Obtaining the Crow Summoning Technique

"What?!"

Uchiha Hikaru frowned. He had been the one taking the initiative in all their attacks so far. As for his opponent's attacks, the only thing that had touched him was one of Samehada's spikes accidentally scraping him.

No, his opponent had just said that the blade could absorb chakra. So that was how it worked!

Realizing this, the Sharingan in his eyes spun rapidly. He decided to use only Illusion Techniques for their final exchange.

"Too late!" Seeing the Sharingan spin faster, Sen immediately swung Samehada upward, slamming it into his opponent.

"Bang!"

Caught off guard, Uchiha Hikaru was sent flying!

But as he flew, Uchiha Hikaru turned into a puff of white smoke!

A Shadow Clone!

At that very moment, Uchiha Hikaru stabbed through the smoke with his short blade. Sen had swung upward and couldn't block with his weapon, leaving his chest exposed as Hikaru lunged straight for it!

"Pfft!"

His blade sank into his opponent's body. Uchiha Hikaru said calmly, "You lose. But don't worry. There are medical ninja here, so you won't die."

Sen grabbed the short blade and smiled. "Is that so?"

Before the words had even left his mouth, the "Sen" who had been stabbed turned into a violent surge of lightning, paralyzing Uchiha Hikaru completely!

Lightning Release Clone!

Sen's real body slowly emerged from the smoke, his Kunai held against the helpless Uchiha Hikaru's throat. "Looks like I won."

Still paralyzed, Uchiha Hikaru forced his head up and smiled. "Not necessarily!"

"Earth Release: Headhunter Technique!"

Seeing the ground beneath his feet suddenly loosen, Sen hurriedly leaped up and threw his Kunai down at the same time.

"A technique won't work on me twice!" Sen shouted. He saw Uchiha Hikaru dodge the Kunai from beneath the ground, then swung Samehada at him.

"Using two Shadow Clones against me? Too bad it doesn't seem to be working!"

His blade came down, but it didn't feel like it had struck a person. Instead, his opponent turned into thick, sticky mud, trapping Samehada inside and leaving it stuck.

Sen hurriedly looked back at the Uchiha Hikaru he had just electrocuted. Seeing Hikaru's hands flash through Hand Seals, he finally understood: the one who'd been paralyzed was the real body, while the other two had been Shadow Clones!

No wonder he had become Uchiha Setsuna's bodyguard. His experience and cunning were extraordinary!

"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"

The ground beneath Sen suddenly grew wet and began churning violently. He could no longer keep his balance.

His attack had landed. Uchiha Hikaru formed Hand Seals again.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

Sen watched the earth dragon roar out of the mud and panicked. He made a split-second decision, hurling Samehada into the mud and pushing off it to barely evade the attack.

Seeing the Sharingan in his opponent's eyes still spinning, Sen knew he couldn't fight him at close range. He quickly retreated and hid in the mist again.

Watching Sen escape the attack, Uchiha Hikaru felt frustrated. His chakra affinities were limited to Fire and Earth; he had no Wind Release.

With that in mind, he formed Hand Seals again, intending to use a terrain-altering technique to force his opponent to fight him.

"Earth Release: Earth Mo—"

"Stop!"

Just as Uchiha Hikaru was about to perform the technique, Uchiha Setsuna spoke up.

"My courtyard can't take much more of this." He slowly wheeled himself forward. "Let's call this match a draw."

[Match against Uchiha Hikaru ended in a draw. Choose a trait to absorb: Mental Power +2, Constitution +1, Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet.]

Sen chose the reward he needed most right now: Mental Power. Then he emerged from the mist and used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to blow it away.

The two of them went before Uchiha Setsuna. Uchiha Hikaru still looked a little frustrated. He had been on the defensive for almost the entire fight, and the Illusion Techniques and swordsmanship he prided himself on had been useless.

"Do you understand now why I opposed a war between the Uchiha and the Mist Ninja?" Uchiha Setsuna said calmly. "You're one of the clan's best, yet you were still countered and driven into such a sorry state. The others don't need mentioning. We were fortunate to have Sen this time."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded, then said with concern, "I don't have anything against him, but... he's alone right now. If the Clan Leader or the village interferes..."

"You don't need to worry about me, senior. I can still protect myself." Sensing his goodwill, Sen smiled at him.

The two of them had always shared the same goal: restoring the Uchiha Clan. They simply differed somewhat in how they intended to achieve it.

"Since you acknowledge his strength, there's no harm in letting him learn the Crow Summoning Technique. Just make sure the clan doesn't see him using it. After all, he'll still have to go to the battlefield." Uchiha Setsuna looked at Sen, his gaze leaving no room for argument.

"If anyone untrustworthy finds out, just kill them."

Sen felt a chill. When it came to ruthlessness, he still had a long way to go.

Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Uchiha Hikaru shook his head helplessly. He fetched an exquisite scroll from the inner room and handed it to Sen.

"Find somewhere deserted to practice," Uchiha Hikaru cautioned him.

"Then I'll take my leave. Once I learn it, my combat strength will improve again." Seeing that Uchiha Setsuna had no objection, Sen dug the struggling Samehada out of the ground and left the courtyard.

He was halfway there when Uchiha Hikaru came after him.

"What is it?" Sen asked.

Uchiha Hikaru sighed. "Sen, I hope you can visit the Great Elder more often during this time. His health..."

"How is he doing?"

"Do you remember when we went to confront the Hokage? After getting soaked in the rain that day, he caught a severe cold that lasted for weeks. His health has been declining ever since, and a while ago he became unable to walk.

"He's been proud and solitary all his life, and has no children. A few days ago, some clan members returned and told him about what you'd done. Those were the happiest days he'd had in months. So..."

A buzzing sound rang through Sen's mind, leaving it blank.

Only then did he suddenly remember that Uchiha Setsuna had led the clan members to help him confront Sarutobi Hiruzen and his party. That meant Sen himself had been largely responsible for Uchiha Setsuna's declining health.

A trace of guilt crossed Sen's face.

He hadn't realized that the wheelchair Uchiha Setsuna had been sitting in was indirectly his doing. Yet Setsuna hadn't said a word about it and had continued supporting him as always.

Sen took a deep breath, tamped down the turmoil inside, and said earnestly to Uchiha Hikaru,

"I'll visit the Great Elder whenever I have time, and I'll spar with you for a while, too. How does that sound?"

Uchiha Hikaru nodded with a smile, as if those were the words he'd been waiting for.

A week later, in Konoha's Forest of Death.

After hearing that Nawaki had been discharged from the hospital, Sen invited him to train with Team Seven.

First, he wanted to improve the team's strength as quickly as possible so they could face the coming war.

Second, he wanted to see for himself whether the First Hokage's grandson had truly inherited the legendary power of the Senju of the Forest—and find out why the Senju Clan had disappeared.