After laboriously carrying Chen back to the hospital and handing him over, Sasuke walked back to the clan compound alone.
As he walked along the deserted streets, letting the cold rain beat down on him, he looked at the familiar places and seemed to hear the clan's uncles and aunties greeting him warmly again.
He returned to his old home and looked at everything he knew so well, memories of the little moments they had shared there rising in his mind.
He thought of Mikoto Uchiha's affection for him. Whenever he came home, she would have a meal ready. Whenever he got hurt during training, Mikoto would gently apply medicine to his wounds. He thought of Fugaku Uchiha's strictness. He thought of how he and Chen had never seen eye to eye, and how Mikoto would always smile and try to make peace whenever the two of them glared at each other. He used to ask her why she always took Chen's side. "He's Chen, and you're Sasuke. Mom cares about both of you." Mikoto always answered with a smile. At the thought of it, a smile appeared on Sasuke's face.
"The Naka Shrine Main Hall. Under the seventh tatami mat from the right is the clan's secret meeting place. The true secret recorded there is what the Uchiha Clan's ocular techniques were originally meant for." Itachi's words suddenly came back to Sasuke. The faint smile that had appeared on his face as he reminisced immediately vanished.
"The Naka Shrine Main Hall?" Sasuke murmured, then headed in its direction.
When Sasuke reached the main hall of Naka Shrine, he lifted the seventh tatami mat and found a movable wooden panel beneath it. After opening the hidden door, he saw a flight of stairs leading down.
Sasuke followed the stairs down to a secret room. Inside, he found a long rectangular table in the center, with two neat rows of chairs along either side. It was a meeting room—a secret room hidden underground.
A stone tablet stood against the wall behind the seat at the head of the long table.
Sasuke walked up to the stone tablet and read what was written on it. "I see. So that's how it is."
Then he left the secret room.
The next day, Sasuke went to class at the Ninja Academy as usual. As he walked along the Konoha Streets, he kept seeing Konoha Civilians whispering among themselves about the clan crest on the back of his shirt.
"Look at the symbol on that kid's shirt. He's an Uchiha."
"Did you hear? The entire prestigious Uchiha Clan was wiped out yesterday."
"Of course I heard about something that big. And I also heard it was done by one of their own!"
"What? How is that possible? One person killed everyone in such a powerful clan? Who could be that strong?"
"I heard the killer was an Uchiha, too. I think his name was Uchiha Itachi. He was a genius of the Uchiha Clan, and the clan leader's son."
Sasuke ignored the civilians' talk and walked on with his head lowered. Even after he reached the classroom, he could still feel the other students' strange looks.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" As soon as he sat down, Sakura leaned over from the seat beside him and asked with concern.
But Sasuke didn't appreciate it. He gave her a cold look, then lay down on his desk.
"Sasuke..." Sakura started to say something.
"Shut up. You're annoying." Sasuke raised his head and glared coldly at Sakura. She was so frightened that she didn't dare say another word, and could only look at him unhappily.
Just then, Ino and Ino walked over as well. Both of them asked Sasuke worriedly, "Sasuke, where's Chen-kun? What happened to him? Why didn't he come to school?"
"I don't know. Stop bothering me." Sasuke didn't even turn around before slumping back onto his desk.
"But don't you live together? How can you not know? Did something happen to Chen-kun?" Ino pressed him, still worried.
"I said I don't know! Are you all going to keep bothering me? Get lost!" Sasuke shouted angrily at Ino and Ino. "Who cares about that guy? Stop bothering me."
"Uh..." Seeing Sasuke lose his temper, Ino and Ino finally stopped talking. They went off to the side and discussed going to look for Chen after school.
After that, Iruka came to the classroom and began teaching as usual. He didn't comment on Chen's absence.
At that moment, Chen had already woken up in a hospital bed in Konoha. He had been staring blankly at the ceiling of the Hospital Room for a long time. During that time, a nurse had brought him something to eat, but he ignored her advice and didn't get up to eat. He just kept staring at the ceiling, showing no reaction at all. No one knew what he was thinking. In the end, when the nurse saw that Chen remained unmoved no matter how much she tried to persuade him, she had no choice but to leave helplessly.
"I have to get revenge. I have to get revenge." Having read the Original Story, Chen knew the truth of the Clan Massacre. The Uchiha had brought it upon themselves, but all of this could have been avoided. In the Original Story, the Third Hokage and Itachi had been trying to negotiate with the Uchiha, while Uchiha Shisui had planned to use Cottontail God on the Leader of the Uchiha Rebellion to stop the Uchiha Rebellion.
Uchiha Shisui, nicknamed "Body Flicker Shisui," possessed the unique genjutsu "Cottontail God," which could manipulate another person without their knowing and permanently change their will. Uchiha Itachi had called it the "Strongest Genjutsu." Danzo had always insisted on exterminating the Uchiha, and used his distrust of Shisui, who belonged to the Uchiha Clan, as an excuse to take Shisui's right eye. To keep his left eye out of Danzo's hands and protect the Uchiha name, Shisui gave it to Itachi and told him to use it for peace, do everything he could to stop the Uchiha Coup, and keep what had happened to him secret. Later, to prevent others from fighting over his eyes, he pretended to destroy them and threw himself into the Naka River.
So this had all been caused by Danzo and those old fools on the Elder Council. Itachi had only been forced into it, so Chen didn't hate him the way Sasuke did.
"Elder Council of Konoha, Danzo—I'll make you pay for this in blood!" Chen cried out in his heart, consumed by hatred.
"To get revenge, I need enough strength. I have the Strongman System, so I don't need to worry about that. But to grow stronger, I need enough Points. There are a few ways to get them: complete missions, kill enemies, or recover treasures. I don't have any treasures, so that's out. Killing people in Konoha is impossible, so that's out too. The system still hasn't issued any missions. Maybe it's because life in Konoha is too peaceful, so there aren't any missions to do. None of those three options will work. For now, my only source of Points is the daily amount the beginner bonus gives me. But that's only a drop in the bucket, nowhere near enough. And the beginner bonus only lasts three years. Two years have already passed, so it'll stop giving me Points in another year." Chen was troubled. "I have to get out of Konoha as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll never be able to grow stronger," he told himself firmly.
"System, check my Points."
"Host, your remaining Points: 2748. Would you like to open the Exchange Interface?" the system replied in its cold voice.
"Open the Chidori Exchange Interface," Chen instructed the system.
"Chidori. Item type: Skill. Item rank: A-rank. Points required: 5000. The host has insufficient Points and cannot redeem it."
"An A-rank skill costs that many Points? That's expensive. Right now, aside from the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, my only offensive techniques are Finger Gun and Great Fireball, and neither of them does much damage. I have 2748 Points now. In another year, I should have about 4000. If I can find a way to get some more Points by then, I'll be able to redeem a stronger skill." Chen made his plans silently.
"Ding! Reminder to host: you are currently under surveillance. Would you like the system to send you an image of the observer?" the system's cold voice suddenly rang out.
"What? Someone's watching me? Who could it be?" Chen was shocked. He was only an eight-year-old child. Why would anyone be watching him? "Send me the image," Chen ordered the system.
"Ding! Image sent."
Suddenly, an image appeared in Chen's mind. On the trunk of a tree outside his Hospital Room, an Anbu Outfit-clad ninja was clinging to the bark. The ninja was using the Disguise Technique and had blended into the trunk. No one could possibly spot him.
"Who is that? Judging by the outfit, he looks like one of the Hokage's Anbu. But why would the Hokage send someone to watch me? That doesn't make sense." Chen wondered. "Wait, the Third Hokage has no reason to send someone to watch me. If he isn't one of the Hokage's Anbu, there's only one possibility left: he belongs to Danzo's Root."
At the thought of Danzo, Chen was filled with hatred. Beneath the blanket, his hand clenched tightly as he struggled to hold himself back. "Why would Danzo send someone to watch me? Is he looking for a chance to eliminate me so there won't be any loose ends?" Chen wondered. "If he wanted to kill me, he would have done it already. There'd be no need to go to so much trouble watching me. If he doesn't want to kill me, then what does he want? Could it be..."
Chen had guessed one possibility!!
Before you continue