As for his own son Asuma being beaten into a concussion and rushed to Konoha Hospital, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't particularly care.
Konoha possessed the most complete medical-nin system in the entire shinobi world, as well as the greatest medical ninja of all—Princess Tsunade.
Let alone a concussion—
even brain damage could be treated and brought back.
If a mere Ninja Academy sparring session could leave Asuma with a concussion, that only proved how half-baked the boy was.
If he went to the battlefield like that, wouldn't he just be sent to his death?
Better to take a vicious beating now and learn a lesson than get cut down later.
On the other side, Uchiha Mai was extremely satisfied with the gains he had made today.
In the eyes of ordinary shinobi, this body's talent could be considered genius-level.
But in Uchiha Mai's view—
It was completely unremarkable. Just average Uchiha stock.
So far, his chakra reserves were only at the level of a normal genin.
The only jutsu he had mastered were the Three Basic Techniques.
His chakra nature was Fire, yet he hadn't learned a single Fire Release jutsu.
He wasn't even as good as that future second pillar at the same age.
In terms of raw strength, he hadn't surpassed Sarutobi Asuma at all—at best, it was a fifty-fifty match.
Yet relying on Mayweather's boxing techniques, he had somehow managed to beat the living daylights out of an elementary schooler.
That was a genuinely pleasant surprise.
Boxing, much like racing, looked like an adrenaline-fueled, blood-pumping sport on the surface.
In reality, it demanded absolute calm from its practitioners.
Because formal matches imposed countless restrictions, and fighters of the same weight class rarely differed greatly in physical ability.
How stamina was distributed, and how efficiently force was applied—
Those were the true deciding factors.
The evolution of boxing tactics was essentially like being given a heavily restricted essay topic, then being forced to explore it to its limits.
After decades of refinement, modern professional boxing had developed extremely mature techniques and combat systems.
By absorbing this knowledge and applying it within the Naruto world, Uchiha Mai wouldn't dare claim himself a taijutsu philosopher—
But bullying elementary schoolers?
That was absolutely doable.
In the future, when learning other taijutsu styles, he could also adapt and reshape them based on his own understanding, molding them into forms best suited for himself.
Overall, Uchiha Mai's impression of the dog system had improved somewhat.
If half-star skills were already this effective—
Then higher-tier ones wouldn't he just take off into the sky?
While basking in satisfaction, Uchiha Mai casually glanced at the system interface—
And his pupils shrank.
[Fashion Points: 304]
The system was currently in its beginner version.
It only supported half-star and one-star draws.
The former cost 100 Fashion Points.
The latter cost 300.
Only when the host's strength reached a certain threshold would higher-tier draws unlock.
Over the past few months, even with daily posing, brooding cool-guy behavior, and this face doing half the work, he had barely accumulated just over three hundred points—enough for two draws.
Before school this morning, he had even checked.
Only 106 Fashion Points.
So how had it suddenly skyrocketed by nearly two hundred?
Could it be because he had brutally beaten Sarutobi Asuma—
And since Asuma was a character with significant screen time in Shippuden, defeating him granted extra points?
In that case…
Now he was wide awake.
Uchiha Mai stroked his chin, his star-like eyes sweeping maliciously over the little brats of the Ninja Academy.
Might Guy.
Obito.
Nohara Rin.
Mitarashi Anko.
Yūhi Kurenai.
Gekkō Hayate…
All characters who would later have roles in Shippuden.
If he beat them one by one…
Wouldn't that feel unbelievably good?
And this was only the Ninja Academy.
There was even more wool to be sheared inside the Uchiha clan grounds.
Uchiha Shisui had just turned four.
Eight-year-old versus four-year-old?
Easy.
The clan head Fugaku's eldest son, Itachi, had just been born.
They'd even held the full-month banquet a few days ago.
If he found an opportunity to flick little Itachi's forehead a few times—
Wouldn't that also count as farming points?
Just as Uchiha Mai was enthusiastically planning which children of Konoha could be bullied next, the dismissal bell rang.
The little brats scattered—each returning home to find their own mothers.
Uchiha Mai pulled his thoughts back.
No rush. The wool wouldn't run away.
Opportunities would come.
The priority now was to hurry home and, in a safe environment, enjoy a one-star draw.
After rejecting several little girls' requests to walk home together, Uchiha Mai had barely stepped out of the school gates when a beast blocked his path.
The beast from Beauty and the Beast.
A glossy bowl haircut.
A nose resembling Jackie Chan's.
Eyebrows wider than the street itself.
And that iconic green bodysuit.
Might Guy spread his arms wide in front of him, eyes blazing with never-say-die spirit, shouting,
"Mai! Fight me!"
"I refuse," Uchiha Mai replied coldly without hesitation.
"Of course! I knew someone who loves taijutsu like you would never refuse another taijutsu practitioner's challen—
Wait.
Refuse?"
Guy rattled on with passionate monologue before finally realizing that the challenge had just been rejected.
That made no sense.
Uchiha Mai suddenly lifted his head, gazing toward the setting sun in the west as the evening breeze brushed past him.
With a sigh, he said,
"Today is my younger brother Shisui's birthday.
I promised him I'd return early to celebrate with him.
My parents died on the battlefield when I was very young.
Shisui… is my only family in this world."
"You have a younger brother?" Guy asked.
"Not biological," Uchiha Mai lied smoothly.
Same surname, younger than me—how does that not count as a younger brother?
As for why he said only family when there were many Uchiha—
Do you even understand emotions?
Family isn't defined by blood alone.
This is philosophy.
"W-Waaah…"
Guy suddenly choked up, tears streaming down his face.
"So moving… such deep brotherhood! A birthday of one's only family is indeed far more important than a duel!"
"I'm glad you understand," Uchiha Mai said, patting Guy's shoulder.
Fortunately, he'd managed to fool him.
Of course, Shisui's birthday was completely made up.
The real reason for refusing was simple—
He needed to get home and draw.
At this stage, Might Guy was still relatively weak. Beating him wouldn't be difficult.
But Guy's most infamous trait was his relentless persistence.
Once he latched onto someone, there was a good chance Uchiha Mai wouldn't make it home until midnight.
"Then we'll have to schedule our duel another day," Guy said regretfully.
"Next time for sure," Uchiha Mai replied with a smile.
After shaking off the roadblock, Uchiha Mai took advantage of the twilight glow and jogged all the way back to the Uchiha clan compound—to the courtyard his parents had left behind.
Back then, the Second Hokage had always wanted to suppress the Uchiha.
Yet to avoid criticism, he still arranged the clan district near the center of Konoha and granted it a vast area.
The Uchiha had long practiced intra-clan marriage, and after the Second Great Ninja War, their population wasn't particularly large.
Many residences stood empty.
As a result, even a child like Uchiha Mai—whose entire household now consisted of only himself—
Could still occupy an entire courtyard alone.
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