Life after the Ninja Academy's final exam was remarkably peaceful.
It was unclear what Sasuke went through at home, but he was no longer as provocative towards Kusuo. Over the past year, he had become much more withdrawn.
For Kusuo, the academy's curriculum was incredibly boring. At this point, there was one jutsu he was desperate to learn quickly: the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Cousin."
Having made up his mind, Kusuo had been lying in wait for the past few days. Kakashi's movements were erratic, and catching him was a rare feat. Today, after practicing his sword in the courtyard for half a day, Kusuo finally saw Kakashi return.
"Hm? What is it, Kusuo?" Kakashi asked, surprised.
"I want to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Kusuo didn't beat around the bush with his cousin.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Kakashi stroked his chin, instantly understanding what his genius cousin was up to. "Didn't your parents leave you a scroll for it?"
"No, I've searched the whole house. There are no ninjutsu scrolls like that."
"I see. I'll bring you the scroll tonight. But remember, don't get carried away, and respect every opponent."
Geniuses were never satisfied with what the school taught. Kakashi had been like that, and so had Itachi. Kusuo's motive for learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu was undoubtedly to skip class and practice his sword. Kakashi saw through this little scheme clearly.
Seeing that Kakashi had agreed, Kusuo, having achieved his goal, returned to his own courtyard contentedly and resumed his cyclical sword practice.
...
Over the course of that year, dark undercurrents surged within Konoha. Only a few exceptionally perceptive individuals could feel the escalating conflict between the village leadership and a certain great clan. The two sides were reaching a point where they could no longer coexist...
"Phew..."
"It's finally done."
"I've finally unlocked the next stage of Sun Breathing."
Kusuo let out a long sigh of relief. Just moments ago, the system had notified him that his template role-play percentage had reached 50%, successfully unlocking the next form of the Sun Breathing sword style.
Fourth Form: Parhelion Rainbow!
It was a specialized evasive dance performed through high-speed twists and turns. However, the better an opponent's eyesight, the more clearly they could perceive the user's afterimages. Therefore, to master it to a godlike level, he still had to rely on his own skill. Otherwise, those with eyes like the Hyuga and Uchiha clans could very likely see through his movements.
"In any case, my offensive options have become a bit more diverse," he thought. "But it's still not enough! True strength is being powerful in all aspects. The Sun Breathing techniques only make me less passive in actual combat and give me more ways to attack. The most urgent task right now is still to master Total Concentration: Constant!"
Kusuo frowned, looking at the several gourds of various sizes that lay shattered around him. His progress was rapid. Without even activating his Mark, he could basically take on a chunin-level opponent. If he activated the Mark, his strength would rise to another level.
Even so, he still couldn't grasp the key to Total Concentration: Constant. He had a feeling that his daily training was sufficient, but there was always some final barrier holding him back, preventing him from succeeding. To break through this bottleneck, he might need some other kind of external push...
"Sasuke! Don't you leave after school! Let's have another one-on-one duel!"
At the Ninja Academy, Naruto was pestering Sasuke again, waving his arms and itching for a challenge.
Sasuke looked at Naruto's face, his eyelid twitching. Great. It's this annoying guy again, and again, and again! Why "again"? Because Naruto was constantly looking for trouble with him. As a dead-last, couldn't he just stay quietly at the bottom of the class? Sasuke was getting tired of it.
"I don't have time!" he said coldly, then turned to leave, glancing at the "Kusuo" who had already walked out the door.
"Big brother!"
As soon as he stepped outside, Sasuke saw his beloved older brother, Itachi Uchiha, had come to pick him up personally. The unhappiness on his face vanished instantly, and he ran over to him joyfully.
Itachi smiled and patted Sasuke's head, preparing to take him home.
But Sasuke suddenly said, "Brother, wait!"
He had spotted Kusuo and wanted to chase after him to set a time for a new challenge. For the past year, he had begged his brother and father to train him every day, spending most of his time after school in extra practice. He was confident that his shurikenjutsu and taijutsu were far beyond what they were a year ago.
"With these eyes, Hatake Kusuo, I will definitely defeat you!" Sasuke thought with conviction as he ran.
Itachi also saw Kusuo's figure. He, too, had become curious about this supposed genius of the new generation. If for no other reason than the fact that he had managed to stimulate Sasuke into awakening his Sharingan prematurely—a major event within the entire clan.
And so, he followed along.
For some reason, Kusuo was walking very fast. After several twists and turns, he ended up in an empty alley. He then looked around "sneakily," and after confirming no one was there...
POOF!
A puff of white smoke rose.
Kusuo's entire figure vanished.
Left behind were only Sasuke and Itachi, who had just witnessed the entire thing.
Th-this... how could this be?
Sasuke was dumbfounded, his mind in turmoil.
"That's the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Itachi said, his voice calm. "So that's how it is. Has it been a clone attending school all this time?"
The eyes above Itachi's two deep tear troughs became profound.
"Just like I used to do... Hatake Kusuo, what an interesting boy."