I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 443 Any invitation that isn't personally delivered to your door should be considered a request for a monetary gift.

"Suckling sound~"

In the Senju clan's territory, Tatsuma, sitting on the veranda, held a shuriken and made strange noises towards Shisui, who had been brought to the grass by the wind. Shisui was quickly drawn to the noise and kept his eyes fixed on the shuriken in Tatsuma's hand.

Just as Shisui was about to reach for it, Tatsuma tossed the shuriken in his hand. Shisui jumped up, trying to reach the shuriken above his head, but his fingertips were still an inch away from it.

However, if someone has good eyesight, they will be able to see that as long as Shisui makes up for the height difference, his fingers can easily slip into the hole in the middle of the shuriken and completely grab it.

However, this height difference was deliberately controlled by Tatsuma, so Shisui could only watch helplessly as the shuriken flew over his head. But without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and ran towards a certain point in the shuriken's flight path.

Just as the shuriken was about to hit the ground, he reached out and caught it. Then, with an excited smile, he ran back to Tatsuma and handed the shuriken back to him.

"Tatsuma is really bullying Shisui! He's such a jerk!"

Not far away, Kushina, who rarely returns to the Senju clan's territory for a meal, watched Tatsuma's atrocities against Shisui and said to Minato beside her, "From now on, we must never let that bastard Tatsuma touch our child!"

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

With a gentle, sunny smile, Minato softly stroked Kushina's red hair, which was about to flutter in the wind. Tsunade stretched and said, "Isn't this how everyone teases kids? My great-grandfather did it too back then."

"This isn't teasing a child, it's teasing a dog!"

Kushina said indignantly. Tsunade's stretching motion froze, and Nawaki, who was doing a handstand push-up, suddenly fell to the ground, sat up in shock, and looked at Tsunade.

Seeing the siblings' reaction, Kushina was also taken aback and said, "You...don't you think so?"

"Sis, so when I was little, you used to tease me like a dog?"

"Your second grandfather treated me the same way."

Tsunade and Nawaki suddenly wore expressions of utter despair, Kushina fell silent, and Minato's gentle smile vanished.

Just then, Nono, carrying a plate of fruit, came out with Shizune, who was also carrying fruit. Nono spoke:

"Maybe Tatsuma just doesn't know how to make kids happy. He's a very gentle person too."

Is he gentle?

Kushina looked at Minato, who, as her close friend, pursed his lips and said, "Perhaps... the gentleness wasn't obvious enough."

Nonou quickly changed the subject, saying, "But Tatsuma actually used a real shuriken, that's too dangerous. What if Shisui accidentally gets cut?"

"So even so, you still think he's a gentle person?"

Kushina looked at Nono with suspicion. Nono only needs to wear glasses, I've never heard that she's blind.

This time, even Nonou was silent. How could a responsible adult do something like what Tatsuma did?! Even with filters, it still looks incredibly unreliable!!!

On the other side, Tatsuma had already tied a thin steel wire to his shuriken, pulling on the wire and dragging the shuriken, making Shisui anxiously crawl on all fours to chase after him.

Looking at Shisui, who was covered in mud but still happy on the grass, the others fell even more silent, feeling sorry for Lord Uchiha Kagami.

Tatsuma was also quite happy. He could tell that Shisui's eyesight, speed, agility, and coordination far surpassed those of other two-year-olds. Playing with such a child was truly stress-relieving.

After a while, everyone fell even more silent as they watched Tatsuma play with his shuriken and wire like a yo-yo, "chasing" Shisui.

This is a crime, isn't it? This must be a crime! Isn't this blatant child abuse?

But Zhishui, don't laugh so happily! If you just cry once, your uncles and aunties will get justice for you!

"Thump~"

Finally, Shisui fell to the ground, and Kushina, Tsunade, and Nawaki all stood up, ready to teach Tatsuma a lesson.

But Shisui quickly got up again, looking regretful, and said, "I lost."

Tatsuma waved to him, and Shisui ran to his side. Tatsuma ruffled Shisui's naturally curly hair, which Tatsuma found very endearing, and said, "It's the special mission that has made me so strong. You must work hard from now on, Shisui!"

"Um!"

Shisui nodded vigorously. Tatsuma heard a "ding" in his mind, and his smile became even brighter and more sincere. Although he only lost a little bit of [Speed], it was the happiest gain for Tatsuma in the past two years.

Tsunade, Nawaki, Kushina: Shisui, be strong! Cry a little!

"Come on, take a shower."

Looking at Shisui, who was covered in dirt, Tatsuma slightly raised the hand that was stroking Shisui, and injected a little Boiling Release chakra into the Water Release chakra, activating Water Release: Water Wave Hand.

"Splash~"

Hot water was poured down, washing Shisui clean. Then, Chenma formed a hand seal, changing the viscosity of the water adhering to Shisui's body and clothes. This was a technique of Water Escape Wave Attack.

The water, with its viscosity reduced to a minimum, quickly slid off Zhishui's body, and within seconds, Zhishui's skin and clothes were dry again.

"Who taught him to use ninjutsu like that?"

Tsunade looked around, and Nawaki said weakly, "Isn't he his teacher?"

"Don't talk nonsense! I never taught him water escape techniques! This is all Grandpa's fault!"

Tsunade quickly denied it, saying that ninjutsu was the ninja's method, and if everyone acted like Tatsuma, the ninja's prestige would be gone! Commoners might respect ninjas, but there was no reason for them to respect a bathhouse attendant.

Minato: This spring seems unusually cold.

At this moment, Tatsuma looked at the group of people who were walking towards him and asked curiously, "Do you guys also want to play and play with Shisui?"

Tsunade and the other two shook their heads, but Nonou called out loudly, "Come and have some fruit."

Tatsuma nodded and walked in that direction. Shisui ignored Tsunade and the others who were planning to "avenge" him and followed closely behind Tatsuma.

After all, whether it was his parents or the chubby Grandpa Qufeng, they all wanted him to follow Uncle Chenma, so he had to follow along and be obedient.

Just as Tatsuma was eating fruit, a ninja hawk suddenly flew over. Tsunade, who had just returned to her seat, immediately stood up. As a "veteran" Jonin, she was very familiar with the gathering brought by the ninja hawk.

As Tsunade frantically imagined what might happen soon, Tatsuma said, "Those are kept by the Hyuga clan, don't be nervous."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade frowned and looked closely. She did see the Hyuga clan crest on the ninja hawk, and then she relaxed.

The ninja hawk circled for a while, and it seemed to have finally spotted Tatsuma. Its curled claws opened, and a small scroll fell, landing precisely in Tatsuma's hand.

After Tatsuma caught it, the ninja hawk circled twice more before flying away.

"What do the Hyuga clan want from you? Aren't you not familiar with them?"

Tsunade asked in confusion, and Tatsuma, unrolling the scroll, said, "It should be related to Uchiha Fugaku's marriage. What we can realize, the Hyuga clan can naturally realize as well. However, they are really annoyingly arrogant."

As he spoke, he unfurled a scroll, an invitation to Tatsuma to attend a tea party at the Hyuga clan's territory. After glancing at it and memorizing the time and place, Tatsuma casually began rolling the scroll, saying:

"Fugaku Uchiha personally delivered the invitation. Even if the Hyuga clan leader Hyuga Hideaki or their eldest son Hiashi didn't send one, they should at least send someone—not just a bird."

Minato nodded and said, "It does seem a bit disrespectful. Just because you're Sento's superior, Hyuga shouldn't have treated you like that."

If it's an emergency, like asking for help, it's perfectly fine to have a ninja hawk deliver it. But for an invitation to a banquet, it's rather impolite to use a ninja hawk when both parties are clearly not busy.

It's like sending a wedding invitation via WeChat to a friend who lives nearby; it's clearly aimed at getting a monetary gift, not a sincere invitation.

"Shall we go?"

Tsunade frowned as well. The Senju clan had declined, but they weren't extinct. Tatsuma was now the representative of the Senju, and the Hyuga clan's actions...

If Hyuga treated her like that, Tsunade would definitely ignore her and would never attend. But now, Tatsuma is handling Senju's affairs, and his way of doing things is very different from hers.

Sure enough, Tatsuma nodded and said, "We definitely have to go. If I go, it means the Hyuga are being unreasonable. If I don't go, it means everyone is being unreasonable. In the end, we'll both lose our reputation."

Nawaki scratched his melon-shaped head and asked, "Why did the Hyuga invite you to a tea party for the young Uchiha clan leader's wedding?"

"My attendance at Fugaku Uchiha's wedding banquet signifies that the Senju have narrowed the gap between themselves and the Uchiha, something the Hyuga are unwilling to see. After all, the Hyuga and Uchiha hold equal status in the village, representing the two ends of the highest scale."

But now, at least in the Hyuga's eyes, the Senju are only worth the weight of a scale. "The Senju have the advantage wherever they are," they seem to have forgotten that the Senju were the hand that once controlled the scales.

Upon hearing Tatsuma's explanation, Nawaki also showed a resentful expression, finally understanding why her older sister looked so unhappy.

Chenma didn't have many thoughts on this, but he rubbed his temples and said, "Time to pick out a gift again. By the way, didn't we recently get a batch of potted plants? After the plants were transferred to the soil, are the pots still there?"

"exist."

Tsunade nodded, and Tatsuma said, "Just send that. There's no need to spend money on this kind of tea party."

"good!"

Tsunade didn't think her disciple had gone too far at all. If it were her, she would have been lucky if he hadn't even come to cause trouble, let alone given her a gift.

Two days later, at a tea party where everyone else brought at least an expensive vase, Tatsuma appeared carrying a grayish-red flowerpot that seemed to have some mud stains.

The faces of the brothers Hiashi and Hizashi, who were greeting guests, instantly turned ugly, but Tatsuma didn't care. He tossed the flowerpot aside and said, "Which table do you want the person delivering secondhand flowerpots sit at?"

Catching the flowerpot, Hiashi, covered in mud, turned pale and then flushed, his eyes almost turning into Sharingan, but he still managed to say, "Father will entertain Mr. Tatsuma alone, please follow me."

Following Hiashi, Tatsuma arrived at a tea room, where Hyuga Yu was already waiting. Seeing Hiashi's expression, he knew that Tatsuma had embarrassed Hyuga, but he was ultimately more composed. He invited Tatsuma to take a seat, skillfully brewed tea, and placed it in front of Tatsuma, saying:

"Life is short, so let's enjoy a chat over tea."

Tatsuma knew that Hinata was telling him that they didn't have many opportunities to meet and talk, and that he should be more respectful and serious, or was it this kind of unsettling arrogance?

Tatsuma gently pushed the teacup aside, looked at the tea, and said, "Old leaves are called 'moss,' and young leaves are called 'tea.' Your Excellency, I don't like to drink aged tea."

If he didn't want tea, he didn't intend to talk. Coupled with the first half of the sentence, Hyuga Hide's expression darkened. To translate Tatsuma's words:

"Old man, I have nothing to talk to you about."

(End of this chapter)