Ryun and Kushina were chatting and laughing on the bench for a while, until two uninvited guests arrived, and the pleasant atmosphere instantly dissipated.
"Uchiha... Kazuyo?"
Seeing the visitor, Ryun instinctively frowned.
Uchiha Kazuyo was standing at his doorstep with his mother, Uchiha Sayo, holding a basket of fruits.
"Uzumaki Kushina, you're here too!"
Uchiha Kazuyo exclaimed in surprise when he saw Kushina beside Ryun.
"What!"
Uchiha Sayo was slightly shocked. They had originally planned to visit Ryun first, then find this annoying girl later. They didn't expect the two to be together even during the break.
"Excuse us. I brought our Kazuyo here today to apologize to both of you... What happened at the Ninja Academy was our Kazuyo's fault. We hope you can forgive his mistake..."
Suppressing her discomfort, Uchiha Sayo took the initiative to explain their purpose. She even bowed slightly, appearing somewhat humble.
'Disgusting couple...'
Uchiha Kazuyo cursed inwardly, but his face wore a stiff smile.
Ryun and Kushina exchanged glances, both looking surprised.
Regarding the incident with Uchiha Kazuyo, their homeroom teacher, Instructor Koda, had already spoken to them. He said he would make Uchiha Kazuyo sincerely apologize and suggested they let it go.
After all, cutting off someone's future was akin to killing their parents. Leaving some room for reconciliation was advisable. Instructor Koda advocated for harmony.
"This is a small gift. We hope Ryun-kun and Miss Kushina will accept it..." Uchiha Sayo offered the fruit basket.
Under the circumstances, they had no choice. For Uchiha Kazuyo to graduate smoothly from the Ninja Academy and become a ninja, he had to obtain forgiveness from these two.
Otherwise, the academy teachers would not allow Uchiha Kazuyo to return.
However, Ryun did not immediately take the basket. Instead, he calmly stared at Uchiha Kazuyo with a cold gaze.
The four of them stood in silence, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense.
Uchiha Sayo's arms grew tired from holding the basket, but neither of the two opposite her spoke.
Helpless, Uchiha Sayo discreetly signaled Uchiha Kazuyo with her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Ryun... kun, Miss Kushina! I was wrong!" Uchiha Kazuyo blushed and loudly apologized.
"Wrong about what?" Ryun raised an eyebrow and asked casually.
"I shouldn't have bullied Ryun-kun or thrown kunai at Miss Kushina. At the time, I only meant to aim for the shoulder. I never intended to kill Miss Kushina..."
After speaking, Uchiha Kazuyo bowed deeply to them.
"Please forgive me this once..."
Ryun stared at him expressionlessly until Kazuyo grew visibly uneasy. Then, he turned to Kushina.
"Miss Kushina, what do you think?" Ryun asked with a serious face.
Seeing his overly formal demeanor, Kushina nearly burst out laughing but managed to hold it in.
"Fine. Since your attitude isn't terrible, I'll forgive you this time. But don't think about bullying others again..."
Kushina generously chose to forgive.
"Thank you, Miss Kushina..." Uchiha Kazuyo lowered his head, his expression unreadable.
"Ryun-kun, what about you..." Uchiha Sayo smiled and looked at Ryun.
But in the next moment, Ryun ignored her and instead glared coldly at Uchiha Kazuyo.
"Was it you who called those clansmen yesterday?"
"What?"
Uchiha Kazuyo looked up, confused.
Ryun was slightly surprised. It seemed Uchiha Kazuyo didn't know about yesterday's incident.
The group of Uchiha who ambushed Ryun and Kushina must have acted on their own.
"Are you pretending, or are you really clueless? Yesterday, eight Uchiha came to gang up on me. Wasn't it you who sent them?" Ryun sneered.
"No... It wasn't me, I didn't..." Uchiha Kazuyo waved his hands frantically.
For the past two days, he had been confined at home to recover from his leg injury. His parents hadn't let him out, so he had no chance to contact his friends.
"Really?"
Ryun scrutinized him coldly, his icy demeanor making Uchiha Kazuyo tremble.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about yesterday. Those jerks must have been sent by this guy."
Kushina glared angrily at Uchiha Kazuyo. She had forgotten about the incident, but they shouldn't let this troublemaker off so easily.
"It wasn't me... I don't even know what happened..." Uchiha Kazuyo was on the verge of tears.
Uchiha Sayo quickly stepped in to explain, saying her son had been grounded and hadn't left the house for days.
"Is that so? I don't believe it. If you didn't order them, why would they gang up on me? Uchiha En even said they came for you. How do you plan to resolve this?"
Ryun crossed his arms and spoke indifferently.
"It really wasn't me... En and the others..." Uchiha Kazuyo was at a loss for words.
He felt like his future was over. He might never become a ninja now...
"Our Kazuyo definitely wasn't involved in this. We'll investigate thoroughly when we get back. Ryun-kun, Miss Kushina, please give us some time..."
After a brief moment of panic, Uchiha Sayo regained her composure and bowed again, making a promise.
"Since you've said so, I'll give you face this time..." Ryun relented, not pushing further.
Uchiha En and the others wanted to stand up for this guy, right?
Then Ryun would see whether Uchiha Kazuyo would appreciate it and how he would handle it.
If they united against Ryun as an outsider, then Ryun would play the outsider's role and see if he could "divide" them, turning them into a "disorganized mess."
He wouldn't give them a chance to unite against him.
"Take the fruit basket back. As ninjas, you should know the rules. We won't accept these fruits, and we definitely won't eat them."
Ryun rejected the gift. Could they casually accept or eat fruits given by ninjas?
What if there were explosive tags hidden underneath or colorless, odorless poison in the fruits that would take effect weeks later?
Uchiha Sayo looked embarrassed. In the end, the mother and son bid farewell and left.
"Hmph, two-faced jerk. Those guys yesterday must have been called by him."
Watching Uchiha Kazuyo's retreating figure, Kushina couldn't help but snort.
"Probably not..." Ryun smiled, his earlier hostility completely gone.
"No? Then should we forgive him?" Kushina asked in surprise.
"We have to forgive him. After all, Uchiha Kazuyo's father is an elite jonin. When we don't have enough strength to protect ourselves, we should still show some restraint..."
Even a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone an elite jonin.
But things hadn't escalated to that point yet, which was why Ryun wanted to pressure Uchiha Kazuyo a bit.
Given Uchiha Kazuyo's nasty temper, once he learned about yesterday's incident, he would only blame Uchiha En and the others for meddling and ruining his chances of forgiveness...
Ryun's plan to sow discord was simply to redirect the hatred. Even if it didn't fully work, at least he and Kushina wouldn't be collectively targeted by the Uchiha clan anymore.
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