take it with you."
"Alright!" one of the young pandas cheered, glancing around the room before grabbing a broom and starting to sweep enthusiastically.
While cleaning, he shouted toward Seisui, "Hurry and go buy the food already!"
"Leave this to us!"
The other two panda youths were just as eager. Without another word, they got right to work.
Seeing their motivation, Seisui nodded in satisfaction and stepped out of the house.
Once the door shut behind him, the three pandas seemed to ignite with energy.
"Finish fast, then feast!"
"Come on, let's go!"
"Let's do this!"
With a loud cheer, the trio worked even harder, scrubbing and sweeping with full effort.
Out on the streets, Seisui walked through the crowd, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm… what do pandas even like to eat?"
He didn't want to do housework, sure, but he wasn't planning to trick the panda youths either. If he'd asked them to clean for him, he had to reward them properly that way, they'd help him again next time.
Spotting a vendor selling three-colored dango, Seisui approached. The stall was still piled high with skewers.
"Boss," he said casually, "I'll take all your dango."
The vendor blinked in surprise, staring at the large tray in front of him.
"All of them, ninja-sama? Are you sure?"
"Yes." Seisui nodded and pulled out his wallet.
"Deliver them to this address later," he instructed, giving his location before paying on the spot.
The vendor stared dumbly at the money in his hand, still processing what had happened as he began hurriedly packing the dango.
He had just started his day's business and now he was already sold out.
After paying, Seisui walked off without a second thought.
He wasn't sure how honest the people of Konoha were but he knew one thing: ninjas had strong personal honor.
Even without a forehead protector, his chunin uniform was enough to show his identity.
No one in the village would dare pretend to be a ninja.
That vendor definitely wouldn't dare skip out on delivery.
Otherwise, Seisui could personally teach him what "ninja justice" meant.
He kept walking, buying things here and there to any bystander, it looked like he was stockpiling supplies for a war.
Meanwhile, back at Seisui's house—
Konan knocked on his door, but when it opened, the one who greeted her wasn't Seisui.
It was… a panda.
She froze on the spot.
"Who are you?" the young panda asked, tilting its head. "Are you here to see Seisui-sama?"
Konan stiffly nodded.
"Oh, Seisui-sama hasn't come back yet," the panda said matter-of-factly.
It wiped its face with one paw—but its hands were dirtier than its face, smearing gray dust all over instead.
"Why don't you come in and wait a bit?" it was offered cheerfully. "Seisui-sama will be back soon."
"N-no, that's fine." Konan shook her head, glancing at the clouds of dust swirling through the air inside.
"I'll come by later tonight."
With that, she quickly retreated to her room.
"What a strange human," the panda muttered, scratching its head. Then it turned back to the mess and shouted, "Charge!"
The door slammed shut again—
and the battle against dirt resumed.
—
At the same time, in the Uchiha compound.
Uchiha Haru had just returned home. Seeing her grandfather, Uchiha Setsuna, sitting in the courtyard, she smiled brightly.
"Grandpa, I'm back!"
Setsuna turned at the sound of her voice, smiling warmly—
but the moment his gaze landed on the fan strapped to her back, his expression froze.
"Th-that's…"
"T-the Gunbai?!" he exclaimed, springing to his feet, eyes wide in disbelief.
Seeing his reaction, Haru quickly held the fan out toward him.
"Grandpa, we found this along the road."
Setsuna accepted it reverently, running his hands over its surface—then frowned slightly.
"Found it?"
"Mm." Haru hesitated for a second, then repeated Seisui's pre-prepared story.
Setsuna didn't doubt his sweet granddaughter for a moment. Stroking the fan lovingly, he sighed.
"Ever since Madara's death, this fan has been lost…"
"I never thought it would resurface again."
"But to think—it was you who found it!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Tears welled in his eyes as he laughed with pure joy, inspecting every inch of the fan—until his gaze landed on the handle.
There, carved into the wood, was a tiny doodle of a hand patting a head.
Setsuna froze. His smile stiffened.
"What's this supposed to be?" he asked suspiciously.
Haru glanced at the carving and replied calmly,
"Oh, that? I engraved it myself."
"I see," Setsuna said, nodding with a grin. "I thought it looked cute."
"So it was you who did it."
Then, turning serious again, he said,
"Stay home for now. I'll handle the rest."
Before Haru could even respond, Setsuna disappeared in a blur of movement.
She opened her mouth to mention her new Sharingan ability—but he was already gone.
"Honestly," she muttered, frowning. "Grandpa's always in such a hurry."
She sighed and started searching through the house.
Meanwhile, Setsuna had already barged into Uchiha Hino's home.
Hino's expression darkened immediately.
"What are you doing?"
"I've come to tell you something important!" Setsuna said, his tone deadly serious.
"The Gunbai Uchiwa has been found!"
"If it's been found, then—wait, what?!"
Hino's eyes widened. "You mean the ancestral Gunbai?!"
"Yes!" Setsuna nodded.
The fan could only be used with the clan leader's approval—otherwise, it would be seen as treason against the clan.
Of course, true Uchiha bloodlines were exempt from such restrictions.
Still, the fan was more than a weapon—it was a symbol.
A sacred heirloom passed from one clan head to the next.
In essence, it represented the very authority of the Uchiha clan.
"How did you find it?" Hino asked gravely.
This was no trivial matter—this was the legendary fan of Madara Uchiha himself.
He had long assumed it was lost forever.
Setsuna grinned proudly. "My granddaughter, Haru, found it!"
Hino blinked, giving him an odd look.
…Trying to steal credit for your granddaughter now?
"What's with that look?!" Setsuna snapped, his face darkening. "You just can't admit that my Haru is better than that brat Fugaku!"
"Hmph!"
He slammed the fan down on the table and recounted the "story" Haru had told him—conveniently omitting the parts involving Seisui and Minato.
In his version, Haru had sensed the fan's presence, tracked it down, and slain the thief herself before retrieving it.
To him, that sounded completely reasonable—his granddaughter was the best, after all.
Hino stared at the fan in stunned silence.
The moment he saw it, he knew—it was real.
No mistake, no imitation.
Both he and Setsuna had lived through the Warring States era and fought alongside Madara himself. They could never mistake this relic.
But then Hino frowned at the tiny hand-carved "patting head" symbol on the handle.
"Was that carved by the thieves who stole it?" he muttered, scowling.
"Unforgivable!"
"No," Setsuna corrected proudly, "my granddaughter carved that herself. Cute, isn't it?"
Hino: "…"
You old fool. Your granddaughter's going to be the death of you someday.
Still, when he reached to pick up the fan, Setsuna immediately snatched it back.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What do you think you're doing?" Setsuna retorted coldly. "This is Haru's trophy!"
"It belongs to the clan!" Hino shot back.
"I don't care. I came here just to tell you—don't you dare try to take it from her!"
Power flared around Setsuna as his Sharingan spun into three tomoe, the air thick with killing intent.
The message was clear: Try it, and we'll go down together.
Hino met his gaze without flinching. After a long silence, he finally said,
"Haru may use it… but once she marries, it must be returned."
"Fine!" Setsuna agreed instantly.
He smirked inwardly. Marry? My Haru will be the one doing the marrying.
The fan's not going anywhere.
Meanwhile, Hino thought privately,
If you think that boy Seisui will ever marry into the Uchiha, you're dreaming. He's already the head of the Uzumaki clan. That's impossible.
They each had their own plans.
After a polite smile and nod, Setsuna left with the fan.
When he returned home, he found Haru rummaging through the shelves.
"What are you looking for, Haru?" he asked curiously.
"I'm looking for records about the Mangekyo," she said simply—then activated her Sharingan.
Setsuna's jaw dropped.
Three tomoe spun in her eyes… and then began to change.
His heart skipped a beat. A wild thought flashed through his mind—impossible, yet undeniable as he watched it unfold.
The tomoe twisted together, merging into a spinning, hollow pinwheel.
The Mangekyo Sharingan.
Setsuna froze, completely stunned.
He swore—aside from the day he first awakened his Sharingan, he had never been this shocked in his life.
"Grandpa," Haru asked softly, "this… this is called the Mangekyo, right?"
He could only stare, trembling with excitement.