Time is like quicksand, slipping silently through the fingers. In the blink of an eye, it is another year.
Senju Clan's backyard training ground.
A shirtless figure stood quietly in the training ground. He was taller and stronger than a year ago, and the youthful lines of the boy were being replaced by a silhouette full of power. Silver-white electric arcs, like fine snakes, swam and jumped on his skin, making a soft "crackling" sound.
Every flash of arc was accompanied by slight muscle twitching, which was a kind of numbness and tingling that penetrated deep into the bone marrow. But Senju Chen's expression was as calm as a stone sculpture, as if the pain that could make an ordinary person faint instantly was just the breeze blowing on his face.
"Huh..."
He exhaled a long breath, and the power of thunder and lightning raging on the surface of his body, like a soldier who had received an order, instantly converged into his body and disappeared without a trace.
"Lightning Body Tempering, I finally got a glimpse of the door." Senju Chen felt the numbing activity coming from the body cells and nodded with satisfaction.
After this year of hard training, his physical strength has far exceeded that of his peers, and is even comparable to some ninjas who specialize in Taijutsu.
On the other hand, the development of the spiritual world is even more profound.
In the dead of night, he would enter meditation, and his mental power was like an invisible tentacle, exploring the mysteries of the soul. [Spirit Transformation Technique]'s practice brought his perception and control of spiritual power to a whole new level.
His current mental power can be attached to any object at will, and can be operated in a short period of time. He can even attach his mental power to a kitchen knife when cooking, and clearly "see" every texture of the ingredients; he can also sense every subtle change in the temperature of the oil in the pot when stir-frying. This unique way of integrating spiritual practice into daily life has made his mental power control more and more subtle.
This year, it wasn't just him who changed.
The entire Konoha atmosphere is undergoing subtle changes.
The tribesmen of Uchiha began to teach at the Ninja Academy. Those normally arrogant ninjas seemed at a loss when faced with a group of chattering children, but gradually, they also learned to restrain their energy and became patient and gentle.
Police Force's "Families Support Association", led by Uchiha Mikoto, has become a unique landscape in the village. They regularly bring food and condolences to visit families who have lost loved ones in the war, and help repair the houses of lonely elderly people.
Uchiha Mikoto's gentle smile and the little Uchiha Itachi she occasionally brought in her arms became the most effective weapons to melt the ice in the hearts of the villagers.
As the beginning of all these changes, Kakashi Hatake felt the most profoundly.
Uchiha Clan not only did not take back the Sharingan that belonged to Obito, but instead sent the best teaching member in the tribe to teach him almost step by step how to adapt and how to use the power of this eye. Quantity. From the allocation of Chakra, to the capture of dynamic vision, to the response of Genjutsu... Kakashi's strength has improved by leaps and bounds in this year, far exceeding his own self in the same period in the original work.
Senju Chen has seen all these changes and understood them in his heart. Uchiha Clan's first step was very steady and successful.
In the afternoon, the sun is just right.
Senju Chen was lying on the deck chair in the courtyard, holding a few letters in his hands and reading them leisurely.
A letter came from Shizune. The letter had a faint herbal fragrance and the handwriting was beautiful and neat. In the letter, Shizune complained nonchalantly about which gambling house Lady Tsunade lost all his money in. Qian, he was drunk and hugged her and cried non-stop, and the words were full of helplessness. But at the end of the letter, he would always carefully ask "Chen-kun is everything okay?" The longing hidden under the handwriting almost showed through the back of the paper.
The other stack of letters was much more unrestrained, and there was even a faint smell of perfume on the letter paper.
It's from Mitaraishi Anko.
I don't know where this girl learned it. She treats writing letters like keeping a diary. Every now and then, she asks Orochimaru to send him a letter using a psychic snake, as if we, Teacher Orochimaru, are her exclusive postmen.
The letters were filled with all kinds of trivial matters on the front line. Today I beat up some blind Iwa ninja, and I played hide-and-seek with a sand ninja team tomorrow. I occasionally complained about what disgusting things Teacher Orochimaru's experiment had produced.
Senju Chen Reading her letters is like following a war-themed TV series. From those escaping words, you can always grasp some "real" information that cannot be seen in the headquarters intelligence.
He put down the two letters and finally picked up a secret letter written in a special code.
The letter is from Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo said that the "Akatsuki" organization developed extremely rapidly during this year's war bonus period. Yahiko's personal charm and "peace" concept attracted a large number of civilians displaced by the war and wandering ninjas who were tired of fighting. They established base areas, reclaimed farmland, and provided shelter for the people, and their reputation among Land of Rain's civilians was growing day by day.
But just as Senju Chen originally expected, this development also aroused Land of Rain's high vigilance. The letter mentioned that Rain Ninja's frictions and tentative attacks on the "Akatsuki" organization are becoming more and more frequent and larger in scale. Although Yahiko keeps in mind the warnings of "low-key" and "forbearance", some radical voices have begun to appear within the organization.
"Yahiko... It's still too idealistic."
Senju Chen sighed softly, took out a pen and paper from his arms, and wrote back letters to several people.
The reply to Shizune was that everything was fine with him, and he also asked her to take good care of his unreliable sister. Senju Chen hoped that Shizune could persuade his sister to return to Konoha after the war. At the end of the letter, he said that he missed them very much.
It's much more casual to give Anko, praise the other person's deeds and combat bravery, and congratulate the other person on their growth.
And he also wrote a letter specifically to Konan. In the letter, he once again emphasized the importance of accumulating strength and reminded Konan that the war was coming to an end and Hanzō would be able to free up his hands soon. He asked Konan must be optimistic about Yahiko and don't let him get carried away by his temporary victory. At the same time, he also put forward some specific suggestions, such as how to use the terrain to fight guerrillas and how to divide and win over Rain Ninja at the bottom.
At the end of the letter, he thought for a while and gently sketched a lifelike lily with the tip of his pen, with a line of small words written next to it:
"It's not easy for flowers to bloom, so don't let them wither early."
After doing all this, he folded the letter, put it in a special scroll, and prepared to send it to Hatake Sakumo through special channels.
At this moment, a figure appeared at the door of the courtyard.
"Chen-kun, are you busy?"
It was Uchiha Mikoto. She was holding Uchiha Itachi, who was almost two years old, in her arms with a gentle smile on her face. Little Itachi was looking at Senju Chen curiously with her big black eyes open.
"Aunt Mikoto, please come in quickly." Senju Chen stood up quickly and greeted him with a smile, "Why are you free to come here today?"
"Support Association has nothing to do today, so I just wanted to take Itachi out for a walk." Uchiha Mikoto put the little guy down in his arms, and Little Itachi immediately staggered towards Senju Chen with some unsteady steps.
Senju Chen smiled and knelt down and rubbed Uchiha Itachi's little head.
Looking at the little guy in front of him who would bear the fate of the entire Uchiha in the future, a complex emotion flashed through Senju Chen's heart.
If... everything can develop as planned, perhaps this child's future will be less tragic.