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The head of the Uchiha clan stepped into camp, scanning the nearby crowd until his gaze landed on Shin and the others—Tsunade, Kushina, and Mikoto were all within earshot. He cleared his throat.
"Uchiha Clan Head?" Shin spoke up first, not bothering to hide his disinterest. "What brings you here so early in the morning?"
The clan head spared a quick glance at Tsunade and the girls.
"Some matters are better discussed privately," he said, obviously hinting that the ladies should leave.
"Whatever you need to say, just say it here. Don't see a reason to hide anything." But Shin waved him off, unruffled.
A moment of awkward silence. The clan head's face twitched in displeasure—he wasn't used to being refused. Most people bent over backward to humor the Uchiha, after all.
Still, he forced a tight smile.
"In that case, I'll speak plainly. Shin…you're not yet engaged to anyone, correct?"
Shin blinked, clearly not expecting that question.
"I have a niece about your age—very beautiful, excellent temperament… The two of you would be a great match, so I thought—"
Someone's fist slammed down on the table—hard. It was Kushina. Her crimson hair practically stood on end.
"Are you seriously here to talk about marriage proposals?" she growled, eyes blazing.
Tsunade flicked an irritated glance at the Uchiha clan head.
"If that's all you came for, then you can leave," she said coolly. "We have more pressing things to handle."
The Uchiha's face darkened, but he held his tongue. Before he could muster another word:
"Do I need to show you out?" Kushina added, raising a clenched fist. "I wouldn't mind."
Given her temper, a single punch might've sent him flying.
The clan head swallowed hard. He left in a stiff huff, muttering about disrespect under his breath.
As soon as he was gone, Kushina turned on Shin, noticing a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"And what exactly do you find so hilarious?" she demanded, fists still twitching.
"Hmm? I'm not laughing at anything," Shin replied, though he couldn't hide his amusement.
He pivoted to Mikoto. "Hey, Mikoto, his niece, have you met her before? She any good-looking?"
Mikoto just stared at him flatly.
"Met her once. She's uglier than the worst-faced kunoichi in Konoha."
Shin snorted. He wasn't sure he believed that.
"Uchiha folks are usually at least decent-looking, right? Are you messing with me?"
Mikoto's eyes narrowed.
"Suppose I am. Does it matter? Were you planning to meet her?"
"Absolutely not." Shin shook his head. "If I ever get entangled with an Uchiha girl, it'll only be you, Mikoto."
That single comment made Mikoto's cheeks flare pink. She tried to hide it by tilting her head down, but the flush was unmistakable—and the little smile that snuck onto her face was just as telling.
Meanwhile, Shin felt two waves of killing intent crash into him from behind. Tsunade and Kushina were glaring daggers at him for that remark.
'Time to bail,' Shin thought, clearing his throat.
"Uh… Konan!" he suddenly said, spinning toward the quiet girl standing on the sidelines. "We need to work on your training, right? Let's…head out!"
"Shin Uzumaki, don't you dare run—!" Kushina moved to grab him, but Mikoto gave her sleeve a discreet tug, slowing her down just enough that Shin slipped out.
"Dammit," Kushina fumed, watching Shin vanish. She whipped back toward Mikoto, eyes flaring with jealousy. "It's not fair. He's never said that kind of sweet line to me!"
Mikoto felt a little guilty but kept a neutral expression.
"Are we…fighting about it now?" she asked.
"I oughta break ties with you altogether," Kushina grumbled, arms folded. The pouting on her face made it almost comical, but she was genuinely annoyed.
Meanwhile, Shin and Konan slipped away from the bustle, strolling toward a secluded patch of forest.
Konan blinked at him.
"So you really meant it when you said you'd help me train?" she asked. "I thought it was just an excuse to escape, the moment things got tense."
Shin put a hand to his heart, feigning wounded pride.
"You think so little of me? I never run. I just felt like you could use some pointers, that's all."
"…Oh." Konan's reply was quiet, but her gentle expression said she half-believed him. "Sorry, Shin-nii."
Seeing her look so apologetic, Shin felt a pang of guilt. He was, to some extent, using her to dodge the flaring tempers back at camp—but now, seeing how earnestly she took his words, he resolved to make the best of it.
"All right, let's get started," he said, brightening. "You've got huge potential, Konan. In the future, I bet you'll develop something really unique to your style. Ever heard of Paper Ninjutsu?"
She shook her head, a bit puzzled.
"I won't pretend I can teach you that specifically," Shin admitted, "but I can share fundamental Ninjutsu knowledge and help you build the foundation to eventually create your own techniques."
For the next half-day, Shin guided Konan through basic theory—chakra nature, shaping transformations, the underlying logic behind jutsu design.
Although he couldn't personally do her distinctive "paper" techniques, he was an expert at devising new jutsu: after all, he'd created his own Ice Release arsenal from scratch.
Konan proved a quick study. Her eyes gleamed with concentration whenever Shin explained a concept.
The horrors of war had given her a quiet but determined drive; she wanted power, if only to protect herself and those precious to her.
He showed her a few C-rank jutsu, letting her try them out. Konan's chakra pool was still about mid-Chūnin level, so more advanced ninjutsu would drain her dry in seconds.
For now, these simpler techniques were a perfect fit.
By late afternoon, the forest's shadows grew long. Shin glanced at the sky and figured they should head back.
"Konan," he said softly, patting her shoulder, "keep training hard, but don't push yourself to the brink, okay? You don't have the same freakish healing I do. I don't want to see you hurt."
She looked up with a sincere nod, face bright with gratitude.
"Got it, Shin-nii. Thank you."
Her trusting gaze almost made Shin feel guilty all over again—like he was conning her into believing he was a dedicated mentor.
But maybe, he thought, giving an earnest grin, he really did enjoy teaching her.
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