Uchiha Shuri's Reluctance

The conversation was as noisy and incessant as ever from the very start.

Uchiha Shuri remained completely unmoved, Sakumo grew furious at her attitude, and Diejian stood to the side, trying to mediate.

The endless bickering was beginning to exhaust even Diejian, but if he gave up here, his dream of becoming a genin would be shattered.

He told himself to stay calm, stay calm, and formed a hand seal.

"Uchiha Shuri. You were saved by Diejian; can't you even say thank you?"

"Hmph. If the Senju are willing to withdraw from this exam, I might be able to bestow a 'thank you' upon you. Well? How about it?"

"Still running your mouth..."

Unable to take it any longer—Sakumo made no effort to hide his anger, stepping forward to grab Shuri by the collar.

A friend of the Senju is an enemy.

As the saying goes, love me, love my dog—or in this case, hate the house, hate the crow—Shuri perhaps judged that provoking Sakumo until he lost his temper counted as a "win," and she wore a smile she couldn't quite suppress.

Shuri lifted her skirt and drew three short rods from the straps on her thigh.

The three rods danced in her hands, nimbly and rapidly assembling into a long staff, the tip of which pointed directly at Sakumo.

The atmosphere was on the verge of exploding.

"Here."

"Whoa, thanks."

Diejian's words.

Shuri couldn't help but respond, only to freeze immediately after her own actions.

Between the confronting Sakumo and Shuri.

Suddenly, Diejian's arm intervened.

In his hand, he held a rose.

Diejian handed a fresh, beautiful rose to Shuri.

Looking at the rose thrust before her eyes, Shuri, her rhythm and mood completely disrupted, couldn't help but feel a moment of genuine delight.

Seeing Shuri's flustered state, her face turning shades of blue and red, Sakumo slumped his shoulders as if his energy had been drained.

"You guy! Senju! Despicable—!!!"

As if to retaliate for the disrupted rhythm, Shuri swung her arm to strike Diejian.

Diejian wore a somewhat lonely expression—Shuri looked suspiciously in the direction of his gaze, only to see the rose in her own hand, which was on the verge of scattering.

If she swung her fist down like that, the petals would surely fall.

Shuri reluctantly lowered her arm, which was trembling slightly, appearing suspicious and unsure of what to do.

"I don't want it!"

After some internal struggle, Shuri pushed the rose back toward Diejian.

Diejian smiled as he took it, then tucked the rose into a lock of Shuri's hair.

"Don't touch me so casually, Senju!!"

Shuri knocked Diejian's hand away with her staff and stepped back to create distance, yet the red rose remained as a decoration on her cheek.

★

Deep in the night, when people were fast asleep.

Konohagakure, the Hokage's residence.

In the dim office, flickering with candlelight, two figures swayed.

They were the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and the jonin in charge of Team 6, Kagami Uchiha.

"So, what is the result?"

"Honestly, I don't think there's much hope. However, Diejian does have a strong sense of teamwork. The problem is the other two... or rather, my younger sister."

Watching Kagami answer with exhaustion, Tobirama hummed, "Hmm..."

However, if one could not even manage an Uchiha, the result would be the same regardless.

If Diejian lacked that capacity, then he simply wouldn't be recruited this time.

Diejian, Shuri, and Sakumo—the test the three of them participated in ended with no one managing to take the bell from Kagami.

Sakumo, Diejian, and Shuri had acted individually, failing to demonstrate any teamwork until the very end—Kagami felt disappointed, yet he held a glimmer of expectation for Diejian's efforts.

He had originally intended to fail them immediately if they abandoned Shuri once she was caught in a genjutsu, but no matter how badly she treated him, Diejian never once abandoned Shuri.

At this point, Kagami, as her older brother, felt apologetic for his sister's incompetent attitude.

He felt quite guilty that his own sister had caused both Diejian and Sakumo to fail.

Kagami pleaded with Tobirama to leave the decision until tomorrow.

"No. Rules are rules. I told you just now. Diejian is the next head of the Senju. If he cannot even handle this level of teamwork, he is not fit for the role. It only proves he lacks the capacity."

It was truly a bizarre sight: Kagami Uchiha was shielding Diejian Senju, yet it was Tobirama Senju who was doing the scolding.

Ignoring Kagami's plea, Tobirama raised his hand, preparing to stamp "Rejected" onto Diejian's file.

In an instant—the sound of shattering glass and hurried footsteps erupted from outside the door.

The "Rejected" stamp rolled onto the floor, and the air in the room turned abruptly frigid.

"What is the meaning of this!!"

"Is it an enemy attack?"

"What are the guards doing! To let an enemy infiltrate this far... Monkey!"

Rising abruptly, Tobirama drew a kunai and rushed toward the door.

Stepping into the hallway, he was met with a deathly silence.

Refining his chakra to sense his surroundings, he could feel the presence of someone nearby.

Approaching, he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen slumped against the wall, covered in blood.

"Monkey! What happened! With your skills, how could you be taken down so easily..."

Tobirama scooped up the limp, injured Hiruzen.

It seemed he had merely fainted, and Tobirama let out a sigh of relief.

But the next second, he sensed a presence closing in from behind.

Is this the ninja who took down Monkey...

Tobirama intentionally kept his back turned to wait, and the hooked ninja lunged at him from behind.

Tobirama spun around with lightning speed, intending to use the momentum to stab the attacker with his kunai—

"Don't think you'll succeed!!"

"You brat, is that you, Diejian!"

Tobirama stopped in shock as he was grabbed by the arm by the suddenly awakened Hiruzen—no, by Diejian, who had transformed into him.

Immediately after, the intruder who had lunged from behind—correction, Uchiha Shuri—clutched Tobirama's leg tightly, desperately pinning him down.

Although it wouldn't have mattered to Tobirama whether Diejian and Shuri were there or not had he been truly serious, the shift in his anger from a vigilant enemy invasion to a childish prank created a momentary "opening."

Taking advantage of this gap, Sakumo infiltrated the Hokage's office.

The moment Kagami saw Shuri, he seemed to grasp the situation and decided to let it play out.

Sakumo began opening the drawers of the Hokage's desk one by one, searching for the "Approved" stamp.

Yes—Team Six had somehow decided, "If we can't get the bells, why not just stamp the 'Approved' seal ourselves?" and thus resolved to raid the Hokage's residence.

With Shuri, who had easily tagged along under the pretext of attacking the Senju, and Sakumo, who was eager to test his skills, Diejian's strategy had worked. Now, the "Approved" seal was stamped onto Team Six's files.

"You lot... do you have any idea what the consequences will be..."

Tobirama, wearing a demonic expression, stood with both teammates forcibly silenced and hanging from his arms.

Sakumo realized his end had come—while Kagami, watching the rose swaying in his younger sister's hair, smiled at the three of them and thought: What truly excellent teamwork.