Seeing how eager and excited Arima was, Hashirama affectionately ruffled the boy's head and said gently.
"As ninja, we usually need to form hand seals to shape the chakra in our bodies and release it as jutsu.
But there are exceptions.
For example, your Grandpa Madara, when he activates and uses the Mangekyo Sharingan, he doesn't need to form any seals at all. Now, watch my hand movements carefully."
Hashirama then began slowly demonstrating each of the basic hand seals one by one.
Arima only had to watch once to commit them all to memory with remarkable precision.
He quietly pondered the motions, mimicking them carefully. Before long, he could replicate all hand seals accurately.
Though his movements were still a bit stiff, his form was clean and correct. Hashirama beamed with pride watching his grandson's progress.
"While you're performing the hand seals," Hashirama continued, "pay close attention to how your chakra flows inside your body.
Someday, if you can manipulate chakra without hand seals and still create the same effects, you'll be able to cast jutsu instantly.
In battle, even the smallest advantage can be the difference between life and death."
Arima listened intently to the guidance of the man known as the "God of Shinobi," imprinting every word in his heart.
Hashirama's voice trailed off as he turned to gaze into the village. The people bustled about, their faces bright with joy.
The sight filled him with satisfaction. Though hatred and conflict still lingered among people, he believed that one day true understanding could be achieved.
The sun had softened from its noontime blaze, and the soup was likely ready by now.
Hashirama handed the ladle he had prepared earlier to Arima.
"Help me pass out the soup, will you?"
Arima paused his hand seal practice and sprang up quickly, taking the oversized ladle and slinging it over his shoulder.
With determined steps, he followed behind Hashirama toward the large pot of soup.
With great care, Arima served every worker present a full bowl of soup.
The villagers smiled as they watched the serious little boy beside the Hokage, his earnest expression winning hearts wherever he went.
Again and again, Arima scooped and served.
At first, it was easy. But as time wore on, his small arms began to ache.
Circulating chakra into his sore muscles helped a bit, but the ache persisted. Still, he gritted his teeth and carried on.
Finally, his task was complete. He looked at the now-empty iron pot and the warm smiles of those around him and felt like he had accomplished something truly grand.
As the sky darkened with the coming evening, it was time to return home.
Amid cheers from the villagers, Hashirama and Arima made their way back to the Senju compound.
Back home, just as Arima was ready to lie down and rest, a voice echoed in his mind.
[Daily Good Deed completed.
Rank: E
Score: 100 out of 100
Evaluation: 100
You have earned 50 Virtue Points.
You may use them to repay your debt or exchange them for abilities.]
Only then did Arima realize that the mysterious voice in his mind was something divine, just like the Sage of Six Paths his mother once told him about.
No one else could hear it, and no abnormalities showed up in his body.
The voice was his secret, like a stash of hidden candy.
Curious, he looked into the Exchange menu. With his limited reading skills, he could only barely make out a few entries, but one caught his eye, Hand Seal Speed.
But his excitement faded as quickly as it had come. His current Virtue Points weren't nearly enough.
To reach a speed of three seals per second, he needed 60 Virtue Points. He had only 50.
Four seals per second cost 500 points, five seals cost 1,000, and six seals cost a whopping 3,000 points.
Arima sighed.
I still owe a ton of Virtue Points. No way I can afford anything now. But there's plenty of time, I just need to keep saving. And I really need to stop goofing off and learn to read properly.
From that day forward, Arima divided his daily schedule into structured blocks.
Doing a good deed every day, reading and learning to recognize characters, practicing hand seals, and even walking on water in the backyard pond to improve his chakra control.
A year passed in the blink of an eye. Arima had turned four.
Through diligent practice, his hand seal speed had already reached the level of an Genin, three seals per second at his fastest.
He could now stand steadily on water. Though he had stumbled many times in training, the effort was worth it.
He had even mastered wall-walking. Using those skills, he helped elders run errands, bought medicine for the injured, and racked up plenty of Virtue Points along the way.
At first, it was all just to repay his debt.
But over time, as more and more people acknowledged and appreciated him, he began to understand the meaning of what his grandfather once said about "understanding between people."
His daily good deeds never stopped. Not only had he paid off the overdraft, he had even saved up 1,880 Virtue Points. The sense of achievement those numbers gave him was immense.
He hadn't decided what to exchange them for yet. The Exchange menu was full of amazing things, including Kekkei Genkai.
He had seen that the Sharingan cost 100,000 Virtue Points. Wood Release also cost 100,000.
Oddly enough, he'd managed to obtain the Wood Release by spending only 1,000 points. He suspected it was because he already had the Senju bloodline.
Now, he was thinking, maybe if he could get his hands on a pair of Sharingan, he could then unlock the Uchiha bloodline with just 1% of the required points.
But where could he possibly get a Sharingan?
He was still too young, no matter how clever he was. He had little experience and couldn't even defeat a Genin, let alone an Uchiha with awakened eyes.
His granduncle had six disciples: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Kagami Uchiha, and Torifu Akimichi.
They treated him like a little brother and often came to visit him after completing missions. He especially liked Kagami, so he couldn't bring himself to feel any malice toward the Uchiha.
So, for now, he gave up on acquiring a Sharingan. As long as Kagami was alive, he would never consider harming one of his clan.
That night, as Arima practiced his hand seals at home, he suddenly felt a chill sweep over him.
Looking out the window, he noticed the moon hanging unusually bright in the sky, tinged with a strange, eerie red. The air buzzed with agitated chakra unlike anything he had ever sensed.
A sense of unease crept into his chest.
The Senju compound was in the heart of the village. If something strange was happening here, it likely meant the entire village was in danger.
Before he could think further, his granduncle, Tobirama, appeared before him with a blur of motion.
"There may be intruders in the village," Tobirama said with composed urgency.
"Your grandfather has already gone to investigate. Go with the others to the shelter by the rock wall. Once I've handled things, I'll come for you."
Arima had never seen Tobirama this serious. He knew it was no ordinary situation.
Without hesitation, he followed Tobirama's orders and went with the others to hide.
All night, even within the shelter, Arima could feel the occasional tremor from distant explosions. Curled in his mother's arms, he waited in silence.
The flickering candlelight inside the shelter gave the space an ominous atmosphere. The air was stifling, stagnant, hot, and reeking of sweat.
For Arima, only his mother's embrace felt truly safe.
From a short distance came the sobs of a child and the scolding voice of an adult. The crying spread, unsettling the other children and wearing down the adults' nerves.
Arima knew he had to do something.
He felt in his pocket and found a handful of candies. A spark of an idea lit up in his mind.
He tugged on his mother's hand, asking her to take him to the crying children. Knowing her son's kind heart, she nodded and walked with him.
Arima found the first sobbing child, a girl who had lost her doll on the way to the shelter and couldn't sleep without it.
He offered her two candies. "Here. One for you, and one for your doll. When you go home, remember to give it the candy, okay?"
The girl looked at the gentle older boy before her. He didn't seem scared at all, even in this dark and stifling place.
Blushing slightly, she wiped her tears, carefully took the two candies, and gave Arima a shy, grateful smile.
He reached out and wiped the rest of the tears from her face. "There, now you look much better."
The girl's mother thanked him sincerely.
She recognized him, he was the Hokage's grandson, the boy who was always helping others in the village.
Adults might have thought his actions were small, but for a four year old, they were acts of incredible resolve and courage.
As Arima moved on to comfort the next crying child, the girl whispered to her mother, "Mom, who was that big brother?"
Her mother cradled her gently and replied, "His name is Senju Arima. He's the Hokage's grandson."
That name etched itself into the girl's heart, a name that gave her the courage to face the darkness.
One by one, Arima comforted the children. Though only four himself, his calm presence seemed to give the other kids strength. Their crying slowly stopped.
The mood in the shelter eased. Even the adults felt less irritable, if a little boy could stay composed in these conditions, how could they not?
That night, Arima completed another Daily Good Deed.
[Daily Good Deed: Special Circumstances.
Rank: D
Score: 100 out of 100
Evaluation: 100
You have earned 100 Virtue Points.
Total Virtue Points: 1980]
Arima stared in surprise. This was the first time he'd received anything above an E-rank reward. He still didn't fully understand the system's grading mechanics.
Suddenly, another explosion echoed outside. The rock lanterns overhead shook from the impact, and the shelter stirred with fear again, but this time, the panic didn't last.
Arima finally understood the significance of what he had done.
Maybe the more people I help, the greater the reward, he thought.
The next day came. Night fell once again.
Arima, eyes heavy with sleep, drifted off in his mother's arms.
Half-asleep, he sensed that his mother was walking somewhere with him. But too tired to care, he sank back into slumber.
When he awoke, he was safe at home.
The sun was already high in the sky. The air outside was hot again, and birds chirped from the woods. The house was quiet.
His stomach rumbled. The aroma from the kitchen reached his nose. He got up, washed up quickly, and rushed to the table to dig into breakfast.
Just as he finished eating and prepared to resume training, his mother came in and sat beside him.
After a pause, she said, "Arima, your grandfather is back. But... he's badly injured. Come with me, we'll go visit him."
Arima froze.
How could someone as powerful as a god get hurt?
Grabbing his mother's hand, he followed her quickly toward Hashirama's home.