A look of visible astonishment spread across Sasuke's small face. Then, a sudden, unprovoked surge of indignation washed over him. He immediately stood up, making an effort to put on the standard cold, poker face of the Uchiha clan, his gaze firmly locked on the other kids.
Sasuke frowned, demanding, "What nonsense are you spouting? Are you guys slandering the Uchiha clan?!"
Sasuke wouldn't allow anyone to badmouth his older brother! As the top genius of the Ninja Academy's first year, and the second son of the Uchiha clan leader, when Sasuke adopted this serious demeanor, the few kids across from him still felt a bit intimidated.
One of them weakly replied, "That's what everyone outside is saying! Someone said—Uchiha Itachi killed everyone in the Uchiha clan, sparing neither old nor young."
Sasuke: "...???"
Just as he was about to say something, a startled cry suddenly came from the classroom door. Haruno Sakura rushed back into the classroom. She ran to Sasuke's side, urgently saying, "Sasuke, a lot of people are saying something happened to your Uchiha clan!"
Another person ran over, Yamanaka Ino, who directly pushed Sakura aside and quickly said, "Sasuke-kun, someone said your parents died... died at the hands of your older brother, Uchiha Itachi."
Sasuke suddenly tensed up. The expression on his small face shifted slightly. The consecutive "ridiculous rumors" entering his ears made Sasuke gradually realize that something might truly have happened at home! But this was too absurd! Killing all his clansmen, killing his own parents... how could his brother do something so deranged as the rumors suggested? He was the gentlest Uchiha in his heart! It was absolutely impossible!
Although disbelief filled his mind, Sasuke couldn't control his legs. Ignoring the stares of the surrounding Ninja Academy students, he ran straight out of the classroom and out of the academy. Instinctive panic and a sense of unease urged Sasuke to hurry back to the Uchiha clan compound.
"It can't be..." "Brother, he..." "Absolutely impossible!"
Sasuke ran until he was breathless. Along the way, he heard many people outside spreading rumors that something had happened to the Uchiha clan, and the rumors grew increasingly bizarre. He even vaguely heard someone spreading that Uchiha Sasuke himself had also been killed by Uchiha Itachi.
Wait... if Uchiha Sasuke was killed, then who was he?
"Darn rumors..."
He no longer had the presence of mind to refute those who spoke ill of his brother. All he wanted now was to rush back to the Uuchiha clan compound. And whether it was a coincidence or not, he hadn't encountered a single Uchiha Police Force ninja along the way! This made Sasuke's heart grow even more uneasy.
Just then, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of two ninjas dressed in Uchiha Police Force attire at the street corner ahead. Sasuke's eyes instantly lit up. A wave of relief washed over him. At least, this proved that some of the ridiculous rumors weren't true; at least some Uchiha clan ninjas were still alive.
"No!" Sasuke quickly shook his head. What was he thinking? It's not just some rumors that aren't true; all of them should be false!
"Hey! Please... please wait a moment!!!"
Seeing the two Uchiha Police Force ninjas about to turn and leave, Sasuke hurriedly shouted towards them. They seemed to have heard him. Both stopped. Sasuke took the opportunity to run over. As soon as he stopped, he leaned his hands on his knees, gasping for breath, his fair forehead covered in sweat; he was clearly exhausted.
After finally catching his breath, he raised his small head and quickly asked, "I heard many people in the village spreading rumors about our Uchiha clan. Please, what on ea—"
Sasuke's voice abruptly cut off. He recognized one of the Police Force ninjas in front of him—it was Uchiha Akainu, whom his mother had once warned him to avoid too much contact with! Sasuke suddenly tensed up again.
Because after Uchiha Itachi returned to the village, Sasuke had curiously asked him why his mother didn't want him to interact with Uchiha Akainu. Uchiha Itachi then recounted the past conflict between him and Uchiha Akainu, which greatly shocked the young Sasuke. It also instinctively made Sasuke see Uchiha Akainu as an "enemy."
Someone who wanted to kill his brother. What else could he be but an enemy?
"Oh? Is that Sasuke-kun?" A somewhat familiar voice came from the other side, and Sasuke mechanically turned his head. He found himself seeing a familiar face—Uchiha Izumi! Because his brother had few friends, he remembered each of his brother's friends very clearly.
"Sasuke-kun, it's Thursday today, and it's not time for the Ninja Academy to let out yet. Are you skipping class?" Izumi squinted, placing a hand on Sasuke's head and rubbing it. "Skipping class is a very bad habit, you know, it's a bad influence. Sasuke-kun shouldn't pick up bad habits."
Sasuke quickly stepped back, smoothing his ruffled hair, and hastily explained, "I... I heard those rumors, so I wanted to hurry home and check. They said my brother... killed everyone in the Uchiha clan."
Izumi suddenly understood. She turned to Uchiha Akainu beside her and said, "Senior, even the Ninja Academy students have heard about the evil deeds Uchiha Itachi will commit in the future. It's just that as real news spreads, people add their own embellishments, and then many rumors emerge, contradicting the actual facts."
Sasuke froze, then quickly asked, "What facts? What real news? Is it about my brother?"
However, Sasuke found that they didn't acknowledge him. The man named "Uchiha Akainu" merely glanced at him before shifting his gaze. Sasuke noticed that he was now looking at a seemingly "ordinary" Konoha civilian not far ahead. He heard the man say in a detached tone, "Because someone in the shadows deliberately 'fanned the flames' of negative public opinion against Uchiha Itachi; someone is exploiting this surge of public discourse."
Izumi was instantly startled, and she weakly ventured, "Exploiting? Senior Akainu, have you discovered something new?" She also looked at the person Uchiha Akainu's gaze was fixed on.
Hmm... was there anything unusual about that person?
Izumi noticed that Senior Akainu didn't say much more, simply walking unhurriedly in that direction. Izumi immediately followed. Leaving Sasuke standing there, his small face bewildered. He looked left and right, caught in a dilemma. He wanted to rush back to the Uchiha clan compound, but that would take more than ten minutes. If he just asked someone, he might get an answer in a few minutes.
"Although Mother told me not to interact with Uchiha Akainu, I'm interacting with Uchiha Izumi... that should be fine, right?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. He followed them too.