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Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another two months had passed.
During these two months, Ryūsei, as usual, would create two shadow clones every day to train at home. His main body, meanwhile, attended the Ninja Academy, hoping that luck might strike again—perhaps he could extract something useful from Naruto, Sasuke, or even Shikamaru and the others.
On holidays, Ryūsei would train with Hinata and the other two girls. However, their training grounds were no longer the secluded forests far from the central streets or other uninhabited areas—instead, they now trained at Ryūsei's home.
When Hinata and the others first saw Ryūsei's shadow clones, they were utterly stunned, their eyes sparkling with admiration. They had initially thought that Ryūsei mastering techniques typically learned by genin in his first year was already incredibly impressive. Even Ino and Sakura's parents had praised Ryūsei as a genius and permitted their daughters to train with him during breaks.
But what truly shocked them was that Ryūsei had even mastered the Shadow Clone Technique—a B-rank ninjutsu! Aside from Hinata, neither Ino nor Sakura had even learned the E-rank Transformation Technique yet.
After realizing Ryūsei's true strength, the girls' motivation to train intensified. Just as Ino didn't want to fall behind Hinata and Sakura, none of the three wanted to be left too far behind Ryūsei, fearing that he might eventually stop training with them. Thus, whenever a holiday arrived, Ryūsei's home temporarily became their training ground.
Why only temporarily?
The answer was simple—Ryūsei wouldn't be training outside for a while.
To be precise, he wouldn't be taking the girls out to train until after the Uchiha Clan was wiped out.
Because he knew that for a long time afterward, Uchiha Obito would be lurking around Konoha.
With his Kamui intangibility, Obito was currently the biggest cheat code in the ninja world.
Training outside? Who knew if Obito might suddenly take an interest in them?
Better safe than sorry—Ryūsei had no intention of drawing the attention of such dangerous figures so soon.
Thus, during this period, Ryūsei had to play it safe.
Finally…
The day arrived.
Near the end of the last class that afternoon, Iruka suddenly announced:
"There will be a surprise exam today. After class, assemble at the training grounds."
"Wha—?! No way!" Instantly, the classroom erupted in groans.
Of course, these reactions came from the less academically gifted students.
Top students like Sasuke, however, perked up immediately.
After all, surprise exam scores also counted toward their academic credits.
The reason Ryūsei held the title of top student was not just because of his perfect scores in major exams—he also aced every minor test and surprise quiz.
If Sasuke wanted to steal the top rank next year, he had to at least match Ryūsei's scores in these exams—or better yet, outperform him to prevent Ryūsei from achieving full marks.
That way, as long as he maintained stable performance in future exams, Ryūsei wouldn't be able to compete for the top spot during the final evaluations.
This was exactly how Sasuke had lost last time.
These small quizzes were his chance for revenge.
Thinking this, Sasuke couldn't resist shooting Ryūsei a provocative glare.
Coincidentally, Ryūsei was also looking at Sasuke.
But what Sasuke didn't notice was the pity in Ryūsei's gaze.
If there was one character in the Naruto world who suffered the most, Sasuke was undoubtedly among them.
Before the age of seven, he was destined for greatness—born into one of the most prestigious clans, his father the clan head, his brother a prodigy, and himself the reincarnation of Indra Ōtsutsuki.
But after seven, Sasuke no longer lived for himself—he became a revenge-driven avenger, willing to abandon everything just to kill Uchiha Itachi.
And when he finally succeeded, only to learn the truth behind the massacre, his vengeful ideals were shattered, forcing him into a life of atonement, endlessly wandering the ninja world.
Naruto and Sasuke, the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, were like the yin and yang of fate—one suffering early, the other suffering later.
No wonder their bond surpassed mere friendship—if one ever gender-swapped, they'd be the ultimate pairing.
Though Ryūsei knew Sasuke was about to become the tragic loner, he didn't bother warning him.
This was a scheme orchestrated by Konoha's higher-ups—someone as insignificant as him couldn't interfere.
When the dismissal bell rang, students poured out of the academy—except for Class 2-1, who headed to the training grounds.
By the time the surprise survival exam ended, the sky had darkened, dusk fading into night.
Unused to being let out so late, the students no longer lingered to play but hurried straight home.
Sasuke was no exception.
Watching his sprinting figure, Ryūsei knew that the proud but still lively Sasuke would soon be gone.
The next time they met, he'd be a brooding, clan-obsessed avenger.
After the Senju and Uzumaki, yet another millennia-old clan would vanish.
'Soon, even the Sharingan would become a legendary bloodline.' Ryūsei sighed inwardly.
Returning home, he ate early, bathed, and went straight to bed.
---
The next morning, as soon as Ryūsei stepped outside, he sensed a shift in the village's atmosphere.
Whispers followed him everywhere, and the name "Uchiha" kept surfacing in conversations.
The massacre had been revealed.
Soon, the entire Land of Fire—no, the entire ninja world—would know.
At school, even after the bell rang, Sasuke's seat remained empty.
"Iruka-sensei… is Sasuke okay?"
When Iruka entered, the girls who had also heard about the massacre asked anxiously.
Clearly, those who liked or had crushes on Sasuke feared he might be dead too.
Iruka reassured them, "Don't worry, Sasuke is fine—just unconscious and hospitalized."
"Once he wakes up, I'll visit him."
Relieved, the girls immediately planned to inform the Sasuke Fan Club after class.
At their age, they couldn't comprehend how deeply this event would scar Sasuke.
Ironically, when the cold, aloof Sasuke later emerged, he became even more popular.
"I heard it was Sasuke's older brother who wiped out the Uchiha."
"Really? Poor Sasuke…"
Ino and the others murmured among themselves.
Meanwhile, Ryūsei rested his chin on his palm, quietly relieved.
The Uchiha were gone—which meant Obito and Zetsu would no longer linger in Konoha.
From now on, he could train outside again.