Chapter Eighteen: Bullied

Chen emerged from the Laboratory after training. It was already evening.

"Is it that late already? I couldn't feel time passing at all down in the Laboratory. The Ninja Academy must have let out by now. I'd better hurry back." Chen looked at the darkening sky and murmured, "Maybe that guy Sasuke's worried and looking for me right now."

Sasuke hadn't gone to Orochimaru yet, so his personality hadn't turned dark, even if he did seem rather cold. The fact that he'd brought Chen home and cared for him himself instead of sending him to the Orphanage a year ago showed how much he cared about his brother. And in the Original Story, he'd even used his own body to shield Naruto from Haku's attack. As he lay dying, he'd stubbornly insisted that he hadn't done it to save Naruto—his body had simply moved on its own. So for now, Sasuke was still an Uchiha who valued his bonds with others, cold on the outside but warm at heart.

Just as Chen was nearing the clearing where he used to train, he suddenly heard some noise. It seemed to be coming from that very clearing.

"Someone's up ahead!" Chen immediately leaped into a nearby tree and hid. A long while passed, but the noise continued. Whoever was there hadn't left.

"Is someone training over there? Who could it be?" Chen wondered. Then he cautiously crept toward the noise.

"So it's him. Sasuke's the one who's been training here all this time." Chen snuck close to the clearing where he used to practice, then jumped into a tree and watched the person training hard below. It was Sasuke.

Sasuke usually came here by himself to train after school, and today was no different. He'd come here to practice as usual, unaware that someone was watching him.

Sasuke was already completely exhausted. He lay on the ground, gasping for breath. After being shaken by what had happened the night before, he'd been pushing himself harder than ever. After resting for a moment, he gritted his teeth, stood up, and staggered home.

"He's really pushing himself that hard?" Watching Sasuke's unsteady retreating figure, Chen was moved by his determination. As Sasuke's silhouette gradually disappeared into the distance, Chen murmured, "Does he want to get stronger as soon as possible, then go find Itachi and get revenge?"

After Sasuke left, Chen emerged from his hiding place and went to the spot where he'd been training. The few charred wooden posts had been replaced, and the new ones were studded with Shuriken.

Chen pulled out a Shuriken and turned it over in his hand, deep in thought. "Should I help him out?" After considering it, he decided he should. After all, Sasuke was the only family he had in this world. Seeing how hard he was working, Chen couldn't help wanting to lend him a hand.

It was already late, so Chen headed home.

Back on Konoha's streets, Chen put on his usual foolish act. Just before he got home, he ran into a few students from the Ninja Academy. They were the same students he'd driven off when they were bullying Naruto, and Taichi the Idiot was with them. Taichi the Idiot and the others were surprised to see Chen, too. "Sasuke Uchiha? Didn't we just run into him up ahead? How come he's here again?" Chen hadn't shown his face for over a year, and most of the students at the Ninja Academy had nearly forgotten him. So the first person they'd thought of was Sasuke Uchiha. Chen had been about to ignore them and walk past when Taichi the Idiot suddenly remembered something and called out, "Uchiha Chen, are you Uchiha Chen?"

Hearing Taichi the Idiot call his name, Chen stopped. He hadn't planned on dealing with them, but now he turned around and put on a timid expression. "What do you want?"

"Uchiha Chen! It really is Uchiha Chen! Come on, let's go over there," Taichi the Idiot said excitedly to his companions after hearing Chen's answer.

"Taiyi, you're not thinking of..." one of the students asked him.

"Maybe we shouldn't. He's Sasuke Uchiha's brother, and he was really strong a year ago," another boy said, sounding worried.

"What's there to be afraid of? I heard Uchiha Chen took a serious mental blow when his clan was wiped out a year ago and turned into an idiot. Then he dropped out of the Ninja Academy. He's probably useless now, so there's nothing to be scared of. Besides, there are so many of us, and we're Ninja Academy students. Are we really going to be afraid of one idiot?" Taichi the Idiot egged the others on.

"But he's Sasuke Uchiha's brother. If we bully Uchiha Chen, Sasuke Uchiha definitely won't let us get away with it," the last boy said anxiously.

Sasuke had been training relentlessly for over a year. He always came first in tests and sparring matches, and had become the strongest student in their class. Sasuke had become a formidable presence among his classmates at the Ninja Academy.

It was one thing not to mention Sasuke, but the moment Taichi the Idiot heard his name, he got angry. Before starting at the Ninja Academy, Taichi the Idiot had been bigger than most of the other kids, so he often bullied them. But after entering the Ninja Academy, everything went against him. On the first day of school, Uchiha Chen had taken him down with a single move in front of the entire class, humiliating him in front of all his classmates and Ino. He'd held a grudge ever since and had been looking for a chance to get revenge, but he'd never had the opportunity because Uchiha Chen was far too strong. As time went on, the gap between them only grew wider. Chen was always called a genius at school, while Taichi the Idiot was just an ordinary civilian student with no particular talent. Even some of the kids he used to bully had surpassed him and started beating him instead. After all, being bigger than everyone else didn't make you a better ninja, so his slightly larger build didn't help him at all. The students he used to bully, who had once been afraid whenever they saw him, now bullied him in turn. Taichi the Idiot was miserable, but there was nothing he could do about it. Just a few days ago, he'd been taken down with a single move by Sasuke, another Uchiha, during a sparring match. Once again, an Uchiha had humiliated him.

Taichi the Idiot hated the Uchiha, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was one of the weakest students in the class—in other words, a dead last. He couldn't even dream of getting revenge on Sasuke. They weren't in the same league.

By now, Taichi the Idiot had become the laughingstock of the class, and he couldn't hold his head up. He blamed Uchiha Chen and Sasuke Uchiha for all of it. He'd given up on getting revenge on Sasuke, but now he'd run into Uchiha Chen, who'd supposedly turned into an idiot. There was no way he'd let this chance slip by. He wanted to humiliate Chen and take out his frustrations on him.

Taichi the Idiot turned to his frightened companions. "What are you afraid of? If I don't tell anyone and you don't tell anyone, no one will find out."

"But what if Uchiha Chen goes back and tells Sasuke Uchiha?" the students asked, still worried. After all, there was no way they could take on Sasuke Uchiha. They were ordinary civilian students with little talent, among the weakest in the class, which was why they'd ended up with Taichi the Idiot.

"Don't worry. He's an idiot. No one will believe what an idiot says." Taichi the Idiot spoke to his companions as he sneered and walked toward Chen.

Taichi the Idiot came up to Chen and mocked him. "Well, look who it is—the great genius from back in the day! I heard you turned into an idiot! Hahaha!"

"W-what do you want?" Chen pretended to look terrified as Taichi the Idiot approached, slowly backing away. Looks like this loser wants to take a swing at me. Chen thought to himself, Damn it, I guess I'm going to have to take a beating today. Taichi the Idiot, huh? I'll remember that!

"What do I want? Obviously..." Taichi the Idiot kicked Chen, knocking him to the ground. "I'm going to beat you up, idiot!" Seeing the fear on Chen's face made him feel on top of the world. "You're an Uchiha, aren't you? You're from one of Konoha's elite clans, aren't you? You're a genius, aren't you? Hahaha! Go on, say something! Why aren't you saying anything?" Taichi the Idiot shouted at Chen with a vicious look as he kicked him on the ground.

Chen silently endured Taichi the Idiot's vicious kicks, his anger on the verge of boiling over. Taichi the Idiot, I'll remember this. One day, I'll pay you back tenfold for this humiliation!

"Hey, you guys, come over and kick him a few times too! He's an idiot. What are you afraid of?" Taichi the Idiot turned to the other three boys.

But they didn't come over. Instead, they waved their hands at Taichi the Idiot. "No, no! You can handle it yourself."

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop it!" Just as Taichi the Idiot was about to keep humiliating Uchiha Chen, a voice suddenly called out from behind them. It was a woman's voice, and she sounded furious.

Everyone turned to look. A young, beautiful woman was walking toward them. She was the one who'd shouted at them!