After walking Haruko home, Shanks returned to his own room.
The moment he stepped through the door, he saw Mito sitting there, looking at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.
Shanks’s scalp instantly went numb.
“Great Auntie, have you eaten dinner yet?
If not, I can go buy something for you.”
He put on his most shamelessly obedient face.
“I already ate,” Mito said lightly.
“Your aunt ate the food she cooked herself.
I can’t afford such expensive barbecue.”
Shanks was speechless.
Why did that sound a little sour?
“I heard someone confessed to a girl in public during the academy opening today.”
Mito spoke slowly, as if chatting about the weather.
Shanks raised his head and looked out at the moon beyond the window.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he put on the air of a wandering poet.
“Ah… fate is truly mysterious.
Once, there was a sincere love placed before me— Ow!”
“Speak normally.” Mito smacked him on the head.
“You’re still just a little brat.
What do you know about love?”
This child had been strange and clever since he was small.
In many ways, he was more sensible than other children.
But he also gave people far more things to worry about.
Take today, for example.
He had acted without restraint and nearly killed three Uchiha children.
That matter could be big or small depending on how it was handled.
Back then, the Uchiha Clan had stayed in Konoha because they believed Hashirama would not mistreat them.
That was why they had not followed Uchiha Madara out of the village.
If Uchiha Kagami had not been present today, the situation could have become truly troublesome.
If Hashirama were there, he could still suppress it.
But ever since his final battle with Uchiha Madara, Hashirama’s body had grown worse with each passing day.
If one day Hashirama was gone, Tobirama might not necessarily be able to keep the Uchiha Clan under control by force alone.
That was why Mito felt she had to give this little brat a warning.
Although she did not particularly like the Uchiha Clan either, they were still one of Konoha’s two founding clans.
No matter who was right or wrong in today’s matter, she had to make Shanks understand that he should keep his distance from them.
Uchiha Kagami was the exception.
“In the future, aside from Kagami, stay away from the Uchiha Clan.
Understand?”
Mito’s expression was serious.
Shanks knew she was not joking.
After all, Tobirama had not yet established the ANBU or the Konoha Military Police Force.
The Uchiha Clan was still close to the center of power in the village.
The influence of the two founding clans was no joke.
If the Uchiha were pushed into leaving Konoha, it would not simply be a matter of other nations laughing at them.
After all, in his previous life, the entire Naruto story had practically revolved around the Uchiha Clan’s eyes.
“I understand, Auntie.”
Shanks immediately put on the face of a perfectly obedient child.
“You little brat.”
Mito laughed and scolded him, then changed the subject.
“By the way, when you have time, bring that little girlfriend of yours over and let me have a look.
If I’m satisfied, I’ll go propose on your behalf.
Our Shanks has grown up.”
“…”
“All right, I’m going to rest.
Otherwise, if your husband sees the light on in my room, he’ll come find me and drag me into battle until morning again.”
The next morning came far too quickly.
The same familiar recipe.
The same familiar flavor.
Bang!
Crack!
“Shanks!
Get up!
Time for school!”
Shanks crawled out from under his blanket in a daze and looked at the clock.
“It’s only five!
School starts at eight!
Also, next time you come in, knock first!”
He jumped up and glared at that old bastard.
Fortunately, he wasn’t old enough to be caught doing anything truly embarrassing yet.
Still, did having Wood Release make someone so impressive?
Did having Wood Release mean he didn’t need to knock?
“Hahaha!
Isn’t that because I know you have school at eight?” Hashirama said brightly.
“So you need to get up now and train with me first.
You’re already this young and have no passion at all.
How can that be?
Come on!
Let your youth burn!”
The old fool Hashirama seemed to be fired up by his own speech.
He looked as if he could fight another five hundred rounds right there.
In Shanks’s mind, an image appeared.
A watermelon haircut.
A body glowing green.
A raised thumb.
Teeth flashing with blinding light.
Shanks shuddered.
Now that he thought about it, why hadn’t he seen Might Duy at the school registration yesterday?
The opening of the ninja academy was one of Konoha’s biggest events this year.
Any family in the village with children would have brought them over to try, whether or not they had talent.
According to the manga’s flashbacks, Might Duy should have been around the same age as Hatake Sakumo.
In other words, around Shanks’s age.
Could it be that Might Duy was not in Konoha right now?
Only after that image of the future Might Guy flashed through his head did Shanks realize he had not seen Might Duy yesterday.
That was a man who had spent his entire life working toward one goal.
Even if the moment he finally bloomed was brief, he had no regrets.
Even if Shanks himself could not do the same, he still respected that kind of person.
Forget it.
When he had time, he would ask Tobirama whether Konoha had someone like that.
In any case, Shanks had no intention of training in the Eight Gates.
Uzumaki physique plus Four Emperor potential was obviously greater than Eight Gates Guy, wasn’t it?
If he had known he was going to transmigrate, he would have searched online for the training method of the Six Powers from One Piece.
If he tried to practice blindly, even the powerful vitality of the Uzumaki Clan might not save him from training himself into some twisted martial arts disaster.
Shanks changed into his training clothes and followed Hashirama into a forest.
This was a place where he and Hashirama often trained.
It was on the edge of the village, far enough that no matter how they fought, it would not affect Konoha.
“Hahaha!
Little brat, I heard you used my name yesterday to scare off some Uchiha kids?”
Hashirama placed his hands on his hips and laughed toward the sky.
That idiotic pose was extremely Senju Hashirama.
“Tch.
If he hadn’t tried to threaten me with his backing, I wouldn’t have dragged you out at all.”
Shanks looked annoyed.
“All right, little brat.” Hashirama’s expression shifted, becoming almost like a proper expert.
“Do you know how I fought Madara back then before I awakened Wood Release, when he had already opened the Mangekyō Sharingan?”
“Weren’t you always getting beaten up by him?
Then after getting beaten enough, you awakened Wood Release…”
Shanks was genuinely curious.
After all, the manga’s flashbacks had never explained these details clearly.
They had mostly shown the complicated four-sided drama between Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Senju Hashirama, and Senju Tobirama.
By the time the battle scenes appeared, Hashirama had already awakened Wood Release.
Then came Deep Forest Bloom, the Wood Human Technique, the Wood Dragon Technique, and all sorts of ridiculous ninjutsu thrown around as if they cost nothing.
“…”
A crow seemed to fly over Hashirama’s head.
“Little brat, who told you that?”
“Everyone says so.” Shanks immediately started reciting the ridiculous theories he remembered from internet posts in his previous life.
“Back then, Uchiha Madara liked you, but his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, liked his own brother.
You were preparing to marry my aunt, so Izuna tried to steal her away and got killed by Second Uncle.
Then Madara turned love into hatred, added his brother’s revenge on top, and chased you around beating you up.
In the end, after getting beaten long enough, you awakened Wood Release.”
Shanks explained it in a perfectly serious tone.
“How… how is that possible?
How could Madara like me?”
Hashirama immediately became agitated when he heard that Madara supposedly liked him.
Then, strangely, he showed a look of sudden realization.
“No wonder he never married a woman until the day he died.
How terrifying!”
A chill ran down Hashirama’s spine.
“You’re focusing on the wrong part, aren’t you?”
Shanks was speechless.
He had been spouting nonsense, yet this idiot actually believed part of it.
“Ah, right, I almost forgot what I was saying.” Hashirama scratched his head.
“What you said isn’t completely wrong, though.”
“Which parts are right?”
“Madara had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan before I awakened Wood Release.
And Izuna was killed by Tobirama.
But it definitely wasn’t because Izuna was trying to steal Mito.
Everything else is wrong.”
Hashirama said it casually, then continued.
“Back then, when my father and Madara’s father both died, Madara and Izuna awakened the Mangekyō around that time.
The Uchiha Clan’s eyes really are mysterious.
Their power is affected by the heart, and after awakening the Mangekyō, all kinds of strange abilities can appear.”
“As for our Senju Clan, we’re actually similar to your Uzumaki Clan.
The main difference is that the Uzumaki specialize in sealing techniques.
If you put it simply, the Senju are like Uzumaki without sealing arts.”
“And what makes me different from the rest of the Senju is my powerful chakra control and vitality.”
“At that time, Madara and Izuna were indeed very strong after awakening the Mangekyō.
Madara goes without saying.
Izuna was also known as a shinobi with no openings.
Tobirama was under a great deal of pressure against him.”
“But saying I was beaten helplessly by Madara would be wrong.
Even before I awakened Wood Release, I could still hold my ground with chakra-enhanced strength.
I was at a disadvantage, but that was all.”
“No way.
Are you messing with me?” Shanks looked doubtful.
“Chakra-Enhanced Fist is violent, sure, but it’s not that ridiculous.”
“You idiot.” Hashirama rubbed Shanks’s hair.
“A battle between shinobi is not decided only by raw strength.
Battle experience and strategy are also key factors in determining victory.”
Shanks understood.
Hashirama and Madara likely had similar battle experience.
In terms of pure power, Hashirama before Wood Release might have been weaker than Madara after the Mangekyō.
But with Madara’s arrogant young-master personality, his strategic thinking at that time was probably still a little worse than Hashirama’s great-wisdom-hides-behind-foolishness style.
Of course, that was before Madara went completely dark.
Once an Uchiha blackened, the entire clan seemed to awaken the hidden bloodline of strategists and conspirators.
That reputation did not come from nowhere.
So while Hashirama may not have been able to defeat Madara at first, he could still resist him.
After that, there was no need to say much.
Hashirama awakened Wood Release, and Hashirama won.
Madara opened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and Hashirama learned Sage Mode.
Hashirama still won.
In the end, a battle came down to strength, experience, and strategy.
Lacking any one of the three could decide the result.
“Your head works fine, and your strength is fairly decent among children your age…”
“Fairly decent?”
Shanks’s eyes widened.
“Don’t get excited.
Let me finish.” Hashirama pressed his hand down.
“Do you know why you lost control yesterday and nearly killed those three Uchiha children?”
“Because I don’t have enough battle experience?”
“Exactly.
You lack battle experience.
That’s why, from the very beginning, you used too much force and nearly killed three children.
With your current strength, you’ve barely reached chūnin level.
Teaching three children who aren’t even real shinobi yet should have been easy.”
Hashirama grinned.
“So for the next period of time, what you need to do is simple.”
He cracked his knuckles.
“Fight.
Again and again.”