"Soft Step Twin Lion Fists!"
The chakra compressed in Nayou's palm took the form of a fierce lion's head, its tangible pressure sending chills down the spine.
"So this is the secret taijutsu of the Hyūga main branch?"
Shen stared at the impressive lion head and couldn't help but comment, "Why call it Twin Lion Fists when there's clearly only one lion head?"
"???"
Little Iceberg was momentarily stunned by the question.
"Hem hem, I know you just said that off the top of your head, right?"
Shen, always socially aware, wasn't about to dig his own grave—he was just making an offhand remark.
If it were Nawaki instead, he might have asked, "You didn't fail math, did you?"
And then inevitably gotten beaten up. That's just how things go with Nawaki.
"Yes!"
Nayou nodded quickly, confirming it was just a reflex—not a math problem. Shen politely nodded along.
That's the power of emotional intelligence. Madara probably wouldn't get away with something like that unless it came from Hashirama.
(Madara smirks: Want to dance too?)
"So you're still going to attempt Nature Transformation next?"
"That's right. You gave me the inspiration."
"Shape Transformation combined with Nature Transformation? This difficulty rivals some of my own Elemental Chakra Modes!"
Now Shen understood Nayou's intention—she wanted to keep up with him. After all, the original Twin Lion Fists were already a powerful taijutsu. With an enhanced version, their sparring match would definitely become more exciting.
"I'm ready!"
Nayou signaled for Shen to stay alert—it was impossible to predict what consequences failure might bring.
"Begin." He activated his Sharingan, closely observing her chakra flow.
Under Shen's watchful gaze, Nayou's chakra began transforming the pale blue lion's head into one imbued with lightning nature.
Unlike his direct infusion method, most people couldn't maintain stability in hand-held chakra while simultaneously focusing on altering their body's chakra nature. In fact, this was one reason why others saw his Elemental Chakra Mode as a forbidden technique—it requires monitoring every one of the 40 to 60 trillion cells in the body simultaneously.
"It worked!" Excitement briefly melted the usual icy expression on Nayou's face.
Observing the rare smile, Shen congratulated her, "You've actually mastered a taijutsu of such difficulty, Nayou."
Her right hand still held the lion shape, but now its color had shifted from pale blue to purple, crackling with vivid violet lightning.
"The aura feels even stronger," Shen remarked, sensing the lion head's increased intensity compared to before.
"Shen, what do you think we should name this technique?" Nayou asked.
Grinning, Shen teased, "A purple lion head? How about 'Purple Lightning Single Lion'?"
"Uchiha Shen!"
"Come on, it was just a joke. Don't be mad, Nayou."
He made a little joke and noticed how strongly she reacted. He decided he'd enjoy helping her slowly warm up that icy attitude of hers.
"Hmph! If you keep acting like this, we're done being friends for good!"
"Little Iceberg being all tsundere~.jpg"
Shen wasn't discouraged at all about the long road ahead to change Nayou's personality. How did that saying go again? "Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes." Hmm, something like that.
"Nayou, look what I've got here?"
Shen changed the subject at the right moment. After all, everyone knows this unspoken rule about dealing with women – whether they're little girls or old ladies. You know what we mean... if not, well then you deserve to stay single!
"You learned it just by watching once?" Nayou was shocked by the crimson dragon head ablaze on Shen's hands.
"This move of yours is pretty good, but now it's mine!" Shen proudly demonstrated how his Sharingan could copy techniques instantly.
"Uchiha Shen! Let's settle this!" Nayou became so angry that a purple lightning lion head appeared on her left hand too.
"I'm outta here," sensing danger, Shen quickly ran away.
This only made Nayou even angrier. Channeling her Little Iceberg speed, she dashed after him.
The match ended in a draw though. Why do you ask? Buddy, your EQ must be seriously lacking! If her opponent had been Nawaki instead, she would've beaten him to a pulp already.
Facing the fair-skinned, beautiful little girl, Shen shook his head to deny any attraction and unleashed [Great Dragon Fire Technique].
That evening at the dinner table in the Uchiha clan head's residence, Kazushi was criticizing the Hyuga clan.
"Let's be real – did that old windbag have it coming or what? If Lord Third hadn't shown up, I'd have punched him so hard he'd crap himself!"
"Dear father, that's disgusting!" The three exclaimed wanting to throw up. Could they please eat in peace?
"What's gross about it?" Kazushi casually replied without blushing.
They all covered their eyes and turned their heads away. His majestic image was now in ruins – not that Shen hadn't been demolishing it for years already.
"What expressions are those?! And brat, wasn't it you who said 'the person without shame shall rule the world'?"
"Father, actually my original words were 'Clear water bears no fish; dirty tricks win wars.'"
Shen corrected him.
Kazushi felt these words seemed like an indirect insult suggesting he was shameless. Immediately, he flew into a rage: "You brat, prepare to be hit!"
"Old man, you're breaking the warrior code! Picking on kids isn't bravery, it's just bullying!" Shen shouted while running outside, still managing to throw blame back.
"How can it be bullying when it's your own child? This is called discipline through love!" Kazushi quickly denied while chasing after him.
"Old man, how low can you get?"
"You brat, don't run away!"
Aiko and Fugaku immediately shut the door upon witnessing this spectacle. It was common knowledge between them that this father-son pair wouldn't return home before dawn, and they had long grown accustomed to it.
Throughout that night, the Uchiha clan compound echoed with continuous curses and shouts, prompting members of the Uchiha clan to close windows, doors, and put on ear protection before sleeping.
At the Hyuga clan leader's home, Meide was also criticizing the Uchiha family.
"I've been generous enough inviting that old bastard over, yet he still refused to show respect. Had it not been for showing courtesy to Lord Third, he'd already be lying in a hospital bed."
Four people responded with silence.
The three siblings along with their young mother, Sakura Hyuga, looked speechlessly annoyed.
"If the Uchiha clan head is already this despicable, how decent could ordinary Uchiha clan members possibly be?"
"Father, but Shen isn't..." Nayou hesitated as Meide shot her a glance, forcing her to swallow back her words.
"Darling, you're scaring the kids," Sakura gently smiled sitting beside Meide, effectively suppressing his rising anger.
"Okay, Sakura, honey, I'm just upset that old man had no shame," Meide replied after taking a deep breath.
The three children of the Hyuga household let out a sigh of relief. Their mother definitely had the upper hand when it came to presence.
"I think Shen Uchiha is quite nice actually. Nayou is so strong-willed, yet willingly became friends with him. Darling, don't look at other Uchihas with prejudice."
Nayou was bursting with joy inside at her mother's words. If Sakura had been there last time, would Meide have made them drift apart? She believed what Shen mentioned before about the social hierarchy truly existed.
"Sakura, honey, don't you realize the Uchiha are trying to ease tensions with the village through this?" Meide said, no trace of anger left in his demeanor.
"The Uchiha do have clever people too. They used these two kids' situation to easily show a different side of them and thus alleviate tensions with the village," Sakura sighed.
"Hmph, that old man certainly isn't one of those smart ones."
"Then who could it be?"
As Nayou listened to her parents' conversation, she recalled her dialogue with Shen today: "Could it really be him?"
Thus, Shen was regarded by Nayou as the so-called clever person from the Uchiha clan.
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