Give Me Some Face

"Any students want to join our Gourmet Club? We've got top-tier barbecue trainees from the Akimichi Clan!"

"Anyone who likes insects, come over here! Our club president is an insect-hatching expert from the Aburame Clan!"

Everywhere they went, there were fresh and interesting things to see. Dazzled by it all, the new students gradually forgot the slight awkwardness caused by the earlier incident and began to blend into the larger group.

I should start a Service Club too, one dedicated to helping everyone! Obito thought, feeling greatly inspired. Then he suddenly asked, "What club did that senior Soseki start?"

Shūnen pointed in a certain direction and said helplessly, "See for yourself."

Following Shūnen's finger, Obito immediately spotted a club booth surrounded by dozens of girls. Written clearly above it were the words—Psychology Club!

At that moment, Obito admitted he was jealous. "Why are so many girls gathered there? Do girls actually like such a boring club?"

"No, they don't."

"Then why are they still crowding around it?"

Shūnen patted him on the shoulder, his tone grave. "Because Soseki is handsome!"

"What?" Hearing that answer, Obito nearly began doubting his entire life. "That works too?"

After rushing over and jumping up for a look, Obito had to admit that the other boy did seem just a tiny bit more handsome than him.

If that white-haired Kakashi was cool moonlight, then Senior Soseki was warm sunlight.

"Pah, pah! Why am I even thinking about those two? Thankfully, Rin isn't that shallow..." Obito thought with relief, only for someone to stuff a form into his hand.

Obito looked up and saw Rin standing before him, her little face flushed red.

"Obito, let's join the Psychology Club together and support Senior Soseki!"

At that moment, Obito seemed to hear something shatter...

Elsewhere, Shūnen was struggling to squeeze through the crowd.

"Excuse me, please make way."

"Could you let me through?"

"I need to get in."

"Move aside!"

"I'm Shūnen Uchiha, the super villain!"

Shūnen's voice grew increasingly irritable, but it was completely useless against that group of fanatical girls. Not only did he fail to squeeze in, he was even tossed back out.

"Am I really the school bully?" Shūnen stood outside the crowd with a blank look on his face before suddenly thinking, If I accidentally won last year, would I already be gone by now?

At that thought, Shūnen instinctively shuddered. Then, as though making up his mind, he cleared his throat and shouted, "Hey, I think Soseki's house key fell on the ground!"

"Where? Where?" The crowd instantly scattered in all directions.

Taking advantage of the gap while the girls searched everywhere, Shūnen quickly seized the chance to jump inside.

"Whew, I finally made it in."

Across from him, Soseki smiled faintly. "What? Are you here to reclaim the Uchiha Clan's lost honor again?"

Shūnen's little face reddened. "No, the beliefs I uphold now are different!"

"Is that so?"

"Didn't you tell me after that battle three months ago? Our Uchiha Clan is the clan that understands love best, but that love can easily become extreme! Just like the old me—I clearly understood nothing, yet stubbornly believed that everything I did was for the Uchiha Clan's honor."

That's why ideological education needs to be strengthened, Soseki sighed inwardly. In his view, this was not unique to the Uchiha Clan; it was a common problem throughout the entire shinobi class.

In a world where eleven- and twelve-year-olds could go to war, the development of one's thinking was naturally warped.

Even more frighteningly, this world's so-called "thinkers" all liked to brood alone without communicating with others, then believed they had grasped the truth of the world.

Even in Soseki's previous life, the birth of every school of thought had to go through countless collisions of inspiration, refinement, and improvement. No one was omniscient, and no one could be right forever.

Narrow horizons inevitably led to limited thinking. Seeing flowers and grass wither and bloom, then believing one had grasped the mysteries of heaven and earth—such a thing was naturally laughable.

But when such people held tremendous power in their hands, what was laughable became terrifying.

Thus, those in power came up with this line of reasoning: shinobi were merely tools, and tools should not have thoughts of their own.

Yet precisely because of that, the exchange of ideas was restricted in turn.

Seeing Soseki fall into thought, apparently agreeing with and appreciating his views, Shūnen's tone grew more impassioned. "But there are still too many people in the Uchiha Clan who are as extreme as I used to be. I can't change them, so I can only slowly influence them by raising my status. Therefore, I have to become stronger!"

Shūnen understood this clearly. Hadn't Soseki been able to guide him only because Soseki had defeated him first?

If he had won back then, who would have listened to a loser's preaching?

"Since you're asking for it, all right." Naturally, Soseki would not refuse someone's request to be beaten up. Beating someone up and receiving their gratitude afterward was indeed quite delightful.

"However, it would be best to schedule it for after today's School Festival ends."

"Why? Can't we do it now?"

"If we do it now, you may first have to deal with the students behind you."

Shūnen's body stiffened. Slowly, he turned around and saw a large group of fierce-looking girls behind him, cracking their knuckles as they stared at him.

"Wait, I'm the school bully... give me some face, and don't hit my face!"

Then, unending screams and wails echoed through the woods.

"Whew, we finally handed out all the flyers." Sitting beside Soseki, Asuma complained, "How can such a boring club still have so many people joining?"

Soseki smiled helplessly. "Isn't it rather rude to call the club boring in front of the person who founded it?"

"Haha, look at our relationship!" Asuma gave an awkward laugh and slung an arm around Soseki's shoulders. "Come to think of it, I thought you would start a medical club."

"That was actually my original plan." Soseki sighed with feeling. "But Mizuki's inferiority complex and Shūnen's extremism changed my mind. If there were a place where they could speak their minds, perhaps many things would turn out differently."

Seeing Soseki's mood sink a little, Asuma suddenly slapped his palm and changed the subject. "Oh, right, Soseki. I heard a lot of Cloud Hidden merchant caravans have come to the village. I've never seen people from other villages before. After the School Festival ends, want to go take a look? Maybe they'll have specialties from the Land of Lightning!"

"Cloud Hidden?" Soseki's gaze flickered slightly before he teased, "The Land of Lightning's specialty seems to be alcohol, doesn't it? If Lord Hokage finds out, his blood pressure will probably rise again."

"Hmph! Why is he allowed to peep at women bathing while I'm not allowed to..."

"Cough, cough!"

Thanks to You Shi Dai He for the 1,000 reward, Na Nian Na Ren Na Hao 180529 for the 200 reward, Meng Xing Piao Miao for the 100 reward, and zhenglei325 for the 100 reward. I suddenly realized that the smart cover I designed looks a bit like old Chinese language textbooks. No wonder it felt so familiar Σ(°Д°;