One Year

Swish!

The shuriken cut through the air and landed steadily on the target.

While all the other students had already gone home, Uchiha Sasuke remained alone at the school, practicing his shuriken throwing.

Looking at the shuriken that had missed the bullseye by a small margin, Uchiha Sasuke frowned.

Not enough...

Ever since Haruno Sakura had snatched the first place in the physical training, he hadn't reclaimed it.

Or rather, he had reclaimed it, because Haruno Sakura no longer participated in shuriken throwing contests like this.

First place naturally belonged to him.

Thinking of his father's calm gaze, Sasuke wished he could hear his father say, "You truly are my son."

Swish!

Another shuriken was thrown.

This time, the rapidly spinning shuriken accurately hit the bullseye of the target.

"Looks like it's going to rain, doesn't it?"

Haruno Sakura, for once, gave herself a day off. After school, she did nothing. She didn't study, nor did she train. She just wanted to lie on the rooftop, feel the evening breeze, and count the stars.

However, looking at the gloomy night sky, her wish could be declared dead on arrival.

The night breeze, carrying a hint of coolness, lifted Haruno Sakura's pink hair tips.

"Sakura, it's going to rain, hurry up and come down!"

Haruno Meiko's voice called from inside the house.

"Got it!"

Sakura replied to her mother. At this moment, Haruno Sakura's nose twitched slightly.

A faint scent of blood drifted in with the wind, reaching her nostrils.

Her body was a miniaturized version of Sakura from the Ninja War at sixteen. As a top-tier medical ninja, she was naturally very familiar with the smell of blood.

Even though the scent was barely detectable, Haruno Sakura managed to identify it.

Haruno Sakura looked in the direction the wind was coming from.

That direction was the Uchiha compound.

The Uchiha compound was located at the very edge of Konoha, quite a distance from the Haruno residence. To be able to smell blood from this far away, one could imagine how many people must be dying...

Yeesh...

Not my business, so why bother...

She still had her own issues to worry about, so she didn't have the time to get involved in such a trivial matter.

Besides, she didn't have the capability to get involved.

Sakura returned home. It had already started to rain lightly outside.

Seeing the raindrops seemingly about to drift into her bedroom through the window, Sakura casually locked the window shut.

—

The next day

Washed by the rain, the air in Konoha was exceptionally fresh. Sakura, as usual, prepared to head to the Ninja Academy.

Although she no longer needed to listen to Iruka's lectures, Iruka still required her to attend the Ninja Academy every day, except on weekends.

As soon as Sakura stepped outside, she felt that today was different from the usual.

There were fewer pedestrians on the road, and she occasionally saw ninjas hurrying along. In a fleeting glimpse, she even saw an Anbu member flash by.

They were all heading towards the outskirts of the village...

This made Sakura's heart understand.

So, the Uchiha clan had indeed been wiped out.

That Uchiha Weasel, whom she had met only once, had made his move.

What an arrogant fellow.

Unable to figure out how to solve a problem, he simply eliminated the person causing it, directly turning it into a "three-clan elimination game."

How extreme.

Sakura scorned him slightly in her heart, then stopped thinking about it and walked towards the Ninja Academy.

In a little over a month, she would have to prepare for the exam to advance from the fourth year to the fifth year.

She didn't have the leisure to ponder such matters.

As a year passed, Sakura could feel the Yin Seal on her forehead absorbing chakra at an ever-increasing rate.

As Sakura slowly grew, her chakra also gradually increased.

And the excess chakra naturally grew more and more.

Sakura had a premonition that within five years, the Yin Seal would be complete.

This made her desire to skip grades and advance even more urgent. These five years not only required her to become a ninja but also to find a way to obtain the Yin Seal.

It was truly a daunting task...

As for defecting?

Sakura had never once considered such a thing.

Abandon her mother?

Abandon her father?

"Good morning, Ino."

As soon as she entered the classroom, Sakura saw Ino standing by the classroom door like a statue waiting for her husband.

"Sakura?"

Ino looked somewhat disappointed.

"What? Am I disappointing you, Miss Yamanaka, by being here?"

Sakura teased Ino, looking at her.

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that."

Ino shook her head like a rattle drum.

After speaking, Ino quickly looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned in and whispered into Sakura's ear:

"Sakura, stay away from the Uchiha compound these past few days."

"A lot of people died there."

The warm breath from the girl's mouth tickled Sakura's ear.

"Mhm, got it."

Sakura waved her hand, looking indifferent.

"Huh? Aren't you surprised, Sakura?"

Ino looked at her best friend with a strange expression.

Sakura tilted her head, thought for a moment, then suddenly put on a shocked expression and exclaimed:

"Wow."

"So scary~~"

Ino pouted, looking at the clumsy acting of the person in front of her.

"So fake."

"No, I'm genuinely scared."

Sakura looked at Ino earnestly, her emerald green eyes conveying a clear message of 'Please believe me.'

"Only a ghost would believe you. You just bully me all day."

Ino complained, lightly hitting Sakura, but the force of the blow looked more like a playful gesture.

"Yes, yes, yes, I was wrong."

Sakura patted Ino's beautiful hair and returned to her seat.

She didn't need to be told; she knew who Ino was waiting for.

The sole survivor, the last Uchiha.

But unfortunately, Ino would never get to wait. As Iruka entered, she had to return to Sakura's side.

"Ahem, something happened at Sasuke-kun's home today, so he might not be able to come for now."

"Everyone, please try to discuss Sasuke-kun less these past few days."

Iruka briefly mentioned Uchiha Sasuke's situation without elaborating.

People are like that; the harder you suppress something, the stronger the rebound.

If you only touch upon it lightly, people won't take it seriously, and the matter will pass.

Most of the students in the class fell silent upon hearing Iruka's words, clearly having already received some news from their elders.

Sakura ignored everyone's reaction and continued to take out a copy of "The Third Hokage's Will of Fire" from her desk.

Having been promoted three times, she clearly understood that compared to the so-called class training, the Will of Fire was the focus of the exams.

However, after nine years of compulsory education, there wasn't much content in the Will of Fire.

The new book is being added to the shelves tonight, please give it a follow.