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*****
"Watch out!"
Ino cried out, trying to stop him—but she wasn't skilled in taijutsu to begin with, so how could she possibly react in time?
Sakura, who had yet to become Tsunade's apprentice, was no better. So Ximen Zhen could only take action himself.
With practiced ease, chakra surged into his limbs as he spun around. In a flash, his index finger shot toward a certain direction and flicked.
His finger hooked the ring of the kunai mid-air, then smoothly caught it in his hand. His gaze shifted to a boy standing atop a distant rooftop.
The newcomer stood with both hands in his pockets, as if the entire world owed him a fortune. His eyes locked onto Ximen Zhen, a faint, contemptuous smirk tugging at his lips.
That face—it was definitely Sasuke.
Ximen Zhen had already sensed his presence earlier. He simply hadn't seen Sasuke before and couldn't match the chakra signature to the name.
But the moment Sasuke leapt onto a small Uchiha residence and threw a kunai at him, Ximen Zhen was nearly certain of his identity.
"Who is it?!"
Ino's heart was still pounding. Frustrated, she followed Ximen Zhen's line of sight and spotted Sasuke.
She hesitated for a moment, but her instincts kicked in, and she shouted, "Damn it, Sasuke! Who said you could throw a kunai at someone like that? Ximen is just a regular guy—what if you killed him?!"
Sakura looked at Ino in shock—was she seriously yelling at Sasuke?
It really seemed like Ino had lost interest in him…
Sakura felt a bit pleased, but oddly enough, there was a stronger sense of loss.
In that moment, she realized—bickering with Ino was somehow more fun than chasing after Sasuke.
Sasuke completely ignored Ino. With a few agile leaps, he landed atop a high wall in front of Ximen Zhen, and another kunai appeared in his hand.
Looking down from above, he spoke coldly: "Who told you to come here? What are you trying to do—steal something from the Uchiha clan?"
Ino's anger boiled over after being ignored. Her ears were practically steaming.
Sakura, not forgetting their purpose, quickly added, "Um, Sasuke-kun, we came to see you because—"
"Shut up. I wasn't talking to you."
Sasuke didn't even glance at her. In his eyes, girls like Sakura and Ino were the dullest, most useless people—only slightly more tolerable than that loser, Naruto.
By contrast, he found Ximen Zhen, who was clearly stronger, far more intriguing.
There was no one left in class who could challenge him. What he wanted most now was to graduate early and face the Jonin leaders—to test just how far he was from that man.
Now, seeing Ximen Zhen, Sasuke's fighting spirit stirred. Naturally, he wanted to test him.
Pointing his kunai at Ximen Zhen, he said, "Answer me. Otherwise, I'll have to take you to the Military Police Force."
Ximen Zhen studied Sasuke carefully. He had expected Sasuke to have a bad temper, but not to be this deliberately provocative.
Why?
Because of Ino and Sakura?
At their age, boys often fought over girls. But Sasuke clearly wasn't the type.
He really didn't care about women. Every girl who followed him was nearly killed by him at some point.
So, the only explanation was—Sasuke was interested in him.
Ximen Zhen twirled the kunai in his hand and tossed it back to Sasuke, who caught it casually.
Though Ximen Zhen didn't expect much, he still wanted to give it a try.
"I'm Ximen Zhen. I came to talk business with you—I want to expand a house…"
He didn't even finish the sentence before whoosh—a kunai zipped past his ear, slicing off a few strands of his hair.
Ino's eyes widened. Her heart nearly stopped.
If Sasuke's earlier attack was a test, this one carried real killing intent—a warning.
She instinctively stepped closer and grabbed Ximen Zhen's arm, trying to pull him away.
She knew Sasuke's strength—someone like Ximen Zhen, who only knew basic taijutsu, couldn't possibly stand against him.
"Sasuke! Calm down, Sasuke!"
Sakura forced a smile, though her legs were trembling.
Still, she stepped between Ximen Zhen and Sasuke and said, "Even if you don't agree, you don't need to get this angry, right? Ximen Zhen isn't a bad guy—he even wrote a biography about your ancestor!"
She shouldn't have said that.
The moment she did, Sasuke's gaze turned ice-cold. It was the first time Sakura had ever felt killing intent from him.
Why?
She didn't understand.
Fortunately, Sasuke didn't leave her guessing. He jumped down and began walking toward Ximen Zhen.
Sakura tried to stop him, but he casually shoved her aside. She fell to the ground with a pained grunt.
He never looked back.
Standing face to face with Ximen Zhen, Sasuke stared him down before speaking—finally revealing why he was so furious.
"I know who you are. You wrote the Uchiha Madara Biography. I heard you're planning to write about my father, about Shisui… even about that man."
Sasuke laughed—but it was the kind of laughter born from rage. It held a manic edge that hinted at the future Laughing Uchiha he would become.
He grabbed Ximen Zhen's collar and said, "Who are you to judge the Uchiha clan? You think we're all dead or something?!"
"The Uchiha haven't fallen so far that we need outsiders to write our family history!"
Now that Ximen Zhen understood the real reason for Sasuke's anger, he felt unexpectedly calm.
He met Sasuke's gaze and said coolly, "Have you even read what I wrote? You're this angry without knowing the content—what if I'm praising the Uchiha?"
"I don't need it!"
"I'm ordering you to stop writing this book—or else…"
Sasuke flipped the kunai in his hand, pressing it against Ximen Zhen's neck.
But Ximen Zhen didn't flinch.
Because in Sasuke's eyes, he saw anger and anxiety—but not true killing intent.
This Sasuke had even forgotten he'd already awakened the Sharingan—he wasn't truly worthy of the Uchiha name yet.
"That's a shame."
Ximen Zhen shrugged and said, "Just recently, I handed the Uchiha Madara Biography manuscript to the Hokage. He approved its publication."
"You—!"
Sasuke lowered the kunai in fury. Meanwhile, Ino slowly formed a hand seal, and even Sakura began gathering chakra.
They didn't have the courage to fight Sasuke directly, but they couldn't just stand by and watch him harm a fellow villager.
"Fine—then just stop writing anything else about the Uchiha clan!"
Sasuke had to lower his demands. But now, Ximen Zhen was tempted to tease him a little.
After all, if he didn't take the chance now—he might never get another.
"Well, it's not off the table… but what's in it for me?"
(End of Chapter)