Excessive Self-Defense

At the Senju Clan Grounds the next day, at Nawaki's home.

"Next time, I'll definitely beat that guy!"

After that battle, Nawaki resolved to work harder.

Though with bandages all over his body and casts wrapped around both hands, he looked indescribably ridiculous.

"Save your strength..." Tsunade smacked Nawaki's little bandaged head. "You only got back from the hospital last night, and you're already yelling. Don't you want to get better?"

Nawaki immediately grimaced. "Sis, that hurts. I'm starting to suspect you don't want me to recover."

"Your left arm suffered severe burns, and lightning pierced through over thirty percent of the cells in your right hand..."

"Multiple meridians throughout your body were damaged. If you weren't a Senju, you could basically kiss your ninja career goodbye."

"It's... it's all that guy's fault. Why did he have to hit so hard?"

The injuries Tsunade described had actually filled Nawaki with regret.

No one had expected a duel between six-year-olds to result in such serious injuries.

"Tch, you overestimated yourself. If you'd known a little more about your opponent, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Then... then I know more than enough now. Next time..."

Before Nawaki could finish, the furious Tsunade cut him off. "Nawaki, are you stupid? Do you think that Uchiha kid won't develop other ninjutsu specifically to deal with you?"

"But... I'll improve too..."

"Five Chakra natures, the Sharingan, an improved Fire Release, and a special Chakra mode..."

She shook her head, pressing down slightly with the hand on Nawaki's head. "Against an opponent like that, you'd probably have to train your monstrous strength to the limit just to stand a chance. I never thought that barely a decade after Madara's death, another Uchiha genius would emerge."

It had been a fair duel. He had lost, and had no one else to blame.

"Sis, how did you get to the scene so quickly?"

Wearing a pained expression, Nawaki spotted the inconsistency. "I remember that not long after things got noisy with that guy, I lost consciousness."

Tsunade's face was full of conflict.

She did not know whether her younger brother would lose his fighting spirit after learning the truth.

But after thinking it over, she figured that with her brother's intelligence, he probably would not care too much.

"Actually, the Third Hokage sent Anbu to notify me..."

"Later, I learned that he had actually been secretly protecting Uchiha Shin all along."

Nawaki looked confused. "Secretly protecting him? Why?"

"The Third Hokage said that child's future might very well surpass Uchiha Madara's. If your injuries hadn't been treated in time, you would have only been bedridden for a month or two at most."

"What does that prove? I was going back and forth with him later!"

Tsunade looked at Nawaki's face, which was written all over with defiance, and was starting to get angry.

She felt that her own little brother was just dumb.

"It means he severely injured you without even using his full strength, while still making sure you didn't end up crippled."

"So what? Maybe that's just how strong he is." Nawaki was still unconvinced.

"Don't be naive. An Uchiha with the Sharingan can see the flow of Chakra inside your body..."

She removed her hand from his little head. "What if he had attacked the meridians in your vital areas?"

"What if he hadn't focused on lightning, but used Wind or Fire nature instead?"

"!!!" Nawaki finally understood what that meant.

It meant that even at full strength, he still could not defeat his opponent.

"So I have to lie at home for three months?"

"According to him, he originally wanted you bedridden for half a year to a year. Unfortunately, your physical strength forced him to give up."

"That guy even told you that?"

"Cough... Actually, he told the Third Hokage."

Let's turn the clock back to yesterday.

Shin arrived at school on time and sat obediently in the second seat of the front row, listening attentively as Nishinodera taught from the front.

Then, before five minutes had passed, several Anbu came and specifically took him away.

The entire class was shocked by the scene.

"Uchiha Shin was taken away by the Anbu?"

"I told you he must have done something wrong. I knew he wasn't a good person the moment I saw him."

"The most evil new student in Ninja Academy history!"

"..."

Nao listened expressionlessly to all kinds of rumors, when she suddenly seemed to realize something was wrong.

"Now he really might have blown up the school~"

Hokage's Office.

"Hokage Uncle, why are you looking at me like that?" Shin always felt that the other man's gaze carried ill intent.

"Tell me, what happened with Nawaki?" The Third Hokage seemed to have abandoned his original plan of reprimanding him.

"Oh, so it was about that. That dummy blocked my way while I was heading to school and demanded a duel, so I gave him a beating."

"Then why were his injuries so serious? You should know that if something happened, your father would have quite the headache."

"It's fine. I held back. I originally wanted him bedridden for half a year to a year."

Hearing Shin's nonchalant tone, the Third Hokage began getting a headache even before Chiken did.

Held back? Originally wanted him bedridden for half a year to a year? Could a child really control Chakra so precisely?

"Don't worry, Hokage Uncle. Just as I expected..." Shin patted his chest and assured the Third Hokage, "At most, he'll be bedridden for three months. I have complete confidence in my calculations."

"Even so, did you have to beat Nawaki that badly?"

"Then let me put it another way..." Seeing that the other man still wanted to pursue the matter, Shin switched the concept. "If someone blocked Hokage Uncle's path on the road, what would you do?"

"I would certainly reason with him."

"What if he refused to listen to reason and wanted to attack you?"

"I would definitely stop him."

"So, that was basically the situation~"

The Third Hokage looked at Shin shrugging with his hands spread and finally understood what he meant.

It was self-defense, at most excessive self-defense.

"Then... how could you be sure Nawaki wouldn't suffer any aftereffects?"

"He's from the Senju Clan. Their bodies are tough..."

Shin curled his lips into a smile. "I merely gave him electrotherapy with Lightning-nature Chakra. With his recovery ability, Hokage Uncle, you can rest assured. There's absolutely no chance of any aftereffects."

"..."

The Third Hokage no longer knew whether he should believe him.

Years of instinct still kept him from believing that a six-year-old could possess such strength.

"Whoosh..." A figure swiftly entered through the window.

After whispering a few words into the Third Hokage's ear, the figure vanished the way he had come.

"Nawaki is not seriously hurt..."

"But Shin, you need to be more careful. Other children do not have his recovery ability."

"Relax, Hokage Uncle. He's the only dummy in the school who would dare talk to me about something like a duel..."

"I know very well how everyone else views the Uchiha."

Shin's friendly smile at that moment made it hard for the Third Hokage to believe he was an Uchiha.

He began to doubt the Second Hokage's research.

Hadn't it been said that the Uchiha Clan's power came from hatred?

"Hokage Uncle, there might be all kinds of rumors about me tomorrow~"

"How could that be? The supervisory departments formed by the major clans aren't for show."

"Let's wait and see." Shin left his warning at that.

If there really were rumors, they would certainly be spread by ninja clans that disliked the Uchiha and wanted nothing more than to eliminate them.

He had plenty of ways to deal with those ninja clans.