The setting sun lazily streamed through the doors and windows, spilling across the room. Senju Tobirama held a piece of white chalk and marked the blackboard, the sound of vigorous writing echoing through the classroom.
Rikusei sat upright at his desk and raised his head, gazing at the blackboard covered in notes about kunai and shuriken throwing techniques.
The grip points and throwing angles had all been drawn in detail. The lifelike illustrations on the board couldn't help but inspire a quiet word of admiration: no wonder Senju Tobirama was a researcher.
The illustrations continued.
Rikusei recalled the names he'd written down during the introductions earlier. Not one of them belonged to a member of the Senju Clan.
A bold idea rose in his heart. Could it be that everyone without a well-known family name might be a member of the Senju Clan?
It was certainly possible.
Could this be when the Senju Clan began hiding within Konoha?
Rikusei studied the figure at the lectern intently, growing more and more certain. Given Tobirama's personality, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to do something like this.
The Senju Clan had no distinguishing features. Without their surname, Senju looked just like anyone else in a crowd; there was no way to tell them apart.
Unlike the Uchiha and Hyuga.
One clan looked at people with the Byakugan every waking moment, while the other was prone to getting red eyes when riled up.
"Whoosh."
The chalk spun through the air at high speed. A white blur passed the edge of Rikusei's vision and shot straight behind him.
"Mm."
A drowsy groan laced with pain came from the window side of the room.
Mitokado Homura stared in shock beneath his round glasses as the chalk rolled slowly across the desktop. Without drawing attention, he nudged his deskmate with the end of his pen.
Utatane Koharu, wearing an orange vest, stood up sheepishly. She hurried to pick up the chalk and place it on the lectern, then lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Teacher. I was too excited yesterday and couldn't sleep well."
Senju Tobirama nodded to indicate that she should return to her seat. Once the minor disturbance had passed, he resumed the lesson.
He understood why children got like this, but he couldn't accept it. He'd worked hard to prepare the lesson, and he absolutely wouldn't allow anyone to sleep through it.
Time slipped by as Tobirama lectured earnestly.
Rikusei filled his notebook from top to bottom. If nothing else, he couldn't let a single detail of the lifelike diagrams on the blackboard showing how muscles and joints generated force pass him by.
Besides, Izuna had been brought down by this very technique.
In the school's early days, there weren't so many rules and regulations. Once Senju Tobirama had finished explaining the lesson, he took them to the training field to test what they'd learned.
The noisy procession of students moving along the corridor caught the teachers' attention. They gathered around the office windows to watch what was happening on the training field.
Rikusei was called up first. He gripped a kunai tightly, combining the Uchiha throwing method with the techniques he'd just learned.
"Thud, thud, thud."
The kunai landed securely in the very center of the wooden target.
Senju Tobirama nodded, looked away, and gave him an excellent mark on the paper.
Rikusei turned and headed back toward the group. Most of the faces he passed looked calm; only a few pairs of eyes shifted slightly.
The throwing practice that followed.
Only confirmed his suspicions.
The Senju Clan.
No.
It was the former Senju Clan's children who were hiding in the class.
After the kunai came the shuriken practice.
By the time everyone had taken their turn, the morning's throwing lesson was over.
Unfortunately, the school didn't provide lunch, so they scattered like birds and beasts, each heading home.
On the way to their clan compound, Rikusei shared what he'd noticed. Naori and Kagami admitted they'd had the same suspicion.
"Could the Senju Clan have disbanded? Mm!"
Kagami's eyes widened as he struggled to pry away the hands clamped over his mouth.
"Phew."
Kagami shook out his sore fingers. His small face flushed red, and his chest heaved.
"Shh! Keep your voice down." Rikusei glanced around. Seeing no one, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "It's just a guess, but it's probably true."
"But why would the Senju Clan disband?" Confusion filled Kagami's face. He couldn't understand it. A clan that had been at odds with the Uchiha for so many years had suddenly disbanded—it was hard for him to imagine.
"What's one of the basic requirements for a ninja?" Naori asked quietly, as if she'd thought of something.
"Keeping secrets."
Like he was back at the Clan Academy, Kagami dutifully thought it over before answering.
Naori seemed satisfied with his response. She considered the matter, then said, "The village was proposed jointly by the Uchiha and Senju. As the other ninja clans join, cliques are bound to form in the village. I think that's one reason the Senju Clan disbanded."
"What do you think, Rikusei?"
At the girl's question, Rikusei stopped walking. He hadn't learned much yet, so he could only guess. Gazing at the thriving village, he said, "I think the Senju Clan did everything for the sake of the village."
"But..."
Rikusei drew out the word and turned to face the two of them.
"What is it, Rikusei?"
Kagami had taken the bait, urging him on at once.
Naori only watched him quietly, seeming to know what he was about to say.
Rikusei revealed the answer to the mystery. "Rather than guessing here, why don't we go back to the school and ask Teacher Tobirama? He probably hasn't left yet."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go ask him!" Kagami took the lead and headed toward the school.
Rikusei turned his face away, avoiding Naori's teasing gaze. He smiled awkwardly; he hadn't realized she'd seen through his little scheme all along.
In the office, Tobirama stopped what he was doing and set aside the teaching materials he'd been organizing. He looked at the three little Uchiha before him. "You've figured it out?"
"It was way too easy to notice! It'd be strange if there weren't any Senju at the Ninja Academy!" Rikusei said helplessly, tracing the names on the register with his finger.
"Yeah! Teacher Tobirama, how did the Senju Clan just disappear like that?" Kagami, a descendant of their old rivals, spoke up on their behalf.
"No wonder you're Uchiha. You're so sensitive when it comes to the Senju." Senju Tobirama's silver hair swayed as he leaned back and forth. His narrowed red eyes studied them with interest.
"So it's true?" Kagami pressed urgently.
"Yes." The smile gradually faded from Tobirama's face. He said with some regret, "This will be announced later, at a meeting attended by all the clans."
"Was it worth it?" Naori, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked.
Her cool voice echoed through the office, then drifted away on the breeze stirring the window shutters.
Tobirama silently straightened the slightly rumpled papers. Gazing toward the village in the distance, he said resolutely, "You Uchiha brats got the answer you wanted, didn't you? Now hurry home and eat."
"I have a few thoughts about the teaching materials." Rikusei stepped forward, changing the subject.
"Heh." Senju Tobirama leaned back in his chair, straightened up, and studied him with interest.
"A ninja's perspective is especially important. I've heard that other countries have established Hidden Villages too. Shouldn't we include their countries' terrain, mountains, rivers, and waterways in the curriculum, along with the secret techniques and bloodline clans found in each village?"
"You've just given the village a serious problem to solve!" Tobirama said, sounding troubled. He picked up the teaching materials from the desk, then suddenly smiled. "I'd already thought of all that! But I hadn't considered the secret techniques and bloodline clans."
Inside the room, Tobirama's busy figure bent over the desk gradually disappeared from Rikusei's view as the wooden door creaked shut.
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