I Really Miss You So Much

In the sauna at the Konoha bathhouse, four or five men sweated amid the dense steam.

A voice sounded from behind the steam.

"Have you heard? Princess Tsunade showed incredible prowess in the Land of Rain. Outnumbered, she led 300 Konoha Ninja and defeated the more than 500 Rain Ninja under Hanzo's command."

"I heard about that too. Hanzo even gave Princess Tsunade and the other two a title: the Sannin."

"The Sannin? What an impressive title. It makes them sound like the three strongest people in the Shinobi World."

"Truly worthy of Princess Tsunade, the eldest princess of the Senju Clan. She lives up to the Senju Clan's name."

"Orochimaru is impressive too."

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

"Of course. Just look at her status and strength."

In the steam, Kawadera Uchiha quietly listened 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, so he'd come to enjoy the legendary bathhouse. And here he was, hearing the rumors the Senju Clan had spread.

Though it wasn't exactly a rumor. Tsunade had performed remarkably well against Hanzo.

And if they said Tsunade was the leading figure among the Sannin, the other two wouldn't contradict them.

Even a warm bathhouse had to close eventually.

As for the late-night activities... Kawadera Uchiha glanced toward the three-story red-light building deep inside the bathhouse. Ahem. Never mind. He'd just formed a deep bond with Xingyue Senju, so he'd better not.

On his way back to the Uchiha Clan Compound, Kawadera Uchiha heard the sound of something cutting through the air in the distance.

Having spent so long on the battlefield, he was very sensitive to that sound.

He headed to the training ground in the Uchiha Clan Compound and spotted a Genin practicing the Shuriken Manipulation Technique.

A Shuriken was attached to a wire, and he kept trying to hit a target behind a rock.

It was the young clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, who had awakened a single Tomoe.

Kawadera hadn't expected Fugaku Uchiha to be so dedicated.

His own hands were itching to try, so Kawadera Uchiha took out a wire Shuriken and threw it toward the rock.

For his first attempt, he used another Shuriken to help. The second Shuriken struck a point on the wire, bending it into an angle. Pulled by the wire, the Shuriken hit the target behind the rock.

Fugaku Uchiha quickly turned to look at Kawadera Uchiha.

For the second attempt, Kawadera Uchiha used a simpler method. After throwing the wire Shuriken, he gave his wrist a quick flick at just the right moment. The Shuriken traced a strange arc around the rock and hit the target.

For the third attempt, Kawadera Uchiha threw a wire Shuriken, then tossed a Kunai after it. The Kunai struck the Shuriken and knocked it toward the rock. With the wire pulling it along, it hit the target behind the rock.

"Senior Kawadera! You know three ways to use a Shuriken to hit a hidden target!"

"You've heard of me?"

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

Kawadera Uchiha felt a little guilty. They thought far too highly of him.

It seemed the clan really valued the information about Jiraiya's misdeeds.

He quickly said, "Young Clan Head Fugaku, you're still training here this late? You're incredibly dedicated."

"The Chunin Ninja Exams are in three months. Since Nawaki Senju was seriously injured, I have no reason not to take first place. For the glory of the Uchiha, I won't allow myself to make a single mistake."

Just as a sports meet was a war in peacetime, the Chunin Ninja Exams represented the results and beliefs accepted by the public. The exams were a war between ninja clans and villages.

"Nawaki Senju was seriously injured. According to my information, he'll be lucky to make the exams in the first half of next year, let alone this year. Keep training, Young Clan Head Fugaku."

As Kawadera Uchiha turned away, he remembered the Senju Clan's plan.

The Senju Clan had to keep up its usual show of strength. Otherwise, the other people in the village would notice the clan was backing down.

Unable to sleep anyway, he used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the compound and head to...the Senju Clan Grounds, just across the street.

When the First and Madara Uchiha were alive, they'd been inseparable, so the two clans' compounds were close together.

Or rather, Konoha had originally been built around the Senju and Uchiha clan compounds.

In the middle of the night, Xingyue Senju was still awake, reading a scroll by the window.

A figure appeared with the Body Flicker Technique, startling her. Once she realized it was Kawadera, she hurriedly closed the window.

As she turned around, she gathered up her hair, neatly pinning the loose strands behind her head.

"What are you doing?"

"You said you didn't like loose strands, so I fixed my hair. I knew we'd parted too abruptly tonight. Couldn't you resist coming back?"

Seeing the smug, bashful look on Xingyue Senju's face, Kawadera Uchiha slipped an arm around her waist.

Half an hour later, Xingyue Senju panted as she brushed her hair against Kawadera Uchiha's chest.

Only then did Kawadera Uchiha bring up the real reason he'd come.

"Xingyue, the Uchiha Clan's young clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, will be taking the Chunin Ninja Exams too.

"Your brother said he wants to train Shingu Senju, so we need to be careful of Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan.

"Fugaku Uchiha is highly skilled in genjutsu. I'll give Shingu some genjutsu training. He doesn't need to learn how to use it himself; improving his resistance will help a lot too."

"All right. I'll tell my brother. Starting tomorrow, you can train Shingu in genjutsu."

Xingyue Senju's brother, Seiei Senju, lived next door.

The next night, Shingu Senju waited in the study, wondering why his teacher, Seiei, had asked him to come.

Before long, someone appeared with the Body Flicker Technique.

Shingu Senju immediately recognized him as Xingyue's teammate, Kawadera Uchiha.

"Shingu, your biggest rival in this Chunin Ninja Exam will be Fugaku Uchiha, the young clan head of the Uchiha Clan.

"He specializes in genjutsu, and he's also very skilled in Fire Release Ninjutsu and the Shuriken Manipulation Technique.

"Captain Xingyue asked me to train you in genjutsu so you won't be easily defeated by Fugaku Uchiha."

Shingu Senju thought, With the tiger away from the mountain, am I—the monkey—really going to have to face the young clan head of the Uchiha Clan?

"Genjutsu training is very tedious. I'll put you under genjutsu again and again, and you'll break it again and again, until you can escape faster and faster.

"All right, let's begin."

"All right, Senior Kawadera!"

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Shingu Senju thought his teacher Seiei had come to see him, so he hurried over to answer it.

When he opened the door, a blond girl stood outside.

"Shingu! Why haven't you gone home this late? I have something to talk to you about."

"Ob...Observing the Moon? I trained with Teacher Seiei during the day, and I just got back from Konoha Hospital. Teacher Mei Senju treated my muscles.

"Senior Kawadera is giving me genjutsu training right now.

"Observing the Moon, so much has happened to me lately.

"I'll ask Senior Kawadera for a break. I'll talk with you first, then come back to train with him."

He turned and asked Kawadera Uchiha for permission. Once he got it, the delighted Mitsuki Senju walked downstairs.

More than an hour later, Shingu Senju lay on the first-floor boards, two streams of tears pouring from the corners of his eyes like a broken dam, running toward his ears and onto the floor.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Your aptitude for genjutsu is terrible. It took you 89 minutes to break free. I've never seen a ninja so bad at genjutsu."

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

"Sorry, Senior Kawadera. I've disappointed you."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. That's enough for tonight. Remember what it felt like to escape the genjutsu. Keep thinking about it; it'll help you in the future."

Senior Kawadera left. Shingu Senju stood with his head lowered, thinking, What realistic genjutsu. What wonderful genjutsu. What if I don't want to break out?

Death had come in an instant, but longing stretched on endlessly. I really miss you so much, Mitsuki...

No, it's not because I miss her too much. Senior Kawadera's genjutsu must just have been incredibly convincing.