The school playground, one week later.
"Bang!"
Sen and Minato's figures clashed, then separated, each retreating several steps.
Minato shook out his arm, which had gone slightly numb, and stared at his friend in amazement.
"Sen, are you some kind of monster? A week ago, we were evenly matched. How have your strength and speed improved so much in just a few days?"
Sen glanced at his stats panel. The number under [Constitution] had become [12].
A week of sparring with Kushina had earned him a total of 6 Constitution points.
Now, just in terms of physical ability, he could already edge out Minato.
Sen grinned. "It's obviously because of my unparalleled talent and all my hard work. It definitely has nothing to do with some Stat Point System!"
Minato was still wondering what this "Stat Point System" was when a booming cheer rang out from the sidelines.
"Sen, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and beat him! Beat him like you beat me yesterday! You're the genius of our class!"
Everyone looked toward the voice. Kushina was waving her little fists, her red hair practically blazing. Even the instructor could only rub his forehead helplessly.
Ever since she'd gotten to know Sen, Little Pepper's lively nature had been completely unleashed. Now, even if someone called her by her nickname, she'd simply beat them up without hesitation.
"Minato, beat him! You're the strongest! I'll always support you!" An out-of-place voice rang out from the crowd.
"What did you say, Shimura Saburo?" Kushina immediately sprang up like a cat with its tail stepped on and stormed over, baring her teeth as she threatened him. "Take that back right now! Otherwise, I'll beat you up myself!"
"Shut up, you stinking tomato! What's it to you?" With two clanmates at his side, Shimura Saburo retorted without backing down. "I may not be able to beat you, but the three of us can take you on!"
The instructor, Murashita Ryukawa, felt a headache coming on.
The Third had specifically instructed him to look after Kushina, the future Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. But now it seemed he didn't need to worry about her being bullied. He needed to worry about whether she might tear the whole class apart...
On the field, Minato's words brought Sen's attention back to the match.
"Should we keep going? It's been almost fifteen minutes, and we're still at a stalemate. How about we call it a draw for today?"
Indeed, as long as neither of them got serious, it was hard to determine a winner.
Sen shrugged to show he agreed.
Just then, the system's notification rang in his mind:
[You drew with Namikaze Minato. Choose a trait to absorb: Constitution +1, Constitution +1, Constitution +1]
Sen frowned at the three identical traits, which were too bland to be useful, but too good to pass up.
He couldn't help looking at Minato and grumbling:
Namikaze Minato, what's wrong with you?
He was already annoyed when the jeering voices of Shimura Saburo and his friends reached him from the sidelines, setting off a surge of anger.
Sen straightened and swept his cold gaze over Shimura Saburo and the others.
He called them out one by one:
"Shimura Saburo, Shimura Kasa, Sarutobi Kawa, and those two tagalongs behind them.
"Stop buzzing like flies back there. I'll give you a chance: all five of you can take me on!"
The entire field fell silent.
Shimura Saburo, who had been arguing with Kushina, poked his head out and turned to look at his companions, silently asking what they thought.
"What are you hesitating for? He's been fighting Minato for ages, so he must be exhausted! This is the perfect chance to teach him a lesson!" Sarutobi Kawa, a bold, chubby boy, made the call without a second thought.
The five of them immediately stepped forward.
Shimura Saburo's little eyes shifted as he called to the teacher, "Sir, he asked for this himself! If he gets hurt, don't make us call our parents again!"
The kid didn't just look like Danzo; he'd inherited most of his deviousness, too. Even in a five-on-one, he somehow made it sound as if they were in the right.
Murashita Ryukawa saw that Sen looked confident and nodded.
He also wanted to use this chance to teach a lesson to these brats who acted arrogantly because of their clan backgrounds.
It was better for them to suffer a little at school than to lose their lives on the battlefield.
At the sight of the five stepping onto the field, Kushina got excited. She clenched her fists, an angry symbol practically appearing on her forehead, and yelled with all her might:
"Sen! Beat them to death! Beat them until they're done for! I'll cheer you on!"
Hearing Kushina's shouts, Shimura Saburo encouraged his companions in a low voice. "Don't be scared! He's all show, and he's already worn himself out! Otherwise, would I have agreed? Come on, guys!"
The five didn't even bother forming the Seal of Confrontation. They charged forward with strange cries.
Shimura Kasa was the first to reach Sen. He was a slender, nimble boy, and the moment he got close, he threw a punch with all his strength. After all, there was nothing more exhilarating than beating a genius.
So what if it was five against one? It was an honor!
But before his punch could land, Sen's figure flickered like a ghost. He dodged the attack, slipped behind Kasa, and lightly kicked him twice behind the knees.
"Thud!"
Shimura Kasa's body pitched forward, and he fell to his knees against his will.
"Don't kneel!"
"Get down!"
Sen's cold voice rang out as he whipped a leg into Kasa's back, sending him flying and landing face-first in the dirt. Laughter erupted around the field.
By then, the other four had surrounded Sen.
Three of them tangled with him, while Shimura Saburo sneaked around to the side and quietly grabbed a handful of sand from the ground.
"Shimura Saburo, you shameless coward! Five against one, and you're still trying to blindside him with sand?" Kushina's sharp eyes immediately caught his little trick.
"Pathetic," Minato remarked.
Using a few tricks in a ninja match wasn't necessarily a problem, but doing so in a five-on-one was downright shameless.
"That's really shameless!" several classmates chimed in.
"Tch, what do you know?" Shimura Saburo retorted. "A ninja does whatever it takes to complete a mission! My uncle taught me that!"
Sen caught Shimura Saburo's movements out of the corner of his eye, and a cold smile curled his lips.
These guys couldn't even keep their footing. They thought they could surround him?
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Sen waited for the other three to attack. Then he abruptly pivoted and delivered a vicious flurry of stomps to their exposed toes.
For some reason, shoes in this world all seemed to leave the toes exposed. Now that had turned out to be the perfect place to attack!
"Ah!"
"Yow!"
"My toes! That hurts!"
Three screams rang out at once. The boys instantly lost the ability to fight and bent down instinctively to check their injuries.
Sen seized his chance and leaped into the air, delivering a powerful spinning kick that struck all three with the force of a battle-axe, sending them flying.
Watching his companions get taken out in an instant, Shimura Saburo stood rooted to the spot. The sand slipped unconsciously through his fingers.
How... was this possible? Even if he was a genius, how could he still be this strong after using up so much energy?
"Oh, there's still you."
A cold voice sounded beside him.
Before Shimura Saburo could react, a sharp pain struck his abdomen, and he flew backward like a broken kite.
He tried to struggle to his feet, but a large foot came down hard on his chest. His insides churned, and he couldn't move.
As laughter rose around him, Shimura Saburo glared with venomous eyes and snarled, trying to sound more threatening than he felt.
"Get your leg off me! My uncle is an adviser to Lord Hokage! He took me in as his godson yesterday. You're finished if you offend me!"
"Oh? You mean Shimura Danzo?"
"Hmph, good, you know who he is!" Shimura Saburo thought his opponent had gotten scared. He saw the foot lift and wore a smug look, ready to keep threatening him.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, an even heavier foot slammed down on his face!
"Thud!"
The stomp made Shimura Saburo see stars and nearly knocked him out.
Sen continued, "Come to think of it, you really do look a bit like Danzo. Does he not have any sons? Why'd he take you in?"
Shimura Saburo was already dazed and answered unconsciously, "He... he was injured in the war... He can't... can't have children..."
"Oh..." Sen drew out the word, a bright smile spreading across his face. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly across the entire playground. "So he's a eunuch!"
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