The next morning, Masahiko arrived at the school as usual.
The difference was that today, the gatekeeper was even more respectful.
Upon entering the school, many teachers looked at him with complex expressions, yet they had to step forward and greet him.
Masahiko responded to each of them with the courtesy due from a junior.
Returning to his office, he began writing his schedule for the day.
Discussion meeting.
Taijutsu Class.
And also—
As Masahiko was writing, he suddenly heard rapid panting outside, and Iruka rushed in.
"Masahiko, this is bad!"
"What's wrong?"
Masahiko frowned.
Iruka caught his breath and said, "Sasuke, Sasuke is fighting with the former clan members at their Clan Compound!"
"Huh?"
Masahiko was a little surprised.
He knew that the survivors of the Uchiha Clan were extremely hostile toward Sasuke, but he hadn't expected the two sides to escalate to actual fighting.
He immediately stood up.
"I'll go right away. Thank you, Iruka."
Just as Masahiko was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. "Wait, could you do me a favor? The first period is my class. If I can't make it back in time, let's swap our two classes."
"Hey, it's nothing—you hurry up and go check on them."
Iruka didn't take it to heart at all.
It seemed he didn't take Masahiko's status seriously either.
Of course.
It was also possible that Iruka simply didn't know.
The next instant, Masahiko vanished.
The outskirts of the Village.
The Uchiha Clan Compound had not yet recovered from the fire, but it was clear that Konoha had sent people to begin reconstruction.
However, the Uchiha Fan Crest had been smashed to pieces.
In front of his house gate, Sasuke's forehead was cut open, and blood dripped down his cheek from the wound, staining his clothes and pants red.
He glared angrily at the several clan members in front of him, spreading his arms to block the courtyard gate.
"I gave you all the money. Why are you still smashing my house?"
"Your brother killed so many people. Did you think a little money would be enough?"
The crowd glared back.
Sasuke choked up, speechless for a moment.
A moment later, he clenched his fists:
—
"I swear in the name of Uchiha, I will kill that guy and bring his head back to memorialize our clan!"
The crowd fell silent.
Just then, an old man's voice came from behind: "Killing him won't bring my child, my grandchild, or my family back to life."
Sasuke clenched his fist.
He knew these people were not wrong.
It was true that Itachi had killed the clan members.
But he just wanted to save this house, to save his last shred of hope—
Sasuke wanted to beg, but he told himself, "Don't be weak," and "Be strong."
He lowered his open hands and slowly gripped a Kunai.
"You can rob and smash the things in my house, and smash up his Room, I have no complaints, but you cannot smash this house!"
"Ignoring him, a mere child, does he really think he can stop us?"
A voice shouted from the crowd.
Sasuke tightened his grip on the Kunai, his body secretly channeling Chakra.
Seeing that a conflict was about to erupt—
A voice came from outside.
"I apologize, I originally had no intention of intervening in your affairs, but it seems you've smashed the Uchiha Clan Crest."
"Does that mean you no longer identify yourselves as part of the clan?"
After that, a handsome, gentle-faced man slowly walked in from outside.
Except for Sasuke, everyone involuntarily took a step back, clearing a path.
Sasuke stared blankly at the man in front of him—
The man walked straight to the center.
"What is your demand? To smash a house? Or are you trying to kill the child in front of you?"
The series of questions left the crowd momentarily unable to answer.
After exchanging glances, the old man spoke again: "Of course we are no longer a clan! We will no longer bear the Uchiha surname. That name only brings us disaster!"
"If you are no longer a clan, then this is not a family matter—"
Masahiko's gaze became sharp and filled with killing intent. "In that case, what do you intend to do to my student?"
"No, we—we—"
They retreated a few steps, each one trembling in fear.
Having just survived a massacre, they were already like startled birds; how could they still have courage?
For a moment, not a single one of the dozen or so people dared to reply.
Masahiko's tone softened slightly: "Of course, I understand your anger. Since none of you wish to acknowledge the Uchiha name—Sasuke."
Sasuke looked up, leaped onto the roof, took down the Fan Crest, and violently smashed it onto the ground.
"The Uchiha Clan will cease to exist from now on, but I will not change my surname. I will find that man and kill him with my own hands!"
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Then, Sasuke added, "I said before that I would not participate in the distribution of the rest of the inheritance, except for this house—that still stands."
After speaking, he bowed deeply to express his apology: "My family has wronged you!"
The crowd was silent for a moment.
After a long while, the old man nodded. "Fine. This matter—ends here."
After he spoke, everyone turned and left.
Not until they had all left did the Kunai in Sasuke's hand clang onto the ground.
Afterward, he picked up the Kunai.
"Teacher, you were right. A person can only rely on themselves, especially someone like me—"
Sasuke's expression was stern.
"I still have my revenge to carry out. I will never fall!"
"You skipped school when class is about to start. Do you want me to praise you?"
Masahiko reached out. "Come here."
Sasuke paused for a second, then cautiously moved closer.
The next moment, he saw Masahiko Form Hand Signs, then place one hand on his forehead.
A warmth enveloped the wound.
Warm Chakra merged into his blood, then surged throughout his body, healing his other minor injuries.
What amazing Ninjutsu!
he thought to himself.
Sasuke was happy internally, but his expression remained stern.
Masahiko brought him back to the school, and they were still ahead of class time.
Afternoon.
The familiar conference Room, the familiar location.
The difference was that although Homura Mitokado was sitting at the head, he directed Masahiko to speak; he himself was not giving orders.
Masahiko did not mince words.
"Everyone saw the effectiveness of the Three-on-Three Sparring that day."
—
"I believe this can be implemented alongside Two-on-Two Sparring to cultivate team cooperation among the children. We could even add Four-on-Four Sparring based on this."
Homura Mitokado suddenly asked, "For the Four-on-Four Sparring, does that mean adding one person to serve as the Captain?"
"Yes. The sparring environment can be made more complex, simulating various mission scenarios."
Masahiko replied.
Homura Mitokado pondered for a moment and understood the benefits, but—
"Most children do not possess the ability to be a Captain, and may not even become Genin. How will you balance this?"
"My thought is that strength can be improved through effort, but excellent tactical thinking is difficult to cultivate later in life."
Masahiko replied, "Some children may have ordinary talent as Ninja, but they might possess excellent strategic vision or leadership thinking—"
"It is not wartime now. We do not need to rapidly train Ninja; we can give them some time."
He stated his ideas.
In his view, the previous Solo Sparring was too simple and crude.
Since Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo told him to proceed without worry—
Then he would do it!
His persona and goal were to "break the rules," not to adhere to the old system.