The next morning at the Uchiha clan head's residence, a family of four quietly enjoyed their breakfast.
"I still don't want to go to school. Maybe I should find an opportunity to blow up the school? No, that might make people suspect me. How about pretending it was struck by lightning? That's a natural disaster and they couldn't blame me," Shen thought mischievously while eating breakfast.
Aiko noticed how quiet Shen had been and knew he was definitely plotting something. After putting down her chopsticks, she smiled at him and said, "Shen, you never eat breakfast this quietly. Are you planning something naughty again?"
"!!!"
Shen inwardly exclaimed at her perceptiveness — how could she tell he was scheming again? Yep, only the Queen Mother could pull that off.
But he didn't believe his plan for creating an artificial natural disaster would actually be spotted by Aiko. Thinking fast, he decided to frame Little Iceberg instead: "Huh? I'm not planning anything bad. I was just wondering if someone might kidnap me on my way to the Hyūga compound with Nayou later."
"You mischievous rascal, it's already a blessing if you don't kidnap anyone yourself! Don't change the subject—spill your beans!" Fugaku, who recently had started taking father-son matches more seriously, clearly wasn't buying it.
Shen felt deep regret in his heart. He wished he hadn't used so many schemes during those father-son matches before. Now even his usually "honest and reliable" old man could detect his abnormalities.
"Shen, you better spill it—even *me* of all people can see you're hiding something!"
"!!!"
Shen stared in shock, caught off guard by his brother's sudden sharpness.
"You've changed, Brother Fugaku! You wouldn't have been this clever before! Tell me, who are you really? How dare you impersonate the elder brother I respect the most!"
The three reacted wordlessly to Shen's overacting.
"Cough...Fine then, I'll confess."
"We're all ears."
Shen showcased his years of dialogue training: "You see, the Ninja Academy's super wide, just like this bomb's round shape inside!"
"So you want to blow up the ninja school?"
The three immediately caught on.
"No no no, I've already moved past those lowbrow interests."
Kazushi glared darkly: "Then why did you sing just now, you little rascal!"
"It's entertaining!"
To avoid getting caught up in another early morning parent-son interrogation, Shen quickly put down his bowl and bolted out the door: "Done eating—off to school I go!"
This was just another typical morning in the Uchiha household.
At the Senju Clan compound — Nawaki's residence:
"Sister, I'm going to school now!"
"Just go already."
Nawaki had long grown accustomed to Tsunade's lazy reply and ignored it completely as he headed out alone.
"Is that Nayou?"
Arriving at the entrance of the compound, Nawaki squinted at a distant white figure. But the moment he saw a boy in a black coat approaching Nayou, his mood instantly soured.
Though quite far away, he immediately recognized the boy—that bright red fan emblem stood out like a firefly in the night.
"Were you waiting long?"
"Not really. I just got here myself."
It was early when Shen arrived at the Hyūga compound, but he hadn't expected that Nayou would already be there. Originally, he'd thought he'd have to wait much longer.
"Then let's go," Shen Uchiha almost said before his voice was cut off by a sharp, piercing shout.
"Shen Uchiha! Let go of that girl! If there's anything to settle, come at me!"
The Uchiha prodigy and the Hyuga's Little Iceberg were both completely stunned. They both turned toward the source of the voice.
"I told you he's just a fool, right? Like what else would anyone throw at him? Nayou, you know what I mean, don't you?" The little genius quickly regained composure and made a sarcastic remark to Little Iceberg beside him.
"Hmm? Is 'handan' slang for 'dumbass'? If so, then he really does look like one."
"Nayou's such a genius! No wonder we're friends—actually keeping up with me like that!"
Unfazed by Nawaki charging toward them in rage, the two continued chatting casually.
"Well now, the Senju family's little fool."
Shen had no intention of backing down against the furious Nawaki—he viewed this guy as a complete weakling.
"Shen Uchiha! Today I'll definitely defeat you! Come on! I'll end this fight in an instant!"
Nayou furrowed her brows slightly and stepped forward to block Shen, her voice calm yet cold. "No, we have to go to school now."
"Nayou, step aside. Did this guy force you into being his friend? Don't worry, once I beat him, you'll be free!"
Two blank stares met Nawaki's self-righteous declaration. He got nothing but blank expressions, as if he were already talking to people who'd checked out.
This gaze unsettled Nawaki—it felt like those eyes carried some indescribable malice.
"If you're a real man, Shen Uchiha, don't hide behind a girl! That kind of behavior makes me lose respect for you!"
Seemingly affected by this provocation, Shen gently pulled Nayou's shoulders and moved forward to stand before her.
"Don't worry, Nayou. It won't take long."
"But—"
Nayou was overpowered by Shen's confident gaze and silently stepped back, giving space for the upcoming duel.
"I, Shen Uchiha, accept your challenge!" After declaring this, Shen's aura became sharp and fierce.
"Come then!"
Nawaki immediately attacked first, but his right fist—loaded with months of chakra—only struck empty air in front of his opponent.
Shen already knew Nawaki's chakra natures were water and earth. In response, he instantly activated Wind Chakra Mode. The surrounding air near his right palm gathered into a blade form, vibrating violently and emitting a buzzing sound.
[My move]
Easily dodging Nawaki's attack, Shen slashed his right hand toward Nawaki—the intense friction with the air creating an even louder humming noise.
"Crack!"
At the crucial moment, Nawaki quickly withdrew his right hand to block the strike.
"Oh?"
Shen naturally noticed something unusual about Nawaki's right arm. [Wind Chakra High-Frequency Blade]—capable of slicing steel like butter—still failed to penetrate. Shen instantly deduced it must be Tsunade's signature superhuman strength.
"I've gotten stronger, Shen Uchiha!"
Using sheer force, Nawaki lifted his right arm to deflect Shen's slash aside and immediately closed in with his shoulder aimed straight at his opponent.
"Funny. Then allow me to play with you a bit."
In an instant, Shen shifted into Earth Chakra Mode and raised his left hand to stop Nawaki's shoulder from approaching his chest. Then he drew back his right hand and shoved it against the other shoulder.
[Uchiha Taijutsu Style: Rushing Knee!]
With that shout, a thin layer of earth-coated chakra formed over the surface of Shen's right knee. Though the knee is the second hardest part of the human body after the teeth, it can still feel pain. He lifted his knee and slammed it straight into Nawaki's waist-abdomen area, sending him flying backward like a bullet.
From Nayou's Byakugan, she could clearly see that even before making contact with Nawaki, Shen had already compressed a small amount of wind chakra—yet to be released—into his knee. Only upon impact with Nawaki's abdomen did he instantly release that compressed chakra. The focused point of wind chakra immediately expanded into tremendous thrust, pushing the opponent far away.
"That was a bit strong. Hope that did it… Hmm, interesting…"
Suddenly getting a bad feeling, Shen leaped up just in time to evade an attack bursting from underground.
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