Under the shade of trees by the stream, Teams 3, 7, and 10 gathered together with the Hidden Rain Village squad.
Now that the crisis had passed, everyone breathed sighs of relief.
After brief conversation, everyone's impression of Shisui transformed completely.
This big brother-like Rain ninja's personality wasn't nearly as intimidating as his strength suggested. On the contrary, he spoke with perfect politeness, smiling gently at everyone—a complete departure from stereotypical Uchiha behavior.
During their chat, Neji, who had remained silent throughout, suddenly spoke up.
"Uchiha Shisui, fight me!"
Hearing this, Shisui—mid-conversation with Sasuke—blinked in surprise before scratching his head awkwardly.
"That's really not necessary. I'm already twenty, and fighting you would be..."
Shisui left his sentence unfinished, but everyone understood his meaning.
However, Neji stubbornly shook his head, eyes locked on Shisui with unwavering intensity.
"I want to test my current level!"
"There's no need..." Shisui smiled uncomfortably. "Put it this way—Sasuke's brother Itachi became chunin at ten years old. I'm three years older than him, and while I'm nowhere near as impressive, I made chunin long ago too."
"Then why are you participating in the Chunin Exams, Shisui-nii?" Sasuke asked curiously.
Hearing this, Shisui raised his index finger and scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Well... when Konoha holds Chunin Exams, our village sends us to... handle diplomatic relations. You're all still young—you'll definitely surpass me eventually! Most importantly, we're planning to forfeit after the second round anyway."
The three Rain Village ninja nodded in agreement.
Honestly, without the village chief offering travel allowances and extra vacation days, they really wouldn't have wanted this assignment.
With this time, wouldn't taking the village bus to Hot Water Country's hot springs be infinitely better?
Even if not there, they could head south to River Country's beaches and check out the sand while admiring those big, white biki—uh... ocean waves!
Meanwhile, Shisui's explanation didn't deter Neji whatsoever. The kid had grown increasingly stubborn since his father's death.
"Uchiha Shisui, please allow me to witness your true strength!"
Hearing this, Shisui sighed helplessly and slowly rose to his feet.
"One move. You'd better use everything you've got."
After speaking, Shisui began his own countdown.
On the opposite side, Neji's brow furrowed deeply as he retreated several steps. His Byakugan blazed to life while he assumed the Gentle Fist stance.
"Three... two... one... Here I come!"
The instant his words ended, Shisui's figure vanished completely.
Witnessing this, Neji's Byakugan contracted to pinpoint size, his heart flooding with shock.
Gone! Where is he?!
Without time for analysis, Neji shouted desperately.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
However, before he could begin spinning, a suddenly materialized hand gently grasped his wrist.
Standing before him, Shisui smiled warmly and released his grip, casually waving his hand.
"Alright, alright, that's enough! If you'd used Revolving Heaven, I definitely couldn't have won."
What complete bullshit!
The typically stoic Neji was internally cursing up a storm!
He knew with absolute certainty that even Revolving Heaven wouldn't have saved him against this terrifying opponent.
Realizing this, the frustrated Neji turned wordlessly and stalked away without a backward glance.
Seeing this reaction, Shisui remained unperturbed and calmly returned to Sasuke's side.
Simultaneously, Sasuke's deliberately hushed voice reached his ear.
"Shisui-nii, was that the Body Flicker Technique?! How was your speed so incredible?!"
Hearing this, Shisui maintained his expressionless smile while patting Sasuke's shoulder.
"Just fundamental taijutsu, nothing special. If you want to learn, I can teach you!"
Shisui felt almost instinctive affection for this little brother.
First, they shared blood ties. Second, he and Itachi were closer than actual siblings. Plus, Fugaku and Mikoto had always treated him wonderfully—by extension, he practically considered Sasuke his own little brother.
Additionally, Hidden Rain Village maintained no tradition of hoarding techniques. Starting with Rinjin, any jutsu he mastered was never kept secret.
This philosophy meant Hidden Rain Village had virtually eliminated clan prejudices. Their village library allowed anyone to study non-lethal ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Even dangerous techniques became accessible after passing proper evaluations.
While the two Uchiha continued chatting, Naruto gradually regained consciousness.
The next second, his characteristically boisterous voice erupted.
"Sakura! Your hair!"
"It's... it's fine. Long hair was getting in the way, so I... I cut it off!"
Meanwhile, observing this scene, Shisui quietly sidled closer to Sasuke and whispered conspiratorially.
"Little brother, that girl's absolutely perfect—ideal wife material!"
Obviously, Shisui—raised by Rinjin and company—wasn't nearly as serious as his appearance suggested. Quite the opposite: having grown up with The Tale of Genji as bedtime reading, Shisui was a complete romantic.
Entering full gossip mode, Shisui clearly had no intention of stopping there.
"Your brother's little girlfriend constantly sneaks out of the village to visit him in Konoha! Sasuke, you seriously need to step up your game!"
Hearing this, even the perpetually aloof Sasuke couldn't resist the gossip, his eyes sparkling with interest.
"Who's my brother's girlfriend?"
"Uchiha Izumi!" Shisui waggled his eyebrows with mischievous delight. "She's incredibly strong—becoming jonin in our Rain Village is extremely difficult, but your brother's girlfriend achieved it! I seriously suspect your brother can't beat her in a fight. He'll probably end up like Grandpa Rinjin—completely whipped!"
After absorbing this information, Sasuke nodded with gleaming eyes, his young mind churning with unknown thoughts.
Next, Sasuke inquired about his parents' situation.
Shisui assured him the Fugaku couple was living quite comfortably.
He certainly wouldn't mention Uncle Fugaku's occasional rants about abandoning his "two unfilial sons" and starting over with new children.
After another half day passed, seeing Sasuke had recovered sufficiently, Shisui stood and brushed off his clothes.
"Sasuke, I'm heading out now. After your exams conclude, have your brother bring you to visit me!"
Sasuke nodded enthusiastically.
In just half a day, he'd grown genuinely fond of this big brother who appeared serious externally but proved incredibly talkative and warm-hearted inside.
Having never experienced clan massacre trauma, while still maintaining his aloof demeanor under Indra's soul influence, his heart remained free of extreme bitterness or stubborn hatred.
At the Forest of Death's entrance, Rinjin carried the heavily injured and exhausted Anko Mitarashi, casually pushing open the wire mesh gate.
"Poor girl—after all these years, still just a special jonin. You should transfer to our Rain Village instead!"
Perched on his shoulder, Anko weakly shook her head while remaining silent.
Clearly, she harbored deep mistrust toward this mysterious individual.
Seeing her reaction, Rinjin didn't press the issue. He declined assistance from ANBU patrolling outside the forest and carried Anko toward Konoha Hospital alone.
He maintained particularly vivid memories of Anko Mitarashi!
Back in his youth, when he'd been a naive, half-grown boy living in peaceful times, typically exposed to masculine entertainment like Ultraman, Armor Heroes, and mecha shows...
Until Anko Mitarashi suddenly burst into his field of vision, into his consciousness.
At that moment, Anko—wearing a white lab coat over a provocative fishnet outfit—delivered an incomparable impact to his innocent young heart.
Men always remember their first visual awakening with crystal clarity, explaining Rinjin's unforgettable impression.
From that pivotal moment, Rinjin had transformed from Transformers enthusiast to "screw Ultraman" entirely.
Reminiscing fondly, Rinjin couldn't help humming nostalgically:
"Heaven holds a well, alone and empty, Stars fall across the galaxy, reflecting distant pupils. Streams and springs mirror flower petals, A lone maple leaf on Songjiang's isolated island. All precious memories of this old man..."
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