After Tobirama Senju passed away, Uchiha Shinichi's life gradually grew more colorful, no longer confined to a delicate balance between training and slacking off.
He still stuck to his approach of "keeping a low profile and lying low in Konoha," but his range of activities and social circle quietly expanded.
-Sometimes, he visited Akimichi Shisheng's Yakiniku Q, digging in with gusto under the gazes of a crowd of Akimichi clansmen while chatting with the Akimichi Clan's head about tactics and the state of the shinobi world.
After all, the Akimichi Clan might have been famous for their enormous appetites, but they had extensive combat experience and understood the battlefield far better than outsiders imagined.
-Sometimes, he ventured deep into the Nara Clan's bamboo grove to challenge Nara Shinsuke, Shikaku Nara's father, to a game.
Nara Shinsuke also regarded Shinichi as a dear friend.
Growing up, aside from his father, Nara Shikayama, Shinichi had been the first person to thoroughly defeat him at board games. In fact, every time they played, Shinichi introduced some bizarre new approach that left Shinsuke both frustrated and excited.
What began as friendly competition gradually became a source of mutual inspiration, and their friendship deepened day by day.
They no longer merely competed over a game board; they exchanged views on tactics, strategy, and even the balance of power in the shinobi world. Shinichi's wild ideas, combined with Nara Shinsuke's calm, meticulous thinking, often sparked extraordinary insights.
Whenever the two played, members of the Nara Clan gathered to watch. Some marveled at Shinichi's unfathomable skill, while others admired Shinsuke's composed responses.
And every time Shinichi won, he would drawl, "Ah, the Nara Clan's little deer just can't outrun the Uchiha Clan's old fox."
At that, Nara Shinsuke always gave a resigned smile, casually passed him a