"The Hyuga clan," Sensoma, who had quietly and unceremoniously entered Madara's room, placed a folder with information about the white-eyed clan in front of him.
"The Uchiha clan," the leader of the red-eyed clan calmly corrected his student. "You are in the Uchiha compound, though I don't understand how you bypassed all my men who were ordered to detain you."
The God of Shinobi glanced at his student. It had been over a year since Sensoma had begun training and studying shinobi techniques under his tutelage. The boy had grown stronger, his body was adorned with developed muscles, and his mind was filled with a great deal of knowledge, useful in battle and beyond.
The child's chakra reserve was terrible, he admitted it himself, but he had no intention of giving up. Training under Madara, Tomura had managed to learn all the Earth Style techniques available to the Uchiha.
There were nine of them:
Earth Style: Earth Wall — a technique the young shinobi had grown very fond of, simple to master and use, but very versatile and useful. The boy hadn't sat still for a whole year, and by the age of eight, he had become one of the best users of the Wall in the village. His precise control allowed him to alter the summoned obstacles almost at will, and his knowledge of fuinjutsu made it possible to add explosive tags to this technique, albeit of low power.
Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique — also a very useful and versatile ninjutsu, requiring more chakra control than quantity. With its help, Sensoma learned to maneuver quickly and covertly across the battlefield in a way that even Madara's Sharingan couldn't always predict where his student would emerge. The number of times the technique could be used was limited due to the boy's small chakra reserves, but even this was enough to turn this simple jutsu into a dangerous weapon when combined with his extraordinary mind.
Earth Style: Stone Clone Technique — an even more versatile jutsu. For now, he could only make one clone, and he couldn't hope for more in the near future, but even one copy was an excellent asset in battle. The advantage of the Earth clone over others was that it didn't dissipate from strong attacks but crumbled, restricting the attacker's movements or blinding them with sand.
Earth Style: Stone Bullets — a ninjutsu as simple as a stick. One of the few in Sensoma's arsenal that could only be used for dealing damage and nothing else. It didn't require much chakra, so it suited him perfectly, although he hadn't yet succeeded in enhancing the Bullets with explosive seals.
Earth Style: Mountain Breaker Technique — requiring a great deal of chakra from the boy and being almost useless on flat plains, this technique worked wonders in the hands of the God of Shinobi's student in places with uneven terrain. Although Sensoma couldn't completely bring down an entire mountain, he was quite capable of causing rockslides and setting up unexpected ambushes. Though for now, he had only used it against his teacher.
Earth Style: Flying Boulders — almost the same as the Bullets, but an order of magnitude larger. Consequently, they required more chakra to use. It turned out to be easier to place fuinjutsu on them, but due to the high chakra cost, Sensoma rarely resorted to using this ninjutsu.
Earth Style: Earth Spikes — three stone spears that shot out from under the opponent's feet at great speed. The reincarnated one was cool towards this technique, due to the same high chakra cost and the, in his opinion, insufficient speed of the spikes. However, he often used them for ambushes.
Earth Style: Tectonic Shift — one of Madara's student's favorite techniques, allowing him to change the height of a specific area of land using chakra. Thanks to the fact that this jutsu didn't require much chakra and allowed for the creation of explosive seals on the controlled surface, Sensoma used it very often.
Earth Style: Earth Dragon Technique — the most destructive technique of the former mathematics teacher. Due to his excellent chakra control, especially in Earth Style techniques (Madara said that his student was already close to his own control over these techniques, which he rated as excellent), Sensoma could use this chakra-intensive ninjutsu, albeit only once. With long preparation and a fortunate turn of events, the boy sometimes managed to stuff the created dragon with fuinjutsu, making it even more destructive. It required ninety percent of the young shinobi's entire chakra to use.
Due to the fact that he couldn't find the right medical-nin, and there were no other ways to create the two techniques Sensoma had conceived, he completely focused on mastering his native element. In the Land of Fire, children with a predisposition to Earth were not born very often, so by the age of eight, Sensoma was rightly considered a master of this element in his homeland. Madara couldn't give him too much, but even these nine techniques were enough to turn his student into a dangerous opponent even for decent mid-level shinobi. Of course, both teacher and student understood that in a real battle with someone sufficiently qualified, the boy wouldn't stand a chance of winning, but his chance of survival was high.
His studies with Uzumaki Mito were also not standing still, and young Tomura was already quite skilled in handling the non-secret fuinjutsu that the First Hokage's wife taught him. The woman showed a sincere interest in her protégé's ideas and, unnoticed by everyone, was replenishing her collection of sealing techniques. She even volunteered to find a medical-nin who could answer Sensoma's questions, but she failed in this, as did the orphan boy himself.
Even Tobirama Senju finally became interested in the student of two such prominent figures and had a couple of conversations with him. After these talks, he became more thoughtful, and his face was gloomier than usual. The little boy had a simply monstrous imagination and therefore was not shy about inventing something new and terribly effective. However, the albino was not going to help him just like that, promising only to think about a couple of Tomura's main ideas if he could somehow get a start on them.
The three most influential ninja of the first of the Hidden Villages often thought about the boy born in a little-known and small clan at the end of the warring states period. This did not go unnoticed by the residents of the new village, who often gossiped about "Sensoma-the-student," who was being trained by one of the Gods of Shinobi, the wife of the First Hokage, and the man who effectively ran the Village's politics, and therefore the country's... Of course, few knew him by sight, as Tomura hardly ever walked around the growing Konoha, spending all his free time studying and training.
The Nara clan was no longer as welcoming to the orphan, as he was spending more and more time in the Uchiha quarter. The children who had called Sensoma a friend a couple of years ago stopped talking to him, and the adults no longer invited the champion to play chess. Shikogeru and his wife did not support such sentiments from their clansmen and their own children, but they could do nothing about the prejudices and dislike that appeared out of nowhere. The Nara head was still friendly with his former ward, and Mayuri was openly happy about his success in fuinjutsu and calligraphy, which quite often hurt her children's feelings. However, this didn't help...
Sensoma himself paid no attention to the ill-wishers, dedicating all his free time to self-improvement. In his past world, he loved to get better, but there were limitations, like work and other "obligations," that didn't allow him to fully devote himself to his favorite pastime. In this world, everything was easier—fate itself had sent the orphan excellent teachers who were highly interested in his development. The battles using techniques against Madara were utterly thrilling, especially when the reincarnated one managed to land a hit on his teacher.
And now, it seemed, he had found a solution to his main problem. And he had once again caught his teacher off guard, bypassing his "guards," who were only there to train his favorite student, not to protect the clan head.
"The Hyuga clan sees right through a person," Sensoma specified. "And even more. They see the very tenketsu that we use for techniques!"
"That's right," Madara crossed his arms, understanding that his student wouldn't be leaving quickly, so he wasn't destined to do his "clan business" in writing.
He was probably glad about that.
"I thought," the boy pushed the folder with data closer to his teacher, while he himself walked across the room, which was Madara's private space, and plopped down on his bed. "If the medical-nin are throwing up their hands, saying they simply don't know how to remove the body's limiters, then maybe there are special 'safeguards' inside it. Tenketsu are used for techniques, but I'm sure there are some special points that aren't even used by the Hyuga themselves, because of their... uh... inefficiency, that's it!"
"Why are you so sure?" the Uchiha grunted, not noticing Tomura's audacity. "A premonition?"
"A fact," Sensoma raised his index finger. "A shinobi's tenketsu are not always in the same places. That's why only the Hyuga can effectively fight using the Gentle Fist. An ordinary taijutsu master can block a couple of tenketsu, but all of them, like the Byakugan users do... Only they can do that. But! I read that all the shinobi tested had exactly eleven tenketsu that were always in the same place. All of them! This could be what I'm looking for..."
"And if not?"
"What do I lose? I just need to consult with one of their clan. Preferably with someone experienced and with good eyesight."
Madara let out a loud laugh. "Good eyesight"—that was one thing you could be sure of when talking about the white-eyed clan! The Uchiha had dealt with them on the battlefield and off it and recognized their strength. The Byakugan, in some cases, turned out to be far more effective than his own eyes. But the wielders of this dojutsu were quite reclusive, even within the village. Their clan quarter was the least visited territory for people not from the Hyuga. Even the Uchiha were second to them in this.
And therefore, arranging a meeting would be difficult...
"As the head of the Uchiha clan, I can arrange it," Madara nodded, after some thought. "The problem is that they will have to talk not with me, but with you—a little orphan who wants to use the power of their eyes. I'm sure they won't be lenient with you and will make you pass some kind of test. And that's in the best-case scenario."
"Are you worried about me?" Sensoma asked in surprise, lying on his bed, facing the Uchiha, but upside down.
His hair, which he had let grow out at Madara's request, almost like his brother's, was disheveled and slightly covered his childish face.
"I'm more worried about the idiot who will step up to dance with you," the teacher smirked crookedly, and his student returned the same smirk.
Two days later, having finished his clan's affairs, the Uchiha leader made a request to the head of the Hyuga. The white-eyed clan didn't particularly like the red-eyed one, but they couldn't just refuse—etiquette and the internal politics of the village.
So Madara in the traditional dark Uchiha attire and Sensoma, dressed in a likeness of it but in brown tones and without the clan symbol, soon stood before the entrance to the Hyuga clan quarter. The guards from the branch family didn't even flinch at their approach, but the guide—a young shinobi with white eyes—knew about the arrival of the expected guests anyway, so he came out to meet them almost instantly.
The Byakugan allowed these people to see even through walls.
"Madara-sama, it is an honor to receive you in our home," the man bowed ceremoniously to the dark-haired man. He paid no attention to Sensoma.
"I thought I would be having a conversation with Takeo-san," the Uchiha head raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, Madara-sama," the Byakugan wielder smiled. "I will take you to him. Let's go."
"My student is with me," Madara crossed his arms, understanding that arguments were about to begin.
"But... He's not from the clan, is he?" the guide asked with hope.
"I warned you about him."
"But he's not an Uchiha, right?"
"Takeo knows of his presence."
"He's not the orphan, is he...?" the man asked, completely sour, torn between the clan's rules and the word of its head.
"Trash," the boy quietly threw into the void.
"I second that," Madara nodded, joyfully watching the guide's face contort into a mask of powerless rage. "Let's go. Later we'll catch one of their gang outside the clan quarter and beat them until... until we get tired. And when we get tired, we'll ask what we wanted, rest, and beat them again."
"Excellent plan," the boy smiled and turned his back to the Hyuga. "Won't we get in trouble for this?"
"Wait!" the teacher didn't have time to answer. "Of course I'll take you both. Please, follow me..."
The legendary Uchiha snorted loudly, gave the man a look full of contempt, and walked a little ahead, towards the door. They made the entire journey to the head of the white-eyed clan in silence.
Sensoma, who had never been in these places before, looked with interest at the Hyuga houses, built in a classic Japanese style. In general, many aspects of life in this world had Asian roots, but the architecture and domestic life, strangely enough, were something... normal for the average European. Or maybe it was because the former mathematics teacher didn't know what was going on in modern Japan?
Finally, they arrived.
"And he didn't even hiss," Madara grunted, walking haughtily past their guide, who had opened the door.
"The teacher is surprised by your resilience," the smiling boy explained in response to the white-eyed man's uncomprehending look. "But you shouldn't be insulting next time, young man."
"Ah... uh-huh..." the surprised member of the noble clan of the first of the Hidden Villages nodded, with whom some little snot-nosed orphan was talking as... as an equal! No! Even lower! That mad Uchiha, who for the past six months has been trying to convince the Hokage to rule the world with an iron fist, has found himself a strange toy. Hey, he came here—to the home of the head of the great Hyuga clan—not to satisfy the whims of a brat, did he? It seems people were saying something like that on the street... something about the student of the God of Shinobi and the First's wife. Could it be this one...?
Takeo Hyuga, the current head of the clan, a man of thirty-four, sat in his dojo and thoughtfully made chess moves while his son and heir practiced the Gentle Fist on a dummy.
Shikogeru Nara, an old acquaintance of Takeo's, had shown him the game. It was different from shogi in its greater simplicity, so it didn't take the Hyuga head long to learn. An interesting game, thoughtful. Takeo didn't quite understand the shadow users' clan's passion for board games, as he considered them too convoluted and useless, but this chess, created, according to Shikogeru, by some kid the Nara had taken in, turned out to be an interesting pastime. It helped to concentrate and relax at the same time.
Sadeo Hyuga, the clan head's son, was already capable of using the Fist, but he was not allowed to spar with people yet. Firstly, it was too early (the boy had turned seven not so long ago), and secondly, a person could be injured if the wrong organ was damaged. Fights without chakra remained a boring activity—what was the point of sealing tenketsu if you didn't use it?
The guests who came out onto the open-air training ground immediately attracted attention.
"Sadeo, take a break," Takeo said. "You've come, Madara-san."
"You're not happy to see me, Hyuga?" the Uchiha smirked knowingly, looking approvingly at the boy-heir of the clan, who had immediately activated his Byakugan and stood frozen with his mouth open. "And your son has grown... How long has he been training?"
"A year," the Hyuga head answered dryly, his gaze sweeping over Sensoma. "He is trained enough to see the huge difference between you and your little companion."
"This is Sensoma Tomura," his teacher introduced the bowing student. "I am teaching him the art of the shinobi."
"Unusual."
Neither Sadeo nor Takeo saw any warrior potential in the boy. Decent musculature and a confident flow of chakra were overshadowed by the total amount of the latter. One couldn't become a normal shinobi with such a reserve, and that was clearly visible. Even Sadeo, who was a year younger than the little dojo guest, already had much more chakra, and most importantly, he knew how to use it in the clan techniques, which were considered the best taijutsu, if not in the world, then certainly in the village.
"So what is the purpose of your visit, Madara-san?" Takeo asked, moving a pawn forward. The combination on the board was shaping up to be remarkably complex. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
The guests sat down on the wooden floor, as did the master of the house, while the Hyuga clan heir remained standing by the dummy, occasionally striking it and frequently glancing towards the Uchiha and his companion.
"Actually, I wasn't the one looking for a conversation with a Byakugan wielder," Madara admitted. "Sensoma wants to consult with you about the shinobi body and the tenketsu within it. I would advise you to listen to the boy—he even made Tobirama think with his ideas. It's quite possible that with his help, your clan will create a new technique."
Takeo winced, turning his gaze back to the God of Shinobi's student. From what he had heard about him, he didn't shine with potential, although both Mito-san and Madara were joyfully teaching him everything they could. But for him, the head of the proud Hyuga clan, to help this rootless upstart for free? Madara's request gave no credit of trust; rather, it took it away.
"What kind of consultation?" Takeo finally asked.
"I want you to help me study the eleven tenketsu that are in the same places in all shinobi," Sensoma interjected.
"You're well-versed in this matter," the Hyuga head looked at the youth in a new light. "But I won't help you just like that. You see, my son needs a sparring partner for today. His usual one is sick. If you fight Sadeo, I will help you. Just last for at least three minutes..."
Hearing these words, the Byakugan heir jumped for joy and yelped. Though he then became flustered and felt awkward, realizing he had acted impolitely, the joyful spark in his eyes did not disappear.
"A taijutsu spar?" Madara's student specified, not looking at the master of the house. He was now assessingly looking at his potential opponent.
"Can you do anything else?" Takeo blurted out. "However... ahem!... Yes, you can use everything you know and can do. Sadeo won't hold back either."
"What happens if I win?"
Both Hyuga frowned, offended by such disregard for their art, while the Uchiha laughed joyfully, recognizing the unceremoniousness and self-confidence of his younger brother in his student's words.
"I will personally help you create your 'techniques'," the leader of the white-eyed clan gritted his teeth, looking disapprovingly at his amused "colleague."
There was no answer—Sensoma had already stepped onto the training ground. As in the Hokage's house, the floor here was ordinary yellow sand. The boy thought for a moment and took off his shoes. His cloak followed, revealing a black T-shirt and shorts of the same color underneath.
"Please, just last for a minute," young Sadeo asked seriously, taking the Gentle Fist stance and activating his Byakugan.
"You didn't have to say that," his opponent smiled back, which slightly surprised the Hyuga who was hostile towards him. "Show me everything you've got!"
They closed in. Sensoma immediately decided to surprise his opponent, jumping up during a step and, after the jump, standing on his hands. From this position, he flailed his legs at Sadeo, forcing him to block the attacks. The God of Shinobi's student had excellent balance, so he didn't lose his footing at all.
But when Sensoma got to his feet, finishing the performance, he was surprised to find that the chakra in his legs was flowing worse than usual. The nimble Hyuga had managed, while deflecting the attacks, to somewhat restrict the flow of his chakra. He had even hit a tenketsu!
"Cool," Sensoma exhaled and began to form hand seals.
Sadeo didn't expect this, so he hesitated for a second, and then it was too late—the orphan's nimble hands had finished their work:
"Earth Style: Stone Bullets!"
Small stones flew at the young heir of the Hyuga clan's main branch. In training, he had deflected more serious attacks, but the speed of this technique would have done credit to many of his teachers. However, the boy did not lose his composure and skillfully moved out of the main line of attack, partially blocking and partially dodging all the stones.
Then Sadeo rushed at Madara's student, who had shown that he knew a thing or two. He couldn't afford not to take him seriously—it was dangerous. Everything inside the Hyuga screamed that this rootless boy was not simple.
And the reincarnated one skillfully dodged his opponent's attacks, occasionally putting his arms up to block blows and feeling the chakra in them slow its flow or simply begin to move erratically.
"He's hitting with all his might wherever he can. It's not that important for him to hit my tenketsu—as I understand it, he's not good enough for that kind of execution of the Fist. That means my chakra isn't blocked for long. His movements are smooth... I'll make a note of that—he's dancing. Gaining 'momentum,' he starts a combination of movements. If it's suddenly interrupted..." the boy did a nimble back handspring but paused, noting his opponent's confusion. When he had already jumped to Sensoma and started his combination anew, a foot hit him in the chin.
"The combination consists of enough movements that I don't need to test its duration on myself. There are definitely more than fourteen. That means I need to let him make a few movements and catch him at the most convenient moment."
"I'd bet any money that Sadeo will win," Takeo announced, watching with satisfaction as his son pressed the legendary Uchiha's ward. "Already, the chakra in your boy's hands is blocked, which means he can't use Earth techniques. Although he's protecting his torso, which prevents Sadeo from damaging important internal organs, this only prolongs the fight, not changes its course."
Madara just smirked crookedly and pulled out his walking wallet: "Ten thousand ryo," he said without looking at the surprised Takeo. "Like for two low-rank missions."
"I'll take that bet," he said and glanced at the fight.
From the side, it seemed that Sensoma was almost holding his own, occasionally landing a hit on his rival, but in reality, that wasn't the case. Sadeo's rare but precise blows blocked the flow of his chakra, which prevented the orphan from strengthening his body with it. Of course, he didn't expose his tenketsu, apparently knowing theoretically where they were, but even so, new and new blows again and again blocked his "superpowers."
But then, Madara's student jumped away from the Hyuga, and when the latter approached, he suddenly soared upwards, making a jump impossible for an ordinary person—the chakra in his legs was completely unblocked. In this jump, he skillfully twisted and managed to hit Sadeo hard on the head with a chakra-infused leg.
The Byakugan heir staggered but soon jumped at his opponent again. The latter met him with a wrestling stance and skillfully performed a takedown, throwing the boy, who hadn't expected such a technique, onto the sand. Sensoma didn't want to fight in full contact—even light touches of the Gentle Fist could cause him serious harm, but to hit a man while he's down...
Sadeo had to roll over and over again to avoid being beaten by the feet of the orphan who had knocked him down. Finally, the Hyuga managed to get up and even dodged a couple of precise kicks, but almost got caught in a hold again. At this point, he couldn't take it anymore and began to attack at the limit of his speed, trying to at least slightly touch the impudent upstart from the rootless!
In the Gentle Fist, it's not strength and speed that are important, but the accuracy of the main combinations of blows. By lowering his accuracy but increasing his speed, Sadeo thought to block as much chakra as possible in his opponent's limbs so that he couldn't use ninjutsu. The effects of the first blows had already weakened, so if nothing was done, Sensoma would soon be able to use techniques.
Then the boy formed the main seal, surprising the Hyuga, who hadn't expected him to be able to use any jutsu with such poor chakra flow in his hands. Sadeo lunged at him and delivered five blows from a combo, but on the sixth, he was skillfully caught and sent on a short but humiliating flight.
The young Hyuga's chakra was already severely depleted—he had been training even before the duel, and in the confrontation itself, out of habit, he had spent too much of it on attacks that, in essence, were unsuccessful. The Byakugan was beginning to weaken—its constant maintenance also required a considerable amount of the miracle energy that gave shinobi an advantage over ordinary people.
The seven-year-old boy was not distinguished by his stamina.
Unlike Sensoma, who had taken cover behind a wall of earth, erected in the second that the Byakugan heir had spent resting.
"Alright then..." Sadeo wiped the blood from his split lip, running with his Byakugan deactivated and concentrating all his chakra in his hand, as his grandfather had taught him, who occasionally allowed himself to show the pinnacle of the Fist's mastery.
The Hyuga instantly appeared next to the wall and skillfully overcame it from the right side, glancing with his Byakugan to see that his opponent was waiting for him on the left! A moment! A Vacuum Palm strikes with force right into the chest of the unlucky rootless boy who dared to beat the heir of the Hyuga family's main branch!
Sensoma slowly turns to his stunned opponent, revealing a hole in his chest the size of Sadeo's hand. Another second, and the Stone Clone crumbles, managing to smirk and point to the inner side of the Earth Wall. The young Hyuga looks in astonishment at the place indicated by the clone.
"Explosion," the inscription on the fuinjutsu read.
The earth next to Sadeo exploded, releasing the real Sensoma from its embrace, and then Tomura's leg smashes the Byakugan heir's face right into the fuin on the Wall! A second—an explosion!
"My apologies if I overdid it," Sensoma smiled sourly, massaging his wrist—he had been too hasty with the last attack and had hurt himself.
"If you had overdone it, I would have had time to stop you, boy," Takeo looked at him sternly, sitting over his son. "He lost consciousness due to a small amount of chakra and a blow to the head. The explosion was a firecracker, but it proves your victory."
"If he had wanted to, the Hyuga clan would have run out of heirs," Madara continued contentedly, having become richer by ten thousand. "Tell me."
The head of the Hyuga clan handed his son over to the servants who had come running at the cry of Matsudo, the boy who had escorted the guests through the quarter. After that, he returned to his old place and grumbled:
"Anyone want to play?"
"I don't like this toy," the Uchiha snorted, turning away. "The worst thing Sensoma ever invented."
"Teacher, you just haven't won against me once," the boy shook his head with feigned reproach, watching with amusement the astonishment on the Hyuga head's face. "If you don't mind, Takeo-sama, I'll play with you."
The man just spread his hands, inviting the rootless boy who had just defeated his son.
"Sadeo is a good opponent," the reincarnated one began to explain thoughtfully, making moves on the board. "I've read about your clan and I know about the Fist, so I was morally prepared for this type of battle. Unfortunately, a seven-year-old fighter can't compare to a normal one. He is far below the clan average, although here, of course, age is to blame."
"Are you saying you could defeat an average clan fighter?" Takeo asked with sincere interest, holding a piece over the board.
"Of course not," Sensoma laughed. "It's just that his level of training is much lower than what is required for normal use of the Fist. Physically, he is not ready. And his chakra reserves—you saw for yourself—leave much to be desired in drawn-out battles."
"He's good for his age," Madara finally condescended.
"Yes," his thoughtful student nodded absently—the Hyuga clan head turned out to be a decent player. "For his age... He showed his technique excellently at the very beginning, even managing to block a couple of my tenketsu. Excellent mastery of the Byakugan, in my opinion. True, it was a trap."
"A trap?" Takeo became interested. "I thought it was his local victory."
"Your son didn't block the chakra completely, Hyuga," the Uchiha interjected, watching the game with boredom. "Sensoma was able, based on the quantity and quality of the blows, to calculate the time required for his chakra channels to recover after Sadeo-kun's attacks."
"Exactly," Tomura devised a simple combination to lure his opponent into a trap. "If the tenketsu aren't hit, two minutes for recovery. That was enough for Sadeo, whom I let hit my arms, so he didn't even think of concentrating more chakra."
"You let him hit you?"
"I did. I needed to study his level of mastery of the style. I was testing his movements and unraveling the tangle called the 'Gentle Fist Technique'. Of course, the Uchiha clan's taijutsu is easier to perform, but it's also harder to figure out in battle. The Hyuga clan fighters have a strict attack pattern—smooth movements, the first three from above, then from the right... In short, certain combinations of blows that practically don't change their essence. Sadeo's situational attacks were very limited..."
"He doesn't know all the techniques. The boy is just beginning."
"I don't argue, but I don't praise either. I was able to calculate the moment when he would open up for an attack, and I used it. Although first, I created the conditions for using this moment."
"What were they?"
"First, I started with leg attacks. Sadeo should have been afraid of my chakra being unblocked, which means he would expose himself more. Next, distance. Due to the predominantly leg attacks, Sadeo couldn't get close. When I let him in, he got caught in a wrestling hold and was thrown to the ground with a good thud."
"A good technique," Madara praised him in passing.
"Thank you," Sensoma nodded, not making sarcastic comments about the game only because he was busy. "Next, Sadeo blundered and began to attack me randomly. All preparations were complete—I caught him with a feigned technique. In the heat of battle, the boy didn't think that I couldn't use ninjutsu, or he overestimated me, thinking that I could... In any case, I knocked him off his feet and put up a wall with a fuin."
"Then you substituted yourself with a clone and hid underground. A skilled member of our clan could have seen you, but the boy hasn't developed his eyes enough yet, and he had lost too much chakra by that point..." Takeo thoughtfully made his move and immediately knocked over his own king. "I surrender. You have defeated me on all fronts, Sensoma Tomura."
"Does that mean you'll help me with my research?" the boy was delighted.
"The Hyuga keep their promises."
For the first time after leaving the territory of the white-eyed clan, the teacher and student walked in silence. Each was thinking his own thoughts. Madara was, for the hundredth time, delighted with his ward's talent, and Sensoma was summing up the battle, admitting it was a success. Finally, the Uchiha asked:
"You weren't moving at full speed, were you, Sensoma? With your physical data, you could have just overpowered that child in a struggle at the very beginning of the fight."
"What are you talking about, Madara-sensei!" Tomura laughed with a familiar laugh. "That was a very serious fight!"
Of course, the student's lie was obvious to the God of Shinobi.
Today, Jun Uchiha awakened the first tomoe in his personal Sharingan! Lord Madara had shown him the right path, so further development seemed easy and cloudless.
All he had to do was push Ren—the stray dog he had played with since childhood—into the river with a stone around its neck! He felt sorry for Ren, but his body seemed to work on autopilot, and when the boy saw the first "comma" in his reflection, the sadness instantly disappeared!
The main thing was to awaken the third tomoe in the remaining three years. Madara-sama had given a clear order.
Apparently, Jun had pleased the legendary head of his clan and distant relative.