Mission

By the time Uchiha Shin hurried back to the place where Madara, Izuna, and Hana were practicing tree climbing...

Madara, Izuna, and Hana had already gotten the hang of it.

"Not bad, you three... You can all climb up to the treetops without any trouble."

Standing beneath the tree, Uchiha Shin looked up at the three of them walking vertically along the trunk and praised them with delight.

"Big brother!"

"Lord Shin!"

The three of them were walking vertically along the tree trunk when they heard a familiar voice. They immediately turned to look down.

When they saw that the person who had arrived was Uchiha Shin, who had slipped away that morning...

Madara, Izuna, and Hana couldn't help but look delighted.

As soon as they saw Uchiha Shin, the three of them hurried down the trunk.

"Big brother, what were you doing this morning...?"

"You just left the three of us here and didn't pay us any attention at all. Hmph, I'm going to be mad!"

After climbing down, Izuna walked up to Uchiha Shin and tugged at his arm. Pouting and pretending to be angry, he spoke to him in a slightly coquettish tone.

"You three looked so focused on practicing."

"I didn't want to interrupt you, so I went for a walk in the forest."

"Hahaha..."

"Besides, didn't I leave three Shadow Clones here to look after you?"

"Madara, Izuna, Hana, tell me—were the three clones I left behind slacking off?"

Hearing Izuna say that, Uchiha Shin quickly laughed it off.

Then he pointed at the three Shadow Clones still standing under the tree, pretending to be wooden statues, and immediately shifted the blame onto them.

"Original, that's not fair."

"We three brothers may not have contributed, but we've certainly put in the effort!"

"You can't just slander the three of us like that. That's not right!"

Clone One wore an expression of deep hurt, as if to say, I thought I knew you.

"Hmph, if this guy had been born in a different era, he'd definitely have been a turncoat and a traitor."

Clone Two was just as sarcastic, immediately making a serious accusation.

"Hmph!"

"Exactly!"

Clone Three was at a loss for words, so he could only chime in from the side.

"Hey, you three, shut up already!"

Afraid his Shadow Clones might blurt out something they shouldn't, Uchiha Shin hurriedly shot them a meaningful look.

"Tch!"

Clone Two realized he'd let something slip, so he quickly shut his mouth, though he still looked at Uchiha Shin with contempt.

"It's not dark yet, so let's practice a little longer."

"This time, I'm going to make it harder."

"Are you up for it?"

Uchiha Shin ruffled Izuna's hair, then smiled at Madara and Hana with a mischievous look.

"Make it harder?"

Hearing Uchiha Shin say that, Izuna, Madara, and Hana were fearless, like young calves who didn't know to fear tigers.

Instead of looking worried, all three watched Uchiha Shin with eager anticipation.

"Mm!"

"Since you've chosen to become shinobi, we'll start with real combat!"

"When you three climb the tree later, my three Shadow Clones will attack you."

"Of course, you won't actually get hurt, but it'll definitely hurt!"

"If you three can still climb safely to the top while my three Shadow Clones attack you..."

"Then that means you've truly mastered tree climbing."

Uchiha Shin first explained to Madara, Izuna, and Hana why he was making the exercise harder.

"Hey, you three over there, get over here! We've got a mission!"

Then he once again put his three Shadow Clones to work.

"Original, you can be pretty mean sometimes, hehe!"

"But we like it, hahaha!"

The three Shadow Clones knew exactly what Uchiha Shin meant, and they quite enjoyed picking on rookies.

When the practice began, the three of them were indeed a little nervous under the Shadow Clones' attacks.

Even Madara, who was doing the best, only managed to climb about ten meters.

But as they practiced more, Madara, Izuna, and Hana grew steadier, and their performance improved.

An hour later...

Madara, Izuna, and Hana could now climb all the way to the treetops without trouble, even with Uchiha Shin's three Shadow Clones attacking them.

Watching the three of them succeed, Uchiha Shin nodded to himself. They were quick learners.

When it came to getting things done, ability aside, your mindset really mattered.

With the right mindset, you were already halfway to success.

Take driving, for example. When Uchiha Shin had just gotten his license and first touched the steering wheel, he'd been so nervous!

But after he worked up the courage to drive around the busy streets downtown...

The next time he got behind the wheel, he wasn't scared at all.

So when it came to getting things done, the right mindset was already half the battle.

"Hey, you three, it's getting dark. Let's hurry home!"

"Otherwise, Mom will scold us."

Uchiha Shin looked up at the three of them, who were still practicing enthusiastically in the tree. After glancing at the sky, he hurriedly shouted to them.

Izuna: "I know, big brother!"

Madara: "Mm!"

Hana: "Hehe, I'm coming down, Lord Shin!"

Hearing Uchiha Shin shout from below, Madara, Izuna, and Hana hurried back down the tree.

"Big brother, I'm tired."

"Carry me home."

"Hehe."

Izuna was the first to jump down from the tree. He walked over to Uchiha Shin, jumped onto his back, and wrapped his arms around his neck, speaking playfully.

"I can't do anything with you..."

Uchiha Shin glanced back at Izuna with an affectionate look, then supported him with both hands and spoke helplessly.

Watching Izuna riding on their big brother's back, Madara and Hana were both incredibly envious.

"That guy Izuna always uses his age to coax big brother."

Seeing Izuna lying on Uchiha Shin's back with a smug expression, Madara felt as if he'd just eaten a lemon. He grumbled sourly.

Hana had also gotten a taste of that lemon. She was as sly as a fox.

She furtively walked beside Madara, then whispered something to him.

Hearing the two of them muttering behind him,

Izuna, looking smug, glanced back at his older brother and Hana, who were following him and big brother.

"Hmph..."

Then he immediately put on a smug, triumphant expression and snorted.

Seeing Izuna act like that, Hana immediately egged Madara on: "Young Master Madara, you're Lord Shin's little brother too."

"Why can Young Master Izuna get Lord Shin to carry him?"

"Why can't you?"

"You should learn from Young Master Izuna and act spoiled with Lord Shin!"

"Lord Shin's heart is actually very soft!"

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease, Young Master Madara."

Uchiha Hana once again played the role of a scheming strategist, offering Madara advice.

Hmph, once you two brothers start fighting each other...

Hehehe, Lord Shin will belong to Hana alone.

Hana, pretending to be a scheming strategist and advising Madara, thought to herself darkly.