While the Uchiha family was deep in debate over Shen's return to school, the Third Hokage sat chatting with Qing in his office.
"Qing, that child named Shen Uchiha will return to school tomorrow. What do you think of him?"
"I suggest reinforcing the buildings and land near the school." As usual, Qing answered with no trace of feeling.
"…"
The Third Hokage had no response.
Seeing there was no reaction, Qing continued, "I'm simply making an assessment based on his performance that day. If he can use Fire Release, I'd further recommend fire prevention measures for the surrounding area."
"I only asked for your opinion on that kid. Do you really believe he'll cause trouble at school?" The Third Hokage clearly doubted Qing's exaggerated statement. "He's just a child. What five-year-old could possibly set fire and burn down a school?"
"Anbu shouldn't affect the Hokage's decisions—that's what you taught me to begin with. I'm merely deducing possible outcomes from the intelligence we already have. Whether or not you accept my view won't change my assessment." Qing replied, expression unchanged.
The Third Hokage felt a headache coming on from Qing's cold logic. With conversations like this, who wouldn't end up socially withdrawing? He mused dryly that maybe he shouldn't have sent Xiang away back then. The Third resigned himself to months of suffering, lamenting how the ninja world truly lacked something like a "Regret Remedy" pill.
Hmm? If he held on long enough, wouldn't he truly become the "Sage of the Ninja World"? This phrase carried genuine double meaning—not only literally but sarcastically too.
The next morning, at the residence of the Uchiha clan head.
"Sun shines bright, flowers smile wide, birds sing cheerfully, 'Hey hey hey, why are you carrying bombs instead of books—cough cough—a backpack?'" Shen's singing echoed through the house early in the morning.
Inside the Uchiha couple's room, Kazushi and Aiko sleepily stared at each other after being woken up.
"What song is that brat singing so early in the morning?"
Kazushi was annoyed—he had barely fallen asleep before getting disturbed.
Aiko yawned widely and rubbed her eyes.
"Sun shines bright, flowers smile wide, birds sing 'Hey hey hey,' why are you carrying bombs instead of books on your back? Gonna blow the school sky-high, never be late again! Drop the bomb and run real fast—BOOM! School's gone without a trace!" Seeing no response, Shen dramatically revised the lyrics and sang loudly once more from the rooftop.
"!!!" x2
The Uchiha couple were shocked!
Kazushi practically jumped out of bed furiously, throwing on his coat while barely putting his shoes on, rushing hastily outside.
"BOOM! School's gone without a trace!"
Shen kept repeating the same verse, holding a self-made megaphone made from rolled-up old newspapers while standing on the rooftop, continuously torturing nearby Uchiha clan members' ears.
In reality, it was nothing more than a cone shape formed from stacked old newspapers—but combined with Shen's childish voice and loud speaking style, it was absolutely perfect! Everyone within a hundred-meter radius probably became unfortunate victims.
"Shen Uchiha, you little brat! What exactly are you doing up there!" Kazushi shouted angrily at the rooftop.
Seeing his father acting like this, Shen couldn't help feeling amused inside. Raising the megaphone in his hand high into the air, he continued belting out to the sky: "The sun shines brightly in the sky."
Silence followed.
When Aiko and Fugaku stepped outside, they saw Kazushi chasing wildly across rooftops after this "main culprit." Witnessing the scene, both of them grew even more determined—Shen really needed to start attending school properly. Otherwise, life for the entire Uchiha Clan would become unbearable.
"Hahahahaha! Can't catch me! Lalalalalalala!"
Arrogant Shen made another dramatic entrance, and his appearance once again broke his old man Kazushi's anger threshold.
"You little brat, just stand still!"
"Old man, if you're so tough, quit chasing me!"
That day, the Uchiha clansmen recalled the terror of being dominated by these two father-and-son troublemakers.
As for how this father-son showdown ended—it was obvious: Kazushi caught Shen and gave him an earful. After all, what five-year-old kid could actually outrun an adult? That kind of scenario only happens if the child has rare talent or suffers from physical mutations. Our protagonist's special ability isn't nearly that powerful.
Standing at the entrance of the ninja academy, Shen felt deep emotions. Failure of Plan A had been completely expected—he'd only staged it to relax his family's vigilance, letting them "peacefully" allow him to enter school.
"Plan B I've already sung out loud," he mused while walking through the campus. "If any problems come up from the village later, my old man can handle them. With repeated exchanges, the Uchiha and the village should grow naturally acquainted."
While stepping into the school building, Shen mentally reviewed his plans for flaws or omissions.
Truly, Shen hadn't intentionally wanted to act so mischievous. Ever since accidentally flattening a planned reconstruction commercial street with one slap, he noticed that the world seemed pretty lenient toward children. Or rather, this probably resulted from policies by the Third Hokage. After all, Danzo took most of those dark history responsibilities as scapegoat. Nowadays, the Third Hokage presented himself as a paragon of positive energy—even the infamous winter-swimmer Dongyong "Swimming Oddity" would exclaim admiration upon seeing him.
Walking around campus, Shen ignored all the surrounding students' whispering and pointing, although occasional mentions of someone named Motoi did quicken his pace slightly.
"Boom!"
Shen kicked open the classroom door. This time, thanks to having elemental chakra mode activated on his feet, it didn't hurt at all.
Inside instantly fell silent. Looking at Shen who'd kicked the door open, the students suddenly recalled the terror they experienced on the first day when he'd first dominated everyone.
"I'm back!" He shouted from atop the classroom podium. "Shen Uchiha is returning to school!"
Nayou was still sitting right at the front desk. The perpetually icy girl's lips curled slightly upward after Shen entered.
"So then, as agreed," Shen continued after scanning the room, "starting today, I call the shots here at this school!"
The students were speechlessly stunned—this guy was either insane or just plain nuts.
Joking? The principal—the Third Hokage himself—was in the next building. Didn't he fear getting called in for a serious talk afterward?
"Anyone oppose me?"
"I do! I challenge you to a duel!" Nayou immediately stood up, her tone carrying clear excitement as she issued the challenge.
All the students in the classroom were stunned. Who knew this ice-cold classmate could be this bold?
Shen felt stomach pain rising—originally thinking he might smoothly follow script without Nawaki's presence interfering, never expecting instead an icy little female rival to emerge from nowhere.
He felt that if he dared to do anything to the Hyuga's Little Iceberg, the Hyuga clan would come after the Uchiha compound the very next day. Then even the Sage of Six Paths (Rikudō Sennin) wouldn't be able to save him.
"I don't go around picking on girls!" Shen still wore a cocky expression on his face, but inwardly he was already panicking badly. "Please, pretty miss, how about you pick on Nawaki, that guy? He's tough and can take a beating!"
At this moment, Little Iceberg stood with her hands on her hips, her delicate little face puffed up in anger from his words. "No way!"
Nayou's response made Shen regret bitterly in his heart—why had he added such a clichéd line earlier? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?
That's exactly why you shouldn't try reenacting movie scenes in real life—you'll only get slapped by reality itself.
"I, Shen, always keep my word," Shen replied, clearly softening his tone without the earlier arrogance. "But getting into fights with little girls looks bad."
Nayou's eyes narrowed the moment she heard the words "little girls." Chakra surged toward her eyes as her Byakugan activated, veins bulging around her temples.
Intimidating and provocative, Nayou challenged him: "Shen Uchiha, are you even a man anymore? Or are you disrespecting the Hyuga clan by refusing our duel invitation?"
Holy crap! Nayou's words practically threw Shen directly onto the fire. No matter whether he agreed or refused, the Hyuga clan would surely cause trouble for the Uchiha now.
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