Kakashi's voice was soft, yet like a stone cast into a deep pool, it stirred the expected ripples in Senju Chen's heart.
It worked.
The perfectly measured surprise and confusion on Senju Chen's face quietly disappeared the moment Kakashi lowered his gaze. He tilted his head up, looking at the white-haired boy only half a head taller than himself, his bright black eyes reflecting the other's solitary figure as he picked up the wooden sword.
"Perhaps you could let me take a look at your path."
Those words were not a compromise, much less an acknowledgment.
They were a tentative invitation from a lonely genius who had lowered his guard upon discovering another of his kind. A signal that said, "I can't understand you, but I want to try."
For Senju Chen, that was enough.
"Sure!"
The child who had looked so aggrieved a second ago suddenly beamed, his smile dazzlingly bright, as though his tearful expression just now had been nothing but Kakashi's imagination. Without the slightest hesitation, he took the wooden sword from Kakashi and gripped it tightly, as if he had received his favorite toy.
"Then let's start right now!" Senju Chen suggested eagerly.
Kakashi: "..."
Watching how readily the boy made himself at home, Kakashi felt that inexplicable irritation rise again. Had he just made the wrong decision?
But Senju Chen gave him no chance to change his mind.
"Look, when I copied your movements just now, it felt like all my strength got stuck here in my shoulders." Senju Chen assumed the opening stance of Hatake Style Kenjutsu again. His movements were still immature, but his question went straight to the heart of the matter. "Is it because... my body's still too small?"
He did not mention his "whip theory" again, instead cleverly attributing the problem to himself. This satisfied a child's curiosity while giving Kakashi an opportunity he could not refuse to offer guidance as his "senior."
Kakashi's gaze involuntarily settled on Senju Chen's shoulders and wrists.
He was silent for a moment, but finally spoke. His voice was still cold and stiff, yet some of its forbidding chill had faded. "It's not your size. It's your center of gravity. Your feet aren't planted firmly, so your power has no grounding. The foundation of Hatake Style Kenjutsu lies beneath your feet."
As he spoke, he actually reached out as if compelled by some unseen force and adjusted Senju Chen's stance.
The instant his lightly calloused fingers touched Senju Chen's shoulder, both of them paused slightly.
"Oh..." Senju Chen obediently held his stance, feeling the shift in his center of gravity, an expression of sudden understanding appearing on his face. "So that's it! You're amazing, Hatake!"
That heartfelt praise brought a suspicious flush to the tips of Kakashi's ears. He quickly withdrew his hand and slipped it back into his pocket, masking his discomfort with a cold snort.
"Just call me Kakashi."
"Okay, Kakashi!"
The setting sun stretched their two small shadows long, long across the ground. One earnestly explained the fundamentals of swordsmanship, while the other absorbed the knowledge voraciously like a greedy sponge, occasionally asking "stupid questions" in an innocent tone that struck at the essence of things and left even his instructor deep in thought.
In the shadow of a large tree, Orochimaru's golden snake eyes gleamed ever more brightly.
"The Hatake Clan's brat... the Senju Clan's orphan..."
"Hehehe... this is getting more and more interesting."
Without a sound, he melted into the deeper darkness.
"I'm home, Sister Tsunade!"
Senju Chen pushed open the front door and was greeted by the aroma of food and warm light.
"Welcome home, Little Chen. Go wash your hands. It's time to eat."
"Okay!"
At the dinner table, Senju Chen wolfed down his food while excitedly sharing the day's "gains" with Tsunade and Shizune.
"Sister, I made a friend today!"
"Oh?" Tsunade placed some greens in his bowl, raising her eyebrows with interest. "Our Little Chen finally has a friend? Whose child is it?"
"His name's Kakashi Hatake!" Senju Chen's tone brimmed with pride.
Tsunade's chopsticks paused.
"Hatake..." she repeated the surname, her gaze growing complicated. "Is he Konoha's White Fang's child?"
"Yes! He's amazing! He's really good with a sword!"
"Of course he is." Tsunade poured herself a cup of sake and took a sip, her gaze distant. "His father, Hatake Sakumo, is a man even we Sannin hold in great respect. On the battlefield, plenty of enemies would rather abandon their missions and retreat than face the name 'Konoha's White Fang.'"
At this point, a note of admonition entered Tsunade's voice. "Little Chen, since you've become friends, make sure you get along with him, understand?"
"I know, Sister." Senju Chen nodded obediently, but his mind was racing.
Even Sister Tsunade speaks so highly of you... Hatake Sakumo, right now you're Konoha's hero, your son's pride.
But I know it won't be long before that pride becomes the last straw that breaks you. The mission or your comrades... that ridiculous choice. Those people in the village will drown you in their spit.
Kakashi... all the glory you've inherited now will one day become blades aimed at your heart.
But now that I'm here...
Senju Chen shoveled rice from his bowl, a resolve far beyond his years deep in his eyes.
I'll rewrite this tragedy myself.
In the days that followed, a peculiar sight appeared at the Ninja Academy.
The white-haired genius who always kept to himself now had a little shadow trailing after him.
When Kakashi practiced shuriken throwing on the training grounds, Senju Chen practiced beside him, then openly sought his advice with, "I'm too weak. How can I throw more accurately?"
When Kakashi practiced the Three Basic Techniques, Senju Chen clumsily formed hand seals nearby, then legitimately stole his techniques under the pretext of, "Kakashi, your seals are so fast. Could you slow down and teach me?"
Kakashi went from cold indifference to impatience, and finally to... numb acceptance.
He discovered that he simply could not refuse.
Every question Senju Chen asked had a child's unadulterated purity. And with his terrifying talent, he could immediately extrapolate from a single explanation, even offering deeper insights. The secret pleasure of that intellectual exchange left even the aloof Kakashi wanting more.
He felt as though he were not dragging along a burden, but polishing another piece of peerless jade.
Until one day, a bowl-cut boy in a green bodysuit with thick, bushy eyebrows rushed up to them like a whirlwind.
"Burn! Youth! I can feel that powerful aura coming from you!" Might Guy struck his signature bodybuilding pose and pointed at each of them in turn, his voice ringing like a bell. "I, Might Guy, challenge you!"
Kakashi could not even be bothered to lift his eyelids and ignored him outright.
Senju Chen, however, stopped what he was doing and studied Might Guy with interest.
The future Emperor Guy, the man who left Six Paths Madara half-paralyzed with a kick.
He remembered clearly that Guy's father, the great "eternal genin," Might Guy Dai, had already opened the Gate of Death and sacrificed himself to protect his son and his companions by this point in time, when he had transmigrated here.
The world had lost another hero worthy of respect.
A trace of regret rose in Senju Chen's heart, further strengthening his determination to save Hatake Sakumo.
"Sure." Senju Chen stepped forward with a harmless smile. "I accept your challenge."
"Oh?" Guy's gaze instantly focused on Senju Chen, his fighting spirit soaring. "Excellent! Let's shed the sweat of youth in a hot-blooded showdown!"
Kakashi frowned and finally spoke. "Stop messing around. You're no match for him."
Rather than a warning to Guy, it was more a statement of fact.
"How will we know without trying?" Guy's enthusiasm did not diminish in the slightest. "Come on, Senju Chen!"
"All right."
Senju Chen walked to the center of the field and bowed slightly to Guy.
The instant the fight began, Guy lunged at him like a fierce tiger. His taijutsu was broad and forceful, brimming with explosive power, every punch and kick whistling through the air.
Yet to Senju Chen's eyes, it was all far too clear.
Guy's movements were full of power, but also full of openings.
He did not meet them head-on. Like a fallen leaf dancing on the wind, he dodged and shifted through Guy's storm of attacks with the smallest possible movements.
"Is dodging all you can do?" Unable to land a hit despite his relentless attacks, Guy struck even faster and harder.
"Your power is strong," Senju Chen said as he dodged, his voice so calm he hardly sounded as though he were fighting, "but it's too scattered."
As Guy swept toward him with a ferocious Konoha Whirlwind, Senju Chen advanced instead of retreating. His body slipped within Guy's reach at an unbelievable angle, and he extended a finger, lightly tapping the hollow behind the knee of Guy's supporting leg.
The timing was exquisite.
Guy felt the back of his knee go numb, as though all his strength had been drained in an instant. With nothing supporting his tremendous forward momentum, he immediately tumbled into a heap.
Thud!
Another cloud of dust flew up.
Silence fell over the entire field.
Kakashi was already used to the sight.
Guy lay on the ground, but unlike Uchiha Inabi, he was not consumed by shame and anger. He scrambled up, his eyes holding no anger, but instead burning with an even fiercer flame.
"A-amazing! I didn't even see how you did it!" He looked at Senju Chen, his face full of admiration. "You're worthy of being my lifelong rival!"
"..." For a moment, Senju Chen did not know how to respond.
He stepped forward, extended his hand, and pulled Guy up from the ground, his smile becoming much more sincere.
"Your taijutsu has a lot of potential. You just lack proper guidance," Senju Chen said. "If you don't mind, you can train with us from now on."
He knew just how powerful Might Guy would become. He would never pass up such a good opportunity to build a bond.
Guy froze at his words, then was so moved that his eyes brimmed with tears. "Sob... you're such a good person! Senju Chen! Kakashi! From today onward, we'll be rivals and companions forever!"
Kakashi silently took two steps back, seemingly wanting to distance himself from this overly enthusiastic fellow.
Watching the scene before him, Senju Chen felt momentarily dazed by the sensation of anime coming to life.
On his left was Kakashi Hatake, Konoha's genius ninja who would one day become the Sixth Hokage.
On his right was Might Guy, the Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf, who would hone taijutsu to its pinnacle and nearly kick the story straight to its finale.
He felt that his future in the world of Naruto was infinitely bright.