Naruto and Sasuke

A chorus of jeers rose around Naruto.

There was no question about it—Sasuke had won the match with ease.

As usual, Naruto stubbornly muttered excuses about not performing well and not taking it seriously.

Many people found Naruto's behavior irritating and thought he was overestimating himself.

But Senyo knew very well that this was Naruto's way of surviving.

Only by shamelessly making himself into an annoying pest could he get anyone to pay attention to him.

He was actually a very lonely child, one who was deeply afraid of being alone.

After all, once he left school, it was already good enough if the people around him did not throw stones at him.

And the one who had created all of this was the heartless Third Hokage, whose purpose was naturally to keep Naruto under his control.

If the Third Hokage had possessed even a shred of conscience, Naruto's childhood would not have been so miserable.

Not only had he taken all of the Fourth Hokage and his wife's inheritance, he had also forbidden others from approaching Naruto.

Otherwise, given the popularity of the little sun, Namikaze Minato, Naruto would not have had to go hungry one meal and full the next.

The Third Hokage only cleaned up after Naruto, yet had continually indulged his troublemaking.

Naruto did it so someone would pay attention to him, while the Third Hokage did it so everyone would hate Naruto.

That way, he could become Naruto's only light.

As Senyo's thoughts wandered, he reflected that Kakashi had suffered terribly as well. His father's death during his childhood had left him with immense psychological trauma.

He had finally managed to heal a little through his companions, only to witness his best friend's tragic death firsthand—a fake death—and then be forced to kill Rin himself.

His entire Spiritual World had collapsed, leaving him with severe PTSD. Every day, he could only guard Obito's eye and waste away.

He spent more time at the Memorial Stone than he did at restaurants.

Every day, he mechanically carried out the Third Hokage's various missions without thinking, living like a walking corpse.

He never considered whether there had been anything suspicious about his father's death, or whether his teacher's only child was living well.

In Senyo's eyes, although the Sharingan had briefly boosted Kakashi's strength, it had also limited his potential.

White Fang had not possessed the Sharingan either, yet with just a short blade, he had beaten Sunagakure until they howled for their fathers and mothers.

He had even forced Sunagakure to produce a boss like Sasori.

As Senyo pondered, time slowly passed.

He also saw that the Ninja Academy did not actually teach very much.

It was not wartime now, and the children had only just entered the academy at seven years old.

They were taught basic literacy, some general knowledge, physical training, and repeatedly indoctrinated with the Will of Fire.

It had to be said that a place like the academy was excellent for cultivating relationships among the heirs of the various clans.

These children were still young, so there was no real improvement in strength to speak of.

More importantly, they formed small groups, making it easier for Konoha to control them in the future.

What they learned might be useful for civilians, but for the great clans, it was better than nothing at most.

The Anbu protecting Naruto, along with Jiraiya, kept their eyes fixed on Senyo, afraid that he might have designs on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

If Senyo used the Mangekyo to enslave the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki at this point, Konoha would immediately descend into chaos.

Jiraiya did not dare relax in the slightest.

He could not grasp Senyo's behavioral patterns, so he could only stay alert and keep him under surveillance.

But Senyo merely stood near Sasuke. Forget plotting against Naruto—he had not even given Naruto a proper look.

When the day's school experience came to an end, Senyo led Sasuke and the others to the school gate.

By then, many parents had already gathered outside to pick up their children.

Senyo keenly noticed that Naruto, who had previously been so loud and boisterous, had a darkened expression on his face.

He deliberately took Sasuke's hand. Sasuke looked at Senyo in confusion, because their relationship was not actually that close.

Senyo whispered into Sasuke's ear, "Call Naruto over and say a few words to him, and I'll tell you about Itachi."

Sasuke shuddered, about to say something, when Senyo immediately added, "Act natural. Someone nearby is watching."

Sasuke's thoughts churned. As the Uchiha clan's heir, he had more cunning than the other little brats.

After silently nodding, he pretended to be close to Senyo and grabbed his arm.

Putting on the air of a good older brother, Senyo directly picked little Sasuke up and placed him behind his head, letting Sasuke ride on his shoulders.

Sasuke let out a somewhat deliberate cheer.

But it did not draw anyone's attention. After all, plenty of fathers were doing the same thing with their children outside the school gate.

However, one person paid very close attention to it—Naruto.

He looked enviously at those children with parents, at how they could act spoiled in their families' arms.

But whenever the others saw Naruto, it was as if they had seen a plague god. With disgust written all over their faces, they led their children away from him.

Influenced by their parents, many of the children at the Ninja Academy looked at Naruto with the same disgust.

"Naruto!"

The dejected Naruto suddenly heard someone calling him.

Naruto immediately perked up. Seeing Sasuke, he hurriedly ran over.

Jiraiya, who had been following near Naruto, felt his heart tighten and then fixed his gaze on Senyo.

"Didn't you say you were unwilling to accept today's loss? Didn't you say you were better at high jumping? Tomorrow, I'll make you admit defeat wholeheartedly!"

Sasuke, sitting on Senyo's shoulders, wore an expression that screamed how amazing he was.

"Hmph, show-off Sasuke! Who's afraid of who? Tomorrow, I'll show you what I can do!"

Naruto did not really care what they were competing over. Just having someone talk to him made him happy.

Now that Sasuke had actually asked him to compete, Naruto was even more overjoyed.

Sasuke laughed from Senyo's shoulders. "Tomorrow, I'll definitely show you how strong us Uchiha are!"

Senyo did not look at Naruto. He simply carried Sasuke and slowly walked past him.

As evening fell, the setting sun stretched everyone's shadows long.

When Senyo's shadow overlapped with Naruto's, a darkness stirred within the shadows—but no one noticed.

"See you tomorrow!"

Even after Sasuke had gone far away, Naruto kept waving.

Sasuke, riding on Senyo's shoulders, also waved to show that he had heard.

Senyo had already carried Sasuke quite a distance away.

"Senior Senyo, put me down," Sasuke said quietly.

"Heh... What's the rush? Someone's still watching us," Senyo replied as he walked.

Upon hearing that, Sasuke lowered his head and quietly asked Senyo, "Senior Senyo, Nii-san..."

Only after Senyo sensed that the gaze had moved far away did he slowly explain.

"Your brother was forced to defect from the village."

"What!?" Sasuke's entire body shook, his face full of disbelief.

"Senior Senyo, what exactly happened?"

"Wasn't Nii-san the captain of the Anbu?"

"What happened?"

Senyo said meaningfully, "Who do you think loves you the most in this world?"