Senju Hashirama Is in Love?!

After doing devilish training for so long, Jingchuan felt physically and mentally exhausted. The prolonged, intense training had left his muscles aching, too. The only difference was that Senju Kawarama wasn't the one massaging him anymore; now his three other older brothers took turns.

When you do the same thing for a long time, it can get boring and exhausting, and you can lose some of your motivation. Senju Jingchuan wasn't as motivated as he'd been at the start, either.

Seeing how hard Senju Jingchuan was pushing himself, his brothers suggested he take a few days off. They were genuinely worried that he'd stay wound as tight as a bowstring for too long and eventually snap.

So Senju Jingchuan gave himself a day off.

To be honest, Senju Jingchuan felt a little tired himself.

With a day off to enjoy, Senju Jingchuan decided to sneak outside the clan grounds and hunt some game. After all, he hadn't eaten meat in ages.

Senju Jingchuan got his gear ready and was about to slip out of the clan grounds.

But in the forest, he spotted an unexpected figure.

That sneaky-looking fellow up ahead, with a black bowl cut and a tacky green outfit...

If he wasn't mistaken, that had to be his eldest brother, Senju Hashirama, right?

Senju Hashirama's ears twitched a few times.

A few seconds later, Senju Hashirama seemed to notice something. He whipped around, but all he saw were some swaying blades of grass.

He warily stared at the bushes. Then a wild rabbit emerged.

Senju Hashirama looked at the little rabbit, with its white fur and red eyes, and scratched his head in confusion.

Had he imagined it?

Senju Hashirama was still uneasy. If Senju Butsuma found out who he was going to see today, it might cause trouble all over again.

So Senju Hashirama cautiously went over to check things out.

When he reached the bushes, Senju Hashirama sensed that something was hidden inside. He abruptly parted the foliage, only to find a few ants facing him.

There was nothing there, not even a single human footprint—just some scattered leaves and twigs.

Maybe some little animal stepped on them, Senju Hashirama thought.

After checking for himself, Senju Hashirama finally relaxed. He stopped nervously looking around and continued on his way, striding toward his destination with a spring in his step and a happy look on his face.

Hidden in a tree, Senju Jingchuan let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, he'd noticed Senju Hashirama's movements in time and tossed a rabbit into the bushes before hiding.

But as he watched Senju Hashirama's steps grow even lighter, as if he were sure no one was following him, Senju Jingchuan couldn't help wondering.

Why is Hashirama so happy?

Come to think of it, he's been sneaking out for several days now... There's no war lately, and he doesn't have any missions to do...

Hashirama's been leaving early and coming back late these past few days...

The more Senju Jingchuan thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He remembered that, at dinner these past few nights, Senju Hashirama always seemed to be daydreaming. Every now and then, he'd even smile stupidly at thin air.

Sometimes he'd even grin like an idiot while practicing his ninjutsu.

Could it be...

Is Hashirama in love?

The more Senju Jingchuan thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, Senju Hashirama was already twelve, the age when people might start falling in love. What's more, children in the Ninja World generally matured early.

It seemed perfectly normal for Senju Hashirama to fall in love at that age and arrange to meet a girl outside the clan grounds for a date.

But why not meet her inside the clan grounds? Senju Jingchuan wondered. As far as he could tell, Senju Butsuma wasn't the kind of father who restricted his children in that regard. In fact, he thought Senju Butsuma would be more than happy for Senju Hashirama to date some girl, since that would help the Senju Clan grow and prosper sooner.

Could she be from another shinobi clan? The more Senju Jingchuan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

That was more than he could sit still for. Although Senju Hashirama was an older brother he admired, and although it was clear at times that Senju Hashirama wasn't as innocent as he seemed—he might even be a bit of a schemer—he was still a little kid who'd never been in love.

Senju Jingchuan had never been in love either, but he firmly believed that outsiders could see more clearly than the people involved.

He decided to follow Senju Hashirama and see what was going on.

He wasn't stalking him. He was simply looking out for his big brother, Senju Hashirama. That was what Senju Jingchuan told himself.

So Senju Jingchuan followed Senju Hashirama to the Naka River—

The place where he often came to fish. Senju Jingchuan had even met Izuna there, who might have been from the Uchiha Clan.

At the thought of the Uchiha Clan, Senju Jingchuan couldn't help feeling a little conflicted.

He hid behind a large tree and watched carefully.

Senju Jingchuan saw his eldest brother, Senju Hashirama, pick up a medium-sized stone from the ground and weigh it in his hand.

Senju Jingchuan wondered what Hashirama was planning to do.

But Senju Hashirama suddenly stopped moving. He stood there as if waiting for someone.

Big Brother's looking across the river. Whoever he's waiting for probably isn't from the Senju Clan, Senju Jingchuan guessed.

After a while, Senju Jingchuan saw someone appear among the trees on the opposite bank: a boy about as tall as Senju Hashirama. The boy was dressed much more stylishly than Senju Hashirama, all in black, and his long hair stood up in a mass of spikes.

On a closer look, wasn't that the boy Senju Jingchuan had met in that small town in the Land of Lightning—Madara?

Senju Jingchuan remembered Madara well, and had a good impression of him.

After all, the boy had contributed a lot of Cuddle Points to Senju Jingchuan.

Come to think of it...

Ever since Senju Jingchuan had returned from that mission, he'd noticed that his eldest brother, Senju Hashirama, had also reached [7] Cuddle Points. So now he couldn't even tell who the protagonist of this manga was.

Was it Madara or Senju Hashirama?

Come to think of it, Madara really was handsome. Protagonists were usually good-looking, so it seemed more likely that Madara was the protagonist than Hashirama...

While Senju Jingchuan was thinking, Senju Hashirama and Madara moved at the same time. In perfect unison, they tossed the stones in their hands.

The two stones skipped and bounced across the water, then reached the opposite banks, where Madara and Hashirama caught them in their hands.

Huh? They were skipping stones...

Senju Jingchuan couldn't help giving them a dead-fish stare. He'd thought his brother Hashirama was holding a stone because he was about to do something earth-shattering... Turns out he was just skipping stones...

"Hashirama..." Madara suddenly called from the opposite bank.

"Ah... I know..." Senju Hashirama replied.

Senju Jingchuan was wondering what kind of riddle the two of them were speaking in.

But it didn't take long for him to find out.

Senju Hashirama suddenly flung the stone in his hand over. It flew straight toward the spot where Senju Jingchuan was hiding.

Senju Hashirama had spotted him.

So Senju Jingchuan stepped out.

Now that he'd been discovered, there was no point in hiding anymore.

"Huh?" When Senju Hashirama saw that it was Jingchuan hiding there, he stared at him with round, beady eyes.

Senju Jingchuan awkwardly raised a hand and greeted them both:

"Hi! Hashirama... and..."

"Long time no see, Madara."