After leaving the Uchiha clan compound, Shen noticed the Senju clan's territory right beside it. The close proximity of these two clans made his eye twitch involuntarily.
"The Senju and the Uchiha hate each other so much yet live this close? They really have a love-hate relationship!"
Compared to the population of the Uchiha clan, the Senju could only be described as "dwindling." The atmosphere inside the Senju compound was vastly different from the lively environment within the Uchiha compound.
"It looks like the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, didn't do such a great job as clan head after all. The Senju population doesn't even match half of the Uchiha's," he commented from the perspective of a clan leader.
"Grandfather is not a failure at all!"
Before Shen stood a young boy about his own height. An excited little kid with brown hair and two rosy cheeks stared intensely at him.
The back of the boy's shirt bore the emblem of the Senju clan—"Forest's Hand"—a symbol of growth and nature. It featured two parallel concentric tree rings connected by a cross line. The open ends of the rings extended outward, representing the continuous growth of trees. This was the Senju family crest, also known as the Aoi-mon (literally "Hollyhock Crest"), symbolizing the forest.
In contrast, the Uchiha family crest, Hi-no-uchiwa ("Fire Fan"), symbolized the military—a red fan that represented both the fire-nature techniques of the Uchiha Clan and the bloodshed of enemies and clan members in war.
Shen was startled by the sudden appearance of this Senju child, guessing immediately that this must be Nawaki Senju, grandson of the First Hokage. Yet internally, he felt no emotional reaction—just a slight urge to laugh.
Could anyone blame him for laughing? The grandson of the First Hokage was destined to die in an explosive tag ambush. While anything could happen during wartime, such a death truly disgraced the Senju name.
"Well then, tell me, what is most important for a clan?"
Shen looked straight into Nawaki's eyes, determined to give this naive boy a hard lesson.
Caught off guard by the question, Nawaki hesitated briefly before slowly giving his answer: "The honor of our clan!"
His voice gradually grew stronger, his expression increasingly resolute.
"Hmph."
Shen couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the response. Members of great clans always valued such abstract concepts highly. He teased the boy with a mocking gaze, saying, "Excellent answer! However, survival is what truly matters to a clan. Honor means nothing if there's no clan left to uphold it. Think about honor only after securing your people's future—naivety only wins fleeting glory."
He softened his tone slightly: "Indeed, the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was a great man who united various clans to form the village. But what did he leave behind for his descendants? Honor? Or the Will of Fire?"
Upon hearing Shen's words, Nawaki instinctively wanted to respond, but he realized his grandfather had indeed left very little tangible legacy—his fellow clansmen kept sacrificing themselves to protect the village, causing the Senju's population to dwindle.
Clutching his fists tightly, his anger began to subside, although he remained deeply upset over this person—who appeared to be part of the Uchiha clan—insulting his grandfather.
"Out of words already? Gonna throw punches next?"
"Are all members of the Senju Clan this unreasonable?"
In Shen's mind, the Will of Fire was nothing more than brainwashing tools used by those in power to control subordinates. The idea of giving without expecting anything in return was too noble. His level of ideological awakening had not reached such a self-sacrificing state.
"I challenge you to a duel!" Nawaki Senju extended his clenched fists and issued a challenge.
Seeing that the other wasn't joking, Shen dropped his mocking gaze and responded seriously. "Fine, I Shen Uchiha accept your challenge!"
"My name is Nawaki Senju!"
When the other introduced himself fully, Nawaki Senju quickly responded. For him, defeating the current Shen was currently the most important thing.
Kids being kids, sometimes talking just isn't gonna cut it – fists always fly eventually.
"Begin!"
As soon as Shen accepted the challenge, Nawaki Senju swung his right fist forward immediately after speaking. He thought the timing of this punch was simply perfect - using conversation to distract while secretly gathering strength in his fist. In such an unexpected situation, he already imagined Shen being knocked flat on his back with one punch.
As the fist approached Shen's face, only one thought crossed his mind: "This is going to hurt."
With his enhanced dynamic vision, the incoming attack appeared like frames being continuously paused.
"You little brat, not an ounce of martial ethics in ya! Sneakin' up on a five-year-old like that?" Suddenly this sentence appeared in his mind, accompanied by thousands of words criticizing Nawaki Senju.
What? You're wondering why the fist still hasn't landed yet? This is the effect of processing speed - it accelerates mental calculation. Although Shen's physical reflexes still can't keep up with his thinking at this point.
"Well then, if you won't follow martial virtue, I guess there's nothing wrong with using this move on you!" Shen fixed his gaze on Nawaki Senju's eyes and mentally chanted, [Golden Binding Technique].
"Boom!"
The next moment, Nawaki Senju fell flat on the ground while maintaining his punching posture.
Looking at the fallen Nawaki Senju, Shen calculated the effectiveness of his ninja technique in his mind.
[Golden Binding Technique] was a D-rank illusion technique that could make someone fall asleep. By definition, illusion techniques affected others' minds through visual images, sounds, and other sensory stimuli - involving sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Advanced illusions could affect multiple senses simultaneously, making it impossible to distinguish reality from illusion.
And [Tsukuyomi], which transcended concepts of time and space, pulled the target's spirit into its own dimension - taking the basic "influence" of ordinary illusions a step further to complete "control".
Shen's aversion to pain made him abandon training in hand-to-hand combat. At five years old, his chakra reserves for practicing ninjutsu were limited, so he focused specifically on genjutsu, a discipline that favored his natural advantages.
This was his first real test of illusions against another person - and with his mind's superior processing speed, he crafted a dream so vivid for Nawaki Senju that it dwarfed ordinary ninja genjutsu.
"Even when facing off against a ninja from the Uchiha Clan, you didn't guard against my illusions. Are you underestimating me or are you just too arrogant?"
Shen's opinion of Nawaki Senju wasn't high. He saw this person as the type who would charge in headfirst without a second thought - that impulsive, rush-in personality just rubbed him the wrong way.
Shen waited a while but saw no sign of Nawaki waking up, so he simply walked around the still-dreaming boy and made his way toward the Ninja Academy.
Half an hour later, Nawaki finally woke up after dreaming of becoming the Hokage (Village Leader).
As soon as he opened his eyes, he realized Shen was already gone. Recalling the vivid dream, he finally understood that the other boy hadn't meant any harm.
"I actually lost to that guy's Genjutsu..." He said with a gloomy face, quickly got up from the ground, and silently repeated the other's name in his heart: "Shen Uchiha huh... Next time, I'm gonna wipe the floor with him!"
Suddenly realizing how late it had gotten, his face dropped. "Oh crap! If my sister finds out I'm late on my first day of school, she'll definitely use this as an excuse to deduct my allowance!"
Realizing how serious things were, Nawaki took off sprinting toward the Ninja Academy.
His older sister Tsunade always found one excuse or another to swindle or deduct from his allowance, and he firmly believed this tardiness on his first day would give her a perfect opportunity to strike again.
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!