"An Uchiha?!"
The group of kids looked at each other, then burst into laughter. "What's so great about being an Uchiha? Hahaha!"
"The Uchiha clan is finished!"
"Your clan's heir already ran away, and you're still trying to act tough."
"You bastards!" Sasuke roared in fury.
"I'll teach you little punks a lesson today!"
Sasuke charged forward, landing a punch that knocked the kid pinning Naruto to the ground. Naruto seized the opportunity to get up. He was covered in mud but seemed mostly unharmed. The two of them teamed up against the other three kids.
Sasuke, after all, was from the Uchiha clan. Unlike Naruto's wild flailing, his Taijutsu already showed proper form. With a simple trip and an elbow strike, he took down two of them, while Naruto was still grappling with the remaining two. Naruto endured a few punches before managing to knock one of his opponents down.
Seeing they couldn't win, the kids helped each other up and scrambled to their feet. "A demon fox and a member of a traitor clan. Just you wait..." they yelled as they fled.
Only Naruto, his face stained with dirt and tears, was left in the clearing. Sasuke, though his clothes were still neat, wore a grim expression.
He shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Hey, crybaby, how did you get so messed up?"
Naruto wiped away his sad expression. "Hmph, you arrogant jerk. Where have you been lately? I haven't seen you by the lake."
Sasuke and Naruto had known each other since they were little. Sasuke often practiced his Fire Style by the lake, but Naruto hadn't seen him there recently. During that time, rumors about the Uchiha had been spreading like wildfire. For children, it was always the negative news that traveled fastest. The nature of little ones seemed to be the same, no matter the world.
"My father had me go on a trip. I've been cooped up in my room every day since. It's driving me crazy," Sasuke said casually.
Naruto asked cautiously, "Sasuke, is... is something wrong with your family?"
Sasuke was about to snap, but seeing Naruto's careful expression, he just let out a cold snort. "Of course not. We Uchiha are doing just fine!"
For Naruto, who had been bullied his entire life, Sasuke was someone to be envied. Sasuke had his family by his side, while he was just an orphan with no parents, visited only occasionally by Grandpa Hokage. There was so much he didn't understand, like why people called him a demon fox or why they refused to be his friend. But Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru had never bullied him. They were friends he could be close to. He was terrified that something bad would happen to his friend's family, turning him into a lonely orphan just like himself.
As Naruto and Sasuke talked, several Anbu stood silently on the branches of a nearby tree. They had been assigned by the Hokage to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto, around the clock. His every move, every meal, and every word were recorded and reported back to the Third Hokage.
Though Sasuke and Naruto had known each other before, the Uchiha clan's situation now was very different. Thus, the moment Sasuke approached Naruto, an Anbu member had already been dispatched to report to the Hokage.
While Naruto was under surveillance, another person was perched in a nearby tree—Uchiha Kawasaki. He had accepted Fugaku's request to take Sasuke on as a student, but he wanted to see the boy for himself first. He was curious to know what Sasuke was like before he had to endure the night of his clan's massacre.
From the fight just now, it was clear that Uchiha Sasuke was a kind-hearted, if slightly arrogant, little boy. At home, Sasuke received an elite education. He was already practicing with shuriken daily and could even use Fire Style jutsu. Yet, he had dealt with those kids using only Taijutsu. Afterward, he had even tried to comfort Naruto.
Kawasaki observed for a while, stroking his chin thoughtfully. It seemed his previous impression of Sasuke had been skewed. After his clan was wiped out, Sasuke's assets were seized by the village, and he was left without a guide. Perhaps his later descent into extremism wasn't entirely his own fault. The young Sasuke, who hadn't yet suffered that tragedy, was actually a rather endearing child. Well, it wasn't too late to correct his judgment.
Kawasaki leaped down from the tree, startling both Sasuke and Naruto.
"Sasuke, remember me?" he said, revealing his Sharingan.
Sasuke was tense at first, instinctively moving to shield Naruto. He only relaxed when he saw the Sharingan. Anyone with a Sharingan was a clansman.
"I'm Kawasaki. You've seen me before," Kawasaki said with a smile.
Sasuke studied him carefully, and gradually, the face matched the image of Uchiha Kawasaki in his memory. It was no wonder he had trouble remembering; in his original identity, Kawasaki had only met Sasuke a few times.
"Ah! You're Senior Kawasaki!" Sasuke suddenly recognized him. He then added hesitantly, "I heard that... you're the Vice-Clan Head now?"
Kawasaki wasn't used to putting on airs. He was stern within the clan to establish authority, but there was no need for that in front of Sasuke. He replied with a weary smile, "What's all this 'Vice-Clan Head' business? Just call me Senior."
"Yes, Senior Kawasaki," Sasuke said happily.
Kawasaki looked around. "Weren't you told to go straight home once you got back to the village? What are you still doing out here?"
"Uh... ah... I..." Sasuke had heard the nasty rumors as soon as he entered the village, which had put him in a foul mood and led him here.
"Enough with the 'I, uh, I...' You must be hungry. I'll take you to get something to eat," Kawasaki said, ruffling Sasuke's hair.
"Okay," Sasuke replied, a little shy but unable to dodge Kawasaki's hand.
Naruto stood to the side, his eyes filled with a mixture of envy and a flicker of sadness.
"Well, Sasuke, I'm going home to eat too!" Naruto said, trying to sound cheerful so Sasuke wouldn't notice his low spirits. There was probably a pack of instant ramen left at home to fill his stomach.
"Wait a minute." Kawasaki offered a warm smile. "You're Sasuke's friend, right?"
Naruto sniffled. "Yeah, Mister! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! The man who's going to become Hokage!"
"Mister?!" Kawasaki couldn't help but give a wry smile. In this body, he was the same age as Kakashi. In a world where teenagers went to war and married young, it was normal to be called 'mister' when you were nearly twenty, but Kawasaki didn't like it.
He ignored the second part of Naruto's declaration, having already sized the boy up. His clothes were worn, and he looked pale and thin. If it weren't for the incredible resilience of the Uzumaki clan, Naruto's lifestyle of skipping meals and drinking expired milk would have made him sick, if not killed him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi really is a piece of work, he cursed silently.
Kawasaki smiled. "Since you're Sasuke's friend, how about I treat you to some ramen?"
"Whoa! Really, Mister?!" Naruto's face lit up with surprise. The allowance the Third Hokage gave him wasn't much, and it had been a long time since he'd been able to afford ramen.
Seeing Naruto's joyous expression, Kawasaki felt another wave of contempt for the Third Hokage.
"Of course it's real. But don't call me Mister. You can call me Senior Kawasaki," he said, crouching down and ruffling Naruto's hair.