The Naka River

Uchiha Shin followed the forest path south, heading straight for the Naka River. He strolled along at an easy pace.

The Naka River was a remarkable river. Flowing from west to east, it marked not only the boundary—or border—between the territories of the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan.

It was also where Madara and Hashirama first met in the original Naruto, and where their battle, born of love turned to hatred, finally ended.

The violent damage to the terrain caused by the battle between Madara and Hashirama formed the Valley of the End. To be precise, it was located somewhere along the lower reaches of the Naka River.

As a result, patrol teams of Uchiha Clan ninja and Senju Clan ninja regularly patrolled the northern and southern banks of the Naka River, along the border between their territories.

It could be said that the riverbanks formed the first natural line of defense around the outer territories of the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan.

There were even hidden forward observation posts in the forests on both sides of the Naka River, belonging to the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan.

Unfortunately, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan were evenly matched. Neither could get the better of the other.

Although the two clans often fought so fiercely on the battlefield that blood and brains splattered everywhere, both showed restraint along the natural border of the Naka River. Large-scale battles were rare there.

Only when one side was too weak to stop the other from forcing its way into their territory would such a thing happen.

Otherwise, few ninja clans were willing to let the flames of war spread through their own territory.

After all, war meant destruction and devastation. Building things up took a long time, but destroying them often took only an instant.

So, when two neighboring ninja clans in the Ninja World were evenly matched,

both sides generally exercised restraint. They especially avoided large-scale battles along their borders, unless some unusual circumstance arose, such as the involvement of a third party.

Otherwise, if you came to wreck my home today, that was the first day of the lunar month.

Tomorrow, I could go to your home and destroy it—that would be the fifteenth.

Still, they had to stay alert and keep patrolling. It never hurt to be wary of others.

Shin had no idea how long he had been walking. It just felt like a long time.

"Splash!"

"Splash!"

The sound of the Naka River flowing from west to east rose and fell, carrying to Uchiha Shin's ears in waves.

Of course, he was about to reach the natural border between the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. Though Shin looked relaxed, he didn't dare let his guard down for a moment.

So, as he'd walked, Shin had already pushed his sensory ability to its limit.

What if some shameless Senju ninja passing by wanted to kill a Uchiha child to vent his anger? Wouldn't Shin be walking straight into a trap?

As Shin extended his sensory range, he naturally detected the location of a Uchiha Clan forward post—or observation post—hidden in the forest on the north bank of the Naka River.

Judging by the chakra signatures coming from the post, Shin was sure that a ninja team was stationed there.

If danger arose by the river and there was a significant difference in strength between him and his enemies, Shin's first choice would be to lead them toward his forward post.

After that, he would decide whether to flee or fight, depending on the situation.

"Huh?"

"There's a faint chakra signature in the forest on the south bank of the Naka River?"

"What's going on?"

Uchiha Shin frowned and immediately stopped walking.

"Should I go down to the river?"

Shin hesitated for a moment...

"Maybe I should take a look."

"It's just across from the north bank of the Naka River. I'll observe carefully first."

As the saying went, curiosity killed the cat.

Still, Shin was curious.

So, spurred on by his curiosity, Shin once again set off toward the Naka River.

Uchiha Shin walked cautiously, glancing all around him as he planned the best route for a quick escape.

By the time Shin reached the riverbank, he sensed that the faint chakra signature in the forest on the south bank was slowly moving toward the Naka River.

Shin pretended to pick up pebbles along the bank while secretly gathering chakra in the soles of his feet.

He was wearing casual clothes today, not the Uchiha Clan's battle armor, and he wasn't even five years old yet.

Shin figured he probably wouldn't give away his identity as a member of the Uchiha Clan.

"Here it comes..."

Following the chakra signature with his senses, Shin waited until the moment it emerged from the forest on the south bank...

He rose naturally and turned to look across the Naka River.

"About a meter tall..."

"A distinctive watermelon-shaped haircut..."

"An utterly ordinary face..."

"And that gloomy air that seemed to seep from his very bones."

"Could this guy be four-year-old Senju Hashirama?"

From the boy's looks and appearance, Uchiha Shin immediately recognized him.

But Shin was highly cautious. He still expanded his sensory range outward from the boy across the river.

What if the boy had a Senju Chunin or Jonin hidden behind him?

Wouldn't Shin be in trouble then?

"Nothing?"

After carefully searching the area with his sensory ability,

and confirming that Senju Hashirama wasn't accompanied by or hiding a Senju Chunin or Jonin, Shin finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

But what puzzled Shin was this: was Senju Butsuma really so reckless?

He'd let his own child come out alone and wander to the Naka River, right on the border between the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan.

Was Senju Butsuma not worried at all that a passing Uchiha ninja might kill his child on the spot?

Feeling confused, Uchiha Shin scratched his head without thinking.

Even so, Shin remained on high alert, keeping his sensory ability extended into the forest on the south bank of the Naka River.

There was a simple reason why four-year-old Senju Hashirama had come to the Naka River alone that day...

That morning, one of Hashirama's cousins had been killed in battle.

Hashirama's cousin had been only eight years old.

He especially liked Hashirama, so whenever he wasn't away on a mission, he often played with him.

As a result, Hashirama and his cousin had grown very close and shared a strong bond.

But when Hashirama got up that morning, he heard that his cousin had been killed in battle.

By the time he reached the Senju Clan cemetery, his cousin—the one who was usually so cheerful—was already lying there, cold and lifeless, his body covered with a white cloth.

Hashirama was heartbroken and cried for a long time.

Only after the bodies of the Senju ninja killed in that battle had been buried did he hear from his father, Senju Butsuma...

His cousin had encountered ninja from the Hagoromo Clan during a mission and had been killed by them.

The death of someone so close made four-year-old Senju Hashirama experience the cruelty of war for the first time.

Why was there war?

For the first time, four-year-old Senju Hashirama began to think about this question on his own.

Senju Butsuma was usually so strict that Hashirama didn't dare voice this question to his father.

So, feeling sad and down, Hashirama wandered out of the Senju Clan's settlement without any particular destination. He followed a forest path and eventually reached the Naka River.