The next morning, the head of the Uchiha clan sat at the dining table with his family of four.
"Shen, listen to me," said a stern-looking man seated at the head of the table. He'd been lecturing the half-asleep Shen sitting to his left for quite some time now. "At ninja academy you'll meet all sorts of people, but don't bother paying attention to their stares. It doesn't matter how strong your [Taijutsu] is—what's most important for the Uchiha Clan is [Genjutsu] and [Ninjutsu]. Once you awaken your [Sharingan], there's no saying that your achievements won't rival those of other shinobi."
The man was Uchiha Kazushi, current leader of the Uchiha family, and this motivational speech for the soon-to-be enrolled Shen had already lasted over half an hour.
Fugaku sat beside Shen at the table. He was listening intently to his father's words, occasionally nodding slowly in agreement—a sharp contrast to Shen's drowsy appearance as if he might slump face-first onto the table at any moment.
*Thud!*
Shen's head finally hit the dining table with a loud sound, interrupting Kazushi's closing remarks.
"Ah! Father, you're finally done speaking."
Within half a second after falling forward, Shen quickly raised his head to speak—an ability obviously honed through extensive practice.
Kazushi's expression stiffened as he turned to look at the young woman seated to his right.
Uchiha Aiko was beautiful, looking about twenty years old. She immediately stood up when she saw Shen fall forward. Hurriedly walking over, she bent down beside him and gently rubbed his slightly reddened forehead.
"Why are you so careless? Does it still hurt?" she asked softly with a caring tone.
This young woman was indeed the boys' birth mother, Kazushi's wife, Uchiha Aiko. This also showed why Fugaku took after his father's looks while Shen favored his mother.
"Aiko, bring out breakfast, please," Kazushi muttered, twitching his lips slightly as he gave instructions to his wife.
Then he shifted his gaze to Shen, who wore that familiar innocent expression again. Sighing inwardly, he turned his eyes further to the right and nodded slightly upon seeing Fugaku's serious and attentive demeanor.
"Fugaku is definitely more like me," Kazushi mused. "But Shen's lively personality reminds me of the young Aiko I first met."
Before marriage, Aiko had quite the fiery temper, and Kazushi couldn't even remember how many rivals he'd defeated to win her heart. Years of married life had made him deeply trust his wife though, and he loved Shen dearly despite the boy not sharing his character traits.
"Although Shen can be a bit impulsive, some of his ideas really are interesting. Like that basic mechanics thing—it surprisingly improved my shuriken techniques! But these so-called solid mechanics and fluid mechanics... Try as I might, they just don't make any sense." Kazushi interrupted his own thoughts as he saw Aiko placing breakfast on the table.
He still held considerable authority within the household, primarily because Aiko had changed from her former self after marriage, becoming gentle and dutiful instead. The only exception seemed to be when it came to caring (read: being overly protective) about Shen; otherwise, she would usually follow his requests.
Kazushi felt uneasy under Aiko's warm smile, so he decided to temporarily set aside his minor irritation toward his younger son. "Well then," he announced, "let's eat breakfast."
As Shen immediately picked up his chopsticks to start eating, he thought to himself: "Man, being part of a big family sure comes with a ton of rules!"
Do you know how I've lived these past five years? I spent them all playing that "Temptation Blue" game... Cough! Cough! As he started reminiscing about some legendary moments from his past life, his hands kept scarfing down breakfast without missing a beat.
Most people's brains are 'single-threaded,' while only a few can juggle multiple tasks at once. But Shen could run with 'multi-threading'—even 'hyper-threading.' In other words, he could handle more than two things simultaneously without making a single mistake. So long as his brain wasn't maxed out on computing power, he could process multiple thoughts at once or do something else physically. This meant that as long as his limbs, fingers, and every muscle could keep up, he was capable of pulling off many "inhuman" feats.
"This divine ability feels kinda useless, doesn't it? It's just having Shadow Clone Jutsu by default. Even if I learn Shadow Clone Jutsu, wouldn't I just end up with Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu anyway?" In Shen's mind, the true strength of both Shadow Clone Jutsu and Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu wasn't for combat—it was for learning.
The moment a shadow clone was dispelled, its memories would return to the original body. According to Shen's understanding, this principle was completely filled with "unscientific" and "mystical" elements.
"If I had a thousand shadow clones, then my brain would be a supercomputer? Hmm, maybe this ability isn't so weak after all." Unfortunately, Shen knew well that without tailed beasts supplying massive chakra and merely possessing the Uchiha bloodline, he'd probably never fulfill this grand wish in his lifetime.
"I'm going to report now, Father." After finishing breakfast, he hurriedly stood up and walked outside without waiting for Kazushi's reply, wanting to get to the Ninja Academy early to check things out.
"Shen, watch your step."
Aiko said this while winking at him, silently conveying the message, "Don't worry about your father—I've got him handled."
"I understand, Mother." When Shen saw her wink, his foot movements naturally quickened.
When Kazushi noticed his wife looking at him with a "kind" smile, suddenly his mood turned as uneasy as Fugaku's had been last night. He could only shift his gaze toward his eldest son, who had also set aside his chopsticks and bowl.
"I'm done eating too, Father and Mother." Once Fugaku caught his father's gaze, he quickly excused himself to his parents and nearly ran to his room like someone fleeing.
Huh? Why doesn't Fugaku have to go to school? Well, Fugaku is five years older than Shen—he already graduated several months ago.
Uchiha clan members generally don't take ninja missions from the village. This situation arose due to the duties assigned by the Second Hokage to the Uchiha Police Department, which led the clan to develop into a "village within a village."
"You're spoiling Shen too much, Aiko."
Kazushi expressed his dissatisfaction (read: begging) as head of the household toward Aiko, who had always doted on Shen since he was little. Indeed, the Uchiha Clan Head lowered his stance significantly when it came to matters concerning Shen.
"My poor Shen has always had such weak health. You lectured him for so long today even though he woke up so early—you even saw him hit his head on the table just now!" Aiko's eyes welled up slightly as she spoke, her voice carrying a hint of weeping.
Kazushi's head hurt the moment he saw this scene. Before he could say anything, he was quickly cut off.
"Therefore, please don't push this child too hard academically. All I want is for him to live happily."
Aiko made her request with a pitifully charming expression, waiting for an answer. Kazushi could only nod in agreement.
What choice did he have? The Uchiha clan head insisted it wasn't fear of his wife but pure love.
"Then Aiko will head to the clan compound first!" After saying this, Kazushi quickly left just like Fugaku had moments ago.
However, the moment he turned away, Aiko's expression immediately returned to normal, even carrying a slight smile on her lips.
Kazushi probably never realized his wife had been putting on an act just now. You can only imagine how tough Aiko must've been before tying the knot.
In this household, only Shen—who came from another world—could keep up with her thinking. Therefore, in Shen's eyes, both his father and older brother were "nice guys," and his arrival perfectly balanced the everyday interactions and subtle power plays within the household.
Meanwhile, Shen was heading toward the outskirts of the clan territory.
The morning bustle had already begun in the compound—guards, merchants, vendors, and Uchiha clan members out for their morning walks and exercises. Outsiders rarely came to the Uchiha compound unless they had a good reason.
"Shen, are you off to the Ninja Academy early today?"
Shen glanced sideways and saw a young man wearing a beige vest and black pants standing outside the Uchiha ninja tools shop, smiling at him.
"It's Shoda-nii! Yeah, today's my first day at school!" he readily replied to the young man before him.
Not everyone in the Uchiha Clan possessed the talent to become a ninja. The young man before him, Uchiha Shoda, was one such example. Although unable to become a ninja, Shoda held no resentment inside. He firmly believed that even without becoming a ninja, he could still live a fulfilling life.
Moreover, Shoda dreamed of opening his own general store. Currently working part-time at the clan's tool shop, it was precisely this positive mindset that caused Shen to always hold a favorable opinion of him.
"A person who achieves their dreams through hard work deserves respect!" That was how he summarized Shoda.
"Well then, I'll be heading off first, Shoda-nii." After exchanging greetings, Shen continued towards the Ninja Academy located not far beyond the clan territory.
"The Ninja Academy... It really is great..." Shouda couldn't help but let out a wistful sigh as he watched Shen disappear into the morning light: "Well then, I should work hard today as well!"
With those words, Shoda turned around and walked back into the shop, continuing his efforts toward achieving his dream.
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