Ino Yamanaka

Josuke looked at the person approaching.

It was actually Ino Yamanaka.

Although he had been studying at the school for a while, to be honest, Josuke didn't really have much interaction with some of the female characters from Naruto.

He gave a slight smile. "What's up, Ino?"

Ino was delighted—Josuke wasn't cold at all; instead, he gave off a gentle vibe that made him seem easy to get along with. (Here, the protagonist Josuke's personality is roughly that of a sunny, big-hearted boy... there'll be some changes after the Uchiha Clan Downfall, probably.)

It actually made Ino a bit embarrassed.

"Umm, Josuke, do you have any tips for the Clone Technique? I feel like I can never get it right."

Ino shyly tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

Josuke thought about it. How could he explain it in simple terms?

After pondering for a moment, Josuke spoke.

"I think there aren't really any tricks. As long as you control your Chakra at a level that suits you, it should work."

Ino blinked her eyes cutely.

"Then I'll give it a try."

With that, Ino closed her eyes and formed hand seals.

Before long, an identical Ino appeared beside her.

But it vanished quickly.

Ino opened her eyes in surprise, never expecting she'd actually succeeded.

"Josuke, thank you!"

Ino said happily.

Josuke waved his hand. Being treated like this by a young girl for the first time made him a bit embarrassed.

In his past life, he was just a pure goblin, longing for perfect love and a beautiful wife.

Too bad, a goblin was always just a goblin...

"You're welcome. If you have other questions, you can come find me too."

Josuke suddenly felt he shouldn't have said that—it seemed like a conversation killer.

Ino covered her mouth with a laugh.

"Okay then, I look forward to working with you."

The morning classes ended like that, and soon it was noon. Sasuke and Josuke took out the boxed lunches Mikoto had prepared for them.

The lunches were lavish.

There were rice balls and sushi. Maybe because of today's training, the meal suited Josuke's appetite just right. As Josuke and Sasuke ate off to the side, Sakura walked up.

Sakura, her face full of shyness, said to Sasuke (I don't know how she tells who's Sasuke and who's Josuke, hehe).

"Sasuke, this is egg roll my mom made. Please, try some."

Sasuke said coolly, "I don't need it."

With that, he got up and left. Seeing Sasuke go, Josuke followed along.

Sakura looked disappointed, but she didn't give up. (After all, she's our Sakura.)

Just as Josuke was about to leave, Ino jogged up to him. "Josuke, this is sweet tea my family made."

Ino handed him a small bottle.

Josuke took it casually. The transparent cup was indeed filled with tea.

"Thanks, Ino. Arigato."

Josuke said his goodbyes and then hurried off in Sasuke's direction.

After Josuke left, Ino was very happy, showing off to her best friend.

"See? That's my Josuke. Not like some people's Sasuke, hmph hmph..."

Sakura rolled her eyes at her.

Look at you, what a sight.

(No more material, skip ahead!!)

Finally, it was time for afternoon dismissal. Josuke couldn't take it anymore. In his past life, school was exhausting enough, and now he had to go through it again? QAQ, what torture.

Back home, Josuke didn't see his father or mother.

Instead, he saw his long-lost big brother.

Sasuke also spotted his beloved big brother and rushed over happily.

"Big brother~"

Sasuke hugged his brother's leg.

Itachi gently tapped Sasuke with two fingers.

Josuke thought to himself that this was probably the last time Itachi would come home. The next time would likely be the night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall...

Seeing that his parents hadn't returned yet, Itachi decided to cook dinner for his two younger brothers himself.

The meal wasn't lavish, but it was enough to fill their stomachs. Not long after dinner, Fugaku and Mikoto finally arrived home.

Fugaku's expression was grim.

He looked at Josuke, Sasuke, and Itachi.

Then he thought about what he had discussed with the clan's higher-ups earlier.

Did it really have to come to this?

Ever since the Nine-Tails' Attack, the village's oppression and discrimination against the Uchiha had only grown. Fugaku had repeatedly reported this to the Third Hokage.

But the Third's answers always left Fugaku disappointed—just endure a little longer, for the sake of Konoha.

Though Fugaku was dissatisfied, his anger was directed only at Konoha's higher-ups. But at today's high-level Uchiha clan meeting, the Great Elder proposed that the entire Uchiha clan launch a coup to seize control of Konoha.

The goal was to secure a peaceful existence for the Uchiha within the village.

Fugaku naturally stopped it on the spot, but he hadn't expected to underestimate the clan's hatred for the village. The Great Elder had already allied with most of the Uchiha.

The rebellion was already being planned in secret. Even if Fugaku didn't want to rebel, he had no choice.

This left Fugaku's heart in turmoil.

Itachi looked at his father and mother. Through the Anbu, he already knew what had happened at the meeting. That step was one he had to take.

"Father, Mother."

Itachi looked at them.

Fugaku gazed at his son, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and nodded.

"Have you grown taller again? What about your two younger brothers?"

"They're already asleep. They were too tired from training at school today. After dinner and a bath, they collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep."

Mikoto's eyes glistened.

Fugaku didn't say anything more. He went back to his room alone, and when he saw no one was around, he quietly opened a secret chamber.

Inside, there were only simple tables and chairs.

He found a spot to sit down, and his pupils transformed into Three Tomoe Sharingan, then spun wildly from Three Tomoe into a finely crafted shuriken.

To this day, no one knew that this Uchiha clan leader possessed the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan—except for Fugaku himself (the anime version has it, but the original doesn't; I'm going with the anime QAQ).

Fugaku couldn't change the clan's mindset. The rebellion was about a month away. What Fugaku never expected was that, to force his hand, the elders, who had always disagreed with each other, had now united.

How ironic.

Fugaku suddenly missed the days when Minato was still alive. If only he had acted back then, could Minato have survived? No one could say for sure.

At the very least, objectively speaking, during Minato's time as Hokage, the relationship between the Uchiha and the rest of Konoha had reached an unprecedented level of ease. Many clan members and villagers had set aside their prejudices.

That period was the best the Uchiha had ever gotten along with the villagers since Madara had left. Some of the older Uchiha even affirmed that

during the Fourth Hokage's reign, the relationship was several times better than in the past.

And now... what had happened to this world?