The Declining Senju Clan

Uchiha Yuan withdrew his gaze from the direction in which Uchiha Shisui had vanished, then stepped forward to continue his walk home.

How does one better hide oneself?

The answer is to blend in with the surrounding scenery.

Uchiha Yuan did not want to be noticed by the village, so the image he presented to the outside world had to be the same as every other clan member: arrogant, overbearing, and haughty.

At the same time, he had no intention of appearing weak, because this was a world where the strong reigned supreme; only a strong person would be respected, and only a strong person would have others willing to follow them.

Once one showed weakness, the consequence would be even greater oppression.

Therefore, for these past few years, the persona Uchiha Yuan maintained was that of an ordinary clan member with a superb talent for Taijutsu.

Powerful Taijutsu would earn him praise, but it would not invite special attention.

And as an Uchiha, Uchiha Yuan had no desire whatsoever to awaken the Sharingan.

Because his cultivation of Sage Art was different from that of other ninjas; under the tempering and reinforcement of Natural Energy, his physical reaction speed and sensory perception were in no way inferior to the abilities of the Sharingan.

Moreover, not awakening the Sharingan meant the village would be even less likely to pay much attention to him.

Only an Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan was a subject the clan and the village would care to focus on.

He arrived home and pushed open the door.

"I'm home."

Uchiha Yuan said this while taking off his shoes.

"Yuan, it's time to eat. Tonight's dinner includes the Honey Glazed Roast Meat that Izumi just learned to make."

His mother, Uchiha Rei, poked half her body out from the kitchen to say this.

Uchiha Yuan went to the dining room and sat down; before long, his mother and sister brought the dishes to the table.

Seeing Uchiha Yuan, Izumi pouted and turned her face away, her little expression cold as she completely ignored him.

Uchiha Rei sighed helplessly and said, "Izumi, are you still angry with your brother?"

Izumi glanced at Uchiha Yuan and said, "Yes. If someone doesn't apologize, I will stay angry forever."

Uchiha Yuan wore a helpless expression, then pulled a pastry box from under the table and said to Uchiha Izumi with a doting look, "Izumi, look at this. This is something Brother bought specifically for you. It's your favorite Seven-Colored Rainbow Dumplings."

As the pastry box opened, an alluring, sweet fragrance wafted through the air.

Izumi couldn't help but look over, seeing the exquisitely shaped, brightly colored dumplings arranged neatly inside.

She tried hard to look away and said, "Even so, I won't forgive Brother."

Uchiha Yuan said, "Izumi, your words make Brother feel very sad."

Hearing this, a flash of panic appeared on Izumi's face. She looked at Uchiha Yuan and said, "As long as Brother apologizes, Izumi will forgive Brother right away."

"Alright, Brother apologizes to you. Brother shouldn't have told you to stay away from Uchiha Itachi. I take back what I said; I won't interfere with the interactions between you and Uchiha Itachi."

Uchiha Yuan said.

He knew that since it was impossible to force his sister Izumi to stay away from Uchiha Itachi through tough measures, he had no choice but to stop obstructing them. Some things only backfire when forced with heavy-handed oppression.

Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Izumi's small face.

Then, she couldn't wait to pick up a yellow, rabbit-shaped dumpling and take a bite. The sweet taste immediately brought a happy smile to her face.

Following that, Izumi picked up a piece of roasted meat drizzled with sweet sauce and held it to Uchiha Yuan's lips. "Brother, hurry and taste this. This is the first time I've cooked roast meat in the kitchen today."

Uchiha Yuan ate the meat in one bite and laughed, "Very delicious. This is the best roast meat I've ever eaten."

For a time, the family enjoyed dinner in harmony.

His sister Uchiha Izumi would occasionally act spoiled, asking her brother Uchiha Yuan to help her pick up food.

After dinner, Uchiha Yuan sat alone in the courtyard, his gaze drifting toward the sky.

As the sun set, the evening glow looked as if it had been painted with a layer of dazzling gold lacquer.

His thoughts returned to when he left the Training Ground today; he had sensed a vibe brimming with the intent to challenge.

It was Senju Gen.

When he left, he had locked eyes with Senju Gen in the crowd, and he could feel the man's soaring fighting spirit.

Thinking back to when he first started school, Uchiha Yuan had not expected that there would be a classmate from the Senju Clan in his class.

He also didn't understand why he had been arranged to be in Class Nine; according to the village's regard for the Senju, Senju Gen could have easily been assigned to the top-ranked classes.

One must know that before Senju Gen enrolled, it had been many years since a child from the Senju Clan had entered the school.

This was a sign of the Senju Clan's decline; the clan was suffering from a lack of successors, and the number of newborns in recent years was pitifully low.

The Senju and Uchiha were known as the two great, prestigious clans of Konoha, yet now one side was dwindling in population, while the other was a clan with immense influence.

The decline of the Senju Clan was due to the two great shinobi wars. In both the First and Second Shinobi World War, the Senju Clan had always fought bravely at the front, and in several large-scale battles, victory was only achieved by relying on the Senju Clan's reckless, all-out assaults.

In fact, during the Second Shinobi World War, the heir to the Senju Clan, Senju Nawaki, had also been killed in action.

They were a group of reckless and hot-blooded fellows, but they were truly worthy of admiration.

The reason the Uchiha Clan remained populous, however, was that the Uchiha had not been affected by the shinobi wars.

During the First Shinobi World War, the shinobi world enjoyed a fairly long period of peace thanks to the suppression by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara.

Every ninja clan was able to develop during this time, so the losses caused by the war remained within a bearable range.

By the time of the Second Shinobi World War, although the Uchiha Clan repeatedly requested to join the fight, the village kept them behind to guard the village under the pretext of their duties in the Police Force.

They were only permitted to send half of their clan members to various flank battlefields.

Regarding this, Uchiha Yuan immediately realized that the village leadership would rather sacrifice more Konoha ninja than allow the Uchiha Clan to gain power.

In the ninja world, strength is respected above all, and military merit is the most glorious and prominent achievement.

If the Uchiha Clan had gained enough military merit during the two great wars, even if the village leadership were unwilling, they would likely have been forced to grant a few positions in the Center of Power to the Uchiha Clan; otherwise, they would not be able to convince the public.

Underhanded suppression, after all, could never be stated openly.

Uchiha Yuan believed that the village must have been keeping a close eye on Senju Gen, as every clan member of the Senju could potentially awaken Wood Style.

Wood Style was a power the village leadership had always been incredibly eager to master.

Therefore, even though he had been classmates with Senju Gen for several years, he had always kept his distance and never once interacted with him.

Perhaps the village had placed Senju Gen in Class 9 specifically to avoid conflict, given that in the earlier classes, there were anywhere from three or four to six or seven Uchiha students.

With the history of enmity between the two clans, the Uchiha students would certainly have clashed with Senju Gen, and that would likely have turned into the Uchiha ganging up on him.

A light sound of footsteps approached, interrupting Uchiha Yuan's train of thought.

His younger sister, Izumi, brought pastries from the Seven Colors Pavilion and sat down beside Uchiha Yuan, "Brother, try this red one. I think it's the most delicious piece."

Uchiha Yuan ate the red dumpling Izumi held to his lips in one bite while reaching out to smooth a stray lock of hair from her forehead, then said, "Izumi, as long as you are happy, that is enough. Brother will handle all the bad things."

Hearing this, a look of confusion appeared on Uchiha Izumi's face; she did not quite understand what her brother, Uchiha Yuan, meant by his words.