Nisai had been watching Nayou in secret. He noticed that ever since arriving at the clan compound, her eyes kept scanning around for something — until Shen appeared, and then her gaze settled on him.
Even after leaving Shen's presence, she remained distracted. Nisai couldn't help but think that his precious little sister had a crush on that Uchiha boy! He decided to keep a close watch on his sister at school — there was no way he'd let that brat charm their precious jewel of a sister away.
Hiashi seemed extremely interested in Shen and kept discussing him with Nayou. But since Nayou didn't actually know much about him, they shifted the topic toward the technique Shen had just used.
"That must've definitely been a Fire Release," Hiashi began, "I could feel Fire Chakra."
"Not necessarily," Nayou immediately countered with her reasoning. "Although there were signs of flames left behind, the amount of chakra required to produce such a massive palm imprint would be too great for a child's chakra reserves to handle."
Hiashi paused in thought before questioning skeptically, "Could it be Taijutsu then? But a technique that powerful would be impossible for a five-year-old's body to handle."
"Could the Uchiha have faked it?" Nisai couldn't hold back any longer and joined the conversation. "Today's events happened too suddenly; I didn't even get to examine things thoroughly using my Byakugan."
"That's impossible!" Hiashi rationally analyzed. "If the Uchiha staged everything, what would their purpose be? To show off their second young master's strength? That doesn't make any sense at all." His words temporarily left both speechless.
"Enough, children. Today's events weren't a performance by the Uchiha Clan," Meide Hyuga finally concluded the discussion.
Upon hearing this, all three asked anxiously with evident confusion.
"I know who Uchiha Kazushi is," Meide explained. "He isn't the type to engage in deception or pretense. Besides, when that boy appeared from the sky, I activated my Byakugan."
Meide looked directly at the three Hyuga siblings as he continued, "As for that boy… well, through my Byakugan, I saw that he was surrounded by a Kara chakra shell, so I couldn't see inside it clearly. Judging solely from appearance, whether it was Ninjutsu or Taijutsu wasn't clear either. However, causing damage of that scale truly deserves the title 'prodigy.'"
The Hyuga siblings fell silent, deep in thought — and Meide knew he'd gotten through to them. These three children had always held themselves in high esteem: the eldest brother Hiashi might seem carefree and cheerful — but only toward those he was close to. Toward others, he wore a completely different face. Nisai was like a quiet gourd — usually unwilling to interact with people. As for the youngest, Nayou, she always wore an icy expression, and moreover, she was particularly stubborn and competitive.
Meide sincerely hoped that this incident involving Shen would encourage them to value outsiders more. After all, the Hyuga family wasn't like the Uchiha — one that had made countless enemies.
"Father!" Five-year-old Nayou declared proudly, raising her face toward Meide and the Hyuga brothers. "I've decided! That Uchiha genius, I will defeat him with my own hands!"
Back at the "palm print" site on Uchiha Commercial Street, Kazushi, seeing that personnel from the various major clans had already departed, immediately reached out and grabbed Shen by the collar at the nape of his neck.
"Mother save me!" Shen panicked, crying out for Aiko.
Seeing this, Aiko looked up at the sky. Even she dared not easily intervene, as Kazushi's fury had clearly overflowed.
The moment Shen's name came up, Kazushi immediately snapped, "Talk! You little brat — how do you want to die?"
"Father, I don't want to die," Shen quickly answered while secretly observing his old man's expression.
"Not even the Sage of Six Paths can save you today! Aiko, hold your tongue for now!" Kazushi quickly cut off Aiko who was about to plead.
"Tsk, Father, you've already said that three times. The Sage would definitely feel embarrassed if he found out."
"What? Embarrassed?"
Shen showed no sign of panic under Kazushi's glare. In a previous life, he had a famous saying: The fierce fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the fearless.
Shen decided to go all in. "Embarrassed indeed. Father, constantly bringing up the Sage of Six Paths like that really isn't appropriate, is it?"
Kazushi became even more furious from these words. He grabbed Shen with one hand while clutching his rapidly rising and falling chest with the other.
Seeing his father's actions, Shen instantly regretted what he'd said. Would he actually get beaten to death for this? Though his mouth remained tough, he still worried deeply about his old man's health. But speaking warm-hearted words now would betray his entire persona.
"You little brat, take this!"
Kazushi slapped the back of Shen's head. The latter felt the world spinning around him instantly.
"Dad, you're actually serious?!"
Shen no longer called him "Father" once he regained consciousness. This made Kazushi feel that today was precisely the day to restore his fatherly authority. Since the boy had already gone too far, how could he possibly wait until the Lunar New Year?
"Old man, if you've got the guts, then just let me down! Picking on a kid like me — what kind of man are you?"
Kazushi's mind practically shattered at those words. He nearly fainted, and his grip loosened just enough for Shen to slip away.
As he left, he declared, "This is the first time I, Shen Uchiha, have ever been hit. Old man, we'll meet again when mountains and rivers remain unchanged!"
Watching Shen vanish into the distance as a white lightning streak, Kazushi stamped his foot in frustration. Immediately, he activated his [Lightning Nature Chakra Mode] to chase after him.
Meanwhile, Fugaku, who had just finished receiving duties for various clans and returned to the compound, felt two gusts of wind passing by him in quick succession. For a moment, he thought he'd just seen a phantom zoom past the Uchiha compound in broad daylight.
Shen sprinted off smugly. As soon as he exited the compound, he immediately doubled back in a surprise counter-move. Seeing Fugaku still standing there looking utterly confused, he instantly zipped past him.
"What the hell? Did a white shadow just flash by?" At that moment, Fugaku shivered, his teeth chattering loudly.
"Smart as always, Dad couldn't have expected that move, right?" After teasing Fugaku, Shen accelerated again. He planned to lay low for a few days — until Kazushi cooled off — before heading back home.
"You brat! Clever indeed, knowing to turn back here!"
Looking behind him, Shen saw his old man sprinting with both legs radiating [Lightning Nature Chakra Mode]. He shouted furiously, "Old man, you cheat! How come you can use my invented technique to chase me!"
Upon hearing this, Kazushi teased mockingly, "You little brat! Today, your old man will teach you a good lesson! The ninja world plays by one rule — strength rules all. Any carelessness might become a fatal weakness!"
"Old man, you're simply shameless!"
Night had fallen, but the Uchiha clan compound still rang with shouts and curses—something like "Old man, slow down!" or "You little brat, don't run off again!"
In the Hokage Tower office:
"Qing, what do you think about that child from the Uchiha?" The Third Hokage casually asked after finishing his paperwork, speaking toward a corner.
"Speed, defense, and power are all impressive. His chakra consumption is low enough even for a five-year-old to utilize, making him highly valuable both for battlefield mobility and offensive operations." A mechanical-sounding female voice came from the corner.
The Third could feel a headache coming on. Qing was always that straightforward. When asked what he thought about someone, she'd automatically evaluate purely from a ninja perspective.
"I meant his personality and character."
"That's not something I should comment on. The first rule of the Anbu duty is to never interfere with the Hokage's decisions!"
Right now, the Third really missed Xiang—who was away in Amegakure at the moment. At least that guy wasn't so rigid. He had a feeling these days were going to be rough with someone this boring around.
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!