The next day.
As soon as Hatake Haruka entered the classroom, he smiled and greeted, "Good morning, Yu-kun."
"Good morning, Haruka," Uchiha Yuan replied.
Their exchange immediately drew the attention of everyone else in the room.
These two had always been loners in class. The difference was that Uchiha Yuan was subtly ostracized—no one wanted to get too close to him—while Hatake Haruka simply chose to keep his distance from others by nature.
Now, seeing the two of them chatting so naturally, everyone couldn't help but feel curious.
However, after that brief exchange, Hatake Haruka and Uchiha Yuan went back to sitting quietly in their usual corner, just as they always did, not speaking again for the rest of the morning.
When classes ended at noon, the students each pulled out the lunchboxes they'd brought from home.
Uchiha Yuan's lunch consisted of a few neatly shaped, adorable rice balls—made by his little sister, Izumi.
Just as he finished eating, he suddenly turned his head toward the classroom door.
At that very moment, Uchiha Shisui appeared there. He gestured to Yuan, motioning for him to step outside.
"Shisui, what's the matter?"
Yuan followed Shisui to the small grove of trees behind the academy building.
Shisui sighed lightly and said, "Yuan, I heard you had a fight with some sixth-years—Shimura Ken, Sarutobi Akagi, and their group."
Yuan blinked in surprise. "How did you find out?"
Shisui replied, "Word spreads fast among the students. Shimura Ken and the others are furious—they've been boasting about how they'll get even with you."
He frowned slightly. "People are already saying that we Uchiha are bullying others again."
Yuan sneered. "Shisui, why should you care about what they say? It's nothing but the barking of beaten dogs."
Shisui reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Yuan, I've been trying to change how the villagers see our clan. So, please, try not to get into fights again."
Yuan's gaze hardened. "Do you even know why I fought Shimura Ken and his gang?"
"…No, not really."
The two locked eyes in silence for a moment before Yuan said, "Shisui, you're too soft—too naïve. Blind compromise will never change how people see the Uchiha."
Shisui frowned slightly at that. In his mind, there were always gentler ways to resolve conflict. But Yuan, like many of their clansmen, believed only in using strength and dominance to make others submit.
Just then, the sound of many footsteps approached quickly from outside the grove.
A group of nearly twenty boys appeared, surrounding them on all sides. They came from several different grades of the Ninja Academy.
"Shimura Nozomi, Sarutobi Aoki—what do you think you're doing!"
Shisui recognized the two leading figures and frowned deeply.
Shimura Nozomi was a tall, powerfully built boy, idly spinning a shuriken around his finger. Beside him stood the much slimmer Sarutobi Aoki.
Nozomi's eyes gleamed with the cold, venomous light of a snake as he glanced briefly at Shisui before fixing his gaze on Yuan.
"So, you're the one who hurt my little brother."
Shisui leaned close to Yuan and said in a low voice, "His brother is Shimura Ken. The one beside him, Sarutobi Aoki, is Sarutobi Akagi's older brother—one of the guys you beat up yesterday. They've come for payback."
Sarutobi Aoki glared angrily at Yuan. "That's right—we're here for you, Uchiha Yuan!"
Nozomi's expression twisted into something dark and cruel. "You injured my brother. Whatever pain he felt—I'll make sure you feel it twice over."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he flicked his wrist, sending the spinning shuriken hurtling straight toward Yuan.
A sharp clang of metal rang out—Shisui had already moved.
A shuriken appeared in his own hand, and with a swift motion, he deflected Nozomi's attack midair.
"Shimura Nozomi—you dare use shuriken?!" Shisui barked.
At the Ninja Academy, student fights were tolerated only if they used taijutsu—hand-to-hand combat. Shuriken, kunai, or offensive ninjutsu were strictly forbidden to prevent serious injury.
"Uchiha Shisui," Nozomi sneered, "this has nothing to do with you. It's between us and that brat."
Shisui's expression suddenly changed—Sarutobi Aoki, who'd been standing beside Nozomi, had vanished.
A gust of wind came from behind. In the blink of an eye, Aoki appeared, seizing Yuan by the shoulder and leaping upward.
Crash!
There was a violent impact as Aoki landed beside Nozomi again.
But Shisui was faster—he had already moved, catching Yuan and bringing him safely down to the ground.
"Thanks, Shisui," Yuan said quietly, genuinely surprised at the sheer speed Shisui had just displayed.
"Uchiha Shisui," Nozomi growled, "if you insist on getting in our way, we'll just beat you both down!"
Before the situation could escalate further, another student came running from outside the grove. "Boss Nozomi! Uchiha Minami is coming this way—with a whole bunch of Uchiha!"
Nozomi's face darkened instantly.
The boys around him began to shift uneasily. None of them wanted to face a group of Uchiha all at once.
Nozomi glared at Yuan. "You got lucky today, brat. But next time, you won't."
With that, he leapt into the trees, and within moments, the entire group had dispersed.
Shisui frowned deeply. "Yuan, I'll try to talk to Nozomi, but you should be careful from now on. Don't provoke them again."
Yuan sighed. "Shisui, sometimes you don't go looking for trouble—it's trouble that comes looking for you."
He then explained how Shimura Ken and his friends had been bullying Hatake Haruka.
"Shisui, they were picking on one of my classmates. What was I supposed to do—just stand by and watch?"
Shisui fell silent for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
"You were right," he admitted softly. "It was my mistake to judge so quickly."
"Shisui, most of our clansmen may be proud, but that doesn't mean they're unreasonable," Yuan said.
As they spoke, a group of Uchiha boys rushed into the grove. Among them, Yuan recognized Uchiha Shinsuke and Uchiha Eiji.
Leading them was a thirteen-year-old with long hair flowing over his shoulders.
He swept his gaze over Yuan, then turned to Shisui. "Where's Shimura Nozomi?"
"They ran off the moment they heard you and the others were coming," Shisui replied.
"Cowards," Uchiha Minami snorted disdainfully. "Yuan, don't worry. As long as we're around, no one lays a hand on an Uchiha."
"Thank you, Senior Minami," Yuan said gratefully.
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