The standoff at the Naka River

The Naka River shimmered in the midday sunlight, and the reeds rustled in the breeze.

Setsuna crouched among the reeds, his fingers clenched around his grass-woven shuriken.

He also had several bamboo shuriken hidden inside his furisode, ready to throw at any moment.

But he had not expected Naoki Senju to be so perceptive.

Across the entire Naka River, he and Hiruzen had suppressed their presence as much as possible, yet the eight-year-old Senju Clan heir had still pinpointed their location.

A thin sheen of sweat seeped down Setsuna's back.

Of course.

He quickly ran through the game's character settings in his head-Tobirama Senju's character card explicitly described him as a "sensory ninja," capable of sensing the distribution of chakra across an entire battlefield in an instant.

Although the original story had never explicitly stated how good Hashirama Senju's perception was, it stood to reason that a man called the "God of Shinobi" could hardly be weak in that department.

This Naoki Senju was Hashirama's son.

At this age, his sensory abilities were already on par with Setsuna's level-four concentration.

It seemed he had underestimated his eight-year-old opponent.

Still, perception was one thing, strength another.

No matter how talented he was, he was only eight. At most, he would be a chunin, and more likely just a genin.

If the other party attacked first, that would count as defending himself rather than initiating an attack, right?

It would not violate Madara Uchiha's instruction not to "lay a hand on young children."

Setsuna finished convincing himself in a fraction of a second, his fingers already slipping into his sleeve to find the bamboo shuriken.

He held the shuriken between his fingers, then pressed a few into Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand.

If a fight really broke out, the boy needed something to defend himself with.

Hiruzen Sarutobi froze for a moment, looking down at the bamboo shuriken in his palm before glancing up at Setsuna's tense profile.

He lowered his voice. "Naoki's really nice. He won't give us any trouble."

Setsuna whipped his head around and shot him a fierce glare with his sanpaku eyes, signaling for him to shut up.

Hiruzen shrank back under his glare, but his face still showed complete disbelief.

Why would Naoki ever hurt us?

Setsuna had no time to worry about what Hiruzen was thinking. His gaze passed through the gaps in the reeds again and settled on the boy beside Naoki Senju across the river.

That young jonin stood casually, yet his stance had no openings.

Anyone who became a jonin at thirteen was a genius by any ninja clan's standards.

Setsuna gritted his teeth slightly.

The other side had a jonin he knew absolutely nothing about.

Being stuck on the back foot like this felt awful.

It was just like every time the game released a new character: playing a low-tier C-rank ninja with practically no margin for error, he had to risk his life through trial and error.

The new character's move list, skill ranges, recovery animations, which skills could be interrupted and which had to be dodged-he had bought all that information with defeat after defeat and an emptied health bar.

But this was the real world. He had no second life to experiment with. Losing meant death.

Setsuna's breathing unconsciously grew shallow.

Stay calm.

The good news was that the other side had not shown any killing intent yet. That was the only good news.

Just as Setsuna's nerves were stretched to their limit-

"Is that you, Hiruzen? I sensed your chakra!"

Naoki Senju stood across the river with his hands cupped around his mouth, his voice carrying over the sound of the Naka River.

He sounded as excited as a puppy that had finally found a playmate.

Setsuna froze.

Before he could reach out to grab him, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already darted out of the reeds like a monkey.

"Naoki-I'm over here!"

Hiruzen stood on tiptoe and waved across the river, his whole face lighting up.

That idiot!

Setsuna could practically feel the gaze of the jonin named Liangzhu from the opposite bank.

The two boys greeted each other across the river, each louder than the last. Their voices echoed through the reeds, startling several waterbirds into flapping flight.

Setsuna crouched among the reeds and buried his face in his hands.

He could be certain of one thing now-the Senju Clan heir had definitely inherited Hashirama Senju's airheadedness.

He peeked through his fingers at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still waving.

This one was hardly any better.

The future Third Hokage, known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu," was currently just a stupid monkey who came scampering out the moment someone called his name.

"Hiruzen, did you make a new friend?" Naoki's voice carried over again. "I sensed another chakra."

Setsuna shuddered.

He had suppressed his chakra to the utmost. On a battlefield, concealment at this level would be enough to fool most chunin's senses.

Yet Naoki Senju had still sensed his chakra from across a river, despite his deliberate efforts to hide it.

Was this guy's perception monstrous?

Hashirama Senju's bloodline really was no joke.

But at that moment, a different, more pressing fear surged through Setsuna's mind.

He did not want his first meeting with the Senju Clan heir to happen while he was dressed as a girl.

That would be far too humiliating for the Uchiha.

An image rose unbidden in his mind-

Years later, on a battlefield, two armies faced each other.

He stood majestically at the head of his troops, wearing Uchiha battle robes with his Sharingan fully activated, and shouted, "Naoki Senju, come meet your death!"

Then that sensory monster across from him would surely pause, innocently tilt his head, and ask in confusion, "Huh? Your chakra... are you the Hagoromo princess?"

Then the entire Shinobi World would know that the Uchiha Clan heir was a cross-dressing pervert!

His glorious reputation as Uchiha Setsuna would be over before it had even begun.

For the third time, Setsuna confirmed to himself that dressing as a girl was a fucking stupid idea.

And just as he wished he could vanish on the spot, that idiot Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke again.

"It's the Hagoromo Clan's princess!"

After shouting that, Hiruzen even turned to look at Setsuna in the reeds, his eyes sparkling and his face full of eager anticipation that said, "Come out so I can introduce you!"

Setsuna felt his stomach cramp.

His current situation was as follows-

The Naka River lay ahead, with the Senju Clan heir and his jonin bodyguard standing on the opposite bank; to his left was the way out of the reeds, where Hiruzen Sarutobi stood beckoning to him; and he was crouching among the reeds in a furisode, wearing boat-shaped geta and a hime-cut wig.

There was no way out.

"Backing down" was not in Uchiha Setsuna's nature, and now, before Naoki Senju-the boy destined to become his sworn rival-he could retreat even less.

Setsuna took a deep breath and stood.

He carefully tucked the grass-woven shuriken inside his sleeve, parted the reeds, and emerged from their shadow with small, dainty steps.

He stopped at the riverbank, folded his hands over his lower abdomen, bent his knees slightly, and performed an impeccably proper lady's curtsy.

"Sailor Moon Hagoromo. A pleasure to meet you."

After straightening, Setsuna lifted his chin and scrutinized Naoki Senju across the river.

Naoki Senju was a little taller than he had imagined. At eight, he had yet to grow into his frame, but the sturdy build characteristic of the Senju Clan was already taking shape.

The river breeze tousled his short, dark brown hair, and his skin was a healthy wheat color-exactly like the tan Hashirama Senju had acquired from spending year after year traveling outdoors.

His features were not particularly delicate, but they were well proportioned, and his plump cheeks were rather cute.

Setsuna covered the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and gave a cold snort, fully committing to his role as the two clans' spoiled young lady.

"So you're the Senju Clan heir? You're not much to look at."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to protest. "That's not true! Naoki's amazing!"

But then Hiruzen Sarutobi reconsidered-

Sailor Moon just had that kind of temper. When he insulted someone, it didn't necessarily mean he actually thought badly of them. He was simply in the habit of insulting first and thinking later.

Hiruzen turned and offered Naoki an apologetic smile across the river. "That's just how he is. He has a nasty mouth, but he's not a bad person."

Naoki Senju did not get angry.

In fact, he had not even noticed what Sailor Moon had said.

He was simply looking curiously at the small figure across the river.

Honestly, the fair skin, palm-sized face, long, straight black hime cut, and tiny body wrapped in a furisode made for a delicate, lovely sight.

He had seen plenty of girls in the Senju Clan.

To put it nicely, they were unconcerned with trifles. To put it bluntly, every one of them was wilder than the boys.

Girls his age had punched him, twisted his ears, and thrown him out of the training grounds.

He had never seen a girl like this-so exquisite that he looked like a hina doll displayed only for the Doll Festival.

That haughty way of looking at people with his chin slightly raised reminded him of the court noblewomen his mother had mentioned.

Even a daimyo's princess probably looked no better than this.

Naoki felt his ears grow warm. He awkwardly averted his gaze and raised a hand to scratch his cheek. "I'm Naoki Senju. A pleasure to meet you."

Beside him, Liangzhu discreetly glanced at his young clan heir, then at the imperious little princess across the river, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The little girl opposite them was the Hagoromo Clan's princess.

Although the Hagoromo were currently weak, they were still an ancient ninja clan with a thousand-year legacy, their bloodline tracing back to the Sage of Six Paths.

And their own young master Naoki was Hashirama Senju's son, heir to the Senju Clan's purest sage body bloodline.

Their family backgrounds were well matched, and an age gap of two or three years was just right.

Besides, what was happening right now? The Senju and Hagoromo were locked in a bitter dispute over Cloudfield.

Negotiations had reached a stalemate, with neither side willing to give ground.

If-just if-the two clans became in-laws, what would the dispute over Cloudfield amount to?

Whether they shared the headwaters or took turns guarding them, it would no longer be an unsolvable problem.

Liangzhu's gaze settled on Setsuna's face as he studied him carefully.

Delicate features, dignified bearing-one look told him this was a well-bred young lady who had received a proper aristocratic education.

He was certainly a little spoiled, but for young master Naoki, who had grown up getting beaten by girls, that level of aggression would not even breach his defenses.

Young master Naoki, on the other hand, had been so stunned by the girl's looks at their first meeting that he could barely speak properly.

There was only one problem-the Uchiha.

The Hagoromo and Uchiha had been related by marriage for a thousand years, intermarrying for generations since the Sage of Six Paths' time.

The Hagoromo would surely give the Uchiha priority when choosing a suitable partner of the same age. He wondered whether this princess had already been promised to an Uchiha.

Then again, even if he had been promised to someone, there was still room for discussion.

The Senju were also a great clan dating back to the Sage of Six Paths' era. The Hagoromo might well consider marrying their princess into the Senju Clan. After all, such a marriage meant a direct alliance with one of the strongest ninja clans of the age.

Liangzhu's thoughts wandered further and further, and he was already planning how to bring this up with Lord Hashirama once they returned.

Across the river, Setsuna had no idea that the young bodyguard opposite him had already arranged a marriage for him in his head.

He was busy maintaining his "spoiled young lady" persona. His earlier talk of a marriage alliance had merely been a pretext to fool Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Setsuna was rather relieved that the Senju Clan heir had not yet learned how to attach chakra to the soles of his feet and walk across the water to see his face up close.

Just as he was thinking of an excuse to hurry back to the compound, a shrill voice erupted behind him.

"What luck! The Sarutobi Clan heir, and..."

The instant that voice rang out, Naoki spun around on the opposite bank.

"...the Senju Clan heir." Another grating voice rang out across the river.

"Rogue ninja-the Five Brothers of Demon River!" Liangzhu Senju's expression abruptly darkened.