Konoha: I, Uchiha, Am Done Lying Flat!

Back then, he had only been alone. Whether he rebelled or lay low, it had all been irrelevant.

Later.

There had been Teuchi and his daughter.

And now, there was one more—Shisui.

Seriously... sigh!

He truly couldn't imagine whether, if things continued like this, there would be even more bonds tying him down.

Thinking of this, he understood Orochimaru.

No wonder when the village discovered he had been conducting human experiments, he hadn't offered the slightest rebuttal. He hadn't even bothered dragging Pot Kage Danzo down with him.

On one hand, he must have been disheartened that Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't chosen him as the Fourth Hokage.

But more than that.

Having fully grasped the meaning of life and begun pursuing immortality, he had probably wanted to sever those bonds with Leaf Village of his own accord.

In front of the main house, on the steps.

Watching Shisui's retreating figure, then glancing at the Ninja Crow beside him, Uchiha Jin suddenly felt a terrible headache coming on.

"Mm, it's fine."

"It's only Shisui. Saving him won't be that difficult."

"The Third Great Ninja War has only just begun. The Nine-Tails Rebellion is still far off, and the Night of the Clan Extermination is even further away."

"No rush. Take it slow."

Uchiha Jin rubbed his brow, constantly trying to convince himself.

That was right.

He was not some heartless, emotionless person. On the contrary, the memories of his past life and the influence of five thousand years of civilization had taught him that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring.

That was true for Teuchi and his daughter, and it was true for Shisui as well.

He could remain indifferent to the deaths of others. As long as no one provoked him, he would not provoke them.

The lives and deaths of everyone else had nothing to do with him.

Sweep the snow from your own doorstep; don't worry about the frost on another's roof.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to destroy the Uchiha, and Uchiha Jin could remain unconcerned.

But Shisui was different!

Having figured it all out, a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

The next morning.

Leaf Village Ninja Academy, fifth-year classroom.

The room was incredibly noisy. Most of the students were excitedly fantasizing, looking as though they couldn't wait to head to the battlefield immediately.

Only those from the major clans looked listless, like they had not woken up yet.

Uchiha Jin: "..."

Looking at the scene before him, he could not help yawning.

With a lazy expression, he sat in his seat, leaning sideways against his chair as he stared blankly out the window.

He had no desire whatsoever to join in the classroom's commotion.

He had no friends in this class.

He kept to himself, quiet and handsome.

Because he was an Uchiha, no one took the initiative to befriend him.

After all, the Uchiha's reputation had long since gone completely rotten in Leaf Village.

Of course.

No one came to provoke him either.

The reason was simple.

The real clan elites and civilian geniuses were basically all in Class A. The Class B he was in was filled with ordinary ninjas.

Those from clans kept their distance from him out of respect.

As for those from civilian backgrounds, although they disliked the Uchiha, they did not dare truly challenge him.

After all, although the Uchiha had a terrible reputation, they were still undeniably Konoha's Top Clan.

They were neither geniuses nor did they have anyone backing them. Uchiha Jin had not provoked them either, so unless they were idiots, they would not seek attention by picking on him.

It was precisely because of this.

That he had been able to spend five leisurely years at the academy.

On the other hand, as an Uchiha, he was naturally handsome.

Thus, quite a few female classmates had tried to pursue him.

But unfortunately.

Uchiha Jin was merely lying low, not actually useless.

So even if some of those girls were pretty, he had no interest in them whatsoever.

The reason was simple.

They were not truly civilians. From the moment they entered this academy, they had automatically become ninjas.

After today, they would all be heading to the battlefield.

And for ordinary ninjas like them, the chance of surviving was less than one percent.

He did not want to get a girlfriend today only for her to die on the battlefield a few days later.

So, forget it.

He was still young anyway. Once he lay low for a few more years and became truly powerful, would he still have to worry about finding a girlfriend?

Time slowly passed.

About half an hour later, Hiruzen's Grandson entered the classroom.

Knowing that the students sitting here were a group of cannon fodder about to head to the battlefield, he naturally could not be bothered to talk about feelings or friendship with them.

So without any nonsense, he immediately spoke.

"Alright, everyone return to your seats."

"Now I'll announce the squad assignments. Listen carefully, understand?"

"I'll only say this once."

"Squad One: Furusawa Mai, Ishizuka Yuta, Miyata Shiho."

"Squad Two: Abe Kairi, Sugawara Mana, Kawahara Sara."

"Squad Three: ..."

"..."

Cannon Fodder Squad Formed, Preparing to Head to the Battlefield

The classroom fell silent.

Everyone listened intently to Hiruzen's Grandson's arrangements.

Uchiha Jin was no exception.

He was also very curious about who would become his teammates.

Soon.

His name was called.

"Squad Seven: Nara Kazama, Ishikawa Itsuki, Uchiha Jin."

Hearing that.

Uchiha Jin narrowed his eyes.

His gaze immediately swept across the classroom, and he soon spotted his two future teammates.

First, Nara Kazama.

He was a very typical member of the Nara Clan—usually quite lazy. For now, nothing else stood out.

Of course, he was not from the main branch, and his strength was poor as well. Otherwise, he would not have ended up in Class B.