Uchiha Izumi

After Senya used the Transformation Technique, he led the girls in dancing to a song of "Gokuraku Jodo."

Uchiha Xiu and the others stared, looking as if they were about to start drooling.

But Yurisa had glared at them fiercely, and they'd all sucked it back in.

As for the singing, Senya had used chakra to control his vocal cords and sing in a falsetto.

Only after Ori, Yurisa, and the others had settled down did Senya gather them together.

"Next, follow my Shadow Clones and practice the harmony."

He formed Hand Seals and created four clones to teach the boys' and girls' groups.

Then he walked over to Uchiha Izumi.

"Izumi, come here. I'll teach you the song we're going to perform together."

"Mm-hmm."

Izumi's lips curled into a smile, and she hurried after Senya to the other side.

Senya waited until he sensed that he and his Shadow Clones were far enough apart before stopping. Then he took the lyrics he'd prepared in advance from his ninja tool pouch.

"Here, take these. This is the song we'll be learning. Familiarize yourself with the lyrics first, and then I'll teach you one line at a time."

There was no helping it. Although instruments and music theory existed in the Ninja World, it was mostly geisha and commoners who spent time learning them. Even if these eleven Uchiha tried, they probably wouldn't get the hang of it for a year or more.

It was better to have them imitate each line directly. Ninjas might not be able to learn music theory in a short time, but singing was no challenge for those skilled in Transformation Techniques and voice imitation.

Even if singing well was difficult, they only needed to manage the harmony.

That should still be easy enough for them.

Only Izumi would have a harder time. She was the other lead singer, so she had to meet the requirements in a short time.

Fortunately, Izumi had a great talent for this. During the earlier selection, every time she sang along with Senya, her voice had been lovely and in tune.

Izumi took the lyrics and started reading. The title at the top caught her attention.

"'Answer'? What answer?"

"Thwack."

"Ah, that hurt! What was that for~!"

Izumi cried out in pain.

Senya had flicked her on the forehead.

"The song's called 'Answer.' What, did it remind you of your days at the Ninja Academy?"

A mortified blush spread across Izumi's cheeks. She lightly pounded her fist against Senya's chest, then turned away, apparently a little angry.

The motion sent her long, dark hair swishing behind her. It should have been a beautiful turn from a lovely girl, but unfortunately, a breeze had picked up...

The wind caught Izumi's hair as she turned.

"Smack."

Her hair whipped Senya right across the forehead.

Huh? What was that sound? Did my hair hit something?

Izumi wondered, then turned back to look at Senya.

She saw that the right side of his face was a little red.

"Senya, you're so strange. Why's only one side of your face red?"

Senya's mouth twitched. He grabbed Izumi by the back of her collar with his right hand and lifted her up until they were at eye level.

Then he slowly leaned closer, their gazes locked.

Senya narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled as he asked her,

"Izumi, did your hair feel like it hit something just now? Look at my right cheek. What do you think it hit?"

Senya's face was so close that Izumi blushed even more. Why did Vice Clan Head Senya look even more handsome up close?

No, no, no! Izumi, what are you thinking? You can't think that way! How could you have those kinds of thoughts about Vice Clan Head?

"Could it be... that my hair hit your face just now...?"

Izumi said, looking embarrassed. Her timid expression made Senya laugh.

He chuckled, slowly raised his left hand, curled his finger, and pressed it against Izumi's forehead.

"This is payback for what you just did."

"Thwack!"

"Ah! That hurts!"

Izumi clutched the spot on her forehead where Senya had flicked her.

"Senya! You'll never get a wife if you keep acting like that!"

Izumi said indignantly.

Senya let go and dropped Uchiha Izumi onto the ground.

"You don't need to worry about that. Get up. We're going to learn the song."

Izumi got up and brushed the dust off her backside.

"Hmph. I know."

About two minutes later.

"Senya, I've finished reading. We can start now."

"Good. Listen carefully. I'll teach you one line at a time."

Senya created another Shadow Clone, which transformed into Izumi.

Uchiha Izumi stared blankly at the copy of herself standing beside her, created by Senya's Shadow Clone.

"Why did you turn into me?"

The clone spoke up. "Since I'm teaching you to sing, using your appearance and voice will make the lesson more effective."

Uchiha Izumi tilted her head to the right and thought it over. That did seem to make sense.

"All right, then. Let's get started."

Senya stood off to the side as the clone began.

"There's a simple question~"

"What question?"

The moment the clone sang its first line, Uchiha Izumi interrupted it.

Senya and the clone both turned to look at Uchiha Izumi. Their expressions seemed a little "dangerous."

"Haha, I was just joking. Go on, go on."

Only then did the clone stop and draw back the hand it had already raised toward Uchiha Izumi's forehead.

"There's a simple question~ What is love?"

The autumn full moon slowly rose, while half the setting sun remained in sight.

After a full day of practice, Senya finally dispelled the Shadow Clone Technique.

The experiences of all five Shadow Clones flooded back into Senya's mind.

What a damn bunch of little brats. They were like they'd planned it all ahead of time, like they'd made some kind of pact. They'd driven Senya up the wall.

Uchiha Izumi kept pulling stunts, while the boys with Uchiha Xiu sang as if they were completely tone-deaf.

The girls with Yurisa and Ori could sing well enough, but they kept coming up with strange ideas and bothering the Shadow Clones, slowing down the practice.

Senya worked hard to calm himself down. Stay calm. He had to stay calm. This was already the group with the best natural ability in the clan.

Replacing them would mean either ending up with a worse group or having no one better to choose from.

It took several deep breaths before Senya managed to calm down. It looked like he'd have to bring out the big guns next time. Otherwise, these brats might actually think he was easygoing.

There wasn't much time left. If he wanted results quickly, he'd have to become a devil of a drill instructor.

Senya already had a plan in mind.

If he couldn't get them trained and whipped into shape within three days, he might as well find a block of soft tofu and bash his head against it until he died.

He silently made himself that promise, so he could properly whip them into shape over the next three days.