"Alright, alright, just think carefully!" Senba looked at his grandmother with anticipation written all over his face.
If Uzumaki Mito knew the Dragon Flame Song Technique, then he wouldn't need to go looking for that strange guy anymore.
Unfortunately, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Just as Senba was imagining himself avoiding the whole apprenticeship issue, Uzumaki Mito poured cold water all over his expectations.
"I remember the Dragon Flame Song Technique being an advanced Fire Release technique of the Uchiha Clan," Uzumaki Mito said slowly.
"But I believe it has long since been lost."
"Almost no one in Konoha still knows it."
"Still, don't be too disappointed. Your father seemed to know that technique."
"You could try searching through his belongings. There might be some records left behind."
"Really?!"
Senba's eyes lit up instantly.
"That's great! I'll go look right away!"
Before Uzumaki Mito could stop him, Senba rushed out the door like a gust of wind.
"Little Senba, don't rush around so much!"
"You haven't even eaten yet. Why not eat first before searching?"
"It won't be too late afterward."
"No need! I'm not hungry!"
Watching her little grandson disappear into the distance, Uzumaki Mito could only shake her head helplessly.
She truly had no way to handle him.
Senba sprinted all the way to the house where his parents once lived.
The moment he entered, he immediately began rummaging through everything.
He searched Isamu's old room from top to bottom but found absolutely nothing.
"Huh?"
"There's nothing here…"
"Could it be hidden somewhere else?"
Unwilling to give up, Senba moved on to the study, the living room, and even the storage areas.
He even dug through the grass in the yard, stubbornly searching every possible place.
But in the end—
Nothing.
Not a single clue.
Returning home exhausted and disappointed, Senba barely touched his dinner.
After taking a bath, he collapsed onto his bed.
That night, he tossed and turned endlessly.
The apprenticeship.
The Dragon Flame Song Technique.
That mysterious man named Sani.
Everything kept circling through his mind.
Even after thinking about it the entire night, he still couldn't decide whether he should take that strange guy as his master.
The next morning, Senba walked out of his room with dark circles under his eyes.
It was obvious he hadn't slept well at all.
"Little Senba, come eat breakfast," Uzumaki Mito called gently.
"Coming…"
Senba sat down at the table and absentmindedly stuffed food into his mouth.
Seeing his exhausted appearance, Uzumaki Mito asked worriedly,
"What's wrong?"
"Didn't you sleep well?"
"It's nothing," Senba replied casually.
"The bed was too hard."
He naturally hid the real reason.
For a five-year-old, he was surprisingly good at keeping secrets.
"So that's it," Uzumaki Mito said with a smile.
"I'll have the servants replace the bedding with something softer later."
"You'll definitely sleep better tonight."
"No need."
"I'm already used to that bedding."
Seeing that the topic was continuing, Senba hurriedly changed the subject.
"Oh right! I'm running late for school!"
"Goodbye, Grandmother!"
He quickly returned to his room, changed clothes, washed up, and escaped before Uzumaki Mito could continue asking questions.
On the way to the Ninja Academy, Senba remained lost in thought.
He was so distracted by the apprenticeship problem that he completely ignored the whispers from the villagers around him.
He didn't even notice the two children blocking the road ahead until—
Bang!
He walked straight into them.
"Senju Senba, are you blind?!"
"With such a huge road, you still crashed into me!"
"Are your eyes on your butt?!"
The little boy pointed at Senba angrily while shouting without restraint.
Clearly, unlike the other children in Konoha, he wasn't afraid of the infamous village bully at all.
"Fugaku, can't you talk properly?"
A little girl standing nearby immediately scolded him.
"Brother Senba obviously didn't do it on purpose."
"And if you hadn't blocked the road first, he wouldn't have bumped into you."
Hearing this, the little boy snorted proudly and turned his head away.
These two children were none other than Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto.
Fugaku was the son of the Uchiha Clan Head—the future heir of the clan.
Mikoto, meanwhile, was the granddaughter of one of the clan elders.
Neither of them had ordinary backgrounds.
Truthfully, Fugaku had disliked Senba for a very long time.
In his eyes, Senba was clearly a member of the Uchiha bloodline.
Yet he carried the surname "Senju."
The Senju and the Uchiha were sworn rivals.
Even though the adults claimed there was some special reason behind it, Fugaku still found it irritating.
Because of this, he and Senba constantly clashed.
They had fought physically more than ten times already.
Unfortunately for Fugaku—
He lost every single time.
He had even gone home crying to complain to Uchiha Mori more than once.
But Senba's background was simply too powerful.
No one could really do anything to him.
That was how the grudge between the two children grew deeper and deeper.
Seeing that it was Fugaku, the boy he regularly beat until he cried, Senba immediately lost interest.
He looked down on people like Fugaku the most.
Weak.
Arrogant.
And always running home to complain after losing.
Normally, Senba would have beaten him up immediately for speaking like that.
But today, he simply didn't have the energy.
Without saying a word, he walked right past him.
"Brother Senba, wait for me!"
Mikoto hurriedly chased after him.
Seeing this, Fugaku immediately followed as well.
Although Mikoto was only five years old, children in the Ninja World matured far earlier than ordinary people.
At her age, she already understood what admiration was.
Unlike Fugaku, who disliked Senba, Mikoto actually liked him quite a bit.
The relationship between the three was strangely complicated:
Fugaku liked Mikoto.
Mikoto liked Senba.
And Senba…
Well, Senba mostly found Fugaku annoying.
Because of this strange triangle, the three often ended up together despite constantly arguing.
Many people in Konoha found the combination extremely bizarre.
"Brother Senba," Mikoto asked curiously while walking beside him, "what are you thinking about?"
"You seem distracted today."
"Oh, nothing important," Senba replied casually.
"I'm just thinking about something."
Among children his age, Mikoto was the only one who genuinely spoke to him normally.
Because of that, Senba didn't dislike her.
"What is it?" Mikoto asked enthusiastically.
"Tell me. Maybe I can help you decide!"
"Tch!"
Before Senba could answer, Fugaku interrupted coldly.
"What important thing could a guy like him possibly be thinking about?"
"He's probably just wondering who to bully next."