The next day, Uchiha Tunan got up early and left the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Instead of heading straight to the Ninja Academy, he went to a pet shop on the commercial street and picked out a kitten.
The kitten was snow-white all over, with four plump pink paws. It was exceptionally adorable.
After placing the kitten in the small cage provided by the shop, Uchiha Tunan finally headed to the Ninja Academy.
The moment he entered the classroom, he drew countless gazes as usual.
Among them were Hyuga Senrin and Uchiha Mina.
Oh, and Kakashi as well.
Uchiha Tunan walked straight over to Uchiha Mina and placed the cage on her desk.
"I thought about it last night. This little guy might be able to help you."
Uchiha Mina looked over the kitten in the cage and said with delighted surprise, "Tunan-kun, is this a gift for me?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
Seeing this, the students in the classroom began cheering and teasing them again.
In a corner where no one noticed, Hyuga Senrin went completely blank, her fist clenched tightly beneath the desk.
Her nails pierced the skin of her palm, and thin streams of blood seeped through her fingers.
Although Uchiha Mina had been taught a lesson by Hyuga Senrin last time.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, she would not truly be afraid of Hyuga Senrin.
Besides, Uchiha Mina felt that the gap between them was not all that great.
What was more, with Uchiha Tunan's guidance, she believed it would not be long before she could defeat Hyuga Senrin.
Now that Uchiha Tunan had taken the initiative to give her a pet, she accepted it without the slightest mental burden.
During class, Mizuki Uno taught from the podium.
Uchiha Tunan listened with his usual concentration, even though he had already mastered all of this material.
But in order to maintain the image everyone had of him, he could only pretend to be listening attentively.
Hyuga Senrin sat stiffly in her seat, her vacant eyes fixed on Uchiha Tunan's back.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Mina secretly played with the kitten Uchiha Tunan had given her.
Faced with the kitten curled into a ball inside the cage, Uchiha Mina curiously slipped a finger inside.
The kitten cautiously poked out its head, leaned close to sniff her finger, then extended its pink tongue and gave it a lick.
Uchiha Mina's heart melted in an instant.
She looked up at Uchiha Tunan's back in front of her, sweetness filling her heart to the brim.
Tunan-kun, don't worry. I'll take good care of this little guy.
After the first class ended.
Hyuga Senrin approached Uchiha Mina with a frosty expression.
"Come out."
Hyuga Senrin spoke in a low voice, then took the lead toward the training grounds.
Uchiha Mina glanced at Uchiha Tunan, who was bent over his book and reading intently, then followed without the slightest fear.
Under the shade of a tree on the training grounds, Hyuga Senrin and Uchiha Mina stood facing each other.
"Do you really think I wouldn't kill you?" Veins bulged around Hyuga Senrin's eyes, and a sickly viciousness appeared on her face.
"Hmph. Why aren't you pretending to be weak anymore? Don't think I'll be afraid of you just because you've activated the Byakugan." Uchiha Mina crossed her arms and looked at Hyuga Senrin with the bearing of a victor.
Hyuga Senrin slowly raised her hands into the opening stance of the Gentle Fist and said coldly:
"People of the same kind can only be with their own kind.
"Tunan-kun and I are both orphans. I'm the one best suited for him."
Uchiha Mina lowered her arms, drew a kunai from the ninja tool pouch at her waist, and pointed it at Hyuga Senrin.
"How ridiculous. My parents died in the Second Shinobi World War.
"By your logic, I'm an orphan too. Why should I give Tunan-kun to you?"
Hyuga Senrin froze slightly at that, then fell silent for a long while, as though deep in thought.
This was the Ninja Academy. At most, she could teach Uchiha Mina a lesson; she could not actually kill her.
But the consequence would be punishment, and if Tunan-kun found out, she might never have another chance.
After thinking it over, Hyuga Senrin deactivated her Byakugan, then suddenly dropped to her knees and braced both hands against the ground.
"I'm begging you. Give Tunan-kun to me. You still have your clan.
"But I have nothing left. I can't live without Tunan-kun."
Since force would not work, she could only try pleading.
Uchiha Mina had never expected Hyuga Senrin to pull something like this.
"Give up."
Uchiha Mina's tone softened slightly as she continued.
"Oh, right. Is there something you don't know?"
Hyuga Senrin raised her head and looked at Uchiha Mina in confusion.
"The Hyuga Clan doesn't allow marriage with outsiders.
"I've only ever disliked you. I never considered you a romantic rival."
After saying that, Uchiha Mina's lips curled slightly. She put away her kunai and headed back toward the classroom.
Clearly, Hyuga Senrin's kneeling had put her in an excellent mood.
The gloom from her previous defeat was swept away completely.
Under the shade of the tree on the training grounds.
Only Hyuga Senrin remained, kneeling there with her head deeply lowered, her face filled with madness.
It was not until class was about to begin that Hyuga Senrin returned to the classroom like a walking corpse.
The fact that the Hyuga Clan did not permit marriage with outsiders was something most people in Konoha knew.
It simply was not gossip, so no one deliberately talked about it.
Hyuga Senrin herself had never given it any thought.
But once Uchiha Mina pointed it out, Hyuga Senrin immediately recalled that everyone she usually saw within the clan compound was from the Hyuga Clan.
She had never seen a Hyuga clanswoman who had married out of the compound, nor had she seen anyone marry into the Hyuga Clan.
After making a few simple inquiries, Hyuga Senrin discovered that everything Uchiha Mina had said was true.
During class, Hyuga Senrin did not hear a single word the teacher said.
Her face was pale as paper, and tears seemed to shimmer in her eyes, though she desperately held them back.
So that means I'm destined to never be with Tunan-kun.
Even if Tunan-kun likes me, it still won't be possible.
The Main Family would never agree.
Hyuga Senrin raised a hand and slipped it beneath her thick bangs, touching the Caged Bird Seal.
Is there not even a chance to abandon everything and elope?
Caged Bird Seal... a shackle that can never be broken free from.
Only death can bring release.
But Tunan-kun is not in the world of the dead.
At that thought, Hyuga Senrin shifted her gaze slightly toward Uchiha Tunan's back.
Tunan-kun, even if I die, I want to die with you.
On the tree outside the window, two white doves nestled together.
Uchiha Tunan had taken in everything that had happened between the two of them.
Although he did not know what they had said, he could guess it almost exactly.
Uchiha Tunan had basically given up on Hyuga Senrin.
She spent all day thinking only about love and romance, and he had wasted so much precious time taking her out to eat.
He had given her enough hope to make her brave enough to compete with Uchiha Mina.
Yet she had not thought of working hard to train.
Judging by how she looked now, she even seemed somewhat despondent.
This Reserve Food was finished. He could only place his hopes on Uchiha Mina.
After all, judging from Uchiha Mina's reaction, she seemed to really like that kitten.
Once she had invested enough affection in the kitten.
Before the Third War began, Uchiha Tunan planned to find a suitable opportunity to kill the cat.
That way, Uchiha Mina might awaken a high-level Sharingan.
Before you continue