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The head of the Uchiha stepped into camp, sing the nearby crowd until his gaze nded on Shin and the others—Tsunade, Kushina, and Mikoto were all within earshot. He cleared his throat.
"Uchiha Head?" Shin spoke up first, not b to hide his disi. "What brings you here so early in the m?"
The head spared a quice at Tsunade and the girls.
"Some matters are better discussed privately," he said, obviously hinting that the dies should leave.
"Whatever you o say, just say it here. Don't see a reason to hide anything." But Shin waved him off, unruffled.
A moment of awkward silehe 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 pinly. Shin…you're not yet eo anyone, correct?"
Shin blinked, clearly not expeg that question.
"Uh…e again?"
"I have a niece about ye—very beautiful, excellent temperament… The two of you would be a great match, so I thought—"
Bang.
Someone's fist smmed down oable—hard. It was Kushina. Her crimson hair practically stood on end.
"Are you seriously here to talk about marriage proposals?" she growled, eyes bzing.
Tsunade flicked an irritated g the Uchiha head.
"If that's all you came for, then you 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 o show you out?" Kushina added, raising a ched fist. "I wouldn't mind."
Giveemper, a single punch might've sent him flying.
The head swallowed hard. He left in a stiff huff, muttering about disrespeder his breath.
As soon as he was gone, Kushina turned on Shin, notig a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"And what exactly do you find so hirious?" she demanded, fists still twitg.
"Hmm? I'm not ughing 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 ftly.
"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 det-looking, right? Are you messing with me?"
Mikoto's eyes narrowed.
"Suppose I am. Does it matter? Were you pnning 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 ent made Mikoto's cheeks fre pink. She tried to hide it by tilting her head down, but the flush was unmistakable—and the little smile that snuto her face was just as telling.
Meanwhile, Shiwo waves of killing i crash into him from behind. Tsunade and Kushina were gring 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 o 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, watg Shin vanish. She whipped back toward Mikoto, eyes fring with jealousy. "It's not fair. He's never said that kind of sweet lio me!"
Mikoto felt a little guilty but kept a ral 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 ical, but she was genuinely annoyed.
...
Meanwhile, Shin and Konan slipped away from the bustle, strolling toward a secluded patch of forest.
Konan bli 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, Shi a pang of guilt. He was, to some extent, usio dodge the fring tempers back at camp—but now, seeing how early 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. Iure, I bet you'll develop something really uo your style. Ever heard of Paper Ninjutsu?"
She shook her head, a bit puzzled.
"I won't pretend I teach you that specifically," Shin admitted, "but I share fual Ninjutsu knowledge and help you build the foundation to eventually create your own teiques."
...
For the 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" teiques, 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 tration whenever Shin expined a cept.
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 k jutsu, lettiry them out. Konan's chakra pool was still about mid-in level, so more advaninjutsu would drain her dry in seds.
For now, these simpler teiques were a perfect fit.
...
By te afternoon, the forest's shadows grew long. Shin g 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 ain—like he was ing her into believing he was a dedicated mentor.
But maybe, he thought, giving an ear grin, he really did enjoy teag her.
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