Battling Uchiha Hikaru

Continuous taijutsu assaults were ineffective. Sen's eyes narrowed as he suddenly leaped from the ground, spinning rapidly in the air. A fierce, unparalleled spinning kick, accompanied by a whistling sound, shot straight for Uchiha Hikaru's face!

Uchiha Hikaru, worthy of being a battle-hardened elite, leaned back to his limit, narrowly dodging the fatal blow like a bridge. Seeing his attack miss and Sen's guard wide open, he spoke to offer guidance:

"An attack like that is too risky. If it fails, your whole body is..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred!

Sen, using the momentum from his spinning kick, put force into his waist and abdomen, whipping his upper body back. With a flick of his wrist, three shuriken shot out, aiming straight for Uchiha Hikaru's vital points!

Because his body was in the way, this change of move was as fast as lightning, completely beyond Uchiha Hikaru's expectations.

He only had time to do a clumsy flip to dodge. Just as he was about to get up and counterattack, he saw Sen, having forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, lose his balance and fall straight to the ground.

Uchiha Hikaru couldn't help but wonder: Did he twist something? In that situation, he should have been able to maintain his balance and land using both hands and feet.

Just as Uchiha Hikaru was lost in thought, Sen, who had fallen to the ground, ignored the intense pain throughout his body. Using his back as cover, he finally completed the last hand seal.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

BOOM--!

Three or four giant fireballs, the size of adult men, engulfed the spot where Uchiha Hikaru had just stood, along with scorching waves of heat.

Seeing the opponent swallowed by the Great Fireball, Sen's internal alarm bells rang. He quickly drew a kunai from his ninja pouch and began to guard himself.

After all, a Great Fireball couldn't kill someone!

As expected, the next second, a charred piece of wood fell from the sky.

Substitution Technique!

The moment Sen's attention was drawn to the wood, a large hand burst from the ground beneath his feet, firmly grabbing his ankle!

"I surrender!" Sen, with only his head exposed, quickly said.

Just moments ago, the opponent had used Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu to drag him into the earth, and then burst out of the ground, placing a short sword on his shoulder.

Sen had no choice but to surrender.

Uchiha Hikaru smiled and pulled Sen out of the earth, patting the dirt off his shoulders. He praised him sincerely, "You're already amazing. When I was six, I would have been overjoyed to have half your skill. Your Chakra reserves far exceed those of your peers. In time, your achievements will surpass mine."

That's for sure, I'm a man with a system!

Sen got up, looking at the system notification:

[Lost battle against Uchiha Hikaru, please choose a trait to absorb: Chakra +1, Uchiha Basic Swordsmanship, Mental Strength +2 (Mental Strength reaches 10 to activate Sharingan)]

Do I even need to think about this?

It has to be Mental Strength. With the 2 points I just gained, and one more battle with Uchiha Hikaru, I might be able to activate the Sharingan if I'm lucky.

Then my combat power will increase again, and my chances of surviving the second battle will be even greater. And... I can also torment Minato from time to time!

The sparring match ended, and the two returned to Uchiha Setsuna's side.

The elder handed Sen a token and a one-million-ryo bank note, his eyes full of anticipation. "Kid, you did well. I'm looking forward to your future."

Sen took the token and the bank note. Seeing that the sky was getting late, he said goodbye to the two.

Uchiha Setsuna waved his hand and continued drinking his tea, saying no more.

Looking at Uchiha Setsuna's face now, Sen, who had previously found the scars on his face rather fierce, now saw him as kind and benevolent.

On impulse, he asked, "Elder Setsuna, if I have free time on weekends, can I come visit you often?"

It's all for the elder's happy retirement, definitely not because of the bank note with all those "0"s, or the system's trait rewards.

In short, it's all for the glory of the Uchiha!

"You've got quite a plan, but I can't give you a million ryo every day. That was for the whole year," Uchiha Setsuna directly saw through his thoughts and chuckled. "I won't stop you from sparring with Hikaru, and it's good that you come to see me occasionally. This old body of mine probably won't last many more years. Seeing you youngsters grow up will bring me some peace. In short, don't forget what you promised. If I can see it, I can rest in peace."

Sen knew he was referring to the matter of "desecrating Senju Tobirama's corpse." He nodded solemnly. "That day will come. I will personally flip over his coffin lid and show everyone his true face!"

If it weren't for Senju Tobirama's policies, the Uchiha clan wouldn't have headed for extinction, and even my parents in this world wouldn't have perished.

He already had no good feelings towards Konoha's higher-ups. In his previous life, he was a child left behind, yearning for a family he could never have. Just as he finally had a chance to touch it in this life, it was ruthlessly severed.

This hatred is irreconcilable!

Seeing Uchiha Setsuna nod and fall silent, Sen wisely took his leave.

After he left, Uchiha Hikaru, standing nearby, asked in a low voice, "Elder Setsuna, do you really think so highly of him? His strength is good, but he's still too young, and his temperament is too aggressive..."

"You don't understand," Uchiha Setsuna put down his teacup, looking at the tea spilled due to his agitation. "The Uchiha have been passed down for thousands of years, relying not on mere martial prowess, but on pride! Back then, that scoundrel Tobirama only dared to use schemes and tricks. If it were a direct confrontation, he wouldn't dare to fight us to the death!"

He sighed, "An Uchiha without pride, what's the difference from extinction?"

Uchiha Hikaru pondered, then respectfully said, "I understand. He's coming tomorrow, and I will teach him with all my heart."

Uchiha Setsuna gestured for him to pour more tea and slowly said, "You're quite lucky. This kid has such strength at such a young age; his dedication to training must be unimaginable. In a few more years, it might be your turn to seek his guidance."

The next day, the weekend.

Sen, as usual, stayed up training until midnight and only came to Uchiha Setsuna's house after waking up naturally.

After a battle that was "evenly matched and thoroughly satisfying."

Sen felt the cold blade against his neck and conceded cleanly, "I lost again this time."

Uchiha Hikaru retracted his short sword, chuckling wryly, "You dragged me out to spar first thing in the morning, and then you surrendered in just a few minutes. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Sen didn't answer. He was secretly looking at the rewards on his system panel:

[Lost battle against Uchiha Hikaru, please choose a stat to absorb: Mental Power +2, Physique +1, Chakra +1].

Mental Power +2, doesn't that mean the Sharingan is within reach!

Sen was overjoyed inwardly, but calmly said, "I just wanted to see how big the gap was. Now that I've seen it, I'll be going. I have a date this afternoon."

Uchiha Hikaru instinctively gripped his sword hilt. "Since you know the gap, we need to train even harder today! Wait..." He suddenly snapped back to reality. "What did you say? A date? No more training?"

Sen put his kunai back into his ninja pouch and said righteously, "Training? I practiced all night yesterday, my legs are almost broken.

It's Sunday, no more grinding, can we at least have one day off? I've also arranged to meet a friend to admire the cherry blossoms. I'm leaving now."

Since he had already obtained today's stat, he naturally had to go on a date with the lovely Kushina.

Hearing Sen's words, Uchiha Hikaru's expression turned confused. He looked back at Uchiha Setsuna, as if asking:

Clan Head, didn't you say he would train diligently? Why is he completely different?

The teacup in Uchiha Setsuna's hand trembled slightly. He forced an excuse for Sen, "Balance is good, not bad either."

Sen didn't care what the two of them thought.

Before he had the system, he worked like a horse day and night, never daring to relax. Now that he had the system, shouldn't he relax a little? Wouldn't that make the system look bad?

Why would you need a system if you weren't going to slack off?