Meanwhile, Nawaki had been caught by Tsunade at the entrance of the Senju Clan compound and lectured nonstop.
"Nawaki," Tsunade began, "remember never to get involved with the three vices—pornography, gambling, or drugs. Isn't that pervert Jiraiya ruined because of this? He loiters around Commercial Street all day, leering at girls like some old perv even though he's only a teenager himself. I knew the first time I saw him as a kid that he was beyond saving!"
"Yeah yeah, sis, whatever you say," Nawaki mumbled unenthusiastically, looking thoroughly unimpressed—a reaction that naturally raised suspicions about what he had been up to last night.
(Nawaki: Just slammed my head against a wall! Again and again!)
"Remember that example well! There's no future for someone like him!"
"But sis, how come you gamble all the time? Ow, that hurts! Sis, let go already!"
"I'm not a guy like you, am I? Besides, this gambling technique was personally taught to me by Grandpa. Tradition like this must be preserved!" Tsunade declared nobly while yanking one of Nawaki's ears, her face completely expressionless despite the absurdity of her words.
You might not be familiar with the term "Konoha Scapegoat"—it refers to someone who never wins a single bet. Would the First Hokage really teach his granddaughter such things? In that moment, the legendary image he'd built through countless battles against Lord Madara crumbled completely, and Hashirama Senju, the Ninja God, instantly lost all dignity.
"Alright, sis, I'll remember everything you said. Besides, I'm going to become Hokage someday!" Nawaki declared once his ear was released, revealing his life goal.
Her words momentarily startling her, Tsunade paused for a moment, seemingly surprised by her own words, before saying thoughtfully, "Here, take this, Nawaki! Work hard, okay?"
Without another word, she untied the pendant she'd worn around her neck since childhood and leaned down to place it gently around Nawaki's neck. Finally, she softly brushed her lips against his forehead.
"Don't worry, sis—I'll work really hard!" With an enormous grin, Nawaki joyfully accepted the gift from his sister.
Tsunade's gesture clearly showed her recognition of Nawaki. Moreover, this pendant wasn't just any ordinary accessory—it was an item capable of suppressing tailed beast chakra, something truly priceless.
Gently touching the pendant resting on his chest, Nawaki wore an expression of pure happiness. If only he'd known its true nature—that whoever wore it would soon suffer terrible misfortune—he probably wouldn't have looked quite so pleased.
At the Uchiha clan head's residence, Shen silently watched as his mother packed more luggage for him.
"This should go too, and don't forget this one either."
Aiko continued placing items into sealing scrolls—scrolls large enough to store several refrigerators' worth of contents. At this point, over a dozen were already stacked across the table by Aiko.
"Mother, how exactly do you expect me to carry all of these? With what's inside, I could open my own department store across the shinobi world!" Shen finally voiced his concern courageously.
His determined mother quickly offered a solution: "Just put the smaller scrolls into a bigger one! We can afford it—we're not short on money. An Uchiha child certainly cannot act stingily on missions like those other families!"
Shen felt bitter inside facing this endless Russian doll strategy. Regretting ever having created such techniques in the first place, he tried again: "Even so, do we really need this much stuff?"
"I'd wager the ingredients stored in there would last me two whole years."
Aiko said with conviction, "You have such a great item but don't use it properly? Isn't that just wasteful? Our family's money didn't grow on trees, you know. Can you even estimate the cost of this preservation scroll? If regular scrolls can carry refrigerators, why wouldn't I use those instead of paying extra for cooling functionality? The only reason I'm repurposing these unsold items is because they've been sitting around for over half a year without selling!" Her sharp rebuttal thoroughly defeated the young genius.
Shen silently acknowledged his mother's combat capabilities after hearing her words, deciding not to resist further. "Mother dearest, how wise you are! You truly serve as my role model. I'll definitely become someone as outstanding as you in the future!"
"Choking slightly on his tea, Kazushi let out a loud cough while quietly drinking and watching the drama unfold nearby.
"Wise? Role model? This was clearly calling someone profligate! And saying he'd become someone equally 'outstanding' in the future?"
At that moment, Kazushi felt this little brat had really come here just to cause trouble.
"What're you getting so worked up about, old man? We're rich enough that I could lounge around the village all my life without running out of cash. Why're you making such a big deal about it?"
Frustrated at being scolded by Kazushi like he was some spoiled brat, the son retorted, "You little brat, get lost already! If you stay at home any longer, I swear I'll end up with an illness from the stress!"
Upon hearing those words full of disdain, Shen burst into laughter right on the spot: "Haha! If I leave, where else in Konoha would be this lively? Before you were even duller than this boring village itself, old man!"
"Dull? My demeanor was called composedness! What do you know anyway? Now scram, you brat!"
"Alright, alright, I'm going!"
Kazushi watched helplessly as his mischievous son rolled around on the floor. Feeling his skills still weren't good enough, he took several deep breaths before shouting loudly toward the sky, "Come here! Uchiha's second young master is rolling on the ground again!"
"You're genuinely shameless, old man!"
"And I'm proud of it! I promote what I embody!"
"Pu!"
Covering his chest dramatically, Shen shook his head and fake-sprayed blood several times at Kazushi. His ridiculous expression combined with exaggerated physical actions finally showed Ao, who had just finished morning exercise, and Fugaku what it meant to share the same lineage.
Temple throbbing faintly, Kazushi inwardly acknowledged he had learned something valuable. Having witnessed numerous father-son quarrels, he had indeed grasped the principle of learning from others' strengths.
"As long as I'm more shameless than my opponent, nobody can defeat me!"
This was actually the greatest truth he'd realized throughout the past year as the Uchiha clan head, and he firmly believed in another universal rule—"When you can't beat them, join them!"
"Shen, check the time—it's almost time to leave. You wouldn't want to be late for your first S-rank mission outside the village, right?"
"Eh? How did time fly by so fast? Brother Fugaku, why didn't you remind me earlier?"
Fugaku, who had just entered the house not long ago, immediately turned grim-faced: "You're already a chunin—do I really need to remind you constantly? Remember, S-rank missions are extremely important for any ninja..."
Already planning to escape after getting sprayed with spit, Shen quickly responded: "My dear parents and Brother Fugaku, I'm setting off now. No need to see me off, Mother, Father, or Brother Fugaku!"
Quickly sealing all the scrolls scattered across the table into a single small scroll, he left home.
"That kid's just too rude!"
Kazushi complained, watching Shen's figure disappear outside the door, though the slight upward curve of his lips revealed his true feelings at that moment.
"Oh come on, dear," Aiko said gently. "Shen just doesn't want to deal with farewells. You know how he's always been — hiding his real feelings like this."
"Of course I know that, Aiko," Kazushi replied. "Otherwise why would I hang around with him every day? After this mission, if he's still acting like this, I won't hold back anymore."
As parents, the Uchiha couple clearly understood Shen. Although they weren't entirely sure about the reasons behind his daily quirks, the couple decided to let him continue doing harmless things.
Standing there and listening to the ever more incomprehensible exchange between Aiko, Kazushi, and Shen, Fugaku felt even more lost. He often lamented his inability to understand what they were saying, feeling excluded by his family. With that thought, he decided to seriously study the book *The Art of the Thick-Skinned and Black-Hearted* (a guide to ruthless pragmatism and emotional detachment), which had been given to him by a transmigrator.
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