Konoha Hypocrite

by Little Merger

Crossing to the Naruto World, Uchiha Tonan obtained the ‘Legacy Inheritance System’. As long as the people who acknowledged him died, he could inherit all abilities of the deceased. Therefore… “Konoha’s higher-ups mistreated the Uchihas. So, I’ve decided to lead the clan to launch a coup d’état after three years.” “Ding! Gained Uchiha clan’s acknowledgment.” Two years later. “Tonan

1. 1

Crossing to the Naruto World, Uchiha Tonan obtained the 'Legacy Inheritance System'. As long as the people who acknowledged him died, he could inherit all abilities of the deceased. Therefore… "Konoha's higher-ups mistreated the Uchihas. So, I've decided to lead the clan to launch a coup d'état after three years." "Ding! Gained Uchiha clan's acknowledgment." Two years later. "Tonan, this is the evidence of the Uchiha clan's betrayal. When all is said and done, it's your clan. So, I want to hear your opinion." "I'll always stand on the village's side." On that fateful night, Tonan stood on the Hokage Rock, coldly watching the Uchihas' annihilation. He spread his hands, being grateful to his clansmen's gifts. The next day. "Lord Hokage, I shed blood for Konoha and became the village's sword. And this was how you treated the meritorious clan." "Tonan, didn't you agree to it!?" "I don't know what you are talking about. The fury of clan extermination is irreconcilable. Today, I will destroy the Sarutobi and Shimura clans to appease my clan members' souls in heaven." A high-leveled hunter often puts on a disguise to lower the prey's guard.

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Konoha Hypocrite #Chapter 1: Transmigration, Hokage Inheritance System - Read Konoha Hypocrite Chapter 1: Transmigration, Hokage Inheritance System Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 01: Transmigration, Hokage Inheritance System

Editor Notes:

Uchiha clan is among one of the four noble clans of the Konoha Village known for its battle prowess.

Sharingan is a visual prowess specific to the Uchiha Clan, which can also be called a 'copy ability'. While using the Sharingan, the user can replicate the attack movements of his opponent. Sharingan awakens with one tomoe, and three tomoe indicate full maturity of the Sharingan.

Chunin is one of the ranks of the shinobis or ninjas of Konoha. The beginning rank after a Student is Genin, followed by Chunin, different levels of the Jonin rank, and the Kage (chief).

Will of Fire is Konoha village's core ideal.

Kunoichi: a term used for female practitioners of ninjutsu, female ninjas.

Hokage: Chief and the highest-ranked individual of the Konoha Village.

Konoha Village.

The edge of the Uchiha clan's territory.

Six-year-old Uchiha Tunan was kneeling outside the door, gazing at the distant setting sun.

His clothes were in a mess and full of dust. The several shoe print impressions on his back were particularly clear.

Uchiha Tunan, more accurately, the soul within this body, was a transmigrator. It had already been three months since he transmigrated to this world. The original owner's soul might have already been absorbed or passed over to the Pure Land.

The 'golden finger', a form of 'cheat' that seems to accompany transmigrators in most cases, the present Uchiha Tunan awoke was called the Legacy Inheritance System. As long as the people who acknowledged him died, he could inherit all abilities of the deceased.

There were many acknowledgment types he could inherit like this, such as strength, emotion, idol, and so on. But ever since he transmigrated, the system prompted that only Tunan's parents had reached the required standard of 'acknowledging' him.

Tunan's parents were members of the Konoha Police Force and were considered talented. They had both awakened the three tomoe Sharingan, a formidable visual ability inherent to the Uchiha clan.

As for Tunan himself, while he had long begun practicing how to refine his chakra under the guidance of his parents, his innate talent was too weak. According to the current progress rate, the highest achievement in his lifetime would only be as a mid-ranked chunin.

Awakening the Sharingan was left to fate or a chance encounter.

"Don't blame me, I also have no other way out," Tunan muttered to himself. He then lowered his head, put on a dejected look, and calmly waited for his parents to return.

A while later Tunan's parents, Uchiha Yanbo and Uchiha Nanako, returned home. When they had just set foot at the door, their first sight was the miserable image of their son with bruises and his messed-up garb.

Nanako looked at her son with distress. However, the Uchiha clan had always been one where men had the final say, especially in context to the next generation's upbringing. She stood there quietly, waiting for her husband to speak.

Uchiha Yanbo frowned a little and said indifferently, "Bullied by your classmates?"

Tunan nodded in low spirits.

Yanbo then said in a stern tone, "Then train harder and beat them back. The Uchiha Clan doesn't need weak people."

He walked past Tunan and entered the house. Nanako reached out wanting to help her son get up, but Uchiha Yanbo's angry yell from inside the house stopped her.

"Leave him alone!"

Nanako hesitated, but she ultimately retracted her hand and headed to the kitchen to cook. Uchiha Yanbo poured himself a cup of saké inside the house.

"That Kakashi is too hateful," Tunan's sobbing voice could be heard from outside the door.

Uchiha Yanbo paused for a moment hearing this. He took a sip and said in a slightly relaxed manner, "Kakashi? Lord White Fang's son? It's expected that you are no match for him. So, you should train harder to catch up with him. Why were you fighting anyway?"

Looking desolate, Tunan got up, wiped his tears with his hands, and answered aggrievedly, "Today, I said that my Lord Father and Lord Mother are the members of the police force and its pride. But right in front of me, Kakashi said that you two are cowards. You don't dare to go to the battlefield and just hide in the village bullying civilians. All the strong members of the clan have gone to the frontline, only the trash chose to stay behind. I couldn't bear it…"

Crack!

Uchiha Yanbo smashed the wine cup in his hand; his mood to drink had disappeared completely. He took a deep look at Uchiha Tunan, slowly got up, and walked into the bedroom.

"After eating food, go to the courtyard to practice your throwing techniques."

Tunan nodded with tears on his face. After dinner, he came to the courtyard with several kunai, and facing the target hanging on a tree branch, he practiced as he was told.

…He missed all the targets.

In the bedroom, Uchiha Yanbo and Uchiha Nanako sat seiza style, facing each other. The atmosphere was slightly solemn.

"Did you truly make up your mind? The battlefield is very dangerous."

"I had always felt that Tunan's poor talent has lost the Uchiha Clan face. I never thought that, as his father, I was also trash in others' eyes. Tomorrow, I will report to the elders and go to the frontlines. As the father, I must lead by example. I want to let Tunan know that his father is not a coward or useless."

"I'll go with you."

"Just stay at home and take care of Tunan."

"No, as a member of the Uchiha clan, he should also learn to be independent."

As his parents spoke, Tunan was looking towards the house throwing kunai and thought to himself:

"I'm sorry. If you two don't die, it will be very hard for me to take the first step. Isn't the Will of Fire about striving for dedication? Then, you two should dedicate your lives to me.

Although I'm not your son, in the future, I will sleep with many kunoichis with good genes and pass down this body's bloodline. Go on your way and accompany your son earlier. It's better to die at the hands of the enemy than to die at the hands of clansmen later."

These thoughts were rather evil. He had just transmigrated a few months ago and taken over someone else's body, but he was already scheming to let the other party's parents die. How come he was increasingly becoming like a ninja?

Soon afterward, he threw a kunai again, which made a beautiful parabola in the air and fell to the ground.

Missed the target again.

In the bedroom, Uchiha Yanbo heard the continuous sounds of the kunai falling, each thump increasing his determination to go to the battlefield.

The next day. Ninja Academy.

Today marked the end of the mid-year term. All students had to take the half-term examination scheduled for the afternoon. In the morning, the academy students assembled on the training ground, where Lord Hokage was to preach about the Will of Fire.

Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the platform and glanced at the students below. He cleared his throat and began his address. Just after saying a few words, though, Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed something was amiss. Most of the students looked at him with admiration. However, a first-grade student was casting a confused look at him.

The Hokage frowned. After thinking for a bit, however, he did not find anything wrong with what he just said.

"Perhaps, this child's comprehension power is too low to understand this."

He stopped paying more attention to the matter and proceeded with his speech. Halfway through, though, he suddenly noticed that the doubt in that student's eyes had disappeared. Moreover, it had turned into a look of sudden realization.

Hiruzen nodded in his heart. "Very good, it seems this boy is listening sincerely."

His voice became a bit louder.

By the end of his speech, Uchiha Tunan's countenance had indeed changed into deep admiration, just like everyone else. But Hiruzen could see that Tunan's look was different from others. The other people admired his identity, but Tunan was truly convinced by the principle he just preached.

Thinking of this, made Sarutobi Hiruzen nod in satisfaction.

"This boy will become a useful tool in the future."

After completing his speech, Sarutobi Hiruzen left with all students bidding him farewell. Just before leaving, he gave Tunan a meaningful look. Seeing this, the young Uchiha immediately trembled with excitement.

Later at noon, Tunan returned home. As expected, the house was already empty, leaving just a tableful of meals and a note. The handwriting on the note was neat and pretty. It was obviously written by his mother.

The note more or less explained that the two had already set out towards the battlefield, and they hoped that he would take care of himself.

Study hard, train hard and strive to become a powerful ninja in the future. Enough money was left in the bedroom, but they still hoped that Uchiha Tunan wouldn't be wasteful and so on. Everything needing attention was written. Just the last line showed Uchiha Yanbo's tone.

In the Uchiha Clan, there are no cowards or trash.

After reading the note, Uchiha Tunan sighed and stored the note.

"Have a good trip! Don't return alive."

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Chapter 02: Diary Writing, Books Purchase

Editor's Notes:

Konoha's Will of Fire alludes to the ideology that love and loyalty are above all else.

Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, is also called Lord Sandaime. Similarly, Lord Shodaime and Lord Nidaime are titles used for Konoha's first and second chiefs.

Anbu (short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai) is a special assassination and tactical squad made of capable ninjas that are dispatched by the village leader (Hokage)

Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are both fight techniques; Taijutsu specifically refers to physical combat and fight skills while Ninjutsu refers to ninja techniques.

Uchiha Tunan walked into the bedroom, took out a diary, and began writing.

July 1:

Today in school, Lord Sandaime delivered a speech about the Will of Fire. In the beginning, I didn't understand it very well. But because of his simple explanation, it gradually made sense.

I have summarized it below… (3,000 words omitted)

Oh, that's right, today, father and mother left behind a note saying they went to the battlefield. I wish them the very best.

Tunan shut the diary after making the entry and placed it in a conspicuous place. This journal would be very useful in the future. He was not sure whether Nanako and Yanbo would die on the battlefield. Even if they did, he needed to make more plans, and that would involve risk.

The next day, he headed to the largest bookstore in Konoha. The store's owner was a bespectacled old man. Upon seeing Tunan walk in, the owner greeted him with a warm smile, "Welcome, young Uchiha, what do you need?"

"Hello, I want to buy books on ninjas, the more the better."

"I think you should go to the Ninja Academy. Our bookstore is not allowed to sell books on ninja techniques. We have several titles that ninjas need to pay attention to as well as books on spying, assassination, and so on. But these are not suitable for you."

"As long as it's a book on ninjas, I want them all," Tunan's objective this time was exactly these books.

The store owner stroked his chin and remarked with delight, "Want them all? Alright, it's a deal. But this is a no-return, no-refund purchase."

In the face of making a quick buck, the store owner ignored his conscience of selling inappropriate reading material to a young boy and fetched out several books, putting them into a bag.

"There are many good storybooks here as well. Do you want them?" Since he came across a rare foolish spendthrift, the owner wanted to milk the opportunity for all its worth.

"Are there any books on the Hokage?" Tunan calmly asked.

"There are. This is a book about Lord Shodaime, this one is on Lord Nidaime, and this is about Lord Sandaime. Also, Sandaime personally signed this book, 'Will of Fire'. Do you want a copy?"

"I want them all."

……

Tunan walked out of the bookstore hauling a large bag of books on his back.

The elated bookstore owner was waving his hands at him, "Thank you for your patronage! You will become a great ninja one day."

He made a big profit!

After he returned home, Tunan sorted the books into different categories. He placed the book 'Will of Fire' on the table and the books on the Hokages' achievements on his bedside. He kept behind one more book on ninja techniques and placed the rest in the cupboard.

Once all was in order, he opened the book titled 'Trap Deployment Manual' and began reading it carefully. In this dangerous ninja world, one must learn first to survive.

Konoha was relatively peaceful right now but it was wise to be cautious. The first step right now was choosing the right team. Otherwise, it would be easy to fall into permanent slumber.

The correct choice for Tunan was to firmly latch on to Sarutobi Hiruzen's side. This meant he would have to use various ways to express his feelings and expound his loyalty.

The ninja profession entailed high attack and low defense, similar to assassins. Regardless of how extraordinary one's output was, a single stab in the neck was enough to end a life. Therefore, taking advantage of the current time to learn entrapment tricks might prove useful even if it was not worthwhile.

……

Since Tunan belonged to the children left behind, those whose parents were on the frontline, the elders would often come to express sympathy. But the moment someone entered the room, it was hard to miss the copy of the 'Will of Fire' lying on the table. Most would angrily rebuke him and leave in a huff.

Even the more tolerant Uchiha clan members severely admonished Tunan seeing the various books on the previous Hokages.

Regardless of how others persuaded him, Tunan's eyes were filled with stubbornness.

"You should not speak like this about the Lord Hokage."

"Tunan, you are a member of the Uchiha clan, you must give the highest priority to your clan."

Compared to the other Uchihas, this senior clan member was considered gentle. But looking at the unshakeable Tunan, he too turned away with a snort.

The incident prompted Tunan to write in his diary again.

I don't understand why the clan members cannot understand the Will of Fire? Have they even read this book?

Perhaps, Lord Sandaime's thoughts are too high or the clan members' hearts are too shallow.

As long as they calm down and carefully read and understand it, they will know just how advanced Lord Sandaime's thoughts are in governing the village.

After reading for the past few days, I have summarized the basic points I have learned from the three Lord Hokages as well.

Lord Shodaime teaches that we must learn to unite.

Lord Nidaime's achievements show that we must learn to exert ourselves.

As for Lord Sandaime, his approach is that we must learn to protect.

These three points influence me deeply. I have benefited especially from Lord Sandaime's conviction to protect. I have decided to strengthen my beliefs, ignore rumors, protect Konoha as my duty and pledge my life to follow in Lord Sandaime's steps.

With Lord Sandaime's will… (omitted 8,000 words)

By the way, my mother sent me a letter today, asking me to take care of myself. I will obey her.

Fortunately, it was against Uchiha principles to rummage through other people's belongings. If they were to see this diary's content, they might use the Great Fireball Technique to burn Tunan alive.

The Uchihas did seem to have lower standards in gossiping though. Especially when they came across things they deemed disdainful, they would spread it far and wide. After fermenting for a few days, Tunan's matter spread through the entire clan.

"That imp of Yanbo stays at home all day long, reading Sandaime's Will of Fire."

"Useless imp! He doesn't realize strength is everything."

"I heard that imp was ranked bottom in the Ninja Academy's half-term examination, just like Obito."

"Those two dishonor our clan's glory."

"I want to ask the elders to expel this kid from the clan."

"The elders won't agree. After all, both his parents are fighting on the battlefield."

"When his parents return, I will personally go and ask them how they raised that imp."

"Yanbo has been a chunin all these years, and Nanako is the same. They are nothing but trash, who gave birth to trash."

"Don't say that. If the elders hear it, they will punish you."

These whispers eventually reached Hiruzen's ears through the Anbu.

In the Hokage's office, after listening to a report on the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen blew out a smoke ring and said, "Uchiha Tunan? It turned out to be that child. He truly is perceptive."

Hiruzen retrieved the Ninja Academy examination results from a drawer.

"This child is very good in some subjects but very poor in others."

On his report card, Tunan's theoretical knowledge ranked first but he was at the bottom in taijutsu and ninjutsu. Uchiha Obito was the worst in the overall score because he got a zero in theoretical knowledge. In taijutsu, though, he was slightly better than Tunan.

"It's a pity," Hiruzen shook his head, and placed the report cards back, no longer paying any attention to Tunan.

A useless person without strength was at most a mere loyal civilian. His value in the future would be nothing more than cheering for the Hokage from the sidelines.

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Chapter 03: Looking For A Target, Gaining Acknowledgment

Editor's Notes:

'Acknowledgment' is the attribute of the 'Legacy Inheritance System' that the main character, Uchiha Tunan, awakened when he crossed over to the Naruto World. Once a person that acknowledges him dies, Tunan will inherit all his or her abilities.

There are six ranks in Jutsu (techniques). E-rank (fundamental level), D-rank (genin level), C-rank (chunin), B-rank (jonin), A-rank (kage or jonin) and S-rank (secret or extreme level)

Time flew by, and the holidays were over in the blink of an eye. Uchiha Tunan had learned a lot about trapping, assassination, camouflage, and poisoning techniques by now. So far, the system did not send him any alerts, implying that his parents were still alive.

Two chunin cannon fodders, how come their lives were so firm?

Tunan was vexed. He couldn't simply sit still and wait for their deaths. It was clear which political side he had to stand on. The next step was to show his value.

If he wanted to be stronger, he could only gain acknowledgment and then kill that person. However, in a head-on battle, he couldn't even defeat Obito, the lowest-ranked at the Ninja Academy.

The only remaining way was to covertly assassinate.

As for the ideal target, that would be someone who was not too strong or too weak, and it would be best if the person had no clue about ninja assassination techniques.

In short, he could only start with the students at the Academy.

Tunan was a first-year student. His target pool was the second or third-year students. Anyone who scored high in strength but low in intellect would be optimal. With strength, after inheriting the person's ability, he could be outstanding among his peers.

As for why weak in intellect, because that would make it easier to kill that person.

The plan was divided into three steps.

Gain acknowledgment, assassinate, deal with the aftermath.

He must not make any errors in any of these steps.

Gaining acknowledgment was a prerequisite for inheriting abilities. The assassination process was as good or bad as his plan. As for dealing with the aftermath, that could be troublesome. If the Anbu were alarmed, then with Tunan's limited resources, it would be very hard to run or hide.

Thinking of this, Tunan's eyes flashed with pallid light.

……

The Ninja Academy opened the next day. This time, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't deliver any speech. It seemed that the war on the frontline had fallen into a stalemate.

During the recess, Tunan quietly left his classroom and headed to the third-year classroom.

"Tianxiong-san," Tunan waved his hand at Uchiha Tianxiong, looking excited.

Tianxiong was a third-year student, who ranked sixth overall in the Academy. The first ranker was also from the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Zhewu.

Hearing his name being called out, Tianxiong looked over and was a little surprised. At a glance, he recognized Tunan, the trash that the clan members had been talking about.

He ignored him but couldn't do so for long. Due to Tunan's continuous calling, Tianxiong had to walk out of the classroom. He coldly asked, "Little imp, why are you looking for me?"

"I heard that Tianxiong-san is the number one genius among the graduates. Can I train with you?"

"Oh?" Tianxiong responded indifferently but the corners of his mouth rose slightly. This pleased him very much.

After thinking for a bit, he casually remarked, "Zhewu's grade is the highest. I am just sixth. Why don't you look for him?"

Looking confused, Tunan said, "Isn't Zhewu-san's overall grade good because of his high scores in the theory exams?"

"Your vision is unique. For a ninja, strength is the key. I don't bother with those theory classes. I train in the clan's northern training ground every day. If you want to come, you can come. If I have time, I will give you some pointers."

After speaking, Tianxiong put his hands in his pockets and returned to the classroom without looking back.

As for Tunan, he cheered and ran back to the first-year classroom, completely exhibiting a child's demeanor.

In the third-year classroom, Tianxiong had just returned to his seat, when Zhewu turned around and said to him lightly, "Tianxiong, don't interact with that trash. He is the clan's scourge."

"Who are you to care about my matters!" Tianxiong snapped.

"Humph!" Zhewu reciprocated in equal terms and turned back.

As soon as school was over, Tunan came to the clan's northern training ground. As expected, Tianxiong was practicing the fire-style technique here.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique."

Boom…

A blazing fireball was released from his mouth and smashed into the pond next to the training ground.

"Wow… amazing," Tunan stood there in shock.

Tianxiong turned his back to Tunan and smiled. He had already noticed Tunan's arrival. The Great Fireball Technique was purely a show-off.

"Little imp, you came," Tianxiong turned around and said indifferently.

"Tianxiong-san is so amazing. You can actually expel such a big, big fireball," Tunan spread his hands and drew a big circle in the air.

"It's just a C-rank fire-style jutsu," Tianxiong was pleased with Tunan's reaction. He pointed to a wooden stake and said, "Your physique is too weak. Begin with taijutsu training first."

"Okay, Tianxiong-san," Tunan walked in front of the wooden stake, looking excited, and began to hit it earnestly.

His taijutsu was indeed too poor. Tianxiong couldn't help giving pointers time and again, but the result was still unsatisfactory.

Practicing till sunset, Tunan sat on the ground, panting. He was exhausted. Tianxiong too was very tired, but he kept a cool look to maintain his image. With his hands stuck in his pockets, he stood in front of Tunan and said with disdain, "Barely started training and you are already like this."

Tunan looked dejected. He buried his head between his legs and said, "I'm sorry, I disappointed Tianxiong-san."

"I have heard about you from the other clan members. Why do you have those foolish thoughts?" Tianxiong asked.

Hearing this question, Tunan lowered his head deeper and said in a sad voice, "Because I am trash, my father and mother do not like me, and the clan members spurn me. Only Lord Sandaime would smile at me. I feel that Lord Sandaime truly loves the village, and loves us."

So, this turned out to be the reason. The soul of the weak instinctively needed to depend on the strong. Tianxiong immediately understood. His tone was no longer too indifferent, and he said, "In the future, you must attach most importance to the clan. Otherwise, I will not teach you."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Tunan stood up and bowed deeply to Tianxiong.

Tianxiong could hear the polite refusal in Tunan's words, and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes. He turned around and said, "Go away."

"I'm sorry," Tunan apologized again. He took out a book from his pocket and handed it over.

"This is my gift to Tianxiong-san. Thank you for your guidance in training me."

Hearing Tunan's words, Tianxiong turned back, and with his gaze focused on the book, he coldly asked, "What's this?"

Tunan sincerely answered, "During the vacation, I read the theory courses from the higher grade curriculum. I have written down some important points that could be useful in the examination. I hope that Tianxiong-san will truly become the number one graduate."

Tianxiong fell into a daze hearing this. When all was said and done, most of the Uchihas were arrogant. They would never easily convey their feelings. Therefore, most Uchiha clan members had never received gifts.

Tianxiong was no exception. Seeing the notes painstakingly put together by a junior schoolmate, his heart involuntarily trembled.

He seized the book. Slanting his head to one side like a tsundere, he said, "Humph! Remember to come early tomorrow."

After speaking, he walked towards the clan.

'Ding! Gained the acknowledgment of Uchiha Tianxiong.'

Hearing the system's prompt, Tunan was overjoyed. He waved his hand towards Tianxiong's retreating back, and said, "Thank you, Tianxiong-san, I will work harder."

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Chapter 04: Shifting Calamity To The East, Awakening Visual Power

Editor's Notes:

Chakra is a substance native to lifeforms on some planets; internal energy. Usually, the higher the chakra, the stronger the warrior.

Uchiha Tianxiong returned home and shut himself in his bedroom. He opened the book Uchiha Tunan gifted him impatiently. The key points of the theory lessons were all in there, and they were all summarized.

Tianxiong, who usually didn't listen to the theory classes, could easily understand these. He touched the rough page and muttered, "This book's paper quality is truly poor."

Flipping through the pages, he noticed two were stuck together. Tianxiong licked his finger to moisten it and rubbed the pages apart to continue browsing through it.

On the other side, Tunan, who had also returned home, headed straight into the kitchen. He opened the lid of a pot that had a transparent liquid in it and turned on the cooking stove. As the pot heated up, the liquid gradually evaporated and Tunan looked at it with a wooden expression.

"In this weather, it should take about three days to evaporate naturally. But that's too long. It needs a slight nudge."

Tunan narrowed his eyes slightly, as he turned off the fire, and washed the pot several times before filling it up with water and putting it back on the stove. He opened the refrigerator to select from various vegetables and different kinds of edible weeds to pick out what would be his dinner tonight.

In the past few days, his food comprised only these vegetables and weeds.

……

Tianxiong woke up the next day with an unbearable headache.

"Did I not get enough sleep? Could it be because I stayed up too late reading?"

After contemplating for a bit, he planned to continue sleeping. It didn't matter if he missed a day of class. In any case, there weren't many newer things for the graduates to learn.

In the evening, he dragged his tired body to the clan's northern training ground. Yesterday, he had promised that little imp to guide him in his training today. The Uchihas always abide by their promise.

"Cough, cough…" Tianxiong sat on the meadow, looking around in confusion.

"That little imp hasn't come yet. Perhaps, the class teacher dragged out the lesson."

On the other side, in the clan's northwest training ground, Uchiha Zhewu had been training hard since noon.

Suddenly, he heard a movement behind him and immediately stopped to look back.

He saw Tunan standing there puzzled, and looking around as if he was lost.

"Little imp, why did you come here?" Zhewu asked indifferently.

Tunan seemed to be frightened by his expression, and said weakly, "I'm looking for Tianxiong-san."

"He's not here, get lost."

Tunan turned around to leave, but at the same time, he 'tsked' in a low voice.

Zhewu heard it loud and clear and retorted, "Little imp, do you want to die?"

Tunan trembled and said in a quivering voice, "Why are you so aggressive? Since you cannot defeat Tianxiong-san, are you targeting me to vent your anger?"

Zhewu smiled, looked down at Tunan, and said, "Do you think I can't defeat him?"

"Tianxiong-san has already told me that only your theory exams grades are high. In terms of actual strength, you are no match for him."

"He said that to you?"

"Humph!" Tunan snorted as if he had vented his anger. He turned around and ran away.

Zhewu's complexion, on the other hand, had become completely gloomy.

In the northern training ground, Tianxiong had just finished doing warm-up exercises. However, he felt that his entire body was aching and weak.

"It looks like I have fallen ill. Did I catch a cold because I stayed up late?"

"Tianxiong-san!" In the distance, Tunan called out as he ran over.

A smile appeared on Tianxiong's face, but he quickly hid it. He looked at the panting Tunan, and coolly said, "You are late."

"Just now, I went to the wrong training ground, sorry for making you wait for so long."

Tunan bowed respectfully.

Swish!

A kunai fell from the sky and stuck in the ground in front of Tianxiong.

"Who is there?" Tianxiong shouted, looking up at a tree.

"Tianxiong-kun, usually, I don't like to deal with you, but that doesn't mean you can provoke me."

On a big tree's branch, Zhewu's figure became visible. He assumed a domineering position and looked at Tianxiong condescendingly. His arrogance was apparent.

"Let's duel, let me see your recent progress."

Zhewu jumped down and attacked Tianxiong with a kunai.

"Damn it!" Tianxiong cursed inwardly and raised a kunai in his hand to block.

Clang!

Tianxiong felt a powerful impact, and couldn't help taking a few steps back before he could stop.

"If I hadn't been sick, how could you be so arrogant?"

Tianxiong's forehead was covered in sweat. He raised his head and glared at Zhewu.

Swish, swish, swish~

Several kunai were thrown, they collided midair and changed the trajectory, which affected Zhewu's judgment.

Ding, ding, ding~

However, the scene before his eyes stunned Tianxiong.

He saw Zhewu maneuvering the kunai, perfectly blocking his attacks, one after the other.

"I haven't even activated the Sharingan. In my eyes, you are also just trash."

Zhewu showed his one-tomoe Sharingan, and a victor's smile appeared on his face. At the same time, he slightly moved his gaze and looked at Tunan, who had been standing there stunned.

Tunan's eyes were filled with worry, disbelief, and a hint of disappointment…

Tianxiong also noticed Tunan's expression, and his heart thumped. A desperate feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.

"I'm not trash, I'm not trash! Sharingan, so what?" Tianxiong roared. His eyes had turned blood-red with a single tomoe spinning rapidly in it, as he simultaneously made hand signs.

"Oh? Awakened," Zhewu was slightly startled, noticing that Tianxiong was preparing to release the Great Fireball.

The corners of his mouth slightly rose, and his hands also became illusory, forming hand signs.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"

The two young Uchihas shouted out at once. However, just at the critical moment, Tianxiong felt a severe burst of pain and the chakra flow in his body suddenly stagnated.

Boom~

A huge fireball expelled from Zhewu's mouth and engulfed his vision.

Damn it!

Tianxiong's complexion was hideous. He wanted to dodge, but he discovered that his heart was in unbearable pain as if thousands of ants were biting it, and he felt as if the sky and earth were spinning. He lost consciousness.

The fireball seemed to hit something, and there was a sound of something heavy falling on the ground.

"Substitution technique? Where is he?" Zhewu frowned looking at the burning torch on the ground. He looked all around to search for his opponent.

Not there.

Not there either.

Suddenly, Zhewu smelled burning flesh and his heart skipped a beat.

"Murder!" Tunan screamed and ran towards the clan.

"Impossible, how can he die so easily?" Zhewu couldn't believe it.

He was clear about Tianxiong's strength. In a fight without using the Sharingan, he just had a fifty percent chance of winning, not to mention Tianxiong too had awakened his Sharingan today.

"How can he be so weak today? Could it be that I'm too strong?"

No, it was more likely that he made a mistake while doing the hand signs, and failed to release the fireball. And he was so clumsy that he forgot to dodge.

That was the only possibility.

Zhewu suddenly recalled the Anbu's terror, and the clan's strict rules and trembled.

"I must not let this matter spread. I'll die if that happens."

Zhewu viciously looked at Tunan, who was running towards the clan, and immediately raised a kunai to attack him at full speed.

At this moment, the fleeing Tunan felt power welling up within his body, and he slightly narrowed his eyes. He had a hunch what this sensation was.

In the very next moment, his eyes had turned blood-red and a tomoe slowly spun around the black pupils.

This power was addictive.

"How can this little imp run so fast?" Zhewu muttered with an ugly face.

Tunan was about to reach the clan but Zhewu couldn't let that happen. His Sharingan spun at full speed, and he made hand signs while running.

Tunan, who was fleeing for his life, sensed his attacker's movements, and his hands also became illusory, beginning to make hand signs.

As soon as it was completed, Tunan turned around and yelled,

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique." x2

Zhewu vaguely saw a one-tomoe Sharingan in Tunan's eyes. The worst was that the fireball released by the so-called trash nearly rivaled the one he had released.

What!!!

Boom~

The two fireballs collided, blocking Zhewu's vision, and in the next instant, several kunai pierced through the flames headed right at him.

These kunai clashed with each other midair, changing their trajectory and compromising Zhewu's judgment.

"Damn it, is this little imp really using Tianxiong's move? And he is even better at it than him."

Zhewu had no time to dodge. He could only raise the kunai in his hand to block the strike.

However, at this time, a kunai appeared from his blind spot and gashed his thigh.

"I'm injured. How's this possible? Is there such a skilled person in the world?"

Zhewu endured the pain and looked at Tunan, who was standing on a branch, in disbelief. Tunan too was looking at him with an indifferent expression.

Tunan looked down, and said, "Zhewu-san, I never thought that after seeing Tianxiong-san awaken his Sharingan, you would be so afraid of him catching up to you that you would kill him. Did you know he was like a brother to me? Now that I have awakened the Sharingan, I will personally avenge Tianxiong-san."

Tunan put the serious charge on Zhewu's head at the first chance he got.

Zhewu also thought that he had killed Tianxiong. And as an Uchiha, he disdained to resort to sophistry. He said coldly, "Little imp, even if I have accidentally killed Tianxiong, only clan elders can judge me. In my eyes, you are still a nobody."

Tunan slowly raised a kunai, pointed at Zhewu, and said, "A first-year student like me is definitely not Zhewu-san's opponent, but Tianxiong-san is someone I cherish. I will spare no effort to avenge him even if it brings certain death."

In the next moment, the tomoe in Tunan's eyes spun, and he jumped to attack Zhewu.

Ding, ding, ding…

Zhewu's mobility was affected by his thigh injury. He could only stand in the same place and resist head-on. Tunan's attacks were fruitless, so he retreated a couple of steps.

But then a white mist rose and three Tunans jumped out, rushing towards Zhewu from different directions.

"Clone Technique? Which one is the real body?"

The tomoe in Zhewu's eyes spun as he looked with fixed attention.

Not this one…

There is a shadow on the ground… Someone is above!

Zhewu suddenly looked up and saw that a figure had already jumped high into the air. Moreover, the other party's hands were making hand signs rapidly.

"So, this was his plan. He wanted to use three clones to distract me, and then use the Great Fireball to burn me to death."

"Little imp, your tricks are too naïve," Zhewu grinned hideously and yelled while his hands made hand signs even faster.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball… uh…"

Puff!

A kunai deeply stabbed into Zhewu's abdomen.

"You…" Zhewu looked at Tunan in shock and slowly knelt on the ground.

"Enough." A deep voice resounded.

The Uchiha clan's Great Elder and a group of clan members surrounded Tunan and Zhewu.

The Great Elder noticed Tunan's spinning one-tomoe Sharingan and a tinge of praise flashed through his eyes. He asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

Tunan's expression seemed to suddenly change. First, he looked confused, then he seemed to remember something, and looked alarmed, full of grief and indignation.

Finally, as if he seemed to have found someone to rely on again, with eyes filled with tears and a face full of grief, he whispered, "Tianxiong-san."

With that, he fainted.

Chapter 05: Zhewu's Execution, Scheming Against White Fang

The clan elders had in fact already arrived at the scene when Uchiha Tunan released the Great Fireball Technique. From all the signs on the scene and the conversation between Tunan and Uchiha Zhewu, the elders more or less understood the course of events.

However, Zhewu, after all, was a clan member. They needed to investigate things carefully before drawing any conclusion.

Therefore, the Great Elder instructed Zhewu to be treated and imprisoned in the ancestral hall, where he would personally question him.

Tunan had stayed behind and fought against Zhewu because he guessed the clan members were already at the scene. After all, they were still within the Uchiha territory, and he did shout out his lungs in the very beginning.

He had done everything to push the crime on Zhewu.

In the dim ancestral hall, the Great Elder sat on a seat looking down at the kneeling Zhewu and said, "Do you admit that you unintentionally killed Tianxiong?"

Zhewu gritted his teeth. His heart was full of grievances but the Uchihas never expressed their protests. He could only angrily say, "Who would have thought that that trash was so useless, and would make an error while releasing a mere C-ranked ninjutsu?"

"According to what you said, Tianxiong had awakened the Sharingan, do you know how precious Sharingan is for the Uchiha clan? And you even wanted to kill Tunan to silence the witness, didn't you?"

"Speak up! Is this true or not?"

"I did."

"He is just six years old and he has already awakened the Sharingan. He is a genius of the clan. He has more potential than both you and Tianxiong."

Zhewu was unconvinced. He replied "That's because he saw Tianxiong's death that stimulated him into awakening the Sharingan. Though I don't know why he had such a deep relationship with Tianxiong."

The Great Elder looked gloomy as he got up and walked out of the ancestral hall.

"Among the two geniuses who awakened the Sharingan, you killed one and tried your best to kill the other. The first time might be accidental, but the second time, you wanted to kill your clansman deliberately. In a few days, the investigation will be completed, and you will be executed in front of the clan members."

Although Zhewu had already admitted it, anything could happen in the Ninja World.

At this moment, in the Hokage office, an Anbu suddenly appeared in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Reporting to Hokage, there's a murder case in the Uchiha clan."

"What happened?" Hiruzen blew out a smoke ring and listened to Anbu's report while dealing with the documents.

"It is suspected that two Uchiha students had a conflict, and one accidentally killed the other."

Upon hearing the names of the two people, Hiruzen paused and said, "Both Tianxiong and Zhewu were about to graduate. It's a pity."

He continued dealing with the documents. Obviously, these two geniuses meant nothing in his eyes. More importantly, they were from the Uchiha clan.

"There was also another Uchiha, named Uchiha Tunan, a first-year student, present on the scene. It is suspected that he had a very good relationship with the murdered Uchiha. On witnessing his death, he awakened one-tomoe Sharingan, and he used the Great Fireball Technique to fight against Zhewu. Moreover, they were equally matched."

"Oh? Tunan, I didn't expect him to be a genius. Alright, you can withdraw."

After the Anbu left, Hiruzen put down the documents and narrowed his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking.

……

The next day.

Tunan woke up from the bed and saw the Great Elder warmly smiling at him.

"You are awake!"

Tunan nodded, and as if he suddenly recalled something, he asked anxiously, "What about Tianxiong-san?"

An inexplicable look flashed through the Great Elder's eyes. He lightly patted Tunan's hand and said, "Don't dwell on the past. This old man's eyes are very accurate, and I can see that you are a very capable child. Remember, the clan will never harm or exploit you."

After comforting Tunan, the Great Elder got up to leave. But when he reached the door, he said, "By the way, I will implement the family law tonight and execute Zhewu in front of everyone. I have already asked someone to request a leave for you from the academy, so you can rest at home."

After speaking, he left without looking back.

In the bedroom, Tunan curled up in the bed looking downcast, his thoughts undecipherable.

A while later, a white pigeon landed on the windowsill and quietly eyed Tunan. The boy took out a special feed from his pocket and held it to the bird, who pecked on it and left, perfectly satisfied.

This white pigeon was a lookout ninja beast that Tunan trained according to the methods written in the 'Ninja Beast Training Record'.

It assisted Tunan to watch out for someone tailing or keeping an eye on him. In fact, this kind of ninja beast was truly ordinary. Tunan only needed to use special illusions on it to make it recognize him as the master and feed it often.

The white pigeon symbolized peace. Tunan preferred it to crows. The latter, he thought, would make people know he was a bad person at a glance.

A conniving hunter must don the right camouflage before revealing the fangs.

Tunan didn't attend the public sentence execution at night but stayed home to write in his diary.

Tianxiong-san died. Zhewu killed him. I'm very sad.

Suddenly, I remembered what Lord Sandaime said before… (13,000 words omitted here.)

Tonight, Great Elder will execute Zhewu-san in front of everyone.

I hope Tianxiong-san's soul can rest in peace.

After closing the diary, Tunan went to the kitchen and stared at the remaining vegetables and weeds in the refrigerator. He took out all the remaining weeds and put them in a pot to cook.

That night, Tunan made a run for the bathroom over a dozen times, much as per his plan. He almost collapsed.

Early the next morning, he sorted his belongings and went to the Ninja Academy, maintaining the abandoned look. On the way to the academy, the Uchiha clan members no longer looked at him with contempt. Instead, they had goodwill in their eyes.

Was this the change brought about by a person's potential?

After he arrived at the academy, Umino Naoto saw his haggard look and assumed that he was grieving. He didn't ask any questions, and just patted Tunan's shoulder lightly when he entered the classroom.

In the morning's theory class, Tunan kept his head on the table the whole time, with a lost look.

He may appear grief-stricken but little did onlookers know that Tunan was already thinking about his next plan. The lives of his parents were a bit tough. Even at their chunin level, they survived for so long.

Now that he had strength, Tunan couldn't put all the eggs in one basket. The Naruto plot began to unfold in his mind as he started thinking about the short-lived characters.

Suddenly, a name appeared in Tunan's mind — Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

Kakashi was still a first-year student. But according to the plot, Kakashi should graduate in a year. In other words, Sakumo would commit suicide within the next year.

Perhaps, he could grasp a big one. Since Sakumo was certain to die, he just needed to gain timely acknowledgment.

There were various kinds of acknowledgments. The emotional acknowledgment was impossible in this case. After all, Sakumo was neither his relative nor friend. Strength acknowledgment would be even more difficult. Even if his parents died immediately, his strength wouldn't reach the required standard.

That left only the belief acknowledgment. Perhaps, he could carefully plan and prepare.

As long as he succeeded, it would ensure he would have the strength to survive for the next twenty years.

During the recess, Uchiha Obito ran over to Tunan's desk and poked his arm.

"Hello, hello."

Tunan raised his head. There were still tear stains on his cheeks.

"I heard about what happened from the clan members. Don't be sad," Obito scratched his head and said awkwardly.

Tunan nodded weakly and buried his head in his arms again.

Obito smiled awkwardly and said, "Don't worry, Tianxiong-san is not here, but I, the future Hokage, will guide you in your training."

Uchiha Tunan said softly, "Thank you."

Obito smiled and returned to his seat.

"Obito, what's going on, tell me."

"Yes, why is Tunan crying like that?"

"Did his parents…"

"A clan member who had a good relationship with Tunan passed away. He was a Ninja Academy's graduate, Uchiha Tianxiong." Under the gentle offense of a crowd of girls, Obito laid down his arms.

……

Combat class in the afternoon.

With Naoto at the lead, the students assembled in the training ground.

"Today, it's one-to-one combat training. You can choose your opponent. Everyone must participate. The one who wins first place will get extra credit at the end of the term."

"Tunan, do you need to rest it out for a bit?"

Following Naoto's gaze, everyone looked at Tunan, who had his head lowered the entire time.

Tunan shook his head, then slowly raised his head, revealing the one-tomoe Sharingan. He firmly said, "No need, Teacher Naoto, I have already pulled myself together. I will carry forward Tianxiong-san's last wish and become an outstanding ninja."

After experiencing emotional turmoil, Tunan awakened the Sharingan. It seems that the child was dealt a huge blow. But being able to pull himself together so quickly indicated that his psychological strength was commendable.

An understanding smile appeared on Naoto's face as he said, "In that case, today, you can choose your opponent first."

"I'm here." Among the crowd, Obito raised his hand high, "Challenge me."

Tunan's gaze moved among the crowd, passing over Obito who had recommended himself and stopped on a white-haired youth. He placed his hands on his knees, bowed deeply to the person, and said, "Kakashi, I look forward to your advice."

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Chapter 06: Battle Between Geniuses, Anbu Investigation

Notes:

Dojutsu, literally eye techniques, refer to visual jutsu or ninja abilities that utilize the eyes.

From within the crowd, a languid-looking Kakashi slightly raised his eyebrows and stepped forward reluctantly. In Kakashi's opinion, even though Uchiha Tonan awakened the one-tomoe Sharingan, it was just one more dojutsu.

Judging from the past combat classes, Tonan basically had zero combat experience. He couldn't be Kakashi's opponent in any aspect. Everyone present on the scene, including Umino Naoto, thought so.

"Did you think it through? You have just awakened the Sharingan," Naoto asked.

In fact, in Naoto's view, the most suitable person to practice with Tonan was Uchiha Obito. Tonan's physical constitution was always weak. He also didn't know any ninjutsu. The one-tomoe Sharingan, at best, would give him an extra dynamic vision.

At least, Obito's physical constitution was not bad, and they two should match evenly in a fight. Naturally, with Tonan's potential, he might have some chance to catch up with Kakashi in the future, but that definitely was not now.

Naoto was a little worried that Tonan, who had just pulled himself together, would be abused by Kakashi and would end up losing his confidence again.

"Teacher, you can rest assured. Teno-san taught me often. In the past, I was unable to perform well, but now, I can."

Tonan cast all doubts that anyone may feel to the dead Teno in advance.

In the Hokage office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was dealing with official documents while blowing out smoke rings. He seemed to suddenly think of something and took out the Ninja Academy report cards from his drawer again.

"Awakened Sharingan."

Hiruzen squinted his eyes and recalled that this afternoon's class for the first-year student was combat training. He put the report cards back in the drawer and looked at a crystal ball in front of him. Hiruzen injected his chakra into it, and instantly a visual of the training ground appeared.

At this moment, Kakashi and Tonan walked out from the crowd and made a hand sign to each other.

The next second.

Swish~

Kakashi raised his fist and rushed towards Tonan at shocking speed. He planned to knock his challenger down in one punch and quickly end this meaningless fight.

However, just before Kakashi's fist could make contact, Tonan tilted his head slightly, and at the same time, lifted his leg to kick Kakashi's abdomen.

Bang.

Kakashi's overlapped palms blocked Tonan's kick, and he retreated, opening up a distance between them.

It was just one move but it was enough to change Kakashi's thoughts about Tonan. The contempt in his eyes was gone.

"Wow~"

"They are so fast that I couldn't even clearly see what happened."

"How did Tonan block it?"

"Is Sharingan so powerful?"

Standing in combat readiness, Kakashi took out several shurikens from the ninja tool bag and threw them at Tonan.

Ding, ding, ding…

The shurikens collided with each other, continuously changing their path, making it difficult for Tonan to gauge the attack. Despite this, he held a kunai and rushed towards Kakashi, moving deftly along the way, dodging all shurikens one after another.

Kakashi's expression remained unchanged. He held a kunai with his right hand and slightly squatted down. Just when Tonan arrived in front of him and slashed down at him with his kunai, Kakashi made an unexpected move.

He ignored Tonan in front of him, turned around, and thrust the kunai up from the bottom.

Clang!

The two kunai locked onto each other.

"What!" Several sounds of disbelief erupted from the crowd.

Tonan had appeared behind Kakashi at some point and wanted to attack him but Kakashi managed to block it.

The kunai in Tonan's hand, which was about to strike Kakashi from the front, turned into white smoke as soon as it touched him, leaving behind a piece of wood on the ground.

Seeing this, Naoto's eyes were filled with surprise, and he exclaimed, "Clone Technique, combined with Substitution Technique to switch position. And using Transformation Technique at the same time to make the substitute-wood appear like a kunai!"

"This is already comparable to the top-level graduate students."

After Tonan's attack failed, he distanced himself from Kakashi, and his hands immediately turned into afterimages as he began to make hand signs.

Kakashi naturally wouldn't give Tonan a chance to release ninjutsu. He threw several shurikens, and then, he too began to make hand signs.

Tonan's expression remained the same, and he continued making hand seals. His Sharingan could clearly see the shurikens' trajectory. His legs remained steady, and his body and head swayed continuously, perfectly dodging all attacks.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique."

He released a scorching hot fireball towards Kakashi.

At this moment, Kakashi also finished making the seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

"Earth Style, Mud Wall Technique."

The fireball hit the mud wall, but it was unable to breach it.

Tonan's body swayed as he pretended to have depleted his chakra. He just barely managed to jump up, dodging a hand that came out from the ground.

Seeing his sneak attack fail, Kakashi also came out from the ground.

"Genius! I didn't expect Tonan to be a genius as well. It's truly a pleasant surprise."

Hiruzen looked at the scene being played in the crystal ball, and there was a hint of joy in his eyes. He then solemnly called out, "Anbu."

"Lord Hokage."

"Go and investigate Uchiha Tonan. Be careful to not let anyone notice you."

"Yes."

On the training ground, Kakashi stood in the same place leisurely. He didn't initiate an attack again and lightly remarked, "Tonan, do you want to continue? Sharingan is indeed very powerful, but you seem to have exhausted your chakra."

Tonan gasped for breath as if he was drained out of energy and gave a wry smile.

He put away his kunai, placed his hands on the knees, and bowed to Kakashi, "I never thought that you were so strong, Kakashi. It seems I have to redouble my efforts if I want to catch up to you."

Kakashi also put away his kunai, and the usual sleepy look reappeared on his face as he walked into the crowd.

Although Tonan still had surplus energy, he had shown his potential value today. His goal was achieved.

If he truly won against Kakashi, that would not show potential, but his strength. And it would be too doubtful if a recently awakened Sharingan's prowess was too intense.

Losing miserably after exchanging a few moves with Kakashi was the best approach.

"Kakashi won, but Tonan also performed very well. Kakashi gets A, Tonan gets A. You two, go to the tree shade and recuperate for a bit."

Naoto had a smile on his face. He was visibly satisfied with these two students' performance.

Kakashi was a publicly known genius in the village. There was no need to repeat anything about his potential. But as a teacher, Naoto always had a favorable impression of the courteous and studious Tonan.

Now that Tonan had shown outstanding ninja talent, the more Naoto looked at him, the more he liked this student.

Half an hour later, in the Hokage office.

An Anbu's figure appeared in front of Hiruzen.

"Lord Hokage, I have finished investigating Uchiha Tonan. I even went to his house to complete the investigation."

"Was there anything unusual?"

"There's nothing unusual about his life. He's a pureblooded Uchiha. His parents are Uchiha Kotoura and Uchiha Nanako. Both of them belonged to the Konoha Police Force, but not long ago, they volunteered to go to the frontline."

"In Uchiha Tonan's house, I found many ninja books purchased from the bookstore. There were also books on previous Hokages' achievements by his bedside, and there was a book of 'Will of Fire' signed by Lord Hokage on the living room table."

"I also found Uchiha Tonan's diary."

After the report, the Anbu handed over Tonan's diary to Hiruzen.

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Chapter 07: Diary Contributes, Meeting Of Great Actors

Sarutobi Hiruzen took the diary and opened it. The words instantly caught his attention so much so that he was unable to extricate himself. The Will of Fire was evident even to the naked eye.

He noticed these entries were made during the end of the last semester.

July 1 – Hiruzen clearly remembered that day. That was when he had gone to the Ninja Academy to lecture on the Will of Fire. He had spotted Tonan among the assembled students at the time. And he could recall even now how his expression changed from confusion in the beginning to sincere agreement by the end.

He hadn't expected this kid to have such unique thoughts after listening to just one speech. Hiruzen himself hadn't thought this deeply.

Judging from the diary's content, his status as the Hokage was higher than that of his parents and the clan. More than 90 percent of the diary was about his ideology and his ways.

The mention of his parents or the clan was at best perfunctory.

This child was only six years old, but he had already awakened the Sharingan. Considering he could exchange blows with Kakashi, albeit for a short time, indicated he was already a rare genius.

"As long as he is slightly nurtured, and I personally instill the Will of Fire occasionally, he can definitely become my confidant. When he grows up, maybe, even if I asked him to annihilate the Uchiha clan, he will not disobey.

But if he has to become a person on my side, I must nurture and protect him properly."

Even if Hiruzen had not realized it yet, in his heart, he had begun regarding Tonan as someone from his own people.

"This young fellow has what it takes to inherit the Will of Fire. Do you think he needs any help now?"

The Anbu was perceptive. On hearing this question, he understood that Hiruzen planned to nurture and draw Tonan to his side. He replied, "From my investigation, Uchiha Tonan's parents left him with adequate money when they went to the frontlines. However, he seems to have spent most of it buying inessential books."

The Anbu was referring to the ninja books stored in Tonan's cupboard. After that purchase, Tonon wouldn't have enough money left for maintaining daily expenses.

"I had checked the refrigerator in his house, and it only had vegetables and nothing else. If this goes on, he will very likely suffer from malnutrition," the Anbu added.

Lacking money…

Hiruzen started thinking.

Tonan hadn't awakened the Sharingan earlier, and his ninjutsu and taijutsu ranked at the bottom. But he wanted to become stronger. It made sense for him to buy many ninja books.

"I'm afraid whether this young fellow has realized these books cannot improve his strength at all. It's like spending money to buy lessons. Since he is with me now, I cannot treat him unfairly. I could instead use this opportunity to narrow the distance between us."

Hiruzen was satisfied with this plan and returned the diary to the Anbu and said, "Good job, it seems you were attentive. Return this diary to that young fellow. Don't let other people notice that you had been there."

"Yes."

In the next second, the Anbu disappeared.

The next day, when Tonan was attending class, a teacher came in to call Umino Naoto, who was giving a lecture, outside the classroom and said something.

Naoto immediately returned and looked at Tonan, "Tonan, someone is looking for you in the office."

Tonan nodded and got up. He left the classroom to follow the teacher outside. While walking through the corridor, Tonan had already guessed who would have called for him.

He didn't know anyone other than schoolmates and clan members. It was unlikely a schoolmate would call him out like this, and clan members could wait until he returned home. The system had not notified him about his parents' death so there was little chance that anyone was trying to reach him for an emergency.

This left just one person – Sandaime.

"The person looking for you is inside," the teacher stopped in front of the office's door and gestured for Tonan to enter by himself. It was obvious that the person's status was high enough to even make the academy teacher guard the door.

This re-confirmed that the person inside could only be Sandaime.

Tonan opened the door with an appropriately confused look. He saw Hiruzen sitting behind the desk, looking at him kindly.

The confusion in Tonan's eyes dispersed, and his expression quickly changed into a pleasant surprise. He opened his mouth, but he was too excited to speak like he met his idol but was too nervous to take a step forward.

He could only stand there in a daze.

"Tonan, right? Come in and close the door," Hiruzen was very pleased with Tonan's reaction.

"Yes, yes," Tonan hastily shut the door and nearly ran to Hiruzen. He then smiled while scratching his head.

"No need to be so careful, child. Although I'm the Hokage, in my eyes, you are all like my children," Hiruzen reached out his hand and gently stroked Tonan's head, looking kind.

Tonan narrowed his eyes in happiness as if he was being indulged by a close relative.

"I came to see you because I heard your parents have gone to the frontline to fight and you are home alone. It must be tough on you. If you have any problems, you can tell me," Hiruzen spoke with concern like a neighborhood grandfather.

Tonan looked at Hiruzen and put on a firm look, saying, "Lord Hokage, it's not that difficult. It's not like you who works hard day and night for the villagers. Now that the war is so intense, you must be dealing with too much. You are so busy, and you still took time to care about me, I…, I…"

Tonan choked back tears as he talked but immediately wiped his face with his sleeve, putting on a brave front.

"Good boy, you all are the future of Konoha. When the tree leaves dance, the fire will also grow endlessly. As long as you all grow up healthy, all my hard work will be worth it."

After speaking, Hiruzen picked up an envelope on the table and stuffed it in Tonan's hand.

"I noticed you long ago. I also watched your fight against Kakashi. The Sharingan is truly powerful, but your physical constitution is weak. Use this money to buy something delicious to nourish your body."

"Training is taxing both mentally and physically. If you don't have enough money, you can always come and find me at the Hokage office. In any case, I don't have anywhere to spend my salary. It's just right to use it to nurture Konoha's next generation."

Tonan looked at the envelope in his hand and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He looked like a child who was thinking about something delicious. But he shook his head and pushed back the envelope.

"No, Lord Hokage, you have worked so hard. You should buy more delicious food for yourself and nurture your body. If anything were to happen to you, Konoha will be ruined. I can find food by myself."

Tonan's reaction satisfied Hiruzen even further. He put the envelope back in Tonan's hand and held it in his palms.

"Take it, child, Konoha still needs you all to inherit the Will of Fire."

This time Tonan was in tears. He looked up at Hiruzen, his eyes filled with emotion, and said, "Thank you, no one has ever been so nice to me. I will work hard to become an outstanding ninja and carry on the Will of Fire. I will implement Lord Hokage's ideology, and pledge my life to protect Konoha."

Hiruzen smiled and nodded, "Very good, I'm looking forward to the moment when you become a ninja. Right now though, I want to hear your views on the Will of Fire."

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Chapter 08: Motionless, Entering Hatake Household

Just like that, Uchiha Tonan and Sarutobi Hiruzen spent an entire afternoon talking about nothing but the Will of Fire. For the most part, it was Tonan who did the talking and Hiruzen was the patient listener.

In fact, Hiruzen didn't quite understand some parts of Tonan's view. But from what he had heard all afternoon, he could describe Tonan in two simple words — loyal official.

Only when there were about ten minutes left for school to be over, Hiruzen took the initiative to end the conversation. Tonan very reluctantly left the office.

After returning home, he opened the envelope and looked at the money inside. This was more than what his parents left him. It was enough to elevate Tonan to a moderately rich person from borderline poverty.

That was the benefit of standing on Hiruzen's side. Tonan looked at the money without showing any greed and put the envelope in the drawer.

He then sat at his desk and began writing in his diary.

I'm very happy today. Sandaime-sama personally came to see me in the teacher's office. He didn't have any arrogance. It made me feel like he is my biological grandfather. This meticulous care, just like his strong and wide palm, made me feel warm.

At that time, I suddenly thought of a word: restraint. I never knew what it meant to live in this world. But I understood it today. The meaning of my existence from hereon is to follow in Sandaime-sama's footsteps.

I recall a sentence I read in a ninja book. A ninja is an emotionless tool.

But I'm a living being. It's impossible to be without emotion. However, if necessary, I'm willing to become the tool in his hands…. (20,000 words omitted.)

Today, Sandaime-sama also gave me a lot of money. I had no money to buy meat for a long time. But I'm reluctant to spend this. After all, this is his hard-earned money. I'm planning to save this and use it to buy him a gift on February eighth next year, on his birthday.

By the way, I also fought with Kakashi today. He truly is too strong. I have awakened the Sharingan, but I was still no match for him. I hope the gap between him and me is not too big.

After writing the diary, Tonan left his desk and headed to the kitchen. Tonight's dinner menu was vegetables, again.

The next day after school, Tonan didn't straight go back home but caught up with Kakashi, who was alone.

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi sluggishly turned around, looked at Tonan, and asked, "What do you want?"

"Can I train with you? I want to become stronger to quickly become a ninja, please," Tonan requested and bowed deeply.

Kakashi hesitated for a bit. Perhaps he felt that with Tonan's strength, he would be a good training partner, so he lightly nodded and said, "Alright, where should we train?"

Tonan replied with a bright smile, "We could go to your house. After all, I am the one requesting you to train with me. I wouldn't want you to go too far from your house because of me."

Kakashi nodded and continued to slowly walk towards his house. Tonan silently followed behind.

Soon, they arrived at Kakashi's house.

There were not many people in the Hatake clan. The courtyard was big but the residential area was not too spacious. After all, only Kakashi and his father, White Fang, lived in this house.

The wide-open ground served as a good place for training, and the two boys headed right to it. They stood facing each other and made a hand sign, and with that, training began. Kunai collision sounds resounded in the open space. Both of them were already skilled to the point of perfection in taijutsu. Gradually, they did not limit themselves and began using the ninjutsu they already mastered.

Kakashi was worth being called a genius. He had already mastered several types of ninjutsu. In comparison, Tonan knew just one — the Great Fireball Technique.

Soon, Tonan seized a suitable chance to surrender and concede defeat with the pretext that his chakra was depleted.

"As expected of you Kakashi, the gap between us has widened," Tonan pretended to be weak, placed both hands on the ground, and said while panting.

Kakashi was also panting but he had some energy left.

"You are much stronger than others."

Tonan got up with difficulty, bowed to Kakashi, and said, "Thank you for training with me. I wonder if I can come again in the future."

"Do as you like," Kakashi put his hands behind his head and the lazy look was back on his face.

Tonan smiled, packed up his things, and waved his hand at Kakashi, "Then, that's it for today. See you, Kakashi."

After bidding goodbye, he left the Hatake household. Unfortunately, Sakumo was not at home today.

However, Tonan was not in a hurry. Patience was the first requisite of a qualified hunter.

When Tonan returned home, he found that the refrigerator was filled with meat and milk.

This touched him so much that he hastily opened his diary and started writing.

"There's so much meat and milk in the refrigerator. Needless to say, it must be Sandaime-sama who asked someone to stock up the food. In this world, there is only Sandaime-sama who treats me so well.……… (50,000 words omitted)

By the way, today, at the academy, I heard Hyuga Sugata say that the frontline was in a state of emergency. It seems that the enemies have cut off the supply lines of several battlefields.

Sandaime-sama must be worried and anxious at this moment. I want to grow up quickly and share his burden. My parents too are among the people on the battlefields. I hope they can get through this difficult time.

Time passed day by day. Perhaps, because the war had intensified, Sakumo never returned home. This was expected because he was a powerful ninja. He must be embroiled in several missions at this time.

Some things become normal in people's eyes if done regularly. For now, Tonan just had to go to the Hatake household every day without being distracted or disturbed.

It just so happened though that he discovered something. Kakashi was becoming stronger by the day.

Now, even if Tonan went all out, he might not be able to win with certainty against Kakashi. In other words, Kakashi's strength had almost surpassed the dead Uchiha Teno.

One should know Teno ranked sixth among graduates before his death. If the theory results were not counted, he might even rank higher. And Teno hadn't even awakened the Sharingan at the time. With that, it could be said he would be on par with Uchiha Tetsuma.

This meant Kakashi's current strength was among the very best even if placed in the graduating class.

What a mind-blowing genius!

Tonan sighed and took out a book titled 'Disguise Skill Essential for Spies' from the cupboard.

He wanted to utilize this current growth period to learn as much as he could.

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Chapter 09: Parents' Death, Three Tomoe Manifestation

Notes:

Taijutsu (physical techniques) and Ninjutsu (ninja techniques) are of different kinds and levels. The Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Phoenix Sage Nail Crimson Technique, Ground Travel, Body Flicker Technique are some of these kinds.

Kiri is the hidden mist village in the Land of Water, one of the five great countries of the Ninja World. The Uchihas, known for their fire techniques, are perfect opponents of the Kiri ninjas.

Uchiha Tonan always took his reading very seriously. Every time he read, he repeatedly mulled over the book's content and integrated it into his mind as much as possible.

Later that night, he had completed a third of the book he was reading on disguise skills. As his eyes felt a bit heavier, he decided to call it a night to not affect the next day's class.

In the dark sky, the vagrant clouds had dispersed, letting the moonlight illuminate the Uchiha clan.

Suddenly, Tonan's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright.

A powerful warm current appeared within his body and spread through each nerve, vein, and blood vessel. A large amount of ninjutsu knowledge filled up his mind. And as if he had used it over a thousand times, it turned into instinct. His eyes had awakened the Sharingan and the tomoe spun rapidly.

Gradually, the spinning tomoe stopped, changing from one to two. A smile appeared on Tonan's face as he clenched his hands, feeling a chunin's power.

He raised his head and looked around using the Sharingan. Once he determined no one was monitoring him, he muttered to himself, "Finally dead! But I think only one of them died so far."

This sense of security because of the increase in strength was fascinating. Tonan felt dissatisfied that only one of his parents had died.

"The other one should die too. I hope it will be a double-kill tonight."

Just when he was mercilessly thinking this, the warm current re-appeared in his body. This time, it was stronger. It looked like earlier it was his mother, Uchiha Nanako, who had died and now his father, Kotoura, joined his wife in the afterlife.

The tomoe in his Sharingan spun at such high speed that the afterimages connected to form a circle in the blood-red eyes.

Two new ninjutsu were infused in his mind, and the ones that were instilled seemed to have leveled up like he had used them countless times.

The Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, three basic taijutsu, Phoenix Sage Nail Crimson Technique, and even lightning-style ninjutsu Ground Travel all felt innate to him.

These were all ninjutsu that Tonan's parents, those two miserable chunins, were adept in. Tonan also found himself well-versed in confronting enemies as well as different tricks about traps, assassination, and so on.

Soon, the spinning tomoe in his Sharingan stopped and finally became three tomoe. Now, in the Uchiha clan, other than the Patriarch Uchiha Fugaku, the highest grade Sharingan was the three tomoe Sharingan.

As for how to explain the sudden advancement to three tomoe, Tonan was not worried at all because he had the excuse down pat. If the excessive grief of losing both parents didn't result in the Sharingan's evolution, then what would? What a perfect reason!

As soon as the sun rose the next day, he would be able to openly use three tomoe Sharingan in front of everyone.

He had awakened one tomoe Sharingan with Uchiha Teno's death, who had a relatively good relationship with him. Now, it was his parents' death. Tonan was satisfied overall; the only thing he was dissatisfied with was that the parents of this body were a bit too useless. Their ninjutsu could barely be called strong.

Tonan's present strength could roughly compare to special jonins. He was not a hasty person. Hence, he knew he could not be arrogant as he still needed to persist further.

Kakashi had become a jonin when he was just twelve years old. A mere special jonin was just a high-grade cannon fodder on the battlefield.

Tonan narrowed his eyes, and the blood-red Sharingan returned to normal. He laid down again and finally drifted to sleep.

Early the next morning, he headed to the Ninja Academy as usual. But before he could step inside, he was pulled aside by Umino Naoto. A ninja wearing a cat mask was there as well.

With a worried look, Naoto said, "Tonan, go to the Hokage Residence with the Anbu. Hokage-sama has something important to tell you."

Tonan looked excited and said, "Really! Hokage-sama wants to see me again."

Naoto looked at the elated Tonan and a hint of grief flashed through his eyes. He tried to smile and said, "Yes, go ahead now."

"Let's go, don't keep Hokage-sama waiting for too long," the Anbu grabbed Tonan's arm and used Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Not much later, Tonan and the Anbu appeared outside the Hokage Residence.

"Go in." The Anbu said just this much and once again used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Truly too elusive.

Tonan pretended to be nervous. He shook his head a few times, took some deep breaths, and pushed open the door. His eyes immediately lit up when he saw Hiruzen sitting behind the desk. Like he was restraining his excitement, he said, "Hokage-sama."

"Come here Tonan, you have arrived," Hiruzen looked very sad as he greeted Tonan.

The worries on his face were telling that something untoward had happened.

As some say, when a dog meets a dog, it either barks or licks; when a person meets a person, he either cheats or puts on an act.

It was obvious that Hiruzen was acting right now, and he was playing out a heartache scene. After distressingly informing Tonan about his parents' heroic demise on the battlefield, he would take advantage of the situation to sympathize with the heartbroken kid.

Tonan was familiar with this trick. He had used it several times before crossing over to this world, but he only used it on women.

To sum up, it was about taking advantage of others' sorrows.

Looking very concerned, Tonan walked up to Hiruzen and asked, "Hokage-sama, what's wrong? Can I help you?"

Hiruzen sighed and answered, "Tonan, I have got some news to tell you but you must mentally prepare for it."

The blood drained from Tonan's face hearing this, and he stuttered, "Could, could it be…"

Hiruzen nodded and said, "Yes, a battle report came from the frontline. The supply line of the battlefield where your parents were was cut off. Last night, they were surrounded by the Kiri ninjas, and both of them were killed in action."

"No, it can't be… it can't be…," Tonan frantically shook his head. As if his legs gave out, he collapsed on the ground and used his hands to support himself from completely falling face down.

"They are such strong ninjas, how can they die?" Tonan ferociously pounded the floor with his hands as teardrops fell on the floor.

Hiruzen sighed and stood up from his seat. He walked towards Tonan, and slowly stretched out his hands, wanting to console him. But he stopped midway.

He felt powerful chakra fluctuation within Tonan's small body.

Could it be…!

A hint of pleasant surprise flashed through his eyes.

According to legend, when Uchihas faced volatile emotional fluctuations, it would unlock the Sharingan.

Tonan's present condition was consistent with this. If his Sharingan evolved, then the child's potential would be comparable to Kakashi.

He was just six years old.

Hiruzen retracted his hands and watched silently so that he did not interrupt the possibility of Tonan's Sharingan maturing.

Some time passed, Tonan's head was still lowered and the floor below was full of tears. The chakra fluctuation emitting from his body gradually stabilized.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Hiruzen used his hands to pat Tonan's back.

"Kotoura and Nanako sacrificed their lives and Konoha will always remember them. You have to pull yourself together, and inherit their last wishes to protect the village."

Hiruzen's consolation was effective. Tonan stopped crying. Wiping his tears, he slowly raised his head and looked at the Hokage.

The child's face was tear-stained, enough to elicit anyone's sympathy, but the most striking thing was the scarlet Sharingan with three tomoe spinning around the pupils.

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Chapter 10: Selecting Ninjutsu, Setting Up Illusion Domain

Notes

Genjutsu attacks a ninja's mind creating illusions by controlling the chakra flow of the target's cerebral nervous system, affecting the five senses.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Tonan's three-tomoe Sharingan. On the surface, he looked sympathetic, but his heart was brimming with joy. He thought this kid was a heaven-sent tool for him.

Tonan slowly stood up, and said, "Hokage-sama, you don't need to worry about me."

He took a deep breath, forced himself to smile, and continued, "I have already pulled myself together. I will inherit my parents' last wishes and protect the village well. The war is still ongoing, and you must have much to deal with. If there is something I can do, please, do not hesitate to instruct me."

Hiruzen smiled while nodding and said, "It's fine as long as you can get over it. When I received the news, I was very worried you wouldn't be able to bear the blow. You are the future hope to protect the Will of Fire."

After speaking, he comforted Tonan, gently patting his head.

Tonan looked at Hiruzen, and as if he was trying his best to endure extreme grief, he tearfully said, "Hokage-sama…"

"Rest for a few days. Don't treat yourself badly. Come to the Hokage Residence any time you like if you need something," Hiruzen said with a benevolent look.

Tonan nodded and turned to leave. To end the act perfectly, he looked back once every three steps, making Hiruzen feel very pleased.

After Tonan left, Hiruzen returned to his seat. He blew out a mouthful of smoke, narrowed his eyes, and muttered, "What a good sapling. He's more suitable to inherit the Will of Fire than Minato. Pity, he was born an Uchiha."

"We have lost on quite a few fronts. It's a bit troublesome. Should I change the frontline army?" Hiruzen pondered.

The troops resisting Kiri were almost entirely made up of Uchihas. The commander was the newly-appointed patriarch, Uchiha Fugaku. It was well known that the Uchihas, who were good at fire-style and genjutsu, were the best suited to restrain them.

After thinking for a while, Hiruzen discarded the plan to change the army.

"Let's observe the situation for now. Judging from the current state, these sporadic local wars are last-ditch counterattacks. The war will be over soon."

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and Shimura Danzo walked in with a cold look.

"Hiruzen, I heard a genius has appeared in the Uchiha clan, and he has already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan."

Hiruzen raised his eyebrows, slowly blew out smoke, and said, "Danzo, don't take arbitrary action."

Danzo said indifferently, "The Root has lost a lot of personnel and needs to be replenished. When Uchiha Tonan graduates, you should hand him over to me."

Hiruzen shook his head and said, "This child's character is not suitable for the Root."

Danzo snorted and said, "Hiruzen, are you doubting my means of control? Whatever anyone says, he is from that vicious Uchiha clan. We should either strangle him in the cradle or firmly control him."

Hiruzen was not convinced and said with a firm tone, "Danzo, I have my own plan. You can choose personnel for the Root from the other ninjas."

This surprised Danzo a little. He hadn't expected Hiruzen to refuse him for a trifling genius with a three-tomoe Sharingan.

Danzo's tone carried some dissatisfaction as he said, "What sort of illusion did that little brat cast over you for you to protect him like this? Don't forget he is an Uchiha."

"Be careful of your attitude, I'm the Hokage!" Hiruzen angrily slammed his hand on the table.

Danzo knew Hiruzen well enough to hear the firmness in his voice. He did not want a conflict with him just for an undeveloped genius. He turned around and walked out, leaving behind some sharp words.

"You will regret it!"

A genius only represented potential, not a definite outcome of a powerhouse. Danzo didn't lack strong subordinates, and this was a mere Sharingan.

Tonan returned to the Uchiha clan after he left the Hokage Residence. Even before he could settle down, he was called to the Ancestral Hall. Tonan knew the Great Elder and the others would have found out about him unlocking the three-tomoe Sharingan.

This was the Ninja World. There were spies of all sides, everywhere. Moreover, when he had walked out of the Hokage Residence, he hadn't deactivated the three-tomoe Sharingan.

He wanted more people to know his Sharingan had already matured. This would increase his chances of gaining their acknowledgment.

When Tonan arrived at the Ancestral Hall, the Great Elder was sitting seiza-style behind the table and gestured him to sit down as well.

Tonan nodded and took his place. The Great Elder opened a scroll that had many kinds of ninjutsu recorded on it.

"Tonan, I never thought you would give me such a pleasant surprise. At the age of six, you awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan. According to the clan rules, all clan members that can do this can choose three ninjutsu. Take a look and choose."

"If you want more, you need to be promoted to genin, chunin or jonin, or render meritorious service to the clan."

Tonan nodded and looked at the ninjutsu names. Most of them were fire style and lightning style. There were also many genjutsu. He had already inherited all abilities of his parents and Uchiha Teno, including their experience and skills.

Learning ninjutsu was not going to be a problem for him. The current him was not complete trash like when he had just crossed over to this world.

Tonan browsed through the scroll and pointed out the three he wanted. The Great Elder pondered for a bit and lightly commented, "Lightning Style – Lightning Needle, Genjutsu -Hell Viewing Technique, Genjutsu – Mirror Heaven and Earth Change."

"It seems you have the lightning attribute. But isn't one genjutsu enough? After all, Sharingan has its hypnotic eye genjutsu too. It is up to you. Are you sure of these choices?"

Tonan nodded.

The Great Elder stood up, took out three scrolls from the back of the Ancestral Hall, and handed them over to Tonan. He earnestly said, "Your parents, unfortunately, died in battle. I understand your pain. If there is anything you need, you can tell us. Remember, we are one family. The clan will never treat you badly."

"Thank you, Great Elder," Tonan bowed deeply and left the Ancestral Hall.

Looking at Tonan leaving, the Great Elder sighed. It was obvious the kid was not close to the Uchiha clan. That bow just now made the Great Elder feel his alienation from the clan members.

Back at his house, Tonan opened the Hell Viewing Technique and Mirror Heaven and Earth Change. Hell Viewing Technique was an ordinary genjutsu. All Konoha jonins who wanted to learn genjutsu had studied it.

This genjutsu could make people sink into their greatest fears. Tonan chose this because he thought highly of this. It directly affected people's hearts.

As for the Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, as long as the chakra and genjutsu level were greater than the opponent, it could reflect the other party's genjutsu, which worked well with Tonan's Sharingan.

This jutsu could also share eyesight with the genjutsu target. Tonan planned to use this on his ninja beast, the white pigeon. This way, the lookout function of the white pigeon would enhance by several grades.

"Once I receive the death compensation, I should cultivate more white pigeon ninja beasts."

With these two genjutsu, Tonan began to create his exclusive illusion domain according to what he learned at the Ninja Academy. Most people were learning existing genjutsu, which more or less had ready-made scenarios.

They could alter it a bit at most but others could still easily see through the illusion with just a few clues. If someone wanted to create an exclusive illusion domain, they needed to consume a huge amount of chakra.

This may be difficult for some but for Tonan, who inherited his parents and his brother's chakra, it was enough.

A good genjutsu should use methods in line with local scenarios. One must build an illusion domain in the mind first, then attack the enemy's five senses to make them believe in the illusion.

Thinking of this, Tonan began to model the illusion domain according to his room.

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Chapter 11: Soaring Strength, A Spy's Infiltration

Notes

The tantō is a short sword, designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well.

A few days later.

Late at night, silence reigns supreme. Uchiha Tonan sat under the eaves, maintaining a steady tempo in forming hand signs. His pace was neither fast nor slow, and his eyes were closed as he devoted all his attention to sense the chakra flow.

Finally, he completed making the last hand sign. He looked at his right hand and spread open the five fingers.

Crackle, crackle, crackle

Electric sparks appeared on his fingertips as if sharp needles had sprouted from the fingernails.

"Is this chakra transformation? It's a pity these lightning needles can't be used as projectile weapons," Tonan muttered and stopped the technique.

Lightning Style – Lightning Needle didn't have many hand signs. As long as his spiritual power increased a little, and he became familiar with the chakra flow, he could use it without making any signs.

This move was a good choice to trap people. While talking and laughing with his prey, he could inadvertently poke them with the lightning needle.

Since lightning-attributed chakra could numb the body, the prey wouldn't immediately feel the pain, and hence wouldn't scream. Before one could react, coupled with Lightning Style – Ground Travel, the opponent would be completely paralyzed.

That's not bad at all.

Tonan had grasped several ninjutsu techniques by now. Fire style consisted of Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, and Phoenix Sage Nail Crimson Technique.

Lightning style comprised Ground Travel and Lightning Needle. And genjutsu included Hell Viewing Technique and Mirror Heaven and Earth Change. There was also hypnosis that came along with the Sharingan.

As for his chakra, the amount was comparable to a special jonin, but the concrete level of the spiritual power was unknown. Despite this, his current strength gave him a sense of security.

In the past few days, Tonan had also trained a few more pigeons. The ninja beasts were high maintenance, mainly because their special feed was expensive.

Tonan was a very insecure person. He placed great importance on the lookout ninja beasts, and therefore, he bought their efficiency and loyalty with the most expensive feed.

Even though the ninja beast like the white pigeon didn't eat much, the living expenses left by his parents were used up completely. If it weren't for Sarutobi Hiruzen often delivering food to him, perhaps, Tonan could only go to the forest to hunt wild beasts to fill his stomach.

He wondered when his parents' death compensation would arrive. Tonan looked up at the sky, got up, and went back to his room to rest.

Just when he had entered the bedroom and prepared to turn off the lights though, he suddenly paused and the three tomoe appeared in his eyes.

"I hope the person didn't come for me."

Tonan left the lights on, picked up his 'Will of Fire' summary, and began reading out loud.

Meanwhile, in the forest outside the Uchiha clan.

A Konoha ninja wearing a standard chunin uniform pushed aside a thick clump of grass and stealthily raised his head.

"I hope the Uchiha clan didn't arrange for that person to live in the clan's central area."

He looked at the small courtyard at the edge of the clan's territory. The house in the courtyard was lit up with dim light, and a hazy figure reflected on the window.

"It should be that room. It's already so late and he's still not asleep yet. Why is this genius working so hard?"

This chunin was called Inoue Shinoda. His real identity though was a Kiri spy assigned to infiltrate Konoha just after the first war ended.

During the second war, Shinoda passed only inconsequential information and had not received any new espionage mission. Ever since the war between Konoha and Kiri was nearing its end, the latter was planning to carry out assassinations, specifically targeting Konoha's geniuses.

Among them, a jonin spy had gone to Kakashi's house, and Shinoda was arranged to assassinate Tonan, which should be easier comparatively.

After all, Kakashi's father was Konoha's White Fang, and his child was very likely to be guarded by an Anbu.

Tonan was different.

He was from the Uchiha clan, and it was very unlikely for an Anbu to come to the clan's territory. Most of the guardian ninjas of the clan were focused on the central area.

The howls of wild beasts resounded in the forest on and off. It would terrify most people but it made a chunin like Shinoda feel at ease.

He carefully observed for a while and made sure there was no human presence nearby. Only then, he laid down his guard. Jumping out from his hiding place, he turned into a black shadow, and stealthily advanced towards Tonan's residence.

However, unknown to him, each of his actions had long fallen into the eyes of a white pigeon perched on a branch behind him. That pigeon quietly stood, using thick leaves to cover its figure. Only its ice-cold and serene Sharingan was visible.

"Adhere ninja principle and resolutely implement the Will of Fire with Sandaime-sama as the center…"

"Closely follow Sandaime-sama's steps…"

Shinoda lay on the roof, listening to the slightly high-pitched voice coming from the room, and couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

"Another pitiful little thing brainwashed by the Will of Fire1"

Without delaying further, he slowly drew out his tanto, jumped down the roof, and gently landed on the floor. The movement was fluid and precise. With a hideous grin on his face, he walked to the door and pushed it open.

This place was far away from the central area of the Uchiha clan. Even if there was noise, the clan's ninjas wouldn't be able to arrive here in time.

In his eyes, Tonan was a student, who had just entered the Ninja Academy. So what if he awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, that was just empty potential. He was not even a genin right now.

Just three basic taijutsu should be enough to end him.

At this moment, Shinoda was already imagining the horrified look on Tonan's face when he stabbed the tanto in him.

The moment the door was pushed open, the bedroom's lights suddenly went out. The entire room fell into darkness and the reading also ceased abruptly.

"As expected of a genius. This fellow is alert but in the face of absolute strength, it's still a dead end."

Shinoda held the tanto tightly and entered the pitch-black room, step by step.

Drip, drip…

His ears moved as he heard water dripping from the kitchen tap. He subconsciously felt irritated, but this mission was very important. Therefore, he didn't focus on these trifles.

He could vaguely make out the room layout in the dark. With his gaze firmly locked on the bedroom door, he walked over and slowly turned the doorknob.

"Little devil, say goodbye to the world."

A cruel smile appeared on his face, as he suddenly pulled open the door. His right hand had raised the tanto high, ready to split open Tonan, whom he imagined putting on a desperate struggle.

However…

No one!

Shinoda was shocked. Standing in the doorway, he didn't move. He began thinking about where Tonan could be hiding. From what he could, the bedroom's layout was very simple. Except for the closet, there was nowhere to hide.

"If it were me, I would have hidden by the door. Using the blindside for cover, I would launch a surprise attack from the flank as the enemy walked in."

"But this little devil is still a student after all. If he is not being too bold, he should be hiding in the closet."

Shinoda put himself in Tonan's position and thought for a while. He took a deep breath, calmed his heart, and listened attentively.

Years of being a ninja had made him accustomed to being cautious. If Tonan was hiding by the door, then he might suffer a surprise attack, even if the kid's sneak attack was very unlikely to succeed.

What he needed to do now was to locate the sound of his breathing and determine the position, thereby killing his target in one move.

Drip, drip…

Other than the dripping water sound, there was nothing.

"As expected of a genius. Did he see through my intentions? But that's also useless. You can't hold your breathing forever. I'll just wait until you can't hold your breath!"

Shinoda's eyes flashed with a playful smile as if he was mocking Tonan's foolish response.

Drip, drip…

Time slowly ticked by. Shinoda seemed to have turned into a top hunter's incarnation, calmly waiting in the dark for his prey to give itself up.

Suuu

A suppressed exhaling sound finally came from the closet.

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Chapter 12: Multiple Genjutsu Spy Elimination

Notes:

Scrolls have multiple purposes in Ninjutsu. Apart from recording information, being used in battles for different jutsu, they can also be used as storage space

The instant the sound was heard, Inoue Shinoda's body turned into a black shadow as he lunged at the closet with his tanto.

Shik

The tanto's blade pierced straight through the closet, but he didn't hear the muffled grunt he was anticipating.

"What's going on?"

A trace of doubt flashed past Shinoda's eyes. His opponent was in the closet, but since he heard no grunt, it could be a sign of Tonan's willpower and endurance to bear the pain.

But even the texture of what his blade hit did not feel right.

In the next moment, the room was suddenly lit up, and a gentle voice emerged from behind Shinoda.

"A guest. Would you like a cup of tea before you leave?"

Shinoda turned around sharply, only to see Tonan in a white shirt, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses as he sat at the living room table, calmly looking at him.

A light aroma of freshly brewed tea was in the air, and wisps of smoke were rising from two cups on the table.

Shinoda was astounded. But then, he heard the sound of dripping water again. From the corner of his eye, he glanced over at the kitchen sink.

The faucet wasn't dripping.

Raising a brow, he formed a seal and said viciously, "You little brat! Did you think such a low-level genjutsu will work on me? Go and practice some more in hell!"

The chakra in his body began to flow rapidly.

"Genjutsu, release!"

In the next instant, the genjutsu lifted, and everything before Shinoda's eyes changed. He found he had already opened the closet door, and his tanto was pointed right at Tonan's neck while the latter trembled, covering his blood-dripping three tomoe Sharingan.

"Did the genjutsu turn against you? Poor kid."

Shinoda smiled cruelly. He was angry at himself for being caught up in his opponent's genjutsu, but seeing Tonan suffer from the backlash, lifted his mood again.

What a genius. To think he managed to trap him in a genjutsu. Too bad his skills were still lacking.

Shinoda stabbed his blade, piercing through Tonan's neck, blood splattering everywhere. Having completed his mission, he pulled it out, prepared to leave this place as soon as possible.

Just at this moment though, the lights came on, and the same scene unfolded again.

"A guest. Would you like a cup of tea before you leave?"

"Impossible…I've already broken your genjutsu!" Shinoda subconsciously retreated a few steps.

Drip, drip…

Glancing at the faucet again, Shinoda saw no water coming out of it at all.

"This damned kid! He actually managed to endure the illusion's backlash and trap me in his genjutsu again."

"And he must have done it just as I was about to kill him. Looks like his will to live is very strong. But it's meaningless now."

Shinoda figured everything out in an instant and immediately controlled the frightened expression on his face, once again forming a seal. "Genjutsu, release!"

The entire room was plunged into darkness once more. Before Shinoda could even take a breath, the lights turned on again. Only this time, it wasn't Tonan sitting in the living room.

It was an Uchiha jonin.

Shinoda had met this jonin before. He was one of the leaders of the Konoha Military Police Force.

There was seemingly a smile on the jonin's face as he looked at Shinoda, the three tomoe spinning in his eyes, asserting great pressure on him.

"You managed to break my genjutsu? Not bad."

As a Konoha genius, how can there be no one protecting Tonan?

"Who are you?" The jonin asked as stood up from his seat, looking down at Shinoda with an arrogant gaze. As if this man was nothing in his eyes.

There was cold sweat running down Shinoda's forehead and his right leg twitched uncontrollably.

"How is this possible? No wonder everything was so strange. Was I caught in the genjutsu as soon as I entered the house?"

"That must be it. After all, it's an Uchiha jonin's genjutsu. It was already a lucky fluke to be able to break it."

"No. What if…what if this is also an illusion?"

Holding a trace of hope, Shinoda quickly turned his eyes to the kitchen faucet. It was dripping.

Drip, drip…

This wasn't an illusion.

Shinoda tightened his grip on his tanto, eyes darting left and right, desperately looking for an opening to escape.

The jonin gently raised his hand but abruptly put it down again. He raised a brow and said, "Looks like I don't have to lift a finger. Someone's already here for you."

Shinoda was stunned by his words, and an alarming possibility came to his mind.

"No…Could it be the Anbu?"

Several masked ninjas suddenly appeared beside Shinoda, and in a cold voice, one of them said, "Inoue Shinoda. Kiri spy. Your companion who was tasked to assassinate Kakashi has already been eliminated by the Anbu. Do you want us to kill you here, or will you cooperate and come with us for interrogation?"

"Did he fail? As expected…"

A hint of desolation showed in Shinoda's eyes.

He was only a chunin, and to be surrounded by several jonins…

Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, Shinoda's hands powerlessly fell to his sides, the blade dropping to the ground.

In the next instant, his vision went dark.

"What's going on? Why are they switching off the lights?"

Shwick

A kunai pierced through Shinoda's heart, causing blood to splatter. He fell to the ground, confusion filled in his eyes. In the last moments of his life, his vision gradually blurred. In the darkness, he vaguely saw a pair of bright three tomoe Sharingan.

Shwick

Shwick

Shwick

Stabbing several times, Tonan ensured his visitor was dead before turning the lights back on. The reason why his genjutsu was so strong was that he inherited his parents and his clansman's abilities. With this much chakra reserve, the room could be constructed in just a short amount of time.

It wasn't that Shinoda was unable to break his jutsu. It's just that as soon as Shinoda began circulating his chakra to do so, Tonan threw him off-guard giving him the illusion that he had returned to reality.

The sound of dripping water was merely a psychological trick. The tap was not dripping from the very beginning. And, at the very last moment, he performed the Hell Viewing Technique that dug out the deepest fears in a person's heart.

The last time Shinoda saw the dripping faucet, he was convinced he was out of the genjutsu.

Tonan went back to his bedroom and took out the only scroll in the house, enclosing the corpse into it. He then turned on the kitchen faucet, taking a wet rag to clean up the blood from the floor.

He also washed his hands and his kunai with soap to get rid of the odor.

After putting his blood-stained clothes into the washing machine, he changed into a fresh white shirt.

As for destroying the body, there was no need for that. Being someone on Sarutobi Hiruzen's side, he had nothing to fear as long as he didn't cross the line in Konoha.

Not to mention this was an enemy spy. He might even be rewarded for killing him.

It wasn't a ridiculous idea to be able to kill a chunin alone using genjutsu with his three tomoe Sharingan. There was nothing he had to hide. Of course, he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to. This guy had a companion. Once the interrogation department looks through his memories, everything will come to light.

Grabbing the scroll, Tonan headed for the Hokage Residence.

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Chapter 13: Handing Over Scroll; Showing Affection

Notes:

Hokage Residence is a large mansion occupied by the Hokage during their tenure and is located close to both the Academy and Hokage Rock.

Shinobi is synonymous with Ninja.

Over time, Kiri was known as the 'Village of the Bloody Mist' because, in the Kiri Academy, graduating students had to fight to the death. Only survivors could advance to ninja ranks.

Kumo is the hidden village in the Land of Lightning, one of the five great Shinobi countries of the Ninja World.

Wearing a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, Uchiha Tonan walked down the silent street with the scroll in his hand. He had barely moved a few steps when an Anbu appeared in front of him.

"Looks like you're safe. An enemy spy has appeared in the village. The situation is urgent, so please follow me to the Hokage Residence."

It was rare for the Anbu member to speak so much at once. His eyes also subconsciously fell on the scroll in Tonan's hands. He could guess what was in it.

For such a young ninja to be able to kill a chunin, he truly was a genius.

The Anbu was aware of Tonan's value in the Hokage's heart. Having guessed his strength now, he did his best to soften his tone while speaking to him.

Tonan nodded and responded with a serious expression, "I happened to be looking for Sandaime-sama as well. I'll be troubling you, then." He gave the Anbu a deep and polite bow.

Matched with how he was dressed, Tonan's appearance was courteous. One couldn't help but have a good impression of him. The Anbu nodded, and coming to Tonan's side, he grabbed his shoulders before leaving with the Body Flicker Technique.

At the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows were locked into a tight frown. With a pipe hanging off his lips, he paced about the room anxiously.

Every so often, his gaze would drift towards the crystal ball in the room, that was showing the situation at Tonan's home.

Hiruzen was resting at home when the Anbu urgently reported about an enemy spy breaking into the Hatake residence to assassinate Kakashi.

The spy did not expect Hatake Sakumo to have returned earlier that evening. Sakumo cut all four of the assassin's limbs the moment he stepped through the doorway.

The Kiri spy was then rushed over to the Konoha interrogation room by an Anbu before the information was extracted out of him through various methods.

As soon as the Anbu learned about a chunin spy targetting Tonan, one of them immediately left for Tonan's house while the other rushed over to the Sarutobi clan's territory.

Hiruzen used the crystal ball to observe the situation in Tonan's house once he was in office. But the ball could only view up to the boundary and not inside the residence.

This was also the reason why in his free time, Hiruzen could only peek at the open-air…

In fact, even before Hiruzen arrived at the Hokage Residence, Tonan had already left the Uchiha territory and was on his way.

"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Tonan is here."

Just as Hiruzen was feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, the Anbu's voice sounded beyond the door.

"Come in, quickly!"

Cree

The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open. He saw Tonan running in excitedly, looking straight at him with awe. Those eyes were filled with reverence and familiarity.

Hiruzen looked the boy up and down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no sign of injury on his person. He asked, "My child, are you alright?"

It was fortunate such an excellent and faithful tool was unharmed. It would have been a big loss otherwise.

When Tonan heard this, his eyes seemed visibly moved. He smiled, "Sandaime-sama, no need to worry about me. I've already killed the spy. My apologies your rest was disturbed for such a trivial matter."

Tonan bowed deeply before presenting the scroll to the Hokage. Taking it off his hands, Hiruzen was even more satisfied with the young Tonan.

He had unlocked his Sharingan's third tomoe only a short while ago and could already kill off a chunin by himself without prior preparation. His innate talent was simply fantastic.

A perfect tool.

"How did you manage to kill this Kiri chunin?" Hiruzen casually asked as he put the scroll down on his desk.

Succinctly recounting the affair, Tonan replied, "I confused him with genjutsu."

Hiruzen nodded. A three tomoe Sharingan genjutsu was indeed powerful. It appeared that Tonan's aptitude for this was particularly high.

Else, he wouldn't have been able to fight a chunin using genjutsu after having awakened the third tomoe only recently.

Hiruzen summoned an Anbu and passed the scroll to them. He returned to his seat and gestured for Tonan to sit across from him.

"Since you're fine, why don't you just stay here for a while? The Anbu is yet to fully ensure no fish has slipped our net. I'm very worried about your safety," Hiruzen said with an anxious look.

Tonan was hesitant. "But Sandaime-sama, it's already so late. If you don't go back and rest, how will you have the energy to work tomorrow?"

Hiruzen laughed and waved his hand, "I'm fine. You can rest here on my desk. You also have school tomorrow."

Tonan shook his head, and repeated, "No, Sandaime-sama. I've already rested enough. I think it's better if you go and rest for a while instead."

"But…" Hiruzen looked at the serious look on Tonan's face and nodded amiably. "Alright, then, I'll rest for a while. You should rest, too."

"Yes," only then did Tonan nod his head in agreement.

Sitting across from each other with a desk in between, Tonan watched Hiruzen closely. His stare made Hiruzen feel a little uneasy. Embarrassedly, he urged Tonan to rest soon before putting his head on the table, pretending to sleep.

After some time had passed, Tonan slowly got up and walked to the shelf. He picked up Hiruzen's Hokage robe and draped it gently over his shoulders.

Then, he returned to his seat with a resolute expression, prepared to defend against any unlikely attack.

"This little guy's not bad."

Tonan had already practiced these skills to perfection in his previous life. And, its effects were good. At the very least, it was very effective on Hiruzen.

Two hours later, Hiruzen pretended to have just woken up. Coincidentally, the Anbu also arrived right at that moment.

"Reporting to Hokage-sama, here is the report from the interrogation office."

He handed a scroll to the Hokage.

"To be able to extract information out of someone even after their death. Seems like I'll have to be cautious with whatever he does in the future."

Reminded of this technique, Tonan's mind was spinning, but the reverent expression on his face looking at Hiruzen did not change even for a second.

The Hokage opened the scroll and looked through it to make sure there were no other Kiri spies in the village before ordering, "Send Tonan back so he can have some rest. While you're at it, stay and watch over him in the shadows for a while."

"Yes."

Hearing this, Tonan stood up and bowed towards Hiruzen.

"I will take my leave then. Sandaime-sama, you should also hurry back and get some rest."

"Yes, yes. I'll go back and rest now." Hiruzen saw the boy off with a smile.

After Tonan left, the smile on Hiruzen's face disappeared. He walked to the window, looking into the distance, and said to himself, "They're even tossing away their spies now? Looks like this war is really coming to an end."

It was already Year 42 in Konoha. Five years had passed since the Second Shinobi War.

Ever since the Kumo shinobi infiltrated into Konoha to kidnap Uzumaki Kushina, several other shinobi villages had been making moves in the shadows again.

Many wars had broken out in the small buffer states between the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

In particular, after the implementation of the Bloody Mist policy in Kiri, it was like the entire village had become manic. They continually harassed the buffer states bordering the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.

But after years of fighting, it finally was time for Kiri to stop as well.

Otherwise, sparks would fly. It wouldn't take too long then for the Third Great Shinobi War to happen.

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Chapter 14: Establishing Public Persona, War Ends

The next day, Uchiha Tonan arrived at the Ninja Academy, wearing a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses. Although someone attempted to assassinate him yesterday, he also received a very useful piece of information.

Hatake Sakumo was back.

In other words, his next target had appeared. Sakumo committed suicide in Konoha when he was 44 years old. There was over a year left for this. As long as he gained Sakumo's acknowledgment, Tonan was confident of surviving the dangerous Third Great Shinobi War after Sakumo's death.

How many chunin parents would have to be sacrificed to attain a kage-leveled powerhouse's abilities? As soon as he stepped foot in the classroom, Tonan attracted the female students' gaze.

The classroom was filled with love-struck exclamations. It had to be said that Uchihas had good genes. In terms of appearance, they were rarely inferior to others.

Obito was perhaps the only exception.

The reason why Tonan did not attract such amorous reactions in the past was that his simple clothes failed to highlight his best qualities.

In fact, according to his true character, he didn't want to be so high-profile. However, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He must establish a public persona.

When an average person suddenly obtains formidable power, some changes would come about. For instance, among the Uchihas many were innocent and polite in their childhood, but once they became stronger, they would consider themselves very important. Inadvertently, they would become arrogant and haughty.

Tonan couldn't use these characteristics as his public persona though. A deeply brainwashed person who stood on Sandaime Hokage's side must be different from other clan members to some extent. It would be best if he ran in the opposite direction. Gentle, refined, elegant, cultured, and easygoing personas were the most suitable.

Any character was manifested through appearance, words, and actions. The appearance was the most important among these. The first impression tends to set the label.

"Everyone, good morning."

Tonan greeted the female classmates, whose eyes had turned into hearts, with a modest smile. He walked to his seat with a calm look and casually unbuttoned his collar.

Gudong

The classroom was filled with gulping sounds.

"Do all children mature so early in this world?"

Tonan thought this but his expression didn't change. Treating everyone around as air, he browsed through the textbook, preparing for class. His eyes were focused and serious.

This pose increased Tonan's charm by several levels.

'Ding! Gained Hyuga Chiryo's acknowledgment.'

Suddenly, the prompt woke Tonan up, and a small arc appeared on the corners of his mouth.

"Sure enough, this works. Gaining emotional acknowledgment by relying on my charm is also a good way."

Tonan turned his head and looked behind him. He saw a little girl wearing a white dress secretly observing him, using her textbook as cover.

Seeing Tonan turn in her direction, she quickly covered her face with the textbook, much like a frightened rabbit.

"He's looking… he seems to be smiling at me…"

Tonan sized up the nervous Chiryo, and then retracted his gaze.

"Hyuga Chiryo… There is no such name in my memory. She's either a short-lived person or she got married after growing up and stopped working as a ninja. But then again, most of the people here should have died in the Third Great Shinobi War."

Tonan remembered the war's cruelty in the original work. Konoha was beaten to the doorstep, and as long as one was a ninja, they would be dragged to the battlefield to be cannon fodder.

"There are still a few years left. I hope you all will learn more ninjutsu and cultivate chakra before you die."

Tonan had such thoughts. At this time, a white pigeon flew over from the horizon and landed on his desk. Tonan gently caressed its head, and the pigeon rubbed its head against Tonan's hand as if it was enjoying it.

Under the sunlight, the scene looked very warm.

"Small animals like to get close to Tonan."

"He's so gentle~"

"I used to think that he was also stupid like Obito, but I didn't expect him to be so virtuous."

……

The girls huddled and chatted in whispers.

'Ding! Gained Matsushima Mai's acknowledgment.'

'Ding! Gained Uchiha Mina's acknowledgment.'

'Ding! Gained Inuzuka Gabi's acknowledgment.'

'Ding! Gained Aburame Kaede's acknowledgment.'

Tonan heard the system's prompts and glanced at them.

"Maybe I can become a scumbag. If I create my harem and give birth to a bunch of Uchiha cubs, my children would naturally acknowledge me. Then I can train them well and pinch them to death…"

"Cough, cough, even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. That's too inhumane. Besides, time is pressing. Even the Fourth Great Shinobi War is just twenty or so years away. And I'm six years old right now. Even if I got married and had kids at ten, my children will still be too young to be useful by then."

Tonan discarded these unrealistic thoughts. He gently patted the pigeon's head, which then flapped its wings and flew away.

"Did the Anbu come to take my diary again? Hiruzen, a person like you who peeks into others' personal lives will not meet a good end."

At this moment, Umino Naoto walked into the classroom. All students hastily returned to their seats and sat properly. Looking excited, Naoto said, "I have a piece of good news for everyone. The war between Konoha and Kiri is over. And to celebrate the peace, the academy has decided to give everyone three days off."

"That's great!"

"It's a vacation."

"We can go to play."

"Also, the remains of the deceased heroes have been brought back from the frontlines. They will be buried in the morning, the day after tomorrow."

While speaking, Naoto's gaze moved towards Tonan. At this moment, the latter had put on a perfect taciturn look, as if he was inwardly sad.

"Their names will be etched on the memorial stone to be revered by later generations. Konoha will never forget them."

Naoto's tone was solemn. He took a deep breath, trying to smile at the extremely excited students below, and said, "Therefore, there are no classes today."

"Dash, let's go to play."

"Yuuta, wait for me…"

"Kakashi, do you want to burn your youth with me?"

"No thanks."

Kakashi simply declined Maito Gai's invitation, got up, and walked towards the classroom door. As he passed by Tonan, his steps slowed down and he said lightly, "Do you want to practice with me?"

Tonan raised his head and gave Kakashi a lonely look. He took a deep breath, smiled, and said, "Of course, I would want to. Father and mother wanted me to become an outstanding ninja. I'll try my best to catch up to you."

The corners of Kakashi's mouth that were hidden behind the mask slightly rose, but he pretended to be his lazy, careless self. Walking away, he said, "I hope you have gotten stronger to some extent."

In Kakashi's view, although Tonan had awakened three tomoe Sharingan, he was still not his opponent. This was because Tonan kept losing intentionally during several training matches. Only if he kept losing to Kakashi, he would have reason to visit his house every day.

After all, if he could beat Kakashi every time and still wanted to go over to his house daily, that wouldn't be exchanging pointers for training. That would be showing off strength and bullying others.

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Chapter 15, Mourning Parents' Death, Heart-Wrenching Act

Notes:

Byakugan, literally meaning White Eye, is one of the three great visual jutsu, the others being Sharingan and Rinnegan.

Two days later, the frontline combatants returned. The first thing they did was bury those who died. Under Sarutobi Hiruzen's leadership, the Uchiha clan members accounted for one-third of the dead in the war with Kiri.

The remaining casualties comprised various support and a large number of cannon fodder shinobi. The bodies of the fallen were covered with white cloth and placed on the turf.

Their relatives came to bid their final farewells.

"Father, don't go!"

"Brother, Brother…"

"Rest in peace. I'll take good care of your wife."

…

Heart-rending cries rang out all around. Tonan tied a white cloth around his forehead and knelt in front of Kotoura and Nanako's remains, a dim expression on his face.

The key to a crying scene was not the tears, but convincing others that you were suffering in agonizing grief.

Howling and mourning wouldn't make you stand out. Sadness must be presented with calmness, and then complemented by contrasting expressions at the right moments.

Tonan placed the cups he prepared in front of Kotoura and Nanako's bodies. Sake and tea were poured into the cups respectively. The tea was brewed strong, and the sake he chose was the most fragrant kind.

In an instant, the aroma of the sake and tea filled the air, drawing people's attention. "Father dear, you had a sharp tongue, but I knew you had a soft heart. You never spoke a single kind word to me, but I knew you gave up a lot for my sake."

Tonan looked at the remains of his parents, and as happy memories passed through his eyes, he said in a calm voice, "I was so nervous on the shinobi entrance exam day. You had a cold face and told me I was worthless. You told me not to disgrace you and the clan. But I knew that you were more nervous than me, your palms were covered in sweat."

"The sun was so strong that day. I was taking the exam in the classroom but you stood outside waiting for me the whole time. When I told you I'd passed, all you said was 'not bad'. But you drank three jars of sake that night when you would usually drink just one cup. You said that ninja must stay sober at all times, but you got drunk that day."

"My grades were always bad, and you would reprimand me every day. But you would also lead me by the hand to teach me how to refine chakra and throw kunai. Work was already hard on you, but you still stayed up late with me."

"You told me that ninja improve strength in danger, so you were just setting an example for a worthless son like me. You gave up your secure position in the police force and chose to fight on the frontlines. You said that you would teach me the Phoenix Sage Fire technique if my skills weren't the worst by the time you returned."

Speaking up to this point, a stiff smile spread across Tonan's face as he said senselessly.

"Now, not only have I unlocked the three tomoe, but I also secretly learned the Phoenix Sage Fire technique, so that I could surprise you when you returned."

By this point, Tonan's voice became hoarse. He was holding back his grief, yet he kept smiling on the surface. Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes. Wiping it off, he stood up and began forming hand seals.

The people around him shifted their gaze towards him. His hands moved so fast, it only left afterimages behind, and he quickly finished the last seal.

"Fire Style – Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."

A loud and hoarse shout followed. Several fire serpents shot out from Tonan's mouth towards the sky, colliding together. The commotion diverted people's attention to him.

After the Phoenix Sage Fire technique was completed, Tonan's hands weakly fell to his side, and he spoke with a dejected expression, "I won't ever get to hear you call me trash again, so let me have my first and final drink with you.

Tonan raised his head and downed the bottle of sake. Tears and liquor streaks met at his chin before flowing down his neck, soaking his shirt. Those who came to mourn were moved. Even those who were crying their hearts out earlier felt their loss was nothing compared to Tonan's.

Uchiha Fugaku was standing among the mourners. At this moment, he too was also looking at Tonan. He said, "To think the clan actually produced such a genius and even one that cherished his family so much. He should've received the clan's nurture and care, but his heart went with the Hokage instead."

The more Fugaku spoke, the worse his expression became. He was unhappy with the senior clan members' behavior.

The Great Elder beside him watched Tonan's performance with a deep gaze and whispered, "Don't let his looks throw dust in your eyes. This boy's abilities are far above ordinary men's. If he can be nurtured, he can lead Uchiha back to the war days' glory."

Fugaku looked at the Great Elder with surprise. He moved his gaze back at Tonan, observing the boy more carefully this time. He said with doubt, "But when I'd just returned, I heard some clan members talk about him. They mentioned he…"

The Great Elder smiled and patted Fugaku's shoulder. He said, "Don't mind what they say, Fugaku. You'll see for yourself in the future."

Fugaku nodded. He chose to believe the highly revered Great Elder's words. The Elder always had a good eye for people.

Tonan's performance was not over yet. After all, both his parents had died, he couldn't generously pour his emotions only to his father. It was his mother's turn now.

"Dear Mother, you've always…"

Kakashi and Sakumo stood a short distance away, watching Tonan quietly.

"Kakashi, Tonan is a trustworthy companion. You should cherish this bond."

"I understand," Kakashi answered curtly, pretending to not care, but his eyes that were looking at Tonan showed his worry.

'Ding! Achieved Hatake Kakashi's acknowledgment.'

Tonan, who was deep in his act, suddenly jerked. Kakashi? He had a long life, but his strength in the later stages was only so-so. He wasn't a good target. What was he even worth?

Tonan shook his head inwardly. To him, Kakashi was no different from bland food. But he had no idea when he might obtain Sakumo's recognition.

There were only a dozen or so people where the Hyuga clan's fallen members were placed. Hyuga Chiryo was kneeling in front of a body, her eyes lost in thought.

Since she was far from the center, she hadn't seen Tonan's act. Her father was a scout shinobi who died on the battlefield at the very beginning of the war. But till now, no one informed her.

Chiryo's father, a special genin, wasn't very talented. The Hyuga clan would not send their elite to a war of this small scale. Instead, they would toss out the cannon fodder like her father to serve as scouts.

"The strong ones from the main house enjoy a comfortable life, while the weak in the branch houses are sent to die. Why protect such a dirty clan?"

Chiryo muttered with her head down. Reaching through the long bangs covering her forehead, she gently touched the caged bird mark. A frenzied glint emerged in her eyes, bereft of any of her former pity and tenderness.

In the next moment, blue veins bulged on her face. She had awakened her Byakugan but no one noticed this because the view was blocked.

After the burial, all the ninja who participated in the war and the relatives of the fallen came to the memorial. Hiruzen, dressed in his Hokage cloak, began his condolence speech.

"Where leaves flutter, embers keep on burning…"

Everyone had long become sick of this speech, but for their status' sake, they could only bow their heads in silence. Halfway through the speech, Hiruzen suddenly switched to a new subject.

"Three Hokage have existed in Konoha since its founding. The Will of Fire has also changed according to the changing times. To sum it up, the core idea of the Will of Fire remains the same, but the focus for each era evolves."

"I've summarized the focus of these three eras. The focus of the first generation Will of Fire was unity…"

Tonan, who was standing at the back behind the Uchiha clan, watched Hiruzen with excitement and admiration as the man spoke eloquently on the stage.

The contents of Hiruzen's speech came from Tonan's diary. Not only were the main points copied, but even the minor details were plagiarized. Even so, the people gradually became absorbed in his speech.

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Chapter 16: Upright Refusal, Practicing Sword Technique

Notes:

Kamui is a space time ninjutsu that can be used with the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The speech continued until evening. For the whole duration, Uchiha Tonan's emotional control was satisfactory. He was fairly successful in setting up the desired public persona.

This was also because Tonan's parents did not have any close friends. If they did, seeing his performance right now, they would have acknowledged him immediately.

Thinking about this, Tonan could only secretly disapprove of them. Poor strength and even worse relationships, they truly were failures in life.

The next day, Tonan dressed in a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses and came to Kakashi's house early in the morning. Even from a distance, through the white pigeon ninja beast, he had seen Kakashi standing at the doorway, looking towards the intersection.

However, when he appeared, Kakashi pretended to be sleepy, glanced casually at him, and then stared at the rising sun.

As if the newly rising sun was the most beautiful thing, asking to be treated me his closest partner.

If the story's trajectory didn't change, Kakashi attained the Kamui Sharingan, and then died when Nagato, also known as Pain, launched a surprise attack on Konoha.

"Wouldn't that give me…"

Kamui was a good technique. It could greatly improve Tonan's life-saving ability. Looking at it this way, Tonan thought Kakashi was not so worthless after all.

He looked at Kakashi with a warm gaze, and a small smile appeared on his face. Kakashi saw Tonan looking at him 'affectionately' from the corner of his eye.

The corners of his mouth hidden behind the mask unconsciously rose as well, but his tone was indifferent as he said, "You came so early."

Tonan retracted his smile. Under the sunlight, he looked very gentle as he said, "At my parents' graves yesterday, I took an oath to work hard and become their pride. And father taught me that an upright person does what he says."

Kakashi nodded and led Tonan to the courtyard.

Pointing at Tonan's gold-rimmed glasses, like he was making idle conversation, he asked, "I've been meaning to ask you, is something wrong with your eyes? Why are you wearing glasses?"

Tonan pushed his glasses up with his two fingers and explained, "I've been reading and summarizing concepts and knowledge of the three Hokage-sama every night. And perhaps, the lighting in my home is too dim, my eyes have become a little short-sighted."

Kakashi frowned a little hearing this and asked, "Does it affect you?" His words were full of undisguised concern.

Tonan smiled, and said, "In a battle, it doesn't matter much. As soon as I activate the Sharingan, the short-sightedness disappears. Thank you for your concern, Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyebrows loosened. Realizing he broke his nonchalant character right now, he turned to the other side, and said, "I was not concerned about you."

A light breeze accompanied a tintinnabulation coming from the wind chime under the eaves.

"Tonan-kun is here."

Hatake Sakumo was wearing baggy casual clothes with a tanto hanging on his waist. He sat cross-legged in front of the door and greeted Tonan with a smile. Tonan quickly placed his hands on his knees, bowed deeply, and respectfully said, "White Fang-sama, I'm extremely sorry to disturb your rest so early in the morning."

Sakumo put on no airs. He waved his hand and said, "I'm not disturbed at all, I'm very happy that you've become Kakashi's partner. I also want to thank you for urging Kakashi to train when I wasn't home."

Sakumo noticed that Tonan was staring at his tanto.

"Tonan-kun, do you like sword techniques?"

"I understand them just a little," Tonan said, adjusting his glasses.

Sakumo took off the short sword, stroked it, and said, "If you like, I can teach you the Hatake Style Sword Technique."

Tonan shook his head and said solemnly, "No, one must not accept undeserved emolument. More importantly, from the name alone, this technique must have been handed down in your family. I don't think it should be shared with an outsider like me."

Hearing Tonan's righteous answer, Sakumo appreciated the kid's personality even more, and said, "You are very talented, and you have such a good relationship with Kakashi. I don't mind passing this technique to you. After you learn this, combining it with your Sharingan's dynamic vision, you will definitely become much stronger."

Tonan, however, firmly shook his head again and refused, "I'm sincerely grateful for your kind thoughts but I still can't accept it. As an Uchiha, I already possess the Sharingan. I should focus on developing dojutsu, which is the most suitable training path for me."

He was not only able to resist the allure of the Hatake Style Sword Technique, but also discern a clear path for himself.

"What a good child! Kakashi is lucky to have such a partner."

Sakumo liked Tonan more and more, and he compromised, "I won't teach you the quintessence of the technique, but just some basic sword skills. Then you can practice better with Kakashi. This will help improve his sword techniques as well. What do you think?"

All this while, Kakashi was also looking at Tonan. This was was a person he acknowledged. Although this technique was precious, it obviously couldn't compare to Tonan's place in his heart. Kakashi didn't mind Tonan learning his family's trademark technique. He even wanted to do more to improve Tonan's strength to some extent.

Looking at Sakumo's kindness and Kakashi's eager gaze, Tonan reluctantly agreed, "Fine, many thanks, White Fang-sama."

Learning the Hatake Style Sword Technique now was also a good idea. After Sakumo's death, he could freely use it without arousing anyone's suspicion. Of course, by that time, he might be better at the technique than Sakumo himself.

"Both of you come with me."

Now that Tonan was onboard, Sakumo led the two kids to the backyard to start teaching the sword techniques. This was a first for Kakashi as well.

Sakumo gave them both a short wooden sword and began to teach from the very beginning.

"The Hatake Style Sword Technique originated from the ancient samurai, and it's divided into three steps. The first step is to learn the basics of slashing. This process requires intense training to turn the sword into an extension of your limbs."

"The second step is to learn various confrontation skills, and use your sword to deal with different kinds of enemies. This requires actual combat training. The third step is the quintessence of this technique, using chakra to strengthen the sword…"

Sakumo was in the process of explaining when Tonan interrupted him and solemnly said, "White Fang-sama, you don't need to tell me about the third step. Please teach it to Kakashi when you are alone."

Sakumu paused, nodded, and said, "Alright."

"What an upright young fellow."

He showed a hint of admiration when looking at Tonan. "Let's look at how to slash first. In the future, you two need to continuously repeat this action until it turns into instinct."

Sakumo demonstrated slashing the wooden stake. Tonan had already activated the Sharingan and captured his movements. Sakumo caught a glimpse of the rapidly moving tomoe in Tonan's eyes, and couldn't help praising it in his heart.

Sharingan is truly a powerful dojutsu, at least, in terms of learning basic things, Tonan was far ahead of his peers.

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Chapter 17: Sharing Goodwill, Bumping Into Mina

Uchiha Tonan returned exhausted after a day of practicing sword techniques at the Hatake household. Just as soon as he reached outside the clan's territory, he saw Umino Naoto standing at the road outside, waiting for him.

"Tonan!" Naoto waved at him, and explained while handing him an envelope, "This is the death benefit from the village, as well as a bonus for taking out a spy. Hokage-sama has been very busy, so he asked me to bring this to you instead."

Tonan accepted the envelope and bowed to Naoto without even looking at him. "Sorry for troubling you to come all this way, Naoto-sensei."

Naoto scratched his head and gave his student a warm smile. "Don't worry, it's no trouble at all. You, on the other hand… it really was something to take down a shinobi spy all by yourself, Tonan."

"It was no big deal." Tonan shook his head.

Naoto was happy with Tonan's behavior but also very concerned. He asked, "You look tired. Did you just come back from training?"

Tonan nodded, and said, "Yes, I was fortunate enough to get some pointers from Sakumo-sama. It was a rewarding session."

"Konoha's White Fang? To receive even his recognition, Tonan's aptitude may be greater than I expected."

At this thought, Naoto added, "It's good to work hard, but you must also remember to relax. I won't hold you any longer. Go and rest, I'll see you at the academy tomorrow."

"Thank you, Naoto-sensei. Goodbye."

Naoto turned and left. After walking down half a block, he turned around and saw Tonan still standing at the same spot, seeing him off. He couldn't help but feel touched.

"I never thought I'd get to teach such a talented student with such a fine character."

"You should go back now!" Naoto shouted from a distance. But Tonan did not respond. He just smiled at him.

Once Naoto was out of sight, he finally went into the clan grounds.

Uchiha guards were patrolling the perimeter. They all nodded their heads kindly when they saw Tonan, and he returned the gesture with a smile.

No matter which world one was in, that was just how things go.

As soon as he returned home, Tonan saw the Great Elder standing at his courtyard's entrance. He had clearly been waiting there for long.

"Tonan. You're back," the Great Elder greeted Tonan first.

With both hands on his knees, Tonan bowed respectfully to him, and said, "Greetings, Great Elder."

The Great Elder waved his hand with a smile and shoved a thick envelope into Tonan's hand.

"We're all family. There's no need for formalities. I'm here today to hand you the pension for your parents' demise and your living expenses for this month."

Tonan covertly squeezed the envelope. The Great Elder's generosity was much thicker than Sarutobi Hiruzen's.

Then, with a puzzled expression, he asked, "But hasn't Hokage-sama handed out the compensation already?"

The Great Elder shot him a meaningful look.

"Hokage-sama represents the village but the Uchiha clan treats our clan members equally. Now that you're orphaned, you'll receive an appropriate amount of living expenses each month. If you face any problems, you can come to either me or the clan leader. Clan members are family. We will do our utmost to help as best as we can."

After saying this, he patted Tonan's shoulder, and without any further explanations or actions, he turned around and left. This was a clever move.

At least it was, in most cases. For Tonan, though, who had seen the ways of the world, it was too naive. This was the trick to giving a gift. Once your goodwill was received, it needed time to ferment. If you stayed around and spoke meaninglessly, people would know you had ulterior motives.

Once Tonan returned home, he took the money out of both envelopes and put it into the safe. It seemed like he had become hot property.

The compensation Hiruzen gave him was already way over the limit. There was no way the amount could be this high for two mere genin and for killing a spy. The Great Elder was even more generous, giving almost twice that of what Hiruzen did.

Tonan guessed the Great Elder did not initially plan this much. He must have noticed Naoto outside the clan's territory, and gauging by the envelope's thickness, he must have guessed the approximate amount and then doubled his compensation.

This worked well for Tonan.

For the death of two genin parents, the compensation he received was equal to two jonin. Now that he had the money, he could raise a few more white pigeon ninja beasts. Until the Third Shinobi World War began, he wouldn't have to worry about running out of money.

The next day, Tonan went out as usual and headed to the academy. But before he could leave the clan grounds, he bumped into a classmate.

Uchiha Mina.

Mina looked at him in surprise, and greeted, "Tonan-kun, what a coincidence."

"Yes, what a coincidence," Tonan said, as a gentle smile appeared on his face.

The two of them walked to the academy side by side.

Mina didn't know Tonan was aware this was no coincidence. He had seen the sneaky way she had been lingering around this road with his white pigeons. But he continued with the charade. After all, there was a high probability she would become ration for him in the future. He should show care to his rations.

Tonan was reminded that Mina wasn't the only classmate he had. If he didn't manage to get Hatake Sakumo's acknowledgment, then he would be left in a dangerous position. These provisions might play a key role then.

Especially Mina. For a small-timer who'd never even been heard of in the previous timeline, she was basically set up for death. And, she was an Uchiha. If she could become stronger, then…

If he did it right, and if he were lucky, then he might be able to get her to awaken a three tomoe Sharingan. That would help him with his Mangekyou.

Tonan's eyes lit up as he looked towards Mina. She was looking ahead but was in fact stealing glances at him. When she saw Tonan looking at her, she couldn't help her heart from racing.

"Tonan-kun, what's wrong?"

As soon as the question left her lips, she immediately wanted to slap herself.

"How could I ask him that? Won't he feel embarrassed? What if he just started liking me? Wouldn't he stop if I asked him that?"

"You're different from the other clan members, Mina." An old veteran like Tonan had thicker skin than ordinary people, so, of course, he was not embarrassed.

"Really? What's different about me?" Mina felt fuzzy inside, a hint of blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Other than Obito, the other clan members I've met are all… too arrogant. You're different. I knew you have a lively personality but I didn't expect you to have such a cute side as well."

Tonan spoke lightly with a smile as if he were merely stating a fact without any intention of flattering her. The two of them chatted as they walked.

Just like the young couple in the previous life.

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Chapter 18: Hyuga Chiryo, Dinner Invitation

In the classroom, because of her father's death, Hyuga Chiryo sat alone in her seat, looking depressed. There were several male classmates gathered at one side, playing boisterously, who would often peek at Chiryo.

These boys' puppy love was secretive but obvious. In these students' impressions, Chiryo was gentle and delicate, a temperament that stimulated the young boys' protective desire.

Although she was sitting on her desk, feeling at a loss, her eyes often glanced towards the classroom door.

"I heard Tonan-kun's parents also died on the battlefield. He is an orphan like me. We are the same…"

Bang.

Two boys who were making a ruckus fell on the ground, one holding the other down.

"Do you give up or not?"

"No."

"Give up or not?"

"Chiryo, Asuma said he likes you."

"I… no… I didn't… I…"

Asuma immediately got up and looked at Chiryo, not knowing what to do. She gave him one glance and buried her head in her arms.

"She is shy… does she like me too?"

Asuma stood there in a daze, letting his imagination run wild.

"When our son grows up and awakens the Byakugan, should he belong to the Sarutobi clan or Hyuga?"

Just at this time, Tonan and Mina walked in, side by side. A sudden hush spread across the classroom, and after a short pause, erupted into roars. The boys were hooting as if the two had just gotten married.

Mina had no intention to refute. She just shyly lowered her head. This gave everyone, even the ones who were teasing casually, the impression that the two genuinely had an affair.

Tonan smiled warmly, neither admitting nor denying as well, and greeted everyone, "Good morning, everyone."

Amid the hullabaloo, only Chiryo stared fixedly at the duo. Her hands clenched tightly, and she was screaming in her heart.

"No, Tonan-kun and I are the same. He can only be mine. He hasn't admitted to anything, he doesn't have any feelings for Mina. And Mina you, if you dare to rob my Tonan-kun…"

Ferociousness flashed in her eyes, and it just happened to be caught by Asuma, who had been staring at her.

"Chiryo, what's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"Could it be that you don't agree with our son belonging to the Sarutobi clan?"

The morning passed by quickly. In almost every break, Mina took the initiative to come over and chat with Tonan. Sitting at the back, Chiryo stared at them every time. It was as though someone was taking something that belonged with her.

Only in the break before the last afternoon class, Mina did not come over. Tonan was not interested in playing with his classmates. He would rather sit on his seat and study theory lessons of the higher grades.

Suddenly, a figure appeared beside him. Holding a book in her hands, Chiryo was nervously looking at Tonan, and said, "Tonan-kun, I didn't understand what sensei taught in the previous class. Will you explain it to me, please?"

"Classmates are supposed to help each other. Come, sit down." Tonan smiled and patted the seat beside him.

Chiryo nodded and took the place. Tonan slightly leaned over and helped her open the book. She could smell the faint soap scent coming from his shirt and her mind instantly buzzed.

"In the previous class, sensei talked about placement methods for explosive tags and how to activate them remotely. Tell me what part you didn't understand?" Tonan's gentle voice pulled her back to reality.

But she was completely distracted just now and had not heard a word of what he said. She stammered, "I… I…"

"There's nothing to be ashamed about. Don't you understand any of it?" Tonan leaned closer, pointing at the book's content, and said, "It doesn't matter. I will tell you from the beginning. If you don't understand, I can repeat it. Don't worry about me. Just tell me if something is confusing."

"Mmm," Chiryo murmured an assent, her face red like a ripe persimmon.

"The essence of explosive tags… the effect of moisture on explosive tags…"

Behind those two, Mina watched this scene with anger, secretly clenching her fists.

"Despicable! This bitch pretends to be weak and delicate usually, but now, she dares to seduce Tonan-kun. He is pure-hearted. But if I create a fuss now, he will think I'm causing trouble. I have to stay calm. He doesn't like violent and haughty girls. I almost fell into this bitch's plot."

After a while, the class bell rang.

Tonan turned his head slightly and said to Chiryo, "The last class is starting soon. I can only teach you tomorrow now."

Chiryo looked at Tonan's star-like bright eyes. Half-infatuated and half-intoxicated, she said, "Thank you, may I treat you to a meal to show my gratitude?"

Tonan paused, and said with a bright smile, "But I'm going to Kakashi's house to train with him after school. I might be a little late for dinner."

"No problem, I will wait for you."

"Fine then, but even without this, you don't need to feel you owe me anything."

"I just want to thank you. What does Tonan-kun want to eat?"

"I eat everything. Why don't we eat ramen? It's economical and delicious."

"Alright," Chiryo nodded, took her books, and got up to leave.

Just as she turned around, she saw Mina standing behind. Mina had no expressions on her face but her gaze was one that only women could understand. Chiryo understood it instantly. Mina was warning her.

With Tonan present here, both of them had to keep their calm. But that did not stop them from silently clashing with their eyes.

Mina returned to her seat. She had heard Chiryo's dinner invitation, and couldn't wait to teach her a profound lesson.

After school, Mina wanted to ask Tonan to return home together but Kakashi destroyed her plans.

"Are you coming with me, or…" Kakashi gestured lazily with his head. Although he had not paid attention to what happened today, he had still observed a few things.

Kakashi felt Tonan was being amicable with his classmates. Those girls were pestering him on their own accord. Because he had his share of similar experience, which annoyed him very much, he felt Tonan should be in the same situation.

Therefore, the question was just rhetorical.

"Of course, I'll come to your house to practice. Where else could I go?" Tonan pretended to be puzzled as he asked.

Kakashi nodded hearing this, and the two of them left the classroom, side by side.

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Chapter 19: Catfight, Fragile Acts Exposed

After school, Hyuga Chiryo dashed home. After all, she was going out on a date with Tonan, she had to dress up. Uchiha Mina, meanwhile, went to the ramen shop, where this date was to take place and lay in wait. She was going to teach Chiryo a lesson.

In the blink of an eye, it was evening.

At Kakashi's home.

Tonan's three tomoe turned in his eyes. Suddenly leaping, he nimbly dodged a hand reaching out under his feet. He pretended to gasp on the surface as he looked at Kakashi who had emerged from the ground.

"Kakashi! Your Double Suicide Decapitation Technique is getting better. I almost couldn't dodge it."

Even though the two of them were sparring with the Hatake clan's sword techniques using wooden swords, as shinobi, nothing restricted them from using ninjutsu during these sessions.

Tonan humbly smiled, and continued, "Compared to you, I'm much worse. Other than the Sharingan, I have got nothing. Let's stop here today though. I've promised Chiryo I'd have dinner with her."

Kakashi nodded and walked Tonan out. After leaving the Hatake household, Tonan headed for the rendezvous point at the ramen shop. A few white pigeons, perched in the bushes not far away, took flight and began scouting the route for him.

There was hardly any danger in Konoha, much less during the day. But Tonan never had much sense of security. These white pigeons were therefore rarely idle.

Chiryo was walking along a shopping street with great anticipation. At home, she took a good bath before changing into a pair of new clothes.

Her pace was slow. This was a road that one had to take while walking from Kakashi's home to the ramen shop. She could run into Tonan here. As a girl, if she went to the ramen shop too early and waited alone, people might gossip about her.

"The best way is to enter the shop together with Tonan-kun."

These were her thoughts. However, just as she reached the street's corner, a thin hand emerged beside her and pulled the confused Chiryo into the alley.

Thud.

Caught off guard, Chiryo lost her balance and fell to the ground. Her new clothes were soiled. While she turned an annoyed gaze at her approacher, a kunai was pointed at her neck. When she finally saw her attacker, it was Mina.

"What're you doing?!" Chiryo furiously asked her.

"Stay away from Tonan-kun."

Chiryo was about to snap at her when she thought of something.

"Tonan-kun should be arriving here. He might pass by this alley any second."

Then…

In the next instant, Chiryo put away her anger and meekly said.

"How can you do this? We're classmates!"

"Put that disgusting look away. Only Tonan-kun is pure enough to be deceived by this. A mere Hyuga bitch like you thinks you can seduce an Uchiha genius? Who gave you that confidence? Why don't you take a good look at yourself?"

"You are going too far!"

"You really think I won't dare to kill you?" Mina pressed the kunai in her hand, just a little more pressure would pierce Chiryo's skin. A white pigeon just happened to fly overhead right then.

By this time, Tonan had arrived at the street's corner. He stopped in place. Through the shared vision with the white pigeon, he could see everything happening inside the alley. Were his two rations getting jealous of each other?

He stroked his chin and began wondering whether he should go and save the day.

Hyuga Chiryo, Uchiha Mina.

Byakugan, Sharingan.

There seems to be no way of fusing the Sharingan with the Byakugan, so Chiryo wasn't very useful.

On the other hand, if Mina were nurtured, there was no saying she wouldn't be able to awaken her three tomoe before the Third Great Shinobi War. Then, she can become a tribute to his power.

Since Chiryo wasn't useful, then who cares? It doesn't matter if she died.

After making his decision, Tonan turned around and walked towards another road, taking a detour to the ramen shop.

Meanwhile in the alley, faced with Mina's threat, Chiryo cowered like a little kitten being bullied.

"Mina, I just wanted to thank Tonan-kun for helping me with my homework. I don't have any other thoughts about him," Chiryo insisted, wiping her tears.

Mina frowned and put her kunai away.

"Was I overthinking it? Is this bitch faking? Does such an innocent and gentle person really exist in this world?"

Even though Mina was convinced that Chiryo was feigning innocence, what was the point of her continuing the act under such a situation?

"Fine. Promise me that you won't ever speak to Tonan-kun again."

Mina's voice was laced with threat. After all, she had true Uchiha blood in her veins. Even though she was female, her personality was not very different from her clan members.

She acted docile in front of Tonan, but when it came to the same sex, she retained her intimidating character.

Chiryo timidly raised her head to look at the sky, then at the entrance of the alleyway.

"Tonan-kun has still not passed by. Does that mean he took another route?"

The frail look in Chiryo's eyes disappeared as she slowly stood up.

"Why are you getting up? Answer me!"

In the next instant.

Bam!

Chiryo's palm hit Mina right in the chest, slamming her into the wall.

Mina felt a sharp pain where she was hit but her chakra pathways were blocked with the attack, completely restraining her. Her kunai also dropped to the ground during the impact.

She raised her head with an incredulous look at Chiryo, who was slowly approaching her.

"How could you possibly…"

Mina saw the coldness in Chiryo's eyes, the veins around which were bulging, as she crouched down to pick up the kunai. Holding the kunai backward, she pressed the tip of the blade against Mina's chin. Moving closer to her ear, she said in a cold voice, "Tonan-kun is mine. If you dare have any funny thoughts about him, I'll kill you."

Chiryo released the kunai, letting it fall to the ground. After patting the dust off her body, she left the alley.

Inside the ramen shop, Tonan was at his seat, observing the situation in the alley. To be honest, he knew that both Mina and Chiryo liked him, so they were likely to put on an act in front of him. But he didn't expect Chiryo to be this good at acting. He always thought that she was like Hinata. However…

"Sure enough, the prettier the woman, the better they are at fooling others," Tonan muttered to himself. He was determined to be warier around women of this world in the future.

Since she was able to fool him, he had to go back and review the 'Essential Spy Disguise Techniques'.

"Tonan-kun, sorry for being late!"

Chiryo jogged to the ramen shop and stopped by Tonan's side, panting. Anyone who didn't know what just happened would think that her flushed cheeks were cute.

"Don't worry about it, I just arrived here myself. You should sit down and catch your breath."

Tonan stood up like a gentleman and put his hands on Chiryo's shoulders, helping her to the seat. Then he sat down next to her, lifted the pitcher, and leaned slightly closer to her to pour water in her cup.

Then, he thoughtfully said, "Don't rush to eat after a strenuous run. You should calm down with some water first."

"Tonan-kun…" Chiryo looked at Tonan with stars in her eyes.

This was no act, but a genuine expression of affection.

"You're mine. You can only belong to me."

The waiter at the ramen shop came over and asked, "What would you like to order?"

Tonan turned his head around and asked in a magnetic voice, "Chiryo, what do you want to eat?"

Looking at Tonan's eyes that were looking right back at her, and listening to his deep voice, Chiryo felt light-headed as if she was intoxicated.

"I…I'm fine with anything."

Tonan nodded.

"I've eaten here several times with my mother when I was younger, so I'll order for you."

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Chapter 20: Guiding Mina, The Power Of Love

The next day, Uchiha Tonan arrived at the academy early. He didn't meet Uchiha Mina along the way. Presumably, yesterday's face-off with Hyuga Chiryo dealt her confidence a huge blow.

But that had nothing to do with him. If possible, he hoped she would be shamed into training harder. It would be even better if she awakened the Sharingan.

He had barely entered the classroom when he saw Chiryo supporting her face with her hands and staring shyly at him. Tonan immediately nodded warmly at her.

Mina who was sitting at her desk saw this and gritted her teeth. She was trembling with anger. During the break after every class, Chiryo seized every chance to go over to Tonan's side and asked him to help with her schoolwork.

Tonan wouldn't refuse the approach of his ration. It seemed that in this love triangle, the other two considered him as the harmless prey. As for who was the game and who was the hunter, no one would know until the last moment.

After school, Chiryo had no reason to pester Tonan. After all, everyone knew that his time post-school belonged to Kakashi. But on the way to the Hatake household, Mina caught up with them.

"Tonan-kun!"

Tonan and Kakashi turned around at the same time.

"Mina, did you need something?" Tonan adjusted his glasses and asked gently. She took a deep breath, looked straight into his eyes, and said, "I want to become stronger, can you guide me in my training?"

"Troublesome." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and muttered. He then said to Tonan, "I'll go ahead to train and wait for you."

After Kakashi left, Tonan stared at Mina seriously and said, "We are all classmates. We should help each other. I'd be very happy to help you in your training."

Mina bowed and said, "Thank you, Tonan-kun."

Tonan nodded, then stroked his chin and said, "It's just that I have to practice with Kakashi every day after school. So, every day after dinner, I'll guide you for an hour at the clan's northern training ground. Does this work for you?"

Mina nodded and agreed.

"Alright then, I'll leave now. See you on the training grounds at night," Tonan turned around to leave.

But Mina called out to stop him. He paused and asked with a puzzled look, "Was there something else?"

"Do you like Chiryo?" Mina stared at Tonan with bated breath, waiting for his reply.

"What kind of like do you mean?"

"It's… like between a boy and a girl."

Tonan just smiled, shook his head, and said, "Why would you think so? I see Chiryo as a younger sister. Moreover, we are still very young, how can we fall into things like puppy love? That's wrong."

Puppy love?

Mina was dumbfounded for a moment. This was the first time she heard anyone use this expression. After all, the average life expectancy in the Ninja World was short. Many got married and had kids in their teens.

Wasn't falling in love before marriage the usual way? And they were already six years old. After this year, they would be seven years old! They were not three-year-old kids anymore. What was wrong with falling in love? Absolutely nothing at all.

But as long as Tonan said he had no intention of a romantic relationship with Chiryo, Mina's goal was achieved. She was suddenly full of energy.

She smiled at Tonan and said, "Never mind, see you on the training ground at night."

……

Tonan headed to the northern training ground after dinner. At this moment, the sky had already darkened, marked with a few stars.

Ding.

Mina was already here, practicing with her kunai. Seeing Tonan, she looked overjoyed.

"Tonan-kun, you are here."

Tonan glanced at the kunai target, nodded at Mina, and said, "Mina, you are very diligent. But I just saw your kunai throwing movement, and it's not up to the mark. Come, let me teach you. You should do it like this."

Tonan's lessons started with pressing and groping her body to adjust her posture.

"You shouldn't use your arm to throw a kunai, use your wrist."

"Yes, bent a little here."

"When training, use your waist to help control the strength of your body."

"Come, bend your waist a little more, bend over a little."

Feeling Tonan's hands wandering over her, helping her adjust her posture, Mina's face was blushing. She bit her lip and said, "Tonan-kun…"

Tonan looked at her with innocent eyes, and asked, "What's wrong? Is it too difficult?"

Hearing Tonan's magnetic voice, Mina swallowed a mouthful of saliva, shook her head, and said, "No, thank you."

"Don't mention it, I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do." Tonan smiled warmly and continued to help Mina.

"Retract your belly."

"Slightly part your thighs…"

There was no one around, the sky was dark. And a young boy and girl were alone here. Mina couldn't concentrate at all. The result was that even after Tonan sincerely helped her, she continuously missed the target.

An hour later, the two people sat on the grass, side by side.

Tonan looked at Mina apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Mina. I might be teaching it all wrong, and made you waste an hour."

Facing Tonan's apology, Mina immediately got flustered and said, "No, Tonan-kun's teaching is very good. I was getting distracted during the training. Perhaps, it's because I'm too tired these days. I'll be fine in a few days."

Tonan stroked his chin and seemed to suddenly realize something, "Is that the case? Then you should rest."

Listening to Tonan's caring words, Mina couldn't help feeling sweet in her heart. She moved her butt slightly towards Tonan. They were closer now.

Worried that Tonan would notice her actions, she quickly looked for a topic and said, "Tonan-kun, I heard a clan member say that you unlocked the Sharingan because someone important to you passed away?"

Tonan looked up at the stars and said in a deep voice, "Yes, I awakened the Sharingan because my brother Teno-san was killed by a fellow clan member. As for the three tomoe, it was after father and mother died on the battlefield."

Mina stared at Tonan's side profile and said in a daze, "That was harsh. My parents died in the last war but I was still very young at the time. Also, my talent is inadequate. I guess it will be very hard for me to awaken the Sharingan."

"Not at all, I believe you can awaken it." Tonan hastily lowered his head and looked back into Mina's eyes. Her heart trembled, and as if she was caught doing something wrong, she lowered her head and said, "Unlocking the Sharingan needs strong hatred. But I… it seems I can't awaken it even with that kind of emotion."

"Wrong."

"Huh?" Mina looked at Tonan in confusion.

Tonan said in all seriousness, "The awakening doesn't rely on hatred."

"But everyone in the clan says so." Mina was puzzled. After all, the Uchiha clan had existed for so many years, and everyone had figured out the conditions to awaken this dojutsu.

However, today, Tonan said that this method was wrong. She saw Tonan adjusting his glasses and speak in an inexplicable tone, "Uchiha is a family of love, and the power of love will always be stronger than that of hatred. If you have someone you love and protect, but your strength is not enough, our bloodline gives us the power to awaken our eyes. It is so that we can protect those we love."

"Love?" Mina's mind was already spinning.

Tonan nodded and said, "That's right. Because I loved Teno-san, father, and mother, when my strength was not enough to protect them, the Uchiha blood in me fuelled the power to awaken my eyes and protect them."

Mina vaguely felt that something didn't add up in this, but she couldn't put her finger on it, and it did sound reasonable. Half believing, half doubting, she said, "But I don't understand love…"

Suddenly, Mina felt a hand around her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Tonan patting her with a smile, "I'll help you find a way. I will do my best to make you feel the power of love, alright?"

"Is Tonan-kun confessing his love to me? What am I thinking? Tonan-kun is obviously thinking about helping me awaken the Sharingan. But to awaken, I need to feel the power of love. How can I feel this love?"

While she was thinking, she felt a slight squeeze on her shoulder, and her heart trembled.

She lowered her head and let out an inaudible murmur.

"I seem to… have already felt it."

The night curtain had fallen. In the darkness, Tonan's deep gaze looked down at the girl in his embrace, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. It was true that hatred awakened the Sharingan. But the ultimate hatred was birthed from love.

"Don't fail to live up to my good intention… ration."

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Chapter 21: Gift Pet, Withering Ration

The next day, Tonan woke up early and walked out of the Uchiha clan's territory. Instead of going to the academy, he went to a pet store in the shopping street and picked out a kitten.

The kitten was white and had four pink little paws. It was very small and fluffy. After putting it into a small cage provided by the store, Tonan went on his way to the academy.

As soon as he entered the classroom, he attracted a lot of attention, as usual. Among them were Hyuga Chiryo and Uchiha Mina. And Kakashi, as well.

Tonan walked straight to Mina and placed the cage on her table.

"I thought about it last night, and I think this little guy might be able to help you."

Mina was a bit too surprised looking at the kitten in the cage and asked, "Tonan-kun, is this for me?"

"Yes."

"Thank you!"

When the students in the classroom saw this, they all chattered away into another discussion about the couple.

In a silent corner that no one was paying attention to, Chiryo was lost in thought, and her fists were clenched hard under the desk. Her fingernails had pierced through the palm's skin, causing blood to trickle out.

Even though Chiryo beat and threatened Mina the last time, the latter was an Uchiha. She was unlikely to remain suppressed. For starters, Mina didn't think there was much of a gap between their abilities. And after having received Tonan's guidance, she believed it wouldn't be long before she surpassed Chiryo.

When Tonan took the initiative to gift her a pet, she accepted it without any concern.

During the class, Umino Naoto was lecturing from the podium. As usual, Tonan listened intently, even though he had already learned everything. But to maintain the persona he had in everyone's hearts, he could only pretend to be attentive in class.

Chiryo sat rigidly on her seat, staring intently at his back the whole time. Mina, on the other hand, was secretly playing with the kitten that Tonan gifted her. Seeing the cute kitten curled up in a ball inside the cage, Mina curiously put a finger inside.

Then, she saw the kitten poking its head up, approaching her finger, and giving it a sniff before licking her fingertip with its pink tongue.

Mina's heart melted in an instant. When she looked up at Tonan who was sitting at the front, her heart was delighted to the core.

"Don't worry, Tonan-kun. I'll take good care of this little guy!"

After the first period, Chiryo came to Mina with an icy look on her face.

"Come outside," Chiryo whispered. She took the lead and headed towards the field. Glancing at Tonan who was absorbed in his book, Mina fearlessly followed her out.

Under the tree shade, Chiryo and Mina faced each other.

"You really think I won't kill you?" The veins around Chiryo's eyes flared up, and a morbidly ruthless expression surfaced on her face.

"Why don't you stop with that weak act? Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you've awakened your Byakugan," Mina replied, crossing her arms and looking at Chiryo as if she had won a big match.

Chiryo slowly raised her hands and assumed the Gentle Fist seal.

"Only the same kind of people can be together. Both Tonan-kun and I are orphans. I'm the most suitable one for him."

Mina grabbed a kunai from her bag and pointed it at Chiryo.

"Is this a joke! My parents were killed in action during the Second Great Shinobi War. Based on your logic, I'm an orphan too. Why should I give up on Tonan-kun?"

Chiryo was stunned, and silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. They were at the ninja academy right now. The most she could do was teach Mina a lesson.

"If I killed her here, I'd be punished. Even worse, Tonan-kun would find out and I might never have a chance with him again."

With that in mind, Chiryo put away her Byakugan and knelt on the ground with both hands on the floor.

"I'm begging you. Please give Tonan-kun to me. You still have your clan but I have nothing. I can't live without him."

Since she couldn't take it by force, she had to come at it in another way. Mina never expected Chiryo to pull this trick.

"Just give up."

Mina slightly eased her tone, and said "By the way, aren't you missing a little detail here?"

Chiryo looked up at Mina, puzzled.

"The Hyugas don't allow intermarriage with other clans. I had never thought of you as a love rival, I just don't like you."

After saying that, Mina's lips curved into a smile. She put away her kunai and headed back to class. Chiryo's kneeling today put her in a very good mood. All the haze of her past defeat was swept away.

Under the tree in the field, only Chiryo was left kneeling with her head deeply bowed, a manic expression on her face. When it was almost time for class, she returned like a walking corpse.

In fact, most people in Konoha knew about the Hyuga clan's rule forbidding intermarriage. Just that there was nothing in it to gossip about, so no one usually talked about it.

It never crossed Chiryo's mind either. When Mina pointed it out, she recalled that everyone she saw at the clan's ground was a Hyuga. She had never seen any Hyuga clan members move out of the clan through marriage, or anyone marrying in.

Chiryo only needed one simple confirmation to realize that Mina was stating a fact. During class, she couldn't take in a single word. Her face was pale as a sheet of paper and her eyes were threatening to spill tears that she was forcibly holding back.

"That means Tonan-kun and I can't be together. Even if Tonan-kun liked me, the clan won't agree to it."

Chiryo reached in between her thick bangs and stroked the caged bird mark.

"What about leaving everything behind and eloping? Is that even impossible? Caged bird… a cage that one could never be free from. The only way out is death. But there's no Tonan-kun in the world of the dead."

When she thought of this, Chiryo moved her gaze slightly and looked at Tonan's back.

"Tonan-kun. Even in death, I want to be with you."

On the tree outside the window, two white pigeons were nestled together. Tonan had watched everything that happened. Even though he did not know what they said, he could guess it.

Tonan gave up on Chiryo. All-day long, all she had on her mind was love and relationships, and he wasted so much time eating out with her. He wanted to give her enough hope and courage to compete with Mina but she never thought about working hard.

Looking at her appearance now, she even seemed despondent. This provision was ruined, so he could only pin his hopes on Mina now.

Mina seemed to really like that kitten. Once she pours enough affection on it, Tonan planned to find the right opportunity to kill it before the Third Great Shinobi War.

That way, maybe he could force Mina to awaken her Sharingan.

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Chapter 22: Chiryo's Appointment, Ruthlessly Killing The Cat

The next few days, Hyuga Chiryo never came to look for Uchiha Tonan. Every day, she sat on her seat in a daze, quietly watching him with a morbid look. She was as quiet as a corpse, which made Tonan very uneasy.

"Chiryo, aren't you resting well these days?"

Chiryo lifelessly turned her head and looked at Asuma, who seemed very concerned. She paused for a moment, and with a pale smile, she gestured him to come closer with her finger.

Asuma's eyes shone and moved his head a bit closer.

"Asuma, do you like me?"

Chiryo's voice was slightly hoarse, but in Asuma's ears, it was a heavenly sound.

"I… hehe…" Asuma scratched his head, looking embarrassed. Happiness had come so suddenly that he was unable to speak clearly for a moment.

"Can you help me with something?"

Asuma patted his chest and said, "No problem. With me, nothing is impossible."

Chiryo's smile disappeared instantly, and it was replaced with an ice-cold look as she said in a low voice, "Find a chance and help me kill Mina's cat."

Asuma nearly choked on his saliva.

"I'm only joking," Chiryo's expression suddenly changed, and a smile appeared on her face again. Asuma sighed in relief and said, looking embarrassed, "You frightened me, then…"

Before he completed his words, Chiryo handed him a piece of paper and said, "Will you help me hand this to Tonan-kun? You cannot peek."

"No problem."

Asuma took the note without thinking too much. After all, the entire class knew that Tonan and Mina were a couple. He walked over to him, put the note on his desk and said, "Chiryo asked me to give this to you."

Tonan took the paper, unfolded it, and saw the words written on it:

Tonan-kun, I want to talk to you alone. Tomorrow night, at nine o'clock, I'll wait for you under the waterfall on the east side of the Hokage Rock. See you there.

After reading it, Tonan turned his head to look at Chiryo and nodded. A hint of a smile appeared on her pale face.

Tonan didn't want to waste time playing some silly rom-com with these two children. However, to be an accomplished hunter, one must remember to always put on a disguise before baring the fangs.

The next day, October sixth was also a weekly holiday. Hatake Sakumo was resting at home. Tonan would not waste such a big opportunity. Early in the morning, he went to the Hatake household for lessons with Sakumo together with Kakashi.

He didn't return home until evening, and after dinner, he came to the Uchiha clan's northern training ground to train Mina. At this moment, outside the clan's grounds, Chiryo came over with a bag of cat food.

"This is the Uchiha clan's territory, why did you come here?" The two patrolling guards saw Chiryo and stopped her.

Chiryo was like a startled kitten. She quickly lowered her head, then said weakly with a red face, "I… I came to look for Mina… to feed… feed…"

One of the patrol guards saw the cat food in her hands and impatiently said, "Feed the cat, isn't it?"

Chiryo nodded weakly. The patrol guards obviously felt that such a young child wouldn't pose any danger and allowed her in, "Go in."

She nodded her head, and as if she suddenly thought of something, she looked at the patrol guards nervously and said, "Uncle…, it's my first time here… I don't know the way… can…"

"I can't. I have to patrol and have no time to act as your guide. Mina's house is over there. There are two cherry blossom trees in front of her house."

The patrol guard pointed in a direction and walked away.

"Thank you." Chiryo bowed deeply to the patrol guards who had already left. Following in the direction they pointed, she was soon at Mina's house.

Mina's parents had died in the second war, and she was orphaned at a very young age. The clan had assigned a guardian for her earlier but once she was an academy student, the guardian was removed.

At this moment, there was no one in her house except for the white kitten lying on the floor in front of the door.

Creak

The courtyard's wooden door was left unlocked. After all, this was the Uchiha territory. As long as someone did not need to leave for long, people would usually just close the door.

When Chiryo pushed open the courtyard door, the kitten became alert.

Swish

It hid behind a pillar, and stuck out half of its small head to observe. But when it saw Chiryo, and especially the cat food, it immediately dropped its vigilance and eagerly rushed out.

This was also because Mina brought it to the academy every day. Only when training together with Tonan, she would leave the kitten alone at home.

The kitten had been in the academy long enough to see some of Mina's classmates. Therefore, it was not afraid.

Mew

Just after stepping into the small courtyard, Chiryo saw the kitten running over to her feet. It kept rubbing its head on her leg but its eyes were focused on the cat food in Chiryo's hands.

Chiryo was unmoved by the kitten's little shenanigans. She just looked down at it quietly, her eyes filled with indifference. The kitten wanted to eat food. Seeing that its move didn't work, it changed its way to act cute.

In its memory, as long as it acted cutely, it would get delicious food. The kitten immediately lied on the ground, rolled over and showed its white belly, and then wriggled around.

It seemed to be saying: Come, rub me, no need to pity me. A small smile slowly appeared on Chiryo's face, and she softly said, "What a clever child."

Seeing the girl smiling, the kitten believed it would be able to eat cat food with a new flavor, and wriggled more. Suddenly, a shadow obstructed its vision.

Bang

Mew!

"Pity, you don't belong to me," Chiryo turned around and casually threw a note on the dead kitten. She left the small courtyard with the cat food bag and closed the door in passing. Once outside, she put on her weak and delicate look again and headed for her rendezvous with Tonan.

At this moment, Tonan was still training with Mina. Even though he had trained many pigeon ninja beasts, he couldn't monitor the entire Konoha at all times. He missed Chiryo's cruel act.

Time passed, and the sky was completely dark.

Nine o'clock.

After completing Mina's training for the night, Tonan walked towards the appointed place to meet Chiryo. Meanwhile, a flock of white pigeons took off from the woods and flew into the distance.

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Chapter 23: Laying A Trap, Beauty In Arms

A full moon rose like a bright light, hanging high in the night sky. In the forest, Hyuga Chiryo was walking with an expressionless face.

Tree shadows from both sides of the road were cast on the ground, giving off a cold and eerie vibe. Chiryo came to the waterfall, and a nostalgic look flashed past her eyes.

When she was young, her mother would often bring her here for picnics. When she got dirty, she would run to the river below the waterfall to bathe herself. If she was lucky, she would even catch a fish or two.

She never came here again ever since her parents passed away. Chiryo slowly crouched down and touched the slightly wet dirt underneath. The scene of Tonan tutoring her on her homework played in her mind.

"Explosive Tags are often laid out in advance and used as traps. Because of this, the effects the surrounding has on the Explosive Tag should be understood."

"First was the humidity. If the humidity was too high, then the Explosive Tag was likely to get wet, resulting in it failing to go off. But oftentimes, we may be limited by unavoidable geographical factors. That would require special treatment."

"Ordinary Explosive Tags can be wrapped in dry leaves, slowing the moistening process. One can also sprinkle a layer of chalk on the surface. If it's humid, but you had ample time to prepare, then you can also get dry soil and wrap the Explosive Tag in it."

"But of course, you don't need to do all this if you use expensive damage-proof Explosive Tags."

Chiryo opened the cat food bag and took out the dry soil from inside, spreading it on the ground. Then, she took out three Explosive Tags from her pocket and placed them on the dry soil. Finally, she sealed them off with the rest of the dirt while also hiding them with the surrounding dead leaves.

"Tonan-kun, please don't blame me for this." After she was done talking to herself, she walked step by step to the creek, taking off her clothes as she walked.

Splash

Chiryo dipped her naked body into the water. With both hands on the bank, she kept her eyes on the trail, waiting for Tonan's arrival.

At this time, Mina returned home as well. As she entered the door, she froze seeing the kitten's corpse on the floor.

"Yuki…" Tears welled up in her eyes as she scrambled towards the kitten. Its abdomen had been crushed into a mass of gore and it had a horrified expression on its face.

"Who did this? Who…"

This kitten meant a lot to Mina not only because it was adorable and intelligent, but also it was the first gift Tonan gave her.

Immersed in her grief, her eyes suddenly fell on a note on the ground. She reached out with a trembling hand and opened it. It read:

Sad? If I can't have it, I'd rather destroy it. I left a note under my desk in the classroom. It has my current location on it.

"Chiryo, I'll kill you!" Mina gritted her teeth. She wiped her tears but suddenly noticed a change in her vision.

In Mina's eyes, a single tomoe was turning slowly. She finally awakened the much-desired Sharingan but she couldn't feel the slightest pleasure. Instead, she got up and rushed straight towards the ninja academy with great urgency.

The forest path was dappled with the shadows of the branches. Tonan strolled through the path expressionlessly, taking each step exceptionally lightly without making the slightest sound. Just like a beast stalking prey in the night.

He suppressed his body's aura, ready to launch a thunderous attack at any moment. Other than the Forest of Death that was sealed off by a barrier, the forests near Konoha were free of any large beasts. Despite that, Tonan was accustomed to being vigilant.

Coo coo

The call of birds rang out in the dark forest. Chiryo and Tonan's agreed meeting time was 9:00 pm. Naturally, Tonan had to arrive on time so he could give her enough time to prepare.

Splash

Once he was near the waterfall, he could hear the sound of Chiryo splashing in the water under the loud crashing of the waterfall.

When he looked over, he saw a silhouette in the darkness with her hands on the bank and body submerged in water, staring at him with fascination.

"Tonan-kun, you're here."

Tonan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and pretended to be nervous.

"Sorry, I came at a bad time."

After saying that, he immediately turned around.

Seeing Tonan at a loss, a smug smile appeared on Chiryo's lips. She softly said, "You're just on time, Tonan-kun. Please wait for a moment."

"Chiryo, you should hurry and put on your clothes. Don't worry, I didn't see anything."

After saying that, he heard the sound of moving water, and then of bare feet on dry leaves.

"I'm done. You can turn around."

When Chiryo's voice came from right behind him, only then did he move. But Chiryo suddenly embraced him, burying her head deep in his chest.

"You…" Seeing Chiryo still naked in his arms, Tonan froze in place, petrified.

"Tonan-kun. I like you, did you know that?" Chiryo closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

Tonan looked at the ground behind Chiryo. He saw a trail of water from the shore to here. He said in a nervous tone.

"I…I know."

Chiryo tightened her arms around Tonan a little more and asked, "Are you in love with Mina?"

The corners of Tonan's lips curved slightly. Reaching up, he gently caressed Chiryo's smooth back with his left hand and said in a warm voice.

"What made you think that? I've always thought of her as a little sister."

Whether it was Tonan's answer or his actions that did the trick, Chiryo wasn't as high-strung anymore.

"I hate it so much. Why did I have to be a Hyuga? Did you know the Hyuga clan doesn't allow its members to marry outsiders? Especially since I'm from a branch house, I was branded with the caged bird from birth. Sometimes, I feel like I am a bird in a cage."

"All my life, I'm destined to be controlled by the clan, with no freedom or future, not even the right to pursue love."

"There must be a way out of this," Tonan said, as his left hand slowly slipped down the wet curve and did not stop until he reached Chiryo's thin waist. Then, with his right hand, he patted her back.

Chiryo could feel Tonan's warm hand roaming around her back and she nuzzled his chest comfortably.

"My parents were weak, but the main house still ordered them to participate in the war. They had no right to refuse. Even when my father died on the battlefield, no one notified me. They don't think of me as human at all."

"From a young age, they instilled in me the idea of being loyal to the clan. But I wouldn't have it. I had no choice but to act soft and meek, to fool them into being sorry for me, into thinking I was useless. Maybe then they might remove my mark and expel me from the clan."

Tonan looked down at Chiryo with a hint of mockery in his eyes, and said, "How naive."

Chiryo's eyes were closed so she missed his expression, and continued talking by herself.

"It's true. I'm too naive. Sometimes, I even think about killing myself. But I couldn't bear to leave you. Your appearance gave me the courage to live. You're so gentle, so kind."

Tonan continued patting Chiryo's back and said in a slightly cool tone, "Really? You're not planning to kill yourself anymore?"

"I… please, keep holding me for a while longer, just like this."

Tears flowed from Chiryo's eyes, wetting Tonan's chest.

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Chapter 24: Killing Chiryo, Integrating Byakugan

At the ninja academy, Uchiha Mina arrived at Hyuga Chiryo's seat and opened the note she left behind. There, she found Chiryo's current location.

"Count your last moments Chiryo, I'm coming to get you!"

Mina crushed the note in her hands, a look of madness appearing on her face as she sped off towards the location. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. A short amount of time had passed.

As if she'd fallen asleep, Chiryo lay in Tonan's arms, unwilling to get up.

As it was just about time, Tonan's right hand paused on her back. Then he put some distance between him and her, but his left arm remained around her thin waist. He looked into her eyes.

"Chiryo."

"Mm"

"I have to say, I admire you," Tonan said, as he moved his lips closer to hers. Both of them could feel their hot breath on each other.

"But your ambitions are too limited. You're not strong at all. Strong people don't cling to this so-called love. So, let me give you a gift."

After saying that, he slowly lowered his head. Ecstasy flashed past Chiryo's eyes as she slowly closed them. His left arm around Chiryo's waist suddenly tightened, pressing her soft body against his own while he rhythmically formed seals with his right hand.

A few moments later, their lips parted, but the two maintained a distance close enough where the tips of their noses were slightly touching. Tonan whispered in a deep and magnetic voice, "Enough. It's almost time. The Explosion Tags are already wet."

The sentence was like a rude alarm, waking Chiryo up with a start. Eyes open, she activated her Byakugan and thrust her delicate right palm on Tonan's chest.

Poof

Crackle

An arcing Lightning Needle pierced through the back of her head, penetrating through her entire skull and exiting between her brows. In the very next moment, the chakra on Chiryo's right hand faded away as it lay limply on Tonan's chest. All vitality vanished, she fell into Tonan's arms.

"You love me, so you want me to die with you? That's not love, but a perversion."

Tonan had activated his three tomoe Sharingan at some point. As the crimson eyes looked down at the corpse in his arms, he said with a pitying face.

"No matter what the reason, if you want me to die, then you leave me no choice but to kill you. With your radical ideas, I wouldn't feel safe if you stayed alive."

At this moment, Tonan felt a subtle warm current flow through his entire body.

"This chakra attribute… Water and Earth? Not bad. This is…"

In Tonan's vision, the meridians in Chiryo's body appeared. When he looked up, it was as if the scenery around him had changed color. It was not the same white color shown by an authentic Byakugan, but a unique red, similar to an infrared detector.

A 360-degree vision without any blind spots.

"The abilities of the Byakugan have integrated with the Sharingan? Chiryo, I didn't expect you to be such a treasure."

Tonan's face was filled with joy as he instinctively controlled the eyes. The Sharingan had now disappeared, and the veins around his eyes bulged, activating the Byakugan.

Aided with the system's power, Tonan could switch between the Sharingan and the Byakugan at will. He could also supplement the power of one dojutsu into the other.

This was useful.

Shwik

A kunai slashed across Chiryo's neck, beheading her. Since he killed someone, he had to clean up after himself. After all, there existed the Yamanaka clan in Konoha that could probe into memories of the dead.

Thud.

Chiryo's headless body fell heavily on the ground. Tonan threw the head into the clearing before quickly forming hand seals.

"Fire Style – Great Fireball Technique."

A blazing fireball scorched the head in an instant. After finishing up, Tonan unhurriedly fastened his collar's buttons and smoothed out the creases on his shirt. He turned and left down the path.

By killing Chiryo, he gained both the Water and Earth attributes, as well as a superficial form of the Gentle Fist. But the most valuable thing he gained was the Byakugan.

Even more so, he made the unexpected discovery that the Byakugan and the Sharingan were compatible with each other.

In that case…

In the dark forest, dozens of eyes glowed red, taking in the view of everything happening in the vicinity. As Tonan expected, Mirror Heaven and Earth Change could be combined with the Sharingan to control the pigeons and share their vision with him. Now that the Byakugan's power was integrated into the Sharingan, he could use it even with these white pigeons.

The only downside was that a substantial amount of chakra was required to maintain this ability. Even so, Tonan was satisfied. In the shinobi world, the most important thing was information. Otherwise, someone as strong as Uchiha Madara wouldn't wouldn't have been stabbed in the back.

Tonan was in a good mood when he saw a familiar figure running through the forest towards his location through the shared vision with one of the white pigeons. He stopped his footsteps and his face turned dark. He said in a cold voice, "No wonder you were trying to stall… you were thinking of bringing both of us along for the ride."

After saying that, Tonan slowly walked into the dark jungle. A large cloud drifted over the sky, swallowing up the full moon little by little.

On the far side, a huge shadow approached as if it were devouring the entire forest. On the other side, a furious Mina was dashing through the jungle. She soon arrived at the waterfall. Since it was too dark right now, she couldn't see too well.

As soon as she walked two steps, she seemed to have stepped on something. Looking down, she picked up the object.

"These… these are that bitch's clothes."

Mina frowned. Her nostrils twitched slightly, sniffing twice before muttering, "Why does it smell like roast meat here?"

Mina followed the smell for a few steps before her body froze in place. A cold chill ran down her spine. There, just a short distance away, was the naked and headless corpse of a girl. About five or six meters away from the body was a charred head whose face could no longer be identified, and the ground around it was scorched black.

"This is…" Looking at the clothes in her hands, Mina gulped. She could guess that the dead girl was Chiryo. Even though it wasn't her first time seeing a dead body, this kind of situation made her blood curdle.

Chiryo must have been bathing in the river under the waterfall. Who could have killed her before she could even put her clothes back on? She must have been beheaded before her head was charred with a fire release technique.

"Has that person left? Could it be an enemy ninja? Or a perverted ninja lurking in the village. I heard the clan's elder women say they often discovered perverts peeping into the baths…"

Many possibilities crossed her mind, and the more she thought, the more fear she felt. She quickly tossed the clothes and ran towards the village. The road along the way was littered with withered leaves, which crunched as Mina stepped on them in her furious run.

She had to report this to the police. Even though she hated Chiryo, it was a fact that someone killed her. And, there was a high possibility of the culprit being a spy from the enemy village. As a Konoha resident, she had to report such matters as soon as possible.

"That bitch was better off dead anyway. Now she can't have any thoughts about Tonan-kun. Thank god I arrived late. Otherwise, I might have been killed together with her…"

As these thoughts ran through Mina's head, a realization hit her, and she slowed down.

Why didn't Chiryo ask her to come straight to the river in the first place, and made her go the school instead?

"She was stalling for time! She must have made plans to meet with someone else from the beginning. And that person was… Tonan-kun!"

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Chapter 25: Mina's Suspicion, Dropping Guard

Uchiha Mina stopped, opened her palm, looked at the note palm, and her back was drenched with cold sweat.

"How can this be? There is no reason for Tonan-kun to kill her." Mina shook her head, denying this thought. She continued to rush towards Konoha, but she felt a thorn in her heart.

She started to continuously think about what had happened that day. When she noticed an anomaly, she stopped again.

"Today, after Tonan-kun and I parted ways, we went into a different direction from usual. He was headed this way! Judging from the traces at the scene, that bitch's head must have been burned by the Great Fireball. Tonan-kun knows this ninjutsu."

If someone else had killed her, then her corpse shouldn't be there, rather it would be on the shore. As a girl, after noticing a stranger, she would definitely try to put on her clothes.

In other words, she walked over to that place, stark naked.

Gudong

Mina swallowed uncomfortably, forcing herself to not think any further. Just when she was preparing to walk again, a figure suddenly appeared on the path ahead. Because of the moonlight's direction, Mina was unable to see who the person was.

She could just vaguely discern the tall man's back and the bird on his shoulder. Mina felt her blood becoming cold and her legs trembling. She couldn't walk and the fear in her heart spread throughout her body.

At that moment, that person slowly turned around. In the darkness, those blood-red eyes with three spinning tomoe were especially conspicuous. Mina's eyes widened in horror. She instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to scream, but no sound came out.

She seemed to have lost her voice in extreme fear.

Step, step…

The man walked towards Mina, step by step, and every step seemed to trample on her heart. The distance between the two gradually shrunk, and she could see the person's face.

It was Uchiha Tonan.

Tonan was carrying a basket, and with a refined and easygoing smile, he said, "Mina, I didn't expect to meet you here. Did you also come here to cook outside?"

He lifted the basket in his hand as he asked. It was filled with various kinds of wild ingredients.

"Yes… that's right, To… Tonan-kun," Mina smiled stiffly with cold sweat dripping from her forehead. Hearing her, Tonan smiled, patted the white pigeon on his shoulder, and said, "Little guy, go look for food yourself."

Coo coo

The white pigeon chirped, spread its wings, and flew into the forest. Immediately afterward, Tonan reached out, gently held her fist that was holding a note, and said warmly, "You are lucky, you'll get to eat delicious food today."

Mina's mind had become blank at that moment. She was so confused she did not resist, and she was pulled along by Tonan. After a while, the two arrived at an open space. In the middle, there was a bonfire, and an iron cooking pot was placed above it, using stones as support.

Tonan pulled Mina over and made her sit in front of the bonfire. He put the basket's ingredients into the pot to cook. The flickering fire illuminated his face. That face, which looked flawless in Mina's eyes before, seemed frightening now.

However, Tonan didn't make any strange movements. He just looked at the bonfire calmly and said, "I used the living expenses left behind by my parents when they went to the battlefield to buy books. With nothing to eat, I often come to the forest by myself to cook."

At this moment, Mina had collected herself a little, and she probed, "Tonan-kun, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"What do you think of Chiryo?" Mina was very tense. She was ready to run if she noticed anything amiss. However, Tonan didn't show any abnormalities. While flipping the food in the pot with chopsticks, he lightly said, "Didn't I tell you before? I think of her as a younger sister. Honestly speaking, she is very cute, but I don't have any thoughts about her."

Mina didn't see any anomaly and let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Mmm, it smells good."

Tonan picked up the only piece of fresh green mushroom from the pot with his chopsticks and placed it in front of Mina's mouth.

"Try this."

Mina looked at the green mushroom and a lesson from class popped in her head. The more brightly colored the mushroom, the more poisonous it is.

She smiled stiffly and said, "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

Tonan didn't force her. He stuffed the green mushroom into his mouth, chewed it, and said happily, "So tasty, I like this kind of mushroom the most. Unfortunately, I just found one today."

Then, he picked up a piece of brown mushroom and put it inside his mouth. After eating it, he glanced at Mina, picked up another brown mushroom from the pot, placed it in front of his mouth, and blew it.

He then moved it in front of her mouth and gently said, "Come on, this mushroom is very delicious, ah~"

Seeing Tonan had already eaten a similar kind of mushroom just now, Mina laid down her guard a little and opened her mouth to eat it.

A fresh fragrance erupted in her mouth. She could swear she had never eaten such a delicious mushroom before.

"Is it tasty?"

Hearing Tonan's question, Mina nodded and said, "It's tasty."

"Then, eat some more." Tonan began to pick up another piece of brown mushroom and kept blowing on it. By now, Mina had already dropped most of her vigilance.

"Tonan-kun, I want to ask you one more thing."

"Mmm?"

"Did you see Chiryo today?"

"No, why are you asking about her again?"

"I… I'm just casually asking."

After speaking, she opened her mouth and ate the mushroom. Tonan shook his head and reproached, "It's not safe for a girl to run into the forest at night. I heard many girls in the village had accidents at night recently. The guards are investigating everywhere."

After he spoke, Mina immediately exclaimed, "What? Is it a pervert?"

Tonan didn't seem to be surprised hearing Mina's question. He said while picking up a mushroom, "He should be considered a pervert, but he isn't weak. He is not caught yet."

Mina nodded, hesitated for a bit, and put out the final test, "In fact, I didn't come out to cook. The weather was so hot, so I was going to the river to bathe."

Tonan smiled, reached out his hand, rubbed Mina's hair, and said in a pampering voice, "So, that's why you're here. But it would be best if you return home and bathe with clean water. The river water is not too clean. If you get sick, I'll be very sad."

"Mmm~"

Mina had already relaxed completely now. She felt the person in front of her gave her a special sense of security.

"Mina, how can you doubt Tonan-kun? He is so good, how can he kill a person? He also has no reason to kill that bitch. Even if he's lustful, as long as he opens his mouth, wouldn't she do anything for him? He's so smart, how can he be so stupid at this moment?"

Thinking of this, a sense of guilt emerged in her heart. She started to consider whether to tell him about Chiryo's death. But after thinking for a while, she didn't say it.

If he learned about it, he will go to that waterfall to check the situation. And if by chance that pervert returns, he will be in danger.

"Let's leave this to the guards."

After a while, the food in the pot was over. Tonan stood up, patted his butt, and said, "Alright, I'll take you home. It's already so late, I won't be at ease if you went back alone."

After speaking, he held Mina's hand and walked towards the village.

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Chapter 26: Hell Viewing Technique, Nightmare

Uchiha Tonan and Uchiha Mina walked out of the forest, using Ground Travel to cross Konoha streets and head towards the clan's territory.

While walking, Mina suddenly stumbled. Tonan was quick to catch her in his arms and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Mina's face gradually turned pale. She shook her head and said weakly, "Tonan-kun, my head feels a little dizzy…"

Looking very worried, he pressed the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You're burning up. You must have caught a cold while you were bathing."

"N…No…" Mina tried to explain, but she found herself unable to speak anymore. Her mind was in a state of confusion. Gradually, she could no longer remember what just happened. Right at this moment, Tonan pulled Mina hard into his arms and moved her head closer.

Just like that, the two kissed under the streetlight. In the distance, an Anbu leaped from a rooftop and turned his gaze towards them.

"Are all little brats this precocious these days?" the Anbu muttered to himself and left, unwilling to stay around for this display of affection.

After the Anbu was gone, Tonan let Mina go. At this moment, her mind was in a complete blur. There was still some distance before they reached the Uchiha clan grounds. Not only did they have to watch out for the Anbu but they also had to avoid the clan's night patrol.

This was not too tough though. Tonan lifted Mina by the waist and blinked his eyes. The white pigeons' eyes lying in hiding all glowed red with the Sharingan. Combined with the piercing vision of the Byakugan, the patrollers on the road became visible to him.

Fwoosh

Tonan dashed towards the grounds like a black shadow. Holding Mina, he constantly changed direction and avoided the patrol left and right. Finally, they arrived undetected at her home. Tonan carried her into the courtyard and glanced at the dead kitten in the yard before striding into the house.

He placed Mina on the bed. Through the penetrative view of the Byakugan, he studied the locations of her meridian points. Then, he firmly tapped on her pain point. Her eyes snapped open. Tonan's rapidly turning three tomoe entered her vision.

"Genjutsu – Hell Viewing Technique."

Late at night, the moon was completely hidden by the overcast clouds.

Rumble

A thunderous roar broke out as a lightning bolt cut through the sky. The sound jolted Mina awake and she looked around.

"This place is… how did I end up in my room?"

"That's right… I was sparring with Tonan-kun, then I came back home. I saw… what did I see? Why can't I remember?

Mina hit on her head with her fist as if trying to remember something important.

Shwaa

The continuous rainfall thrumming overshadowed everything else. For some reason, Mina had a surreal feeling. Suddenly, her eyes widened. Through the windows, a blue light struck every now and then, showing a dark, hazy, humanoid figure slowly walking past the window.

Tap, tap…

Mina jumped out of the bed and pulled out her kunai, eyes alert. The footsteps sound reached the door before coming to a halt.

Rumble

Thunder clapped as an icy lightning flash lit up the courtyard. Mina could vaguely see the figure outside unsheathe a blade. She slowly scooted next to the door and crouched down in wait.

Second by second, time passed. The person behind the door did not move. By now, the rain was so loud that even if Mina held her breath, she could hardly hear anything.

"Did he leave?"

She quietly gulped and slowly moved her body a little, eyes fixed on the door. As lightning struck in the sky again, the figure disappeared from the door.

Phew…

Mina heaved a sigh of relief. Her body had long been soaked with sweat.

"Are you looking for me?"

A cold voice suddenly asked from behind her. Mina looked around with a start. Horrified, she activated her single tomoe Sharingan instinctively. She saw the figure holding a long blade in its right hand and something round in its left.

The lightning flickered outside the room again, and the sudden brightness allowed her to see who this person was.

Uchiha Tonan!

Held by its hair in his left hand was a face she knew well. Fear and despair were imprinted on Hyuga Chiryo's face. Scarlet blood dripped from the blade, sliding off the tip before falling pitter-patter on the ground.

"No… No!"

Mina wanted to run, but her body would barely budge. She could only be pushed into a corner, as Tonan moved step by step towards her, slowly raising his blade.

"Why… Why…"

Mina lifted a trembling hand and tried to make seals, but she couldn't remember a single one.

"Savor this pain."

A cruel smile played on his lips as he stabbed the blade violently into her stomach. Feeling a sharp pain hit her, her pupils contracted.

Shwik

Shwik

Tonan stabbed the blade into her over and over again, seemingly taking pleasure in doing so.

As her blood gushed out, Mina felt her mind collapsing and her strength gradually leaving her. The single tomoe disappeared as her eyes closed shut.

Purr

Purr

"What's that sound? Be quiet…What's that wet feeling?"

Mina slowly opened her eyes and woke up in her bed. The soft sunlight from outside warmed her body. A little kitten was licking her face. She sat up and wiped the saliva, taking the kitten in her arms. Petting its head, she said, "I think I had a nightmare. Yuki, are you hungry?"

Meow~

"Oh no, I'm late!" Mina yelped and jumped out from her blanket. But she then glanced at the calendar hanging over her bed.

October 6.

"What the hell? It's an off day."

She sighed with relief and took the cat food out of the cupboard, pouring it into the kitten's bowl. She also made breakfast for herself before sitting down under the eaves alone, eating as she looked at the cherry blossom trees in the courtyard.

For some reason, she would fall into a trance after every few bites, as if she had dementia. Even Mina did not realize how quiet her surroundings were as if no one was around.

Time gradually passed by. In the blink of an eye, it was evening.

Mina woke up with a start and looked up at the sky. Then, packing up her things, she headed for the training arena.

On the way there, she heard the sound of clan members talking from the courtyards on both sides. But she could only hear them, not see them.

Mina didn't think too much about it. At this hour, most people should be eating dinner at home. By the time she realized it, she had already arrived at the arena.

She saw Tonan sitting on the grass, waving at her with a smile.

"Tonan-kun…" Mina mumbled, a happy smile appearing on her face as she walked over to him.

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Chapter 27: Real Dreamland, Overwriting Memory

The sky had darkened. Uchiha Mina felt out of form today. She would space out during the training session with Uchiha Tonan, often missing out on his pointers.

"Mina, if you feel unwell, you should go back and rest," Tonan patted her shoulder, pulling her back to reality.

"I'm sorry, Tonan-kun. Perhaps, it's because I didn't sleep very well last night," Mina apologized.

Tonan soothingly stroked Mina's hair and said, "Let's end for today, then. You go back home. I've something to do today, so I'll see you tomorrow."

Mina nodded and listlessly walked towards her house. However, as soon as she stepped home, she saw her kitten had died tragically in the courtyard. And there was a note on the ground that had the location of the waterfall written on it.

That emotional outburst triggered Mina's one tomoe Sharingan. She threw the note on the ground and bolted out as if she had gone crazy.

In the dead of the night, Mina ran through the forest and soon arrived not far from the waterfall. Suddenly, she stopped and hid in the cover of the dense forest.

She saw Hyuga Chiryo come out of the water, stark naked, walk up to Tonan, and tightly hug his back.

"Tonan-kun, I like you."

Mina, who was hiding in the darkness, burned with anger. She gritted her teeth and muttered, "This bitch."

"I'm sorry, Chiryo, I know you like me but I've always thought of you as a younger sister. Moreover, I've someone in my heart already."

Tonan's firm voice resounded in the night.

"Who!? Who do you like?"

"I've always liked Mina. My heart is completely taken by her and cannot hold anyone else."

Seeing Tonan resolutely reject Chiryo, Mina's anger instantly dissipated, and she felt sweet in her heart.

"Why? What's there to like about her? Where don't I measure up? Tonan-kun, don't leave, you can do whatever you like with me," Chiryo roared hysterically.

"Chiryo, please conduct yourself with some dignity," Tonan pried open her hand and left without looking back.

Chiryo fell to the ground and cried as he walked away. Mina watched her for about ten minutes before she quietly walked out from the forest and came behind her.

"This bitch not only killed Yuki-chan but also wanted to seduce Tonan-kun with her beauty. Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

The devil's voice rang in Mina's head and she subconsciously raised a kunai. Chiryo seemed too deep in her sorrow to notice the movement behind her.

Swish

The kunai sliced through Chiryo's neck, and her head was cut off. Only then did Mina come to her senses and looked at the blood-bathed kunai in horror.

"I killed someone! What should I do now… If anyone finds out, I'll be sentenced to death."

Mina staggered a few steps and regret filled her heart. She turned around and ran towards Konoha. But just after two steps, she stopped, her face distorted with a hint of ferociousness.

A voice whispered in her mind.

The Yamanaka clan can examine the deceased's memories.

Mina turned around. Staring at the severed head with her bright red Sharingan, she began to form hand seals.

"Fire Style – Great Fireball Technique."

Mina, who had never released a Great Fireball before, successfully did so. The huge fireball hit its target, burning Chiryo's head in an instant. After doing this, Mina was unwilling to stay for another second and ran towards Konoha.

At the intersection before entering the village though, she bumped into Tonan. He was walking towards the village by himself. Surprised to see her here, he asked, "Mina, how come you're here?"

Mina forced herself to calm down and replied with a smile, "I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk."

Taking her word for it, Tonan nodded and said, "It's too late. It's not safe for a girl to walk alone. Let me walk you home."

He took her hand in his and they walked together towards Konoha. They silently passed through several quiet streets, not saying anything through the way.

Suddenly, Tonan opened his mouth and said, "Mina, actually, I… I like you. Will you go out with me?"

"Tonan-kun… I…" Mina was hesitant. Had it been earlier today, she would have accepted it eagerly. But at this moment, her heart was in chaos, and she had no interest in dating. When all was said and done, her hands were stained with a person's life.

"Tonan-kun, I want to tell you something." Mina stared at Tonan in front of her.

"Tell me."

"I…, I killed Chiryo right now. It was on the spur of the moment. You've to believe me! Do you think the village will sentence me to death?"

Mina became increasingly agitated as she spoke, and tears filled her eyes.

Tonan was shocked. It took him a long time to collect himself. He then solemnly said, "As your boyfriend, I will definitely protect you. I'm sure this matter would be found out. Tomorrow, I'll go and confess to Hokage-sama, and beg him to be lenient."

"But…"

"Calm down!" Tonan's voice was deep. He then took a deep breath and softly said, "Listen to me Mina, you don't need to worry about this. I love you."

He kissed Mina's forehead and then knocked her unconscious.

………

In Mina's room, Tonan's forehead was full of sweat, and he was exhausted. Closing his eyes and opening again, he deactivated his Sharingan. He took the note, that Mina was firmly holding on to, and left the room.

Coming to the dead kitten in the courtyard, he placed the note next to it. As for the original note that was on the ground, he took it away.

With the scapegoat arranged, everything was set. Taking a final look, like a ghost in the darkness, he leaped away from the courtyard and rushed home.

When he saw Mina in the forest, he had already hatched this plan.

First, he made Mina eat mushrooms containing neurotoxins that impacted the nervous system making people lose recent memories. Although Tonan also ate them, he had eaten the green mushroom, which had detoxifying properties, before that.

To ensure the neurotoxin had the greatest effect and would smoothly erase her memories, he also destroyed her spiritual power using genjutsu continuously.

Immediately afterward, he created an illusion domain, making everything she experienced in the illusion overwrite her real memories.

The final step was to replace the evidence. He guessed that for such a minor matter with irrefutable proof, Konoha's higher-ups wouldn't send very professional personnel to investigate.

If there was truly some oversight, then flaws would appear. At that time, he could only hope that Sarutobi Hiruzen would override all objections and protect him.

He had used too much chakra and spiritual power to construct an illusion domain for Mina earlier. Therefore, he went straight to sleep after he returned home.

Tomorrow, he had to put on a good show.

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Chapter 28: Turning Himself In, Anbu Interrogation

The next day, dawn lined the horizon. Uchiha Tonan struggled to get up. The intense genjutsu he used the day before consumed much of his chakra. A few hours of sleep were not enough to replenish it. His body was sluggish.

The first thing he did after waking up was open up his diary.

Nothing noteworthy happened in recent days. Hence, his diary comprised only fillers. The content of the Will of Fire was written over and over again until Tonan himself wanted to throw up.

October 6.

Something big happened today. I thought about it for a long time, but I cannot pen it even now. Last evening, Chiryo asked me to meet her at the waterfall in the forest. She said she had something to tell me.

Unexpectedly, she appeared in front of me naked! And wanted to become my woman. I ran. I have only thought of her as a little sister. What's more, I've already fallen in love with Mina.

I thought this would've been the end of the matter, but…

I never thought I'd bump into Mina on my way back to the village at night. Her expression didn't look right, but I didn't notice it at first. I gathered my courage and confessed my feelings to her. I even kissed her.

She didn't reject me, which made me so happy that I felt like the happiest person in the world. But then she told me, she killed Chiryo with her own hands…

I don't know what to do. According to the village's rules, Mina should be executed for what she did. But I can't bear for that to happen. Now, Mina and I are the only ones who know this secret.

On one hand, it's my village, and on the other, my lover. Who should I choose?

The words written were extremely messy and stopped abruptly at this point.

Tonan also left a few ink dots on the blank space left behind. Then, he tossed the pen on top of the open diary and left the house with a lost look on his face.

On the road, he dilly-dallied for more than two hours before he arrived at the Hokage Residence. Inside the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was leaning back in his chair with a leisurely expression, smoking a pipe.

Suddenly, he sat up straight.

Immediately after, Tonan knocked on the office door.

"Enter."

Pushing open the door, Tonan came inside. He looked at Hiruzen with a pale face, liked he wanted to speak but paused again. Eventually, he just dropped his head and remained silent.

"Tonan, what happened?"

Tonan clenched his fists and kneeled on the ground at once. Tears overflowing from his eyes, he sobbed, "Hokage-sama, I've killed someone. Please execute me!"

Hiruzen was startled for a moment. He came to Tonan's side and said in a grim voice, "Tonan, raise your head and look at me."

Tonan slowly lifted his head, but before he could even meet Hiruzen's eyes for more than a second, he lowered it again. His eyes were constantly moving, looking guilty.

Hiruzen frowned, but he felt at a loss on what to do. Right now, the most important thing was to suppress this matter. Hiruzen immediately called the Anbu over.

"Bring Tonan to the Interrogation Department. Don't let anyone interrogate him without my orders," Hiruzen commanded with a serious face.

"Yes," the Anbu answered. He grabbed Tonan and left using the Body Flicker Technique.

This was a tricky situation for Hiruzen. Tonan had shown value far beyond any of his peers, and he was also loyal to him. Hiruzen did not want to execute him just like that. But in Konoha, regardless of who was murdered, the murderer must be punished according to the rules.

"If it's really impossible, then I can just assign him to the Root and keep him anonymous hereon. That would spare his life."

Hiruzen had already begun thinking of a way out.

"No, there's something wrong here. If he's already decided to turn himself in, then why would he look guilty, like he's hiding something?"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes slightly. Something unusual caught his attention.

Guilt meant that he lied. In that case…

"Anbu."

"Hokage-sama."

"Go to Tonan's house and bring me his diary."

"Yes."

Fifteen minutes later, the Anbu presented Tonan's diary to Hiruzen. Hiruzen quickly flipped through it to the final few days.

Sure enough! This kid actually fell in love without telling anyone.

"The village on one hand, and your girlfriend on the other, so you chose to become a scapegoat?"

Hiruzen shut the diary and handed it to the Anbu.

"Take the diary back. And bring Uchiha Mina to the Interrogation Department."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Once the Anbu left, Hiruzen headed for the Interrogation Department with his hands behind his back. Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department was built underground and special shinobi kept watch at many checkpoints to ensure no blindspot.

"Hokage-sama." The leader of the Konoha Interrogation Department, Yamanaka Takuya, greeted Hiruzen at the door. The two talked as they walked towards the interrogation room.

"Yakuya, Tonan hasn't been interrogated yet, right?"

"No. Will you interrogate him yourself?"

"No need. I'll just listen from the side."

"The most recent information we obtained shows that Uchiha Mina is the culprit. At the same time, she's Tonan's girlfriend."

On the face of it, Hiruzen was making a simple comment but there was an unmissable undertone to it.

"I see. I understand."

The interrogation room had an adjoining chamber divided only by a single mirror. Sitting inside, Hiruzen quietly watched the scene unfold in the interrogation room.

Takuya entered the room with a cool expression. He saw Tonan sitting on the chair as if his soul had left his body, not even lifting his head.

Clearing his throat, Takuya said, "Uchiha Tonan. I understand your situation, but I also have a few questions to ask you."

Looking as if all hope had abandoned him, Tonan said, "Go ahead. I'll confess everything."

"What do you mean you'll confess everything?" The veins on Takuya's forehead were bulging. Had Hiruzen not been watching them right now, he would have punched Tonan. Taking a deep breath, Takuya opened his book, lifted his pen, and wrote quickly as he bombarded Tonan with rapid-fire questions.

"What's your relationship with the deceased?"

"Classmates."

"Where's the last place you saw the deceased?"

"Under the waterfall east of the Hokage Rock."

"What was she doing at the time?"

"She was taking a bath."

"What's your motive for killing her?"

"Motive?" Tonan stiffened.

"Why'd you decide to kill her?"

The question came too quickly, and Tonan looked like he hadn't even thought about how to answer it. Eyes darting left and right, he hesitantly replied, "Because… because… she likes me."

Takuya slammed his pen on the book and yelled, "Do you think that's a good enough reason?!"

"But I don't like her…" Tonan was so anxious that his forehead was covered in sweat as he incoherently explained, "She appeared naked in front of me. She even hugged me. I was angry, so I…"

"Do you know the consequences of taking the blame for someone else?" Takuya's tone had gone completely cold. Arms over his chest, he had given up making records.

Up to this point of the interrogation, he could determine that Tonan was not the murderer, so there was little point in writing a statement.

"I'm not taking the blame for anyone! I'm not, please, you have to believe me!" Two streaks of tears ran down Tonan's cheeks as he pleaded with Takuya.

Takuya sneered, "Fine. Let me ask you one last question. How'd you kill her?"

As soon as that question came out, Tonan was at a loss for words again.

He lowered his head and took a deep breath. More than ten seconds passed before he lifted his head and spoke uncertainly, "I… I don't remember. I think I killed her with a kunai…"

"Be specific. Where'd you stab her with the kunai? Did you stab her two centimeters above the heart?" Takuya rapped his fingers loudly on the table as if to draw the boy's attention.

"Yes! That's where it was!" Tonan widened his eyes and answered with uncertainty.

But when Takuya heard Tonan's admission, he gathered his book and pen, not sparing him another glance.

"Enough. Our investigators have already checked the crime scene. The deceased's head was decapitated before it was burned with fire. Uchiha Tonan, obstructing official duties is a punishable offense."

"You dare to take the blame for someone else in the face of the Interrogation Department? You're a fool!"

Saying that Takuya left the interrogation room without a second look at Tonan and entered next door.

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Chapter 29: Mina's Confession, Distinguish Right Wrong

"Hokage-sama, you heard that too."

"Alas! Is Uchiha Mina caught yet?"

"We have already locked her in another interrogation room before you arrived. Did you want to see the interrogation?"

"Let's go."

The two left and went to the next interrogation room where Mina was locked up. At this moment, she was sitting on a chair. Her face filled with fear, she looked extremely worried.

Bang!

Yamanaka Takuya walked into the room, sat indifferently in front of her, and began his questions.

"Tell me what you did yesterday in detail. If you confess, I might help you get a lenient punishment. You should know Uchiha Tonan wanted to take the blame for you today but his lies were too obvious. I saw through it easily."

"If you don't confess, I can only handle this matter according to the law and execute him." Takuya lied to pressurize Mina.

"Tonan-kun… wanted to die for me… No, I don't want it to be like this. It was me who did it, it has nothing to do with him."

It was obvious that Mina's thoughts weren't too complicated. Hearing Takuya's words, she immediately became agitated.

"Why did you kill Hyuga Chiryo?"

"I… I'm sorry. It was unintentional… I was impulsive."

"Answer my question, why'd you kill Hyuga Chiryo?"

"She killed Yuki-chan first, then she used her naked body to seduce Tonan-kun. At that time, I was so angry."

"Yuki-chan?"

"Yuki-chan is the cat Tonan-kun gave me. It was his first gift to me."

Takuya wrote down the motive for the crime in his notebook. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Alright, beginning from when you woke up yesterday, tell me everything. Don't omit a single thing. You can't hide anything from me."

"Yesterday…"

Soon, Mina told him everything she remembered. When she was done, Takuya frowned a little and seriously asked, "Is that it?"

Her eyes filled with hopelessness, Mina nodded.

"Tonan-kun, thank you for your kind intentions, but let me bear the consequences of my action."

Takuya left the interrogation room with his notebook and came to Sarutobi Hiruzen's side.

"Hokage-sama, according to Uchiha Mina's confession, she's indeed the one who killed Hyuga Chiryo. This is the record. Please take a look at it."

Hiruzen took the record and read it carefully. The motive, process, and description of the crime scene were all in line with what we found out from Tonan's diary.

"Well, this should be about right."

Takuya hesitated for a bit, but he still expressed his doubts.

"I can't help but feel something is amiss."

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen raised his head in confusion and asked.

"I don't know. I can't put a finger to it, it's just an intuition."

Since a high-ranked professional such as Takuya raised doubts, Hiruzen wouldn't take it lightly.

"For killing a classmate, she'll be executed according to the village's rules anyway. You can ask someone to examine her memory."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Takuya replied and was preparing to instruct someone, when Hiruzen interrupted him, "Wait, let me speak with Tonan-kun and ask for his opinion as well."

"Yes." This time, Takuya could also see how high Tonan's position was in Hiruzen's heart.

"Ask for an opinion? Why ask? Could it be that if Tonan doesn't want us to examine her memories, Hokage-sama wouldn't allow us to do so? Or, as long as Tonan insisted, Hokage-sama would protect a death-row prisoner?"

A young Uchiha kid was such a heavyweight!

In the interrogation room, Tonan had his hands stuck in his hair. He looked thoroughly depressed and dejected.

"Tonan." Hiruzen quietly entered the room, walked to him, and gently patted his shoulder. Tonan raised his head. Seeing the kind and warm-looking Hiruzen in front of him as if he had seen a close relative, tears glistened in his eyes.

He hugged Hiruzen and cried, "Hokage-sama, I… I…"

The corners of Hiruzen's mouth rose slightly. He sighed and said, "Child, I can understand your thoughts, but there are things we can't change."

"I'm very sad."

"Mina has already confessed to her crime, and according to the village's rules, she must be executed. This is the only way in which can give justice to the villagers and the Hyuga clan."

Tonan was startled listening to Hiruzen's words. He looked at him in disbelief and said, "Does she have to die?"

"This is terrific."

Hiruzen didn't answer immediately. He seemed to hesitate for a while and tentatively said, "The deceased, after all, was a Hyuga. It's not the Uchiha clan's internal affairs. No one can show favoritism. Tonan, I hope you can understand."

Hiruzen already had a plan in his mind. If Tonan insisted on protecting Mina, he would use other means to quietly save her. This way, Tonan would be deeply indebted to him and do things for him wholeheartedly.

It's just that it may put him in a compromising situation, and it would affect his authority to a certain extent. But at this moment, Tonan stopped crying. He stood up slowly, wiped his tears, and said to Hiruzen, "I understand. Rules are the foundation of the village. I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, I was ignorant before. Please forgive my selfishness."

After speaking, he put his hand on his knees and bowed deeply to Hiruzen.

"It seems that the village and my status are higher than that little girl's in his heart."

Hiruzen was overjoyed. It would be best if he could completely resolve this matter without using special means. Moreover, after Mina's death, Tonan will completely lose his familial and romantic love.

"At that time, I will be his sole spiritual pillar. This is perfect!"

"It's alright. You are, after all, still young and not mature enough. I hope you will not begrudge the village because of this."

Tonan took a deep breath, shook his head firmly, and said, "I won't, this is Mina's doing. I won't blame other people. I'm not someone who cannot differentiate right from wrong."

Hiruzen nodded and casually added, "Because it is related to a human life, and Mina is about to be sentenced to death, the Interrogation Division needs to examine her memories."

Tonan's heart sank a little, secretly thinking, the situation was far from good.

On the surface, he said with a heartache, "Will it affect her body?"

Hiruzen hesitated for a bit and answered honestly, "If we examine her memories for too long, Mina may become of unsound mind. Fortunately, the incident didn't happen too long ago, so we just need to examine yesterday's memories, and there shouldn't be any problems. It's just that the process might be a little painful."

Tonan closed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "She must be very scared right now. As her boyfriend, I want to accompany her."

"If by chance she revealed something that gives the game away, then I can amend it in time."

Hiruzen wouldn't refuse such a simple request. He immediately nodded and said, "Alright."

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Chapter 30: Probing Memories, Life Saving Outburst

Sarutobi Hiruzen led Uchiha Tonan out of the interrogation room. They came back to Yamanaka Takuya, and Hiruzen said, "Let Tonan watch from the side while you look into her memories. I have other commitments at the moment, so I'll leave now."

"Understood. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen patted Tonan's shoulder and sighed as he left.

After seeing Hiruzen off, Takuya glanced at Tonan, and said, "Let's go."

Tonan nodded and followed him deeper into the Torture and Interrogation Department. They arrived outside the interrogation room, and two guarding shinobi bowed.

"Takuya-sama."

Takuya nodded and said, "Take this guy in to observe. Notify me if anything happens."

"Yes."

Tonan walked in and saw a whole range of medical equipment and several unknown drugs all over the interrogation room. In the middle was an iron bed with an electric light bulb hanging above. A blindfolded Uchiha Mina was lying atop. Metal rings restrained her hands, feet, and neck.

Her breathing was calm and even like she was deep asleep. Two Yamanaka shinobi, who were in charge of the memory investigation, were in the midst of preparations. One of them, called Yamanaka Hayakawa, was sorting through papers, while the other, Yamanaka Ryochi, was drawing a blue liquid into a syringe.

"Sit there and don't speak. Don't move around either," Hayakawa said, pointing to a chair at the side without looking up.

Tonan silently sat down.

"Is the sedative ready? She's young, so don't overdo it," Hayakawa reminded Ryochi after sorting the papers.

Ryochi nodded silently. He arrived at Mina's side, and inserted the syringe into her veins, pushing the drug in.

"I'm going to start," Ryochi said, and closed his eyes and pressed both hands between Mina's brow, beginning the memory probe.

Mina's body suddenly jolted as if she was struck by electricity and began to shudder. Whimpering sounds came from her mouth as if she was undergoing unbearable torture.

Indifferent towards all this, Ryochi began to describe what he saw.

"I see it. The date is October 6th."

Hayakawa, who sat beside Tonan, quickly began writing in a notebook.

"She got up, fed the cat, and made breakfast…"

"Then, she was daydreaming in the yard…"

Tonan watched with a pained look, but his heart jumped.

Sure enough, long-duration genjutsu came with its flaws.

"How long was she daydreaming for?"

"Past noon now."

"During the afternoon, she packed up her things and left."

Tonan kept up his anguished expression, but he was constantly planning in his head.

Judging by the chakra fluctuation of the probing ninja, he must be a chunin. The other was about the same level as well.

"If I cast genjutsu on both of them… No. It's too risky. I'll just keep watching for now."

"She arrived at the arena and met with a person called Uchiha Tonan."

"She was sparring with me last evening," Tonan suddenly interjected.

Hayakawa's face cooled and he warned, "Be quiet!"

"Sorry." Tonan lowered his head, but a cold glint flashed past his eyes.

"She was distracted, her mind was constantly wandering off during the training, and she went home just after an hour. She saw her kitten was dead. Next to its body was a note. It said…"

Hayakawa nodded as he recorded the information. The memory they saw matched up with the evidence so far. It was a solid case.

"She arrived at the waterfall and hid in the grass. There, she saw Tonan with another girl. "That girl, Hyuga Chiryo, was professing her love to Tonan."

"Tonan turned her down and left. Then, she came out and cut off the girl's head, burning it using a Great Fireball."

On the iron bed, Mina's body began convulsing as if she were having a seizure, foaming at her mouth.

"Enough! She can't take it, don't torture her anymore!"

Tonan shouted, which interrupted Ryochi's jutsu. Next to him, Hayakawa turned to the tear-streaked Tonan and coldly said, "Tonan, is it? Do you know the consequences of obstructing an interrogation? If you repeat this, I'll have to ask you to leave. I must perform my duties as an interrogator."

After rebuking him, he turned to Ryochi and said, "Continue. Look at her memories from the previous day as well."

"No! kill me, kill me!" Mina wailed. Due to the interruption, she regained her ability to speak.

Ryochi paid no attention to her pleas. Such scenes were too commonplace here. As long as he continued the jutsu, all the distracting noise would cease. He immediately placed both hands back in between her brows.

When he heard Hayakawa's instruction to search the memories from the day before, Tonan's mind turned, and the tomoe in his eyes began to spin.

He took out his kunai and turned into a dark shadow, leaping towards Mina.

"You little brat, I've put up with you long enough!"

The two Yamanaka shinobi reacted quickly. They had been wary of Tonan's mood swings for a while now. Both approached him at once and attacked to subdue him.

Bash

Bash

Ryochi punched Tonan's stomach and Hayakawa kicked his back. Tonan coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

"Mina…" His eyes slackened as he raised a hand towards her with difficulty.

"This person might be important. We won't get into any trouble, will we?" Ryochi frowned.

"He's obstructing official work. We're in the right if word gets to Hokage-sama." Hayakawa grabbed Tonan by the hair and dragged him outside.

The interrogation room's door was opened and the two shinobi watching outside looked at Hayakawa with shock. "Hayakawa, what are you doing? Put Ryochi down immediately!"

Hayakawa was stunned at those words, and asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Then, he looked down.

"This is… Ryochi! Where has that little brat gone?"

The one that Hayakawa was dragging out was not Tonan, but his fellow interrogator. What was even scarier was that Ryochi still had a thoughtful expression on his face like he was wondering about Tonan's background.

Hayakawa quickly put Ryochi down and the three looked at each other before turning back in unison.

"Oh no!"

In the torture room, the lamp above continued to illuminate the iron bed at the center. Tonan emerged from the shadows, his face pale and three tomoe spinning in his eyes.

One hand gently stroked Mina's hair, as he aimed a kunai at her heart with the other.

"Tonan…" Mina murmured. The genjutsu was beginning to lose its effect on her mind and she recovered some of her memories.

Fragmented images began coming back to her, and it all eventually settled on the scene where Tonan used his genjutsu on her.

At this moment, Mina understood everything. At once, she struggled with all her might. But the metal rings didn't budge. She couldn't move.

Seeing her resistance, a sad look appeared on Tonan's face and he said in a hoarse voice, "It's fine now, Mina. The pain will end soon."

His words were to soothe but the voice Mina heard was just like the whispers of a devil from hell.

She pleaded in a voice full of fear, "Help me!"

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Chapter 31: Burying The Lover, Hidden Danger

Notes:

Sannin, meaning the Legendary Three Ninja, are Konoha's three renowned ninja, hailed as the greatest of their time.

"Stop!"

Puchi

A kunai was ruthlessly stabbed into Uchiha Mina's heart. And at almost the same time, two guarding ninja rushed at Uchiha Tonan and placed their kunai on his neck.

"Damn it!"

Yamanaka Hayakawa looked at the iron bed with an ugly expression. He shouted at Yamanaka Ryochi, who just staggered up at the door.

"Immediately inform Takuya-sama."

Yamanaka Ryochi had just awakened from the genjutsu. He was still unaware of what had transpired. As his mind cleared, he dashed out.

Hehe…

At this moment, Tonan let out a miserable laugh, and tears of blood overflowed from his eyes. Ignoring the kunai on his neck, he brought his lips to Mina's forehead and gently kissed it.

"Mina… I love you…"

At this moment, Yamanaka Takuya, who heard the commotion, also walked in. On seeing the chaos in the interrogation room, he was surprised and asked, "What happened here?"

Hayakawa hastily replied, "Takuya-sama, we had begun the memory probe…"

After listening to the sequence of events, Takayu also became silent. He looked at Tonan, whose eyes were filled with inconsolable grief, and said, "Give me the memory record, and all of you withdraw."

"Yes."

Tonan ignored Takuya, and he unlocked the metal rings that bound Mina. Only the blindfold remained. He picked up her body and walked outside with a desolate look.

"Wait…" Takuya wanted to stop him but he retracted his hand before it reached halfway and sighed, "Go."

Tonan glanced at Takuya with a dull face and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."

He turned and left with staggering steps. Looking at Tonan made Takuya feel sad for some reason.

"You can already use Sharingan so skillfully. Even two chunin were unable to stop you… such capability…"

Takuya squinted his eyes and looked at the record in his hands.

"Let Hokage-sama make the decision."

After leaving the Torture and Interrogation Division, Tonan didn't go straight to the graveyard. He also didn't go to the clan. Instead, he chose a detour and walked through the bustling Konoha shopping streets.

How could there be no audience for such a scene?

Along the way, people pointed at him. The guards wanted to step forward and ask questions, but they were stopped by the Anbu, who was dispatched by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Where is he going?" In the Hokage office, Hiruzen pondered while watching the crystal ball in front of him.

Tonan's current state was far from good. In just three months, he lost a clan brother, both his parents, a classmate, and his girlfriend in quick succession. Familial love, friendship, and love, nothing was left behind.

If it was any other child in his place, he would definitely turn dark. Even if that didn't happen, he would become dejected.

"It'll be hard dealing with this, why didn't I think of it before? I should have done something to protect that girl. Tonan, I hope you'll not fail to live up to my expectations."

Tonan carried Mina's corpse and came to the swing outside the Ninja Academy and sat there. In the dark, there were quite a few Anbu monitoring the situation.

"Mina, this is where we first met. Without you, I don't plan to stay here any longer either. At the end of the term, I'll apply for early graduation. Do you want to look around one last time?"

Tonan reached out and gently pulled Mina's blindfold.

Under the blindfold, Mina's eyes were wide open with fear.

"Died with a grievance? Then, don't look, else you might frighten others!"

Tonan pretended to sob, retraced the hand that was pulling the blindfold, and wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes.

He then carried Mina's corpse and went to the graveyard for burial. After burying the girl he loved, he knelt there for the entire night.

Perhaps, it was because of Hiruzen's secret order but no one came to disturb him the whole time he was there. After all, this was the time when Tonan was at his weakest and needed a crying shoulder the most.

It was also the best time to take advantage of the void and enter his heart. How could Hiruzen leave such a great chance to others? When the early light was brightening the sky, Hiruzen came behind Tonan.

"Tonan, pull yourself together. Mina definitely wouldn't want to see you like this."

Hearing Hiruzen's voice, Tonan turned around and stood up. He forced himself to smile and said, "Yes, Mina always said that she likes mature and calm people, I can't cry… can't cry…"

While speaking, tears threatened to spill out. He used his hands to wipe them and explained, "Dust got into my eyes."

Looking at him like this, Hiruzen sighed. He gently caressed Tonan's hair and said, "Alas… you've experienced a lot and also lost too much in a short time. But you have the village and me. And many, many people care about you."

"You are young now. The village will protect you. I will also protect you. When you grow up, we'll rely on you to protect the village."

Tonan was startled after hearing his words. He stared at Hiruzen with crystal clear eyes and muttered, "Hokage-sama…"

"Tonan…"

"Hokage-sama…" Finally, unable to restrain his feelings, Tonan hugged Hiruzen and cried like a child who had suffered too much. Hiruzen looked down at the grieving Tonan, and his eyes narrowed. No one knew what he was thinking.

Tonan, who was crying profusely, had many thoughts spinning in his head right now.

"Why is it so hard to gain this old man's acknowledgment? Apart from those parents, the few whose acknowledgment I have are all children. This system also has no progress bar. It's really a pain."

Just like this, some time passed. The sun had already risen from behind the Hokage Rock. The golden sunlight fell on them, accompanied by green leaves flying with the wind. The scene was harmonious and peaceful.

Tonan noticed that the time was almost up, and he got out of Hiruzen's arms. He took a deep breath. Trying to look cheerful, he said, "Hokage-sama, thank you. I will get back on my feet and protect our village."

Seeing Tonan was no longer too sad, Hiruzen felt relieved.

"There's no dejection and no darkening. This is better than I expected."

He showed a kind and warm smile and said, "Will you be able to go to the academy on time? Or should I approve a day's leave for you?"

"I'll be fine."

"Is all going well at school and home…"

The two left the graveyard chatting about Tonan's everyday experiences. Only when they reached the shopping street's intersection, did they part their ways.

What happened yesterday had already become a grapevine. When Tonan was on his way home, people around him talked in whispers, occasionally pointing at him.

As the subject of the gossip, Tonan had no opinion. In any case, he was the innocent, grief-stricken person in all this.

Sensing something, Tonan's eyes narrowed slightly. Soon afterward though, his expression turned calm again. Straight ahead, there was a man with very pale skin and long hair walking towards him.

"Look, look, Orochimaru-sama, one of the three Sannin."

"Orochimaru-sama."

"Orochimaru-sama."

The people around greeted in succession, looking at the person with reverence. Orochimaru calmly nodded back at them. It had just been a few years since the end of the second war, and the Sannin were the pride of the entire Konoha.

When Orochimaru arrived in front of Tonan, the latter placed his hands on the knees, bowed showing similar reverence, and said, "Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru didn't pay any special attention to Tonan. He just nodded as he did to the others and the two passed by.

However, after Orochimaru had walked a short distance, his snake eyes narrowed. His intuition told him someone was spying on him. He paused and turned around to look. But he saw nothing out of the ordinary on the wide and long street.

"Was it a misperception?" Orochimaru double-checked, and after confirming there was nothing unusual, he left.

Once Orochimaru disappeared at the street's turn, Tonan took off the duck mask. Just a moment ago, when he brushed past Orochimaru, he felt a special and familiar chakra.

Therefore, he used Byakugan to observe. In Orochimaru's ninja bag, there was a sealed test tube, which had a pair of Sharingan immersed in some kind of liquid.

"Has it already begun? It seems I have to be more careful. I shouldn't attract them."

"Young fellow, this mask makes you look very handsome."

"Thank you, but I won't buy it." Tonan smiled at the shopkeeper and put the mask back on the shelf.

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Chapter 32: Applying For Graduation, Buying Ninja Tools

Once he returned home, Tonan flipped open his diary and began writing a doleful entry. Even though his hands did not stop filling in the words, his mind was on those Sharingan in the test tube.

After he finished writing, he sat under the eaves and stared at the Uchiha clan members who occasionally passed by, lost in thought. Right now, all the Uchiha had returned to Konoha. If Orochimaru wanted to get his hands on a pair of Sharingan for his experiments, he could only acquire it from the village.

Tonan had three tomoe and lived at the edge of the clan's territory. He was a very convenient target.

"The war is completely over. This is really unsettling. If I'd known this would happen earlier, I wouldn't have refused the Great Elder."

Tonan rubbed his temples. When he unlocked his third tomoe, the Great Elder planned to have Tonan move to the center of the clan grounds. But Tonan had already sided with Sarutobi Hiruzen at the time, and with so many secrets of his own, he turned down the offer.

"I can only rely on myself," Tonan murmured. Surveying the courtyard's layout, he got up and headed to the storage room. One must not wish harm upon others, but one must also not be unguarded against others. Tonan had always adhered to the principle of not provoking others when unprovoked, and vice versa.

He just had to take a little more precaution now.

The rest of the day was peaceful. Tonan didn't plan on causing any more trouble for the time being. That was also because graduation was coming up.

"Tonan-kun! Are you and that Kakashi going to apply for early graduation?" a surprised Uchiha Obito asked Tonan.

Tonan modestly nodded, and said, "I'm not too sure if I can manage it, but I want to try."

When Maito Guy overheard the conversation between them, he rushed straight to Hatake Kakashi and asked excitedly, "Kakashi, are you really going to apply for early graduation?"

Kakashi nodded indifferently. Guy clenched his fists and as if flames were burning in his eyes, he passionately said, "Sure enough, you're worthy of being my arch-nemesis! Youth should burn with passion! Since you want to graduate early, let me join you and we can compete and see who will be able to graduate! The loser must run 500 laps around the field!"

Guy's voice was so loud that the entire classroom heard it. Many of the girls came over and started speaking with starry eyes.

"Kakashi, are you graduating early?"

"Is Tonan-kun graduating early too?"

"Tonan-kun is amazing! He's already so confident to be able to graduate early."

"I can't even use genjutsu yet but Tonan-kun already has a genin's skills."

"Tonan-kun is the most amazing!"

"No, Kakashi is the most amazing!"

"Tonan-kun!"

"Kakashi!"

There were too many fangirls on both Tonan and Kakashi's sides, and both sides ended up arguing just like that.

Obito was disgruntled when he saw Rin by Kakashi's side. He slammed on the table and announced, "I've decided, I'll also apply for early graduation! I'm the future Hokage after all, how can I fall behind?"

But all he got in return was a series of eye-rolls. Only Rin kindly reminded him, "Obito, you have to excel in all three basic types of jutsu and also get straight As."

"What?! Three jutsu!" Both Obito and Guy covered their faces with their hands at the same time, faces distorted as if they'd eaten dirt. But Guy was the first to come around. With hot tears streaming down his face, he said to Kakashi, "Damn it, as expected of you, Kakashi. You win this time!"

The hubbub was still on when Umino Naoto entered the classroom. He cleared his throat loudly and everyone hurried back to their seats.

With both hands on the table, Naoto announced, "Settle down, everyone. Your final exams are tomorrow, so I hope you'll do your best. Both Tonan and Kakashi have applied for early graduation. The two of you will take your exams in the grade three's classroom. Don't be late. The school will end early today, so go home and rest up."

"Burn on, youth!" As soon as Naoto left the room, Guy rushed out. From the looks of it, he was going to fulfill his promise of running 500 laps in the field.

"The exam is tomorrow. Do you want to go for dinner this evening? I heard a new ramen restaurant opened up in the shopping street. They say it's very good."

"Good luck, Kakashi!"

"See you, Tonan-kun!"

…

When almost everyone had left, Kakashi got up and came to Tonan, passing him a scroll, and said, "Here, it's inside."

Tonan smiled and accepted it. The scroll contained something that would greatly increase his sense of security.

"Thanks, Kakashi. How much?" Tonan took out his wallet and asked.

Kakashi lazily put both hands behind his head, and replied, "No need."

Tonan put on a serious face and earnestly said, "Kakashi, do you see me as your friend?"

"What… what are you asking me that for?" Kakashi blushed and turned his head aside.

"If you think of me as your friend, then take the money. Friends help each other when they're in need. They don't leech off each other even if those things are not important to you."

Tonan slipped cash into Kakashi's hand. Kakashi looked down at the thick wad of money and froze.

"I won't feel good if you don't take it, and I don't think I could bring myself to trouble you again in the future."

"Annoying." Kakashi carelessly stuffed the money into his pocket and asked in a seemingly casual tone, "Are you coming to my house?" There seemed to be a hint of enticement in his voice…

Seeing Kakashi accept the money, Tonan narrowed his eyes in a smile, and replied, "No, I'm planning to rest up at home today."

Once he returned home, Tonan shut the front gates and went to his room. He opened the scroll, and after forming a few seals, he placed his palm on it.

"Unseal."

White smoke rose, and the objects sealed inside the scroll appeared before him. Tonan made an inventory. Three damage-proof Explosion Tags, four Fuma (wind demon) Shuriken, two fuel barrels, chakra wire, and a barrel of quick-setting cement.

These things may not seem much, but they were expensive and not something the average person could afford. Especially the three damage-proof Explosion Tags and the chakra wire.

A chunin may be able to afford it because they could earn enough in just a few missions. But he spent almost half of his parents' death benefits on this. Most of these things were considered controlled products that only ninja could buy.

Of course, if Tonan really wanted to buy them, he could also purchase them from the clan. But he was worried he might draw Hiruzen's misunderstanding and sour their ambiguous relationship.

Fortunately, though, he had a good brother like Kakashi. He figured that the latter must have asked Hatake Sakumo to buy these for him. There was also the possibility of course that Kakashi took them directly from his home.

Tonan began attaching the chakra wire to the Fuma Shuriken, as well as to the several kunai. After connecting them, he sealed the weapons into a storage scroll.

Once the sky turned dark, he moved the rest of the things into his courtyard. At the same time, the white pigeons lurking around the house activated the Sharingan to avoid anyone from discovering what was happening in the courtyard.

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