"Hokage Uncle, what's wrong with you?"
Shen stopped at once once his goal was achieved. He understood the principle of knowing when to quit while ahead. Plus, the opponent clearly couldn't believe the murderer could be an old teammate.
"Shen, I'm fine. I just suddenly remembered there was something important I needed to handle," the Third Hokage smiled reassuringly as he put aside his troubling thoughts.
"Oh? Then will Hokage Uncle report what happened between us here today..." Nayou frowned.
She believed the Third Hokage would definitely inform their parents about this incident. In that case, she would find it even harder to have opportunities to train together with Shen again.
Shen helplessly added, "Hokage Uncle, could you please not tell our families we went out today? Me and Nayou are really just good friends, all those rumors were made-up nonsense."
The Third Hokage nodded quickly, agreeing without hesitation. *Damn it all, Mingde and Zhijian!* Why wouldn't they believe their own children's words about a friendship while believing some random whispers from shadowy corners instead? This ignited anger within him—was mianzi (reputation/status) truly that important?
He decided that at next month's meeting of the great clans, he'd eradicate this mianzi-centered ideology entirely. Otherwise, how could Konoha hope for a future among its younger generation?
"In that case, thank you so much, Hokage Uncle!" x2
Both Shen and Nayou bowed deeply in gratitude.
Seeing this, the Third Hokage quickly raised his hand to stop them. He inwardly sighed with admiration, "What polite kids! And they actually match quite well. Maybe engagement wouldn't be such a bad idea after all! Although, if someone from the Hyuga main house married, wouldn't they be branded with the Caged Bird Seal?"
He observed the two young people with growing interest, then decided it'd be better to let things develop naturally. Considering Shen's troublemaker personality, there would likely be huge events involving the Hyuga Clan eventually. The Third Hokage felt somewhat relieved at finally having something interesting to watch unfold years into the future.
"Well then, Shen and Nayou, I have something to attend to now, so I'll take my leave first. Today's conversation shall remain our little three-person secret," said the Third Hokage before leaving promptly.
"Shen, why did Hokage Uncle call it a secret?" Little Iceberg asked, puzzled.
"Eh? Isn't it because he didn't tell our families? If we told anyone, wouldn't the secret be ruined?"
"I feel like there's still something off about this though..."
"Nonsense! You're probably overthinking. Hokage Uncle is such a nice person—he'd never try to harm us!"
Faced with Nayou's persistent questioning, Shen had no choice but to tell a small white lie. Naturally, he knew perfectly well that the "secret" mentioned by the Third Hokage referred specifically to Kagami's origins.
"Anyway, forget that—did you get a good look at my Shape Transformation earlier?"
"Not yet!"
"Great, my chakra has recovered sufficiently too—I hope you pay close attention this time."
Shen cleverly changed the topic. Otherwise, if she continued asking questions, she might end up discovering something suspicious.
Nayou knew Shen was deliberately avoiding certain topics around her. However, she believed he wouldn't hurt her—not just because they were friends, but also because she sensed a special quality about him, one that inspired complete trust.
Years later, Nayou finally understood what that aura had truly meant—and she never regretted the decision she made that day.
At the Senju Clan's training ground, Nawaki was pouring his sweat into training.
"Clap clap clap!"
The sound of fists slamming into rocks echoed loudly.
"Three hundred eighty… three hundred eighty-one…"
Nawaki had actually struck a massive five-meter-tall boulder over three hundred times. Smaller chunks of broken rock lay scattered around him.
"Boom!"
Finally, on his fifty-seventh strike, the rock shattered completely into pieces of various sizes. Judging from the surrounding stones, they too seemed to be the results of his efforts.
"Heh… heh… Still not enough! That Shen Uchiha already awakened the [Sharingan]!"
Gasping for breath, Nawaki shouted louder as he glared at the rock as if it were Shen himself.
"And this chakra-storing method Sister taught takes forever too? I don't have a moment to waste like this!"
"Nawaki, a ninja's strength doesn't skyrocket after just a few months of training!" Tsunade flicked her younger brother on the forehead as soon as she arrived at the training ground.
"Ouch!"
Wincing in pain, Nawaki bent forward, grumbling as he protested: "Then why can Uchiha clan members get stronger once they awaken the Sharingan?"
"What? You jealous of them or something? No matter how strong the Uchiha are, can their physical bodies compare with ours? Their strengths lie in [Fire Release] and [Genjutsu]. When it comes to endurance, the Senju Clan won't lose!" Tsunade's tone was rather serious, though the statement itself left much to be desired—well, let's leave it at that.
"But that guy can fly into the sky and smash an entire street flat."
Truthfully speaking, Nawaki just didn't want to work so hard. He trained from punching trees straight to smashing rocks—what next, mountains?
"Pfft, if you train using my methods, you'll eventually do those things too. Don't forget how Grandpa defeated Madara Uchiha—wore him out so badly that he couldn't even stand after three days straight," Tsunade said contemptuously.
"Then why don't you train like this yourself, Sister?"
"Well me—I'm just taking these great techniques straight to you. See how great I am to you, huh?" Tsunade hadn't expected her intentions to be seen through so easily, but thought she covered it up well enough.
"Great? More like treating me as your guinea pig!" Though Nawaki inwardly complained, outwardly he simply asked, "Okay then, once I shatter a rock with my fist, does that mean I need to start punching mountains next?"
"Exactly! Once you shatter a mountain with your fists, you'll be ready to graduate!"
"So can I go punch a mountain now then?"
"No way! Your body definitely couldn't handle it yet!"
Under Tsunade's so-called 'supervision' (read: avoidance of real work), poor Nawaki continued furiously striking rocks nonstop.
By the banks of the Naha River, Shen and Nayou were also busy working hard.
Cough—just what could two five-year-olds possibly be doing? Anyone thinking otherwise should report for questioning already!
"I still can't get the hang of chakra control," sighed Nayou, clearly discouraged after another failed attempt.
"Don't give up! You absolutely can! Wait—you know, I still remember the meridian pathways along your right hand!"
Shen recalled how he had casually mapped out the meridian paths along Nayou's right arm after healing her post-duel. Slightly optimizing that information would make mastering Shape Transformation much easier for her!
"So what if you remember? My Byakugan can see it too."
"No, it's different. I can find the most suitable chakra pathway for you, letting you do stronger techniques with less chakra."
Shen's words brought back memories of that Fire Release technique which almost destroyed the school. The optimized hand seals and chakra pathways looked absolutely perfect to her.
Before long, the Uchiha genius figured out the optimized chakra pathways and passed them on to Hyuga's Little Iceberg.
"Really? Can this actually work?" Nayou sounded skeptical.
"Trust me. I wouldn't do anything to harm you." Shen replied with a smile.
Seeing the smile on his face, Nayou knew she couldn't say no. She followed the chakra pathway Shen had just described and began the Shape Transformation.
Soon, a pale blue chakra sphere appeared in Nayou's palm. Previously, she had always gotten stuck at this stage.
And this was also the most difficult part—successfully compressing and stabilizing chakra through one's own will would mean achieving the Shape Transformation.
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