At dawn, Sasuke was awakened by Mikoto. Still bleary-eyed, he stumbled off to wash up.
With dark circles under his eyes, he had not slept well last night. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could hear the conversation between his father and brother replaying in his mind.
His father wanted to use the Demon Fox inside Naruto to launch a coup in the village and destroy the hard-won peace.
He did not understand why his father wanted to do that, nor why he wanted to use Naruto. Could even his friendship with Naruto be part of his father's calculations?
And what role did his brother, who opposed the coup and betrayed the clan, play in all this?
Sasuke was baffled, but what happened yesterday had made him realize that his family was holding things back from him too, unwilling to tell him what they truly thought.
And like his family, he was about to start burying secrets in his heart.
After breakfast, Sasuke jogged to the Ninja Academy. After putting his bag in his desk, he waited with the other students for the final exams to begin.
The final exams were divided into written subjects and physical subjects.
The written subjects included history, wilderness survival, mathematics, and similar courses, while the physical subjects involved practical assessments.
During the written exam, Sasuke was somewhat distracted. From time to time, he glanced toward Naruto's seat. Only when the bell rang did he hurriedly hand in his paper, none of his usual top-student composure remaining.
Naruto noticed Sasuke's gaze but did not pay it much mind, continuing to work through the exam seriously.
Even if this was the final exam, he had to maintain a good mindset and crush every student in his year with his grades.
During the lunch break, Sasuke found