The next day, Uchiha Tunan arrived at the academy early.
He did not run into Uchiha Mina on the way.
What had happened yesterday must have dealt her quite a blow.
But that had nothing to do with Uchiha Tunan.
If possible, Uchiha Tunan hoped Uchiha Mina would take the shame as motivation and train hard.
It would be even better if she awakened the Sharingan.
The moment he entered the classroom, Uchiha Tunan saw Hyuga Senrin resting her face in her hands, staring at him with a shy expression.
Uchiha Tunan immediately gave Hyuga Senrin a friendly nod.
Uchiha Mina saw this from her seat. She clenched her teeth so hard that her whole body trembled with anger.
During every break between classes, Hyuga Senrin took the chance to come to Uchiha Tunan and ask him to help tutor her.
Naturally, Uchiha Tunan would not refuse Reserve Food's approach.
It seemed that, in this love triangle, the other two both saw him as harmless prey.
As for who was the prey and who was the hunter, no one would know until the very end.
After school, Hyuga Senrin naturally had no reason to cling to Uchiha Tunan.
After all, everyone knew that Uchiha Tunan belonged to Kakashi during this period after school.
However, on the way to the Hatake Family residence, Uchiha Mina caught up with Uchiha Tunan.
"Tunan-kun!"
Uchiha Tunan and Kakashi turned around at the same time.
"Mina, what can I do for you?" Uchiha Tunan adjusted his glasses and asked gently.
Uchiha Mina took a breath and stared straight into Uchiha Tunan's eyes. "I want to become stronger. Can you guide my training?"
"What a hassle."
Kakashi shrugged and muttered before saying to Uchiha Tunan, "I'll go back and train while I wait for you."
With that, he headed straight ahead.
Seeing Kakashi leave, Uchiha Tunan looked sincerely at Uchiha Mina. "We're classmates. It's only right that we help each other, and I'd be happy to help you train."
Uchiha Mina bowed to Uchiha Tunan. "Thank you, Tunan-kun."
Uchiha Tunan nodded, then rubbed his chin.
"However, I need to spar with Kakashi every day after school.
"How about this? Every evening after dinner, I'll guide you for an hour at the training ground north of the clan compound.
"What do you think?"
"Mm." Uchiha Mina nodded.
"Then I'll be going. See you at the training ground tonight." Uchiha Tunan turned to leave.
"Tunan-kun." Uchiha Mina suddenly called out to Uchiha Tunan.
Uchiha Tunan stopped and asked with a puzzled expression, "Is there something else?"
"Do you like Hyuga Senrin?" Uchiha Mina stared fixedly at Uchiha Tunan, waiting for his answer.
"What kind of like do you mean?"
"The kind between a boyfriend and girlfriend..."
Uchiha Tunan smiled coolly and shook his head.
"Why would you think that? I've always regarded Senrin as a little sister.
"Besides, we're still so young. How can we start dating this early? That's not right."
Dating this early?
Uchiha Mina froze. It was the first time she had heard that term.
After all, people in the Ninja World did not live particularly long on average. Plenty of people married and had children in their teens.
Wasn't dating before marriage perfectly normal?
Besides, they were already six. After the New Year, they would basically be seven.
They were not three-year-old children. What was wrong with dating?
There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.
But as long as Uchiha Tunan admitted that he had no romantic feelings for Hyuga Senrin, Uchiha Mina had achieved her goal.
Uchiha Mina seemed to suddenly brim with energy as she smiled at Uchiha Tunan.
"Then it's nothing. See you at the training ground tonight."
That evening, after dinner, Uchiha Tunan headed straight to the northern training ground.
The sky had already begun to darken, with sparse stars scattered overhead.
"Ding."
Uchiha Mina had already been practicing her kunai Throwing Technique there.
When she saw Uchiha Tunan arrive, Uchiha Mina revealed a delighted expression.
"Tunan-kun, you're here."
Uchiha Tunan glanced at the kunai lodged in the target, then nodded at Uchiha Mina.
"Mm, Mina, you're very diligent.
"However, I watched you throw kunai just now, and your movements were a little off.
"Come, I'll show you. You should do it like this."
Uchiha Tunan directly reached out, pressing and feeling around Uchiha Mina's body as he adjusted her posture.
"You don't throw a kunai with your arm. You throw it with your wrist."
"Yes, bend this part a little more."
"When practicing, you can use the power of your waist. That will help you control the strength of your entire body."
"Come, bend your waist a little more and lean down a little."
Feeling Uchiha Tunan's hands move over her body as he helped adjust her posture.
A flush rose to Uchiha Mina's face. She bit her lip and said:
"Tunan-kun~"
Hearing this, Uchiha Tunan paused and looked at Uchiha Mina with sincere eyes.
"What's wrong? Is it too difficult?"
Listening to Uchiha Tunan's magnetic voice, Uchiha Mina swallowed and shook her head. "No. Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's only natural." Uchiha Tunan smiled warmly and continued helping Uchiha Mina adjust her posture.
"Pull in your stomach."
"Spread your thighs slightly..."
There was no one around. The sky was dark, and it was just a man and a woman alone together.
Uchiha Mina simply could not focus.
As a result, after Uchiha Tunan had adjusted her posture, Uchiha Mina failed to hit the target even once.
An hour later.
The two sat side by side on the grass.
Uchiha Tunan looked apologetically at Uchiha Mina.
"I'm sorry, Mina. Maybe I taught something wrong and made you waste an entire hour."
Faced with Uchiha Tunan's apology, Uchiha Mina immediately panicked.
"No, Tunan-kun taught me very well. I just kept getting distracted while practicing.
"Maybe I've been too tired lately. I'll be fine in a few days."
Uchiha Tunan rubbed his chin in sudden realization. "So that's how it is. Then you need to make sure you get plenty of rest."
Hearing Uchiha Tunan's concerned words, Uchiha Mina's heart could not help but feel sweet. She quietly shifted her hips closer to him.
The two were now sitting a little closer together.
Worried that Uchiha Tunan would notice her little movement, Uchiha Mina hurriedly searched for a topic.
"Tunan-kun, I heard from the clan that you awakened your Sharingan because someone important to you died?"
Uchiha Tunan looked up at the stars in the sky and spoke in a profound tone.
"Yes. I first awakened the Sharingan because my sworn brother, Tianxiong-san, was killed by someone from our clan.
"As for the Three Tomoe, that was because my father and mother died on the battlefield."
Uchiha Mina gazed intently at Uchiha Tunan's profile.
"The conditions are that harsh? My parents died in the last Shinobi World War. I was still young then and didn't understand anything.
"And my talent isn't very strong either. I probably won't be able to awaken the Sharingan."
"How could that be? I believe you can awaken it." Uchiha Tunan suddenly lowered his head and met Uchiha Mina's eyes.
Uchiha Mina's heart trembled. Like someone caught playing a prank, she hurriedly lowered her head.
"But awakening the Sharingan requires intense hatred. I... It seems that even hatred isn't enough to make me awaken it."
"You're wrong."
"Hm?" Uchiha Mina looked at Uchiha Tunan with confusion.
Uchiha Tunan spoke solemnly. "Awakening it does not rely on hatred."
"But that's what everyone in the clan says." Uchiha Mina was puzzled.
After all, the Uchiha Clan had existed for so many years. Everyone had basically figured out the conditions for awakening it.
Yet today, Uchiha Tunan was saying that this method was wrong.
Uchiha Tunan raised a hand to adjust his glasses and spoke in an enigmatic tone.
"The Uchiha Clan is a clan of love. The power of love will always be stronger than the power of hatred.
"When you have someone you love, you will want to protect them.
"During that protection, when our strength is insufficient.
"Our bloodline grants us power, helping us awaken our eyes so we can protect those we wish to protect."
"Love?" Uchiha Mina felt lightheaded.
Uchiha Tunan nodded solemnly. "That's right. Because I loved Tianxiong-san, and loved my father and mother.
"So when my strength was not enough to protect them.
"The Uchiha bloodline hidden within my body gave me power and helped me awaken my eyes to protect them."
Uchiha Mina felt that something was off, but it sounded very reasonable.
Half believing and half doubting, she said, "But I don't really understand love..."
Suddenly, Uchiha Mina felt a hand settle on her shoulder.
She looked up to see Uchiha Tunan smiling as he patted her shoulder.
"I'll help you think of a way. I'll do everything I can to let you feel the power of love, all right?"
Is Tunan-kun confessing to me?
What am I thinking? Tunan-kun clearly wants to help me awaken my eyes.
But awakening them requires feeling the power of love.
How is he going to make me feel this love?
As she pondered, Uchiha Mina felt the hand on her shoulder give a slight squeeze.
Her entire heart trembled along with it.
Uchiha Mina buried her head deeply and replied in an almost inaudible voice, "Mm~"
I think... I've already felt it.
Night had fallen.
In the darkness, Uchiha Tunan looked down at Uchiha Mina in his arms with profound eyes, the corner of his lips curling slightly.
Hatred was indeed the key to awakening one's eyes, but extreme hatred was usually born from love.
Don't let my good intentions go to waste.
Reserve Food.
Before you continue