"Big brother, are you okay? Is there something fun on the ground? Why did you suddenly fall flat on your face?"
Senju Chen's childish voice, carrying just the right measure of panic and confusion, was like a drop of oil falling into boiling water, instantly setting the deathly silent scene abuzz.
Lying on the ground, Uchiha Inabi felt his mind buzz as all his blood rushed to his head. He heard the barely suppressed snickers around him, heard the hushed remarks. Every word was like a red-hot needle stabbing into his pride.
"I... I..." He wanted to get up, to roar, to tell everyone that this brat had done something, but the strange binding sensation around his ankle had already vanished without a trace. Never mind tree roots-there was not even a weed on the ground.
He had no evidence at all.
In everyone's eyes, he was simply an idiot who had charged menacingly at a five-year-old child, only to trip over his own feet and fall flat on his face.
"It was you! You did it!" Inabi jerked his head up. His eyes were red with shame and anger beneath his dust-covered face as he glared fiercely at Senju Chen.
"Frightened" by his vicious expression, Senju Chen took another step back, his little face full of innocence and hurt. He quietly defended himself to the teacher. "Teacher, I... I didn't do anything. This big brother ran over on his own, and then he fell..."
"Enough! Uchiha Inabi!" The middle-aged teacher who had hurried over looked thoroughly exasperated. He sternly stopped Inabi from making any more trouble. "Picking fights at the school gates on the very first day-what kind of behavior is this? Get up this instant!"
The murmuring around them grew louder.
"That child from the Uchiha Clan is far too overbearing."
"Exactly. He fell over himself, and now he's blaming someone else."
"This is Konoha's foremost clan? How embarrassing."
Those words landed like resounding slaps across the faces of Inabi and his two lackeys, leaving them burning with pain.
In a corner, Kakashi Hatake's hand shifted slightly inside his trouser pocket. His eyes, visible above his mask, had clearly caught everything that had just happened. Senju Chen's retreating steps had been too light for a child, more like a weightless feather. And the timing of Inabi's fall had been far too coincidental, as coincidental as a carefully scripted scene.
That wasn't an accident, Kakashi concluded inwardly. That brat named Senju Chen is no ordinary child.
Meanwhile, Obito Uchiha wore a sympathetic expression. Scratching his head, he whispered to Shisui beside him, "Inabi's such a loser. He even falls over while walking... But that little boy looks so pitiful."
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a gentle voice cut in.
"I'm very sorry for all the trouble."
The crowd parted, and Shisui Uchiha stepped forward. First, he bowed deeply to the teacher and the parents around them. Then he walked over to Inabi and helped him up, his tone gentle yet carrying unquestionable authority. "Inabi, apologize to this student."
"Shisui! I..." Anxious and angry, Inabi still wanted to argue.
"Apologize." Shisui's smile remained unchanged, but his gaze darkened. Meeting his eyes, Inabi shuddered for some reason. All his words caught in his throat, and in the end, he reluctantly muttered in Senju Chen's direction, "...Sorry."
Only after finishing all this did Shisui Uchiha turn and walk over to Senju Chen, crouching down to meet him at eye level. A smile as warm as a spring breeze graced his face, and his voice was exceedingly gentle. "Hello, my name is Shisui Uchiha. Inabi didn't mean it. I apologize on his behalf. He didn't frighten you, did he?"
Looking at the handsome face close before him, Senju Chen silently marveled.
As expected of Shisui Uchiha. The way he handles people is more than a hundred times better than that idiot. To have such a disposition at such a young age.
Thoughts raced through his mind, but his face remained timid. He cautiously studied Shisui, seemingly checking that he meant no harm. Only after several seconds did he say quietly, "My name is Senju Chen... It's okay. I'm fine."
His obedient, sensible manner, paired with those clear, innocent eyes, was devastatingly effective.
Shisui's smile deepened. He could not help reaching out, wanting to pinch Senju Chen's cheek the way Tsunade did, but halfway there, he felt it would be a little presumptuous and withdrew his hand. He simply said gently, "That's good. If anyone bullies you at school in the future, you can come to me."
It was a perfect gesture of goodwill, displaying the Uchiha Clan's magnanimity, resolving the awkward situation, and doing him a favor along the way.
Hooked. Senju Chen chuckled inwardly, but outwardly, he nodded emphatically, his eyes shining. "Thank you, Big Brother Shisui!"
And with that, the farce came to an end.
The opening ceremony was long and tedious.
On the stage, the Third spoke passionately about the Will of Fire and the sacrifices their predecessors had made for the village's peace and prosperity. Most of the children below were growing drowsy as they listened. Only a few, such as Might Guy, listened with their blood pumping and their fists clenched.
Senju Chen stood at the back of the crowd, watching the Third talk endlessly up ahead.
The Will of Fire?
To a transmigrator like him, who knew the entire plot, those words carried far too much. There was light and glory, but even more blood, conspiracy, and cold calculation.
It could make ninja burn through their lives to protect their comrades, but it could also become a high-sounding excuse for the higher-ups to send low-ranking ninja off as cannon fodder. Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was the spokesman for the Will of Fire, yet he was also a politician who tacitly permitted Danzo to purge his rivals and allowed the Uchiha Clan to be ostracized and monitored.
What an ironic ideal. The corners of Senju Chen's mouth curved in a way no one noticed.
His gaze slowly swept through the crowd.
Kakashi Hatake stood alone in a corner, like a cold sculpture.
Obito Uchiha was secretly throwing little paper balls at the girl in front of him. When caught, he clumsily pretended to be admiring the scenery. That girl was probably Rin.
Shisui Uchiha sat perfectly straight, listening attentively to the headmaster's speech-the perfect student in every teacher's eyes.
There were also Kurenai Yuhi, Mitaraishi Anko... These future elite jonin were still just a group of innocent children. Their faces brimmed with hopes for the future, yet they had no idea how cruel a ninja world awaited them.
Senju Chen's gaze lingered briefly on Kurenai Yuhi's beautiful black hair and Anko's somewhat wild smile.
Hmm, they're both promising prospects. Too bad they're still far too unripe, like apples that haven't fully grown. A thought utterly at odds with his five-year-old appearance flashed through his mind before he returned his attention to the matter at hand.
"...I hope every one of you will inherit the Will of Fire and become outstanding ninja who protect Konoha!"
Scattered applause rose from below the stage as the Third finished speaking.
Their homeroom teacher led everyone into the classroom and began introductions and an explanation of the school's rules and regulations.
Bored out of his mind, Senju Chen opened his brand-new textbook. It contained illustrations of shuriken-throwing methods and the basic gestures for hand seals... To him, these were even simpler than one plus one equals two.
His eyelids began to feel heavy.
For someone whose mental age was over twenty and who possessed a game-breaking power like Wood Release, the Ninja Academy's lessons were exceptionally effective sleep aids.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly sensed a piercing gaze.
Senju Chen lifted his eyelids and looked in the direction he sensed.
It was Kakashi Hatake.
At some point, the white-haired boy had turned around, and his black eyes were fixed unblinkingly on him. There was no childish curiosity in that gaze, only scrutiny and probing.
Clearly, the scene at the school gates had not fooled this future Copy Ninja.
Their gazes met in midair.
One was a transmigrator disguised as a child, with the calm and amusement of someone who saw through everything deep in his eyes.
The other was a prodigious boy whose eyes held vigilance and sharpness beyond his years.
Senju Chen did not look away. He even gave Kakashi a bright, harmless smile, like an ordinary child who had discovered a new friend.
Kakashi's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Then he slowly turned back around and stopped looking at him.
Interesting. The smile on his lips deepened. As expected of Kakashi Hatake. Sharp indeed.
And Kakashi was, in fact, Senju Chen's next target.