"Wahahaha! From today onwards, I, Shen Uchiha, will be unbeatable in taijutsu!" Shen shouted to the sky while standing on the windowsill of his room.
The self-absorbed Shen was feeling overconfident now. Power, super-fast vibrations, speed, defense, and organ expansion—yeah, that last one sounded weird, but he knew he'd be super strong eventually.
Right now, could he probably go fifty-fifty against Kakashi Hatake?
Fugaku looked puzzled when he heard Shen laughing from inside his room. What on earth was Shen doing so early in the morning? Had he gone mad after being unable to attend school?
"Ahhahahahaha!"
That word-for-word hesitation in laughter sent chills down Fugaku's spine.
Kazushi, who had just returned home after dealing with clan business, thought his youngest son had lost it upon hearing that laugh. He rushed to find Aiko and brought Fugaku along before reaching their destination.
"Wahaha!"
When the three walked through the door, they found Shen standing on the windowsill, hands on his hips, laughing arrogantly.
"What nonsense are you up to this time, brat?" Kazushi roared at Shen.
"Aha! Father! I'm telling you, my taijutsu is really strong now! Believe me, in a couple of years, I'll totally pin ya down and whup your butt!" Shen answered proudly.
But the way he looked down on everyone infuriated Kazushi, who wanted to beat him badly.
"Cough cough."
Aiko's cough reminded Kazushi to calm himself. This kid had too powerful a backing to touch recklessly.
So Kazushi softened his attitude slightly and sneered, "Is that right? But as for dealing with you, I only need one finger."
Upon hearing his father's sarcastic remarks, Shen immediately disagreed, "No, it should be me needing just one finger to deal with you. Come on, Father, let's have a little scrap in the backyard?"
"Oh? Shen, you're serious? Remember, your father has the three-tomoe Sharingan," Aiko expressed concern.
She didn't know what was wrong with her youngest son today. Even Fugaku, already an outstanding eldest son in her eyes, wouldn't dare challenge Kazushi directly.
Seeing his mother's worries, Shen frankly said there was no need to worry. He asked if they could all help him out by sparring a bit so he could test it out for real.
Although none of them believed a five-year-old child could develop exceptional taijutsu techniques, they all nodded in agreement to avoid dampening his enthusiasm.
In the backyard of the Uchiha clan head's residence, the four family members were walking together to choose a suitable spot for this "little father-son scrap."
"This place is good enough, Father," Shen picked a relatively flat grassy area.
"Fine, remember, I said only one finger," Kazushi still couldn't believe this child could keep up with his speed.
After all, who could believe someone would have such absurd talent, wielding five chakra natures along with countless extra abilities.
"Don't underestimate my technique, Father. Without the Sharingan, you might not even be able to follow my speed," Shen remained unconvinced. If the Sharingan wasn't used, how else could he test his limits effectively?
Aiko, sensing the rising tension, interrupted the two: "Then I and Fugaku will be the witnesses. I'll count to three, and then we begin."
After exchanging glances, father and son nodded in agreement.
"One!" Shen started injecting lightning-natured chakra into his leg muscle cells.
"Two!" Kazushi placed his right hand behind his back, then raised his left index finger.
"Three!" With his excellent memory, Shen completed charging his leg muscles with lightning chakra. At this moment, the internal muscles of his legs had successfully entered the Lightning Nature Chakra Mode.
"Begin!"
Right after Kazushi's word, Shen instantly disappeared from his field of vision, leaving only a faint white streak of lightning. The next moment, he instinctively raised his right hand and caught the small fist from Shen.
"Hmph, Lightning Release? Its speed is still far inferior to that of The Third Raikage. However, compared to the Body Flicker Technique, it's passable—not much power, but the speed is decent enough," Kazushi thought to himself. "To force me to use my right hand... This kid has grown!"
The very next second, Kazushi clenched his five fingers together and firmly grabbed Shen's wrist, wearing an expression of satisfaction as he prepared to declare his victory.
Suddenly, a buzzing, piercing sound came from Shen's wrist that was being held.
Kazushi's palm stung painfully. After letting go, he looked solemnly at his own young son across from him.
"Now Wind Release after Lightning Release? Although its strength is still insufficient, let me personally witness your current limit!"
Kazushi closed his eyes. When he reopened them, a pair of Three-tomoe Sharingan gazed out. Beside him, both Aiko and Fugaku wore expressions of complete disbelief.
Didn't he promise to do this using just one finger? Now even the Sharingan is coming into play?
"Father, what follows I can only execute using a single finger—watch closely!" Shen raised his right hand and infused Fire-natured Chakra into the cells of his index finger.
Inside his Sharingan, Kazushi saw how Shen's chakra gathered at the index finger—not along the meridians, but rather bursting through the meridian channels directly toward the fingertip.
As Kazushi observed the increasingly turbulent chakra forming on the tip of Shen's finger, his expression grew heavier, the tomoe in his crimson eyes spinning wildly.
Watching closely, Aiko activated her Sharingan for better observation. Then she said to the eldest son beside her, "Fugaku, watching this fight could be very useful for you when you awaken yours someday."
"I'm ready, Father!" Having completed the Fire Nature Chakra Mode in his right index finger, Shen called out to the other.
"Come, Shen!" Kazushi took his stance, his gaze burning intensely as he focused intently on every subtle change around him.
No sooner had those words fallen than Shen vanished once again—but this time, his speed seemed even faster than before.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of white lightning swiftly shot past Kazushi. Shen appeared abruptly, and with a quick glance, Kazushi immediately lowered his center of gravity and swung his arm toward the opponent.
"Swoosh!" His punch passed straight through Shen's body, which then dissolved into wisps of white lightning and dispersed into the air.
"From behind then?"
Kazushi quickly formed hand seals, then deeply inhaled. As if sensing something, he turned his head and spat out a massive fireball from his mouth.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]
"Poom!"
"A massive fireball collided with the index finger, triggering a violent explosion that sent dust billowing across the area.
Shen felt the heat wave rushing toward his face and quickly crossed his arms to protect his head as the explosive force hurled him backward.
At the same time, Shen was also sent flying by the immense blast.
When the smoke cleared, a three-meter-wide crater marked the spot where the two had stood. The ground inside was charred black, with several bright red flames still flickering.
Watching from the sidelines, Aiko and Fugaku stared in disbelief. They'd originally thought it was just a friendly spar between father and son—they never expected anything like this.
'Hahah! You're not bad at all, Shen!'
A moment later, Kazushi's voice rang out. He had been pushed nearly ten meters away by the shockwave, leaving two deep gouges on the ground as proof of its strength.
'Your speed under Lightning Release is fast, and you cleverly used the fire attribute of the [Great Fireball] in the explosion. Overall, I'd say that's a passing grade.'
'A passing grade?' Activating his Fire Nature Chakra Mode, Shen swiftly reappeared right in front of Fugaku.
'Then how about now, Father?' Without waiting for an answer and ignoring the pain in his body, Shen launched forward with a powerful punch aimed directly at Kazushi.
Kazushi had no choice but to channel chakra into his feet and activate the Body Flicker Technique.
Boom! Boom!!
The air in front of Shen's fist seemed to explode with sound; the shockwave finally reached the back courtyard wall, leaving behind a massive fist-shaped hole before fading away."
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!