11 a.m.
Senju Clan Grounds!
Water Release: Water Formation Wall
Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Snake
Both hands moved in succession as the chakra inside his body flowed at high speed.
After forming the hand seals, Uka Senju puffed out his cheeks and leaned back slightly.
When he felt he had gathered enough power, he suddenly spat a stream of water forward.
As the chakra flowed out, the water built up until there was enough.
A water wall immediately rose up in front of him, from the ground upward, as if lifting Newton's coffin lid.
With the ninjutsu complete, Uka Senju immediately cut off most of his chakra output.
He left only a little to maintain the water wall's basic form.
Beside him, after watching Uka's demonstration, Chiharu nodded with satisfaction.
She smiled and offered him some pointers. "That was a very successful release, but you still need to practice the wall's thickness and defensive strength on your own."
"When you can use this ninjutsu proficiently, you can start training in Lord Tobirama's version!"
"But until then, you should rely mainly on Earth Release for defense, or develop a few Wood Release defensive ninjutsu of your own."
"Remember, in battle, unless you're near water or there's some other special circumstance, you must never choose this technique!"
Uka Senju nodded in understanding. He knew what she meant.
Aside from being near water, the chakra cost of Earth Release defensive ninjutsu was always the most efficient among the Five Nature Transformations.
Although the Senju had a lot of chakra, in a battle outside the village, you never knew what might happen next.
So you had to make a habit of conserving chakra and choosing the most efficient solution.
Seeing that he understood, Chiharu raised her hand and slashed once, easily breaking through Uka's Water Formation Wall.
She smiled and continued her instruction. "That spot I just struck is the Water Formation Wall's weak point. You need to know how to defend and how to attack!"
"All right, practice again tonight. We're running out of time, so let's head to the plaza first!"
After speaking, she smoothly sheathed her blade and set off toward the courtyard gate.
Uka Senju cut off the chakra supply, picked up the ninjutsu scroll beside him, and followed Chiharu toward the plaza.
Looking at the long sword in the woman's hand, thinking of the technique she'd just demonstrated and the weak point she'd mentioned in the Water Formation Wall,
Uka Senju couldn't help but fall into thought.
Chiharu had struck the lower right side, but he hadn't sensed any chakra feedback.
That could only mean Chiharu hadn't struck a node.
She'd hit a spot near one.
Thinking as he walked, he reached their destination, the plaza, before he knew it.
"Am I pretty?"
Hearing the sudden question beside him,
Uka Senju raised his head in confusion and looked toward the voice.
A girl of about sixteen or seventeen, wearing a light-blue dress, was tilting her head and staring at him curiously.
Seeing the girl who'd asked him, three huge question marks appeared in Uka Senju's mind.
Just asking a stranger if she was pretty?
Was she that confident?
Should he give her a score?
Then he stepped forward and carefully looked the girl over from head to toe.
Her reddish-brown hair fell to her waist, and she had rare blue eyes.
Her lips were a little pink, and her skin had the fair softness unique to a young girl.
Though she wore a loose, light-blue dress, the outlines showing through hinted that she was a woman with a generous figure.
After a long while,
he nodded and answered sincerely. "You're quite pretty!"
The night before, after hearing about her marriage from her grandfather, the girl had wanted to go see what that little Wood Release boy looked like.
Unfortunately, it was too late, so she had to give up and wait until today.
She anxiously waited until eleven, then hurried to the edge of the plaza and waited.
After waiting for over half an hour, she finally saw her target.
Although the girl didn't know Uka, she'd seen Chiharu.
And that white-haired boy who'd blatantly stared at Chiharu's butt the whole way-
Who else could he be?
Seeing him staring as if spellbound, hardly even blinking,
the girl rolled her eyes and took the initiative to go up and ask him.
She'd expected the boy to get embarrassed, blush, and feel mortified at being called out in public.
Instead, he actually came closer and carefully inspected her?
The girl who'd gone up to ask him was so unnerved by Uka's serious gaze that she stood frozen in place!
When she heard his answer and saw how sincere he looked,
the girl didn't know whether she should feel shy
or angry. Her little face flushed red!
Seeing the two of them so obviously talking at cross purposes, Chiharu smiled to herself and stepped forward to break the tension. "Senju Maki, long time no see!"
Hearing her name, the girl came out of her daze.
She glared, her face red, at the white-haired boy who'd said she was pretty.
Then she hurried over to Chiharu and greeted her. "Sister Chiharu, long time no see!"
Getting glared at for no reason!
Uka Senju rolled his eyes in annoyance.
But as soon as he turned them back, the name Chiharu had just called out stopped him in his tracks.
Senju... Maki?
Watching the two girls link arms and immediately start chatting,
Uka Senju silently followed behind them, thinking of the three wives his aunt had mentioned.
Tsunade... He remembered her from his previous life: fair-skinned and beautiful, with a generous figure!
Maki... fair-skinned and beautiful... looked generous!
Chiharu... fair-skinned and beautiful... generous!
Sheesh~
Was the clan worried he wasn't getting enough nutrition?
He made a quiet snarky remark to himself, and for some reason, Uka Senju started to feel satisfied with this arranged marriage of his!
Of course, it wasn't because of any of the reasons above.
He simply felt that, as a member of the Senju, he ought to do his part for the Senju's bright future.
While his thoughts turned, he accompanied the two girls to the edge of the field, found an inconspicuous spot, and sat down.
Seeing the two of them constantly whispering to each other, Uka Senju soon grew bored.
He casually snapped off a twig and began studying his control over Wood Release.
His repeated attempts made green buds keep sprouting from the twig in his hand, then retreating again!
He could clearly feel the twig's vitality gradually being depleted with each cycle.
Seeing the boy crouched beside the tree, Kenchū Senju came up and patted him on the shoulder. "Uka, they're calling you to-"
He had barely started speaking when he saw the boy shudder and tilt his head.
From the spot where his head had moved away, a wooden spike suddenly burst out.
With no time to dodge, Kenchū was about to use the Substitution Technique.
But then the wooden spike stopped growing and slowly withdrew.
Lowering the hand with which he'd formed half a seal,
Kenchū Senju breathed a sigh of relief and asked the white-haired boy in front of him in utter confusion, "I was just telling you to go up on stage. Why are you greeting me with Wood Release?"
Looking at the man who still didn't understand what the problem was,
Uka Senju said irritably, "Brother Kenchū, if you don't fix that habit of walking without making a sound and then patting people on the shoulder, I wouldn't be surprised if someone accidentally cut you down one day!"
Just then, he had been crouching there, seriously studying his control over Wood Release.
Who knew someone would suddenly pat him on the shoulder?
It startled him, and at the same time,
his hand jerked and he fed in too much chakra. If he hadn't reacted in time, that wooden spike wouldn't have stopped at all.