Smack—
Shingetsu slapped Nawaki’s hand away, his expression unfriendly.
“Are you done holding on or what?”
Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi right there, Shingetsu had no intention of being considerate of Nawaki’s status.
There were still more than twenty years before the Night of the Clan’s Destruction.
Relations between the Uchiha and the village had not deteriorated that far yet, and the two legendary murderers had not even been born.
Shingetsu had no need to hide his nature or bother with nonsense like trying not to make the Hokage’s faction wary of him.
Besides, the Uchiha had not yet been weakened to their later state.
Plenty of old monsters from the Warring States Period were still alive.
Shingetsu’s looks and height already made him stand out among the students, so plenty of people were watching him.
And the children from ninja clans who knew both his and Nawaki’s identities had not looked away from this spot once.
Was it finally happening?!
A clash between the two biggest good-for-nothings of the Senju and Uchiha’s new generation!
…
No one in the clan would talk about Shingetsu’s chakra-less constitution, but it was not as though he stayed home all day and never went out.
Others had long since learned there was something unusual about him.
Take the Hyūga, for example.
They would not dare say to his face that the Uchiha had a good-for-nothing in the family, but behind his back, they were vicious about it.
Even a little brat like Ryosuke knew.
As for Nawaki…
How should one put it?
A ten-year-old member of the Senju Clan, the grandson of Lord First, and he still could not even use the Cloning Technique properly.
If that was not useless, then what was?
…
“Nothing will go wrong, right…?” Hizashi asked quietly.
Although he had not personally activated his Byakugan to see what was special about Shingetsu’s body, his older brother and clan cousin had already stepped on that landmine.
According to Hiashi, that guy had at least Chūnin-level combat strength.
If he got into a conflict with Nawaki, would Nawaki not die from a single touch?
“With Lord Third here, probably not.” Hiashi glanced to the side and saw the Uchiha Police Force, who were responsible for maintaining order, also moving closer.
…
“Nawaki, what happened?”
Orochimaru held Tsunade back and spoke first.
He knew his teammate’s temper far too well.
Something minor could easily become a big deal after a few words from her.
Nawaki covered the reddened back of his hand and grinned.
“Nothing!
Sister, Big Bro Orochimaru, I’m making friends!”
“Hey!
I’m here too!
Big Bro Jiraiya!
Are you ignoring me too, Nawaki?!”
“Oh, oh!
Big Bro Jiraiya, you’re here too.
Sorry!”
…
“Making friends…”
Tsunade’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
She caught sight of the hand Nawaki was deliberately hiding behind his back, and based on her experience, it would swell up very soon.
She looked at Shingetsu with clear displeasure.
“There was no need to hit him that hard, kid.”
“I’m sorry!
I’m sorry!
My brother was born stronger than most people, and he didn’t hold back properly!”
Mikoto hurriedly bowed in apology, looking very practiced.
“Nawaki-kun, are you all right?”
The girl’s gaze made Nawaki’s cheeks turn even redder, and he waved his hand.
“I’m fine!”
“It was just children fooling around, Tsunade.
Let’s continue with the class placement test.” Orochimaru turned and had only taken one step…
…
“If you think swatting away a fly counts as hitting too hard, then I suppose so.”
Shingetsu raised his head and met Tsunade’s eyes without backing down.
Not good!
Orochimaru’s ankle changed direction at once.
He was already preparing to leap in and block Tsunade’s crushing punch.
A vein jumped on Tsunade’s forehead.
She was not shameless enough to hit a child in front of so many people, but she was not willing to lose an argument either.
“Is that the attitude your elders taught you, looking down on your classmates like this?”
…
A cold smile touched the corner of Shingetsu’s mouth.
Trying to pin a label on me?
I am much better at that than you.
“Threatening students on the first day of school?
Does Tsunade-sama have a problem with people from ninja clans attending the Ninja Academy?”
“When did I threaten you?!” Tsunade’s eyes widened, completely unaware of the trap in Shingetsu’s words.
“So…
you’re admitting Lord Third’s policy was wrong, then?”
“…Huh?”
Tsunade failed to follow.
What did this have to do with the old man?
Orochimaru helplessly pushed Tsunade aside, his dark golden slit pupils narrowing slightly.
“Hokage-sama naturally welcomes you all.
Tsunade is simply blunt, she did not mean it that way.”
“You are Shingetsu-kun, correct?
I have seen your enrollment documents.”
“Since we are already here, why not start the class placement test with you?
How does that sound?”
…
Tsunade was not stupid either.
With Orochimaru cutting in, she caught on, and the look she gave Shingetsu turned even more hostile.
“Brat, you were trying to set me up!”
“Jiraiya!
Take Tsunade over there!”
Orochimaru knew he could not let Tsunade and Shingetsu keep talking.
One had a violent temper, and the other was a stubborn little schemer.
If they exchanged a few more lines, Shingetsu was definitely going to get punched.
On a day like this, if word got out that a Hokage’s disciple had targeted a child from a ninja clan, it would be very bad for his teacher.
Jiraiya knew none of that.
He simply thought his good friend was creating a chance for him to spend time with Tsunade.
As he pulled Tsunade away, he even gave Orochimaru a knowing look.
…
At that moment, members of the Uchiha Police Force came over.
The one leading them was a young man who looked unusually mature.
It was a strange description, but that was exactly the impression he gave.
The Clan Head’s son, and currently a squad leader in the Uchiha Security Squad: Fugaku Uchiha.
“Orochimaru-sama, what happened here?”
He greeted Orochimaru first, then saw Shingetsu and frowned slightly.
“Shingetsu…
did you cause trouble again?”
It was no wonder Fugaku thought that way.
From his perspective, Shingetsu was absolutely the Uchiha’s number one disaster child.
Several times, Fugaku had merely passed by Shingetsu’s front door, only to have dirty water splashed on him for no reason.
Sometimes, even while he was patrolling the streets, Shingetsu would suddenly appear out of nowhere and attack him.
He felt too embarrassed to fight a child, so every time, he simply avoided him.
…
What he did not know was that Shingetsu had been trying to stop him from meeting Mikoto.
Considering she could give birth to a genius who would cut down his own clan, Shingetsu would have to be out of his mind to want them married!
As for Sasuke…
It did not matter.
Sasuke took after his mother.
He would turn out the same no matter who his father was.
…
“It was nothing.
Our discussion was just a little loud.
I need to test a few students, so Fugaku-kun, go on with your own duties.”
“Then I’ll…
Hm?
You’re Mikoto, right?”
Fugaku noticed Mikoto behind Shingetsu and smiled.
“How strange.
Our families clearly live so close, but I haven’t seen you in years.
You’ve grown up.”
“Brother Fugaku…
hello.”
“Mm.
Keep an eye on your brother and don’t let him cause trouble.
Come to my house for dinner when you have time.”
…
Sigh…
Shingetsu raised his head to the sky and let out a long, grief-stricken sigh.
Please stop with these morning drama-style fated encounters…
…
“Stop right there!”
The sudden shout drew everyone’s attention.
Shingetsu’s expression looked very unnatural as he glared fiercely at Orochimaru.
“Orochimaru-sama, this so-called test is just to assess the students’ ninjutsu and taijutsu ability, correct?”
Orochimaru did not know why Shingetsu had suddenly gotten so worked up, but he nodded.
“You could put it that way.
We will start with kunai throwing…”
“I want to have a practical spar with Fugaku Uchiha!”
…
…
Orochimaru was even more confused.
“Why?”
Shingetsu took a deep breath and said slowly, “They all say I’m a famous good-for-nothing with no chakra.”
“But I was born with divine strength, and my taijutsu is very strong.
I want to prove my ability in front of everyone.”
…
“That is so reasonable that I cannot understand it.”
Confusion showed on Orochimaru’s face.
Based on their exchange just now, he did not think Shingetsu had such a childish personality.
“Why Fugaku?”
“He has a face that pisses me off.”