I Really Miss You

In the sauna of the Konoha bathhouse, four or five men sweated amidst the thick, swirling steam.

A voice rang out from behind the mist.

"Have you heard? Princess Tsunade performed a miracle in the Land of Rain; she led 300 Konoha ninja against the odds and defeated over 500 Rain Ninja led by Hanzo."

"I heard it too. Hanzo even gave Princess Tsunade and her two companions a title: the Sannin."

"The Sannin? What an impressive title. It sounds like they are the three strongest people in the ninja world."

"As expected of Princess Tsunade, the eldest princess of the Senju Clan. She truly lives up to the Senju name."

"Orochimaru is also quite formidable."

Someone immediately chimed in, "Among the Sannin, Princess Tsunade must be the leader, right?"

"That goes without saying. Princess Tsunade's status and strength speak for themselves."

In the steam, Kawadera Uchiha listened quietly to the others talking.

He hadn't expected the Senju Clan to move so quickly.

He didn't want to return to that cold, unfamiliar home of his, so he had come to this legendary bathhouse to enjoy himself, only to hear the rumors spread by the Senju Clan.

Though, one couldn't exactly call them rumors; Tsunade's performance during the battle against Hanzo had indeed been stellar.

If people claimed Tsunade was the leader of the Sannin, the other two wouldn't jump out to deny it, either.

The warm bathhouse would eventually have to close.

As for the late-night activities... Kawadera Uchiha looked toward the small, three-story red building deep within the bathhouse. Ahem, forget it. I've just established a deep bond with Seigetsu Senju; I'd better let it be.

Returning to the clan compound, Kawadera Uchiha heard the sound of something cutting through the air from a distance.

Having spent so much time on the battlefield, he was extremely sensitive to such sounds.

Arriving at the training ground within the Uchiha compound, Kawadera Uchiha saw from afar that a genin was practicing the Shuriken Manipulation Technique.

Using steel wires to guide his shuriken, the boy was repeatedly attempting to hit a target hidden behind a rock.

It was the young clan heir who had awakened his single-tomoe Sharingan, Fugaku Uchiha.

He hadn't expected Fugaku Uchiha to be so diligent.

His hands itching, Kawadera Uchiha also took out a steel wire and shuriken, throwing them toward the rock.

For the first, he used another shuriken as an assist; the second shuriken struck a specific point on the wire, bending it into an angle, and under the tension of the wire, the shuriken struck the target behind the rock.

Fugaku Uchiha hurriedly looked toward Kawadera Uchiha.

For the second, Kawadera Uchiha's method was even simpler: after throwing the wire-attached shuriken, he flicked his wrist at a precise moment, causing the shuriken to bypass the rock in a strange arc and strike the target.

For the third, Kawadera Uchiha threw the wire-attached shuriken and then threw another kunai; the kunai struck the shuriken, knocking it behind the rock, and then, coordinated with a pull of the wire, it hit the target behind the rock.

"Senior Kawadera! You've actually mastered three ways to hit hidden targets with the Shuriken Manipulation Technique!"

"You've heard of my name?"

"Of course," Fugaku Uchiha said. "When Senior Ishiya reported to my father, he repeatedly mentioned your name. You've gathered a lot of important intelligence for the clan."

Kawadera Uchiha felt a bit guilty; these people thought too highly of him.

It seemed the clan placed great importance on the intelligence regarding Jiraiya's misdeeds.

He quickly said, "Young Heir Fugaku, you're training so late—isn't that a bit too grueling?"

"The Chunin Exams are in three months. Nawaki of the Senju Clan was severely injured, so I have no reason not to take first place. For the glory of the Uchiha, I cannot allow myself any mistakes."

Just as sports meets are wars in times of peace, the Chunin Exams represented the results or concepts recognized by the masses; the Chunin Exams were the wars of the ninja clans and villages.

"Nawaki Senju is severely injured. Based on my intelligence, let alone this year, he'll be lucky to make it to the Chunin Exams in the first half of next year. Train hard, Young Heir Fugaku."

After turning away, Kawadera Uchiha thought of the Senju Clan's plan.

The Senju Clan had to appear as strong as they always had, otherwise, others in the village would discover the Senju Clan's retreat.

Unable to sleep, he used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the compound and arrived at... the Senju compound, just one street away.

When the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha were alive, they were inseparable, and the two compounds were very close.

Or rather, Konoha was originally built around the Senju and Uchiha compounds.

In the middle of the night, Seigetsu Senju was not asleep; she was looking at a scroll by the window.

A figure flickered in, startling her, but upon seeing it was Kawadera, she hurriedly closed the window.

As she turned around, she tucked her hair, neatly pinning the stray locks behind her head.

"What are you doing?"

"Didn't you say you didn't like stray hairs? I've tidied them all up. I knew our parting tonight was a bit rushed—couldn't you help yourself?"

Seeing the pride and shyness on Seigetsu Senju's face, Kawadera Uchiha reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Half an hour later, Seigetsu Senju was panting, scratching Kawadera Uchiha's chest with the tips of her hair.

Only then did Kawadera Uchiha bring up the real business.

"Seigetsu, the young clan head of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku Uchiha, will also be participating in the Chunin Exams.

Your brother said he intends to cultivate Shingu Senju, so he must be careful of Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan.

Fugaku Uchiha's genjutsu is very strong. I will provide Shingu with special genjutsu training; even if he doesn't master genjutsu himself, increasing his resistance will be very useful."

"Alright, I will tell my brother, and you can start Shingu's special genjutsu training tomorrow."

The house next to Seigetsu Senju's belonged to her brother, Seiei Senju.

In the middle of the night the following day, Shingu Senju waited in the study, wondering why Teacher Seiei had asked him to come.

Before long, a figure appeared via Body Flicker.

Shingu Senju recognized him immediately; this was Kawadera Uchiha, a member of Seigetsu's team.

Kawadera Uchiha said, "Shingu, your greatest opponent in this Chunin Exams is the young clan head of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku Uchiha.

He excels in genjutsu, and his Fire Style ninjutsu, Shuriken Manipulation Technique, and other skills are all very strong.

Captain Seigetsu has asked me to provide you with special genjutsu training to prevent you from being defeated instantly when facing Fugaku Uchiha."

Shingu Senju thought to himself, with the tiger away from the mountain, was he, the monkey, actually going to face the young head of the Uchiha Clan?

"Genjutsu training is extremely tedious. It involves putting you under a genjutsu repeatedly, then having you break it, over and over, until you can shake it off faster and faster.

Alright, let's begin."

Shingu Senju replied, "Understood, Kawadera-senpai!"

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Thinking it was Teacher Seiei coming to find him, Shingu Senju hurried to open the door.

Upon opening it, a blonde girl stood at the threshold.

"Shingu! Why aren't you home so late? I have something to discuss with you."

"Kan... Kanzuki? I was training with Teacher Seiei during the day, and I just returned from Konoha Hospital at night; Teacher Mei Senju performed muscle repair on me.

Right now, Kawadera-senpai is giving me special genjutsu training.

Kanzuki, so many things have happened to me during this time.

Let me ask Kawadera-senpai for a break so I can talk to you first, then I'll come back to train with him."

He turned to ask Kawadera Uchiha for leave, and after receiving permission, a happy Kanzuki Senju walked down the stairs.

Over an hour later, Shingu Senju lay on the floor of the first floor, two streams of hot tears flowing like a broken dam toward his ears and onto the floor.

Footsteps echoed on the stairs.

"Truly abysmal talent for genjutsu. Eighty-nine minutes to break free—I have never seen a ninja with such poor aptitude for genjutsu."

Shingu Senju gripped the golden lock of hair in his hand, wiped away his tears, and climbed to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Kawadera-senpai, for disappointing you."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. That's enough for today. Remember the feeling of breaking the genjutsu and keep recalling it; it will be useful in the future."

Kawadera-senpai left, and Shingu Senju stood there with his head bowed, thinking, What a realistic genjutsu, what a beautiful genjutsu. What should I do if I don't want to break it?

Death is but an instant, yet the longing is so long-lasting. I miss you so much, Kanzuki...

No, it isn't that I miss her too much; it must be because Kawadera-senpai's genjutsu is just too lifelike.