Naka River (3)

Chapter 26: Naka River

"That's it?"

"Hahaha..."

"My stomach hurts from laughing."

"So, a brat is just a brat..."

"Ouch!"

On the north bank of the Naka River, Uchiha Shin first stood with his hands on his hips, laughing; whether he had a stitch in his side or something else, it was hard to tell.

On the south bank of the Naka River, Senju Hashirama saw the other party actually laughing so hard he had to squat down and clutch his stomach.

"Damn it!"

"Hey, is it really polite to mock someone directly to their face like that?"

Four-year-old Senju Hashirama suddenly felt his face burning...

Even if he hadn't thrown it well, there was no need to mock him like that; that guy on the other side of the river was simply detestable.

On four-year-old Senju Hashirama's cute face, he tried his best to put on an expression of extreme anger.

"Hey, you brat on the other side, this young master has undergone strict training in suppressing laughter. No matter how funny something is, I won't laugh, unless I can't help it..."

"Haha..."

While secretly observing Senju Hashirama's expression, Uchiha Shin continued to play the role of an instigator.

As the saying goes, when a man successfully attracts a woman's attention, it also marks the beginning of that woman's impending fall.

If four-year-old Senju Hashirama had a narrator at this moment...

Four-year-old Senju Hashirama would probably say: "That guy on the other side, very good, you have successfully attracted this young master's attention!"

Hahaha.

"How about it? Do you want this young master to teach you the secret to skipping stones?"

Uchiha Shin finally straightened his back and stopped laughing.

Then, having already made his calculations, Uchiha Shin naturally flashed an extremely warm smile at Senju Hashirama.

Although Uchiha Shin kept using terms like "this young master," his tone when saying this was filled with gentleness and sincerity, just like a big brother from next door.

Looking at Uchiha Shin's extremely warm, sincere, and sunny smile...

For Senju Hashirama, who had just lost his cousin, a soft spot deep in his heart seemed to be touched by Uchiha Shin's sincere and sunny smile.

For a moment, four-year-old Senju Hashirama hesitated.

Hehe, looks like he's hooked.

Carefully observing Senju Hashirama's expression, Uchiha Shin felt a secret joy in his heart.

But he still needed to add more fuel to the fire...

"Hey, brat, wait there. This young master is coming over right now."

Maintaining vigilance in his heart, Uchiha Shin continued to extend his sensory power to his surroundings, just in case a ninja from the Senju Clan popped out.

Then, stepping on the water, he leaped a few times and landed in front of Senju Hashirama, looking at him with a full face of smiles.

"Are you a ninja?"

Watching Uchiha Shin walk across the water, Senju Hashirama felt a tightening in his chest and asked with some nervousness.

"What if I am a ninja?"

"In such a rotten world, it's hard to survive if you aren't a ninja!"

Uchiha Shin once again wore an extremely warm, sunny, and sincere smile, then said with a pointed meaning.

"That's true, such a rotten world..."

Thinking of his cousin's death, Senju Hashirama looked up at Uchiha Shin and sighed slightly.

Looking at the warm, sunny, and sincere smile on Uchiha Shin's face, four-year-old Senju Hashirama believed that someone with such a smile could not be an enemy.

Thus, in Senju Hashirama's heart, his guard against Uchiha Shin slowly began to drop.

Noticing that the Senju Hashirama before him had completely relaxed, Uchiha Shin thought to himself.

Tch, I can't even fool a four-year-old brat? You should know that in my past life, I was a man who read the book "An Actor Prepares."

Uchiha Shin thought with secret smugness.

"Hey, brat, why the long face?"

"The road of your future life is still very long."

"It's not good to sigh like that."

Uchiha Shin smiled slightly at Senju Hashirama.

Then, he reached into his pocket, took out another round, flat pebble, and handed it to Senju Hashirama.

"Come on, try throwing it again this time. I'll watch from the side."

"..., alright, I'll give it a try."

Senju Hashirama looked at the pebble Uchiha Shin handed over, hesitated for a brief moment, and then took it.

As it turned out, Senju Hashirama had a real talent for skipping stones.

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

This time, the pebble Senju Hashirama threw skipped across the surface of the Naka River four times.

Regrettably, the pebble still failed to make it all the way to the opposite bank, eventually plunging into the depths of the Naka River.

"Kid, it looks like you've got real talent!"

"That's a huge improvement!"

Uchiha Shin smiled and patted Senju Hashirama on the shoulder, praising him with genuine delight.

Being praised like this, the four-year-old Senju Hashirama felt a bit bashful, as in his memories, his father, Senju Butsuma, had seemingly never praised him once.

Feeling a little shy, Senju Hashirama scratched his head and offered a goofy, honest smile.

"Next time you throw, remember to lift your arm slightly upward as you release."

"That's the secret to skipping stones."

Uchiha Shin smiled and patted Senju Hashirama's shoulder again, offering him a bit of guidance.

He then pulled out another flat, round pebble and handed it to Senju Hashirama once more.

"I understand..."

"I'll definitely succeed this time."

Senju Hashirama took the pebble from Uchiha Shin, mentally reviewing the technique the big brother before him had just mentioned.

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

"Plap!"

The pebble Senju Hashirama threw this time skipped across the Naka River five times; it was clearly much better than the last attempt.

However, it was a pity that even with five skips, the pebble still failed to reach the opposite bank of the Naka River.

A trace of disappointment inevitably appeared on the face of the four-year-old Senju Hashirama.

"Not bad, that's a big improvement over last time."

"If you keep trying, you'll succeed eventually."

"Isn't that how people improve, by learning from failure?"

Uchiha Shin observed the look of disappointment on Senju Hashirama's face.

He quickly stepped back into the role of the caring big brother, continuing to feed Senju Hashirama words of encouragement.

Then, Uchiha Shin took all the pebbles from his pocket and handed them over to Senju Hashirama.

"Mm-hmm, I understand."

"I'll practice hard."

Senju Hashirama nodded with a smile, took all the pebbles from Uchiha Shin, and began to practice on his own.

Uchiha Shin took the opportunity to sit cross-legged on a large rock two meters away from Senju Hashirama.

He rested his chin on his hand, watching Senju Hashirama's stone-skipping practice with a smile.

First failure...

Second failure...

Tenth time...

"Haha, I did it..."

"Big brother, I did it, haha!"

On his thirteenth attempt, Senju Hashirama finally managed to skip the pebble perfectly across the surface of the Naka River eight times, and the stone successfully flew to the opposite bank.

Having finally succeeded, Senju Hashirama ran quickly to the large rock where Uchiha Shin was sitting, happily reporting his success.

PS: Seeking monthly tickets, favorites, investments, and recommendation tickets. There should be two more chapters coming, thank you everyone.