After a day of exhausting classes, Shen reluctantly followed Nayou out of the classroom.
"Come on, Shen, you weren't paying attention at all today!" Little Iceberg seemed somewhat annoyed.
"Oh come on, school's so boring. It's way more fun to mess around with ninjutsu at home. How about we head down to the Nama River now? I just had an awesome idea."
"No way. Today is my older brothers Hiashi and Nisai's birthday. I need to get back early."
"Fine, then let's go home."
They walked slowly along when suddenly Shen turned to the Little Iceberg beside him. "Oh right, Nayou, since your brothers' birthday is today, should I get them something?"
Nayou looked slightly embarrassed. "That's not necessary. You don't really know Brothers Hiashi and Nisai all that well anyway."
"No problem. Think of it as testing our products."
"Huh? You mean that three-piece home appliance set you mentioned?"
"That's right, though the TV still isn't particularly useful yet."
Indeed, thanks to Snake Uncle's tireless research, they had finally built a television—using highly transparent glass for the screen and modifying special scrolls from former ninja tool shop owner Cat Sister to create a projector-like internal structure.
Even though signal towers hadn't been built yet, Shen had no intention of keeping those classic movies and TV shows from his previous life to himself—his grand plan was to extract them and sell them on discs.
After picking up two scrolls from the factory within the Uchiha clan compound, Shen returned to the entrance and handed them to Nayou with instructions: "Each scroll contains one set. The user manual is written on it. The password to open it is..." He glanced around cautiously before leaning in and whispering secretly into her ear: "The password is 'Shen Uchiha is a genius.'"
...
Nayou took the scrolls, shot him a glare filled with irritation, then lifted her foot and walked off, clearly eager to put some distance between herself and this person.
"Don't forget! Getting the password wrong will have serious consequences!"
Hearing that final reminder from their little genius, Little Iceberg unconsciously quickened her pace.
"Oh right! We can also give a set to Hokage Uncle. After all, Snake Uncle has already kept the costs super low." Shen seemed determined to collect user feedback for the next generation product development.
"Achoo!" Suddenly, Orochimaru, sporting heavy dark circles under his eyes, sneezed violently as a chill ran down his spine.
"This AC blows too hard – it'll give you a cold. I should add a temperature controller in the next generation model."
Our beloved Snake Uncle was currently located in the newly built underground lab beneath Uchiha Commercial Street. Ever since arriving here, he'd been working nonstop around the clock on research projects thanks to Shen's constant persuasion.
Of course, he wasn't working for free—room and board were provided, along with comprehensive social welfare including medical, pension, and unemployment insurance plus housing fund. He didn't really care about those benefits anyway since any research he wanted to conduct would be fully funded by the Uchiha. Back when Shen said, "Being rich really does make you amazing," he was completely convinced.
"It feels like I haven't taken any ninja missions in ages," Orochimaru sighed, reminiscing about the past.
Missions? What could possibly be more important than scientific research? Our beloved Snake Uncle pointed out that being a ninja carried high risks but offered low income. A full year as a ninja didn't even compare to one month's research budget here.
At dusk in the Hyuga clan leader's home, five family members were celebrating the birthday of the two brothers.
"Happy birthday to Brother Hiashi and Brother Hizashi," said Little Iceberg, actually smiling as she presented her gift.
The two brothers immediately thanked her: "Thank you, Nayou."
Meide and Sakura, acting as parents, gave their gifts and offered various reminders to the pair. The whole family chatted and laughed happily together, enjoying the warm atmosphere.
"Oh right, my elder brothers, Shen also asked me to give you both presents."
"!!!" x4
All four of them stared intently at the two scrolls Nayou had just placed on the table.
"What is this thing?" Meide curiously unrolled one of the scrolls. "Please clearly speak the correct password? What does it say here?"
"Father, please wait!"
Too late—Nayou failed to stop Meide in time. Four bold characters appeared on the scroll: WRONG PASSWORD.
"Phooey!"
A puff of dark ink spurted from the scroll, splattering onto Meide's face as he entered the wrong password.
"???" x5
The entire family of five froze stiff. At that moment, no one could find words to describe what they were feeling.
"F-Father, I'm sure Shen didn't do this on purpose," Nayou stuttered while covering her face.
Meide shot up from his seat, furiously scrubbing at his face. "Damn that Shen Uchiha! Just like his father!"
"Honey, it won't come off," Sakura said as she reached over with a towel, though it proved completely ineffective.
Just then, Nayou—the little genius herself—cleared her throat. "Ahem… Father, I did tell you to wait. You brought this consequence upon yourself."
An increasingly furious Meide demanded, "Then who should I blame?"
"You, obviously." x4
Each one mentally groaned to themselves. Although they couldn't see his face, all four were certain he was fuming inside.
"Are you saying it's my fault?"
They unanimously nodded in agreement.
"…"
Reflecting on it, Meide really did feel it was somewhat his own mistake—but still sensed something wasn't quite right.
"Oh right, Father. Let me tell you the real password."
To divert his suspicion, Nayou spoke out of topic. Normally, she would never utter such an embarrassing password.
As she had no idea how big it might be, she carefully placed the scroll on the ground before reluctantly muttering, "Shen Uchiha is a great genius."
Instantly, four words appeared on the scroll: CORRECT PASSWORD. Then—pop!—it turned into a puff of smoke.
"What in the world is this? That brat considers giving three square iron blocks as gifts for people? And isn't the kid being way too conceited!"
Underneath the mask, Meide was having a complete meltdown. He had suffered a sneaky setback, and now looking at these three blackish lumps made him feel even worse.
When he questioned her about it, Nayou obediently picked the scroll up from the floor. "Father, there are usage instructions written above."
"Let me check first."
"Father, you're so bad!"
Hiashi snatched the scroll from her hands before it could reach Meide. He certainly didn't want to witness his father throwing a tantrum again on such a joyful occasion. This was exactly what being an older brother was all about: picking up the pieces.
"A TV displays moving images, Refrigerators preserve food, and Washing Machines clean clothes," Hiashi read aloud from the scroll once the ink spraying had stopped. "Finally, all members of the Uchiha Clan wish you good health and a pleasant life. End of message."
"So these are household appliances, then," Sakura was the first to realize, her experience as a married housewife helping her immediately grasp how convenient these gifts would be.
Meide looked annoyed. "Did that brat actually invent something this useful? Are we seriously calling him a genius now?"
"Shen is indeed clever, although he might be just a little too full of himself," Nayou muttered, her voice trailing off as she'd already been driven nearly crazy by this frustrating code.
"I'll grudgingly accept that explanation," Meide said. "And Nayou, Nayou—tomorrow remember to go ask that kid for..."
"Yes, Father!"
Little Iceberg skillfully recognized his father's need to save face. Actually voicing those words would've created an embarrassing situation.
Having been friends with Shen for so long, Nayou had certainly adopted many of his good traits—though she chose to conveniently overlook most of what she considered his flaws.
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