Uchiha Yuan withdrew his gaze from the direction Uchiha Shisui had vanished and continued walking home.
How could one hide oneself better?
By blending in with the surrounding scenery.
Uchiha Yuan did not want to draw the village's attention, so the persona he displayed outside had to be like that of other Uchiha clan members: arrogant, domineering, and overbearing.
At the same time, he had no intention of appearing weak, because this was a world where strength was revered. Only the strong received respect, and only the strong inspired others to follow them.
Once one showed weakness, the consequence would be even more oppression closing in.
Thus, over the years, Uchiha Yuan had presented himself as an ordinary Uchiha clan member with exceptional talent in Taijutsu.
Powerful Taijutsu earned praise, but it did not attract too much special attention.
And as an Uchiha, Uchiha Yuan had no desire whatsoever to awaken the Sharingan.
His Sage Art cultivation differed from that of other shinobi. With Natural Energy tempering and strengthening his body and spirit, his reflexes and perception were in no way inferior to the Sharingan's abilities.
Moreover, not awakening the Sharingan meant the village would pay even less attention to him.
Only Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan were worth the clan's and the village's attention.
He returned home and pushed open the door.
"I'm back."
Uchiha Yuan said as he took off his shoes.
"Yuan, dinner's ready. Tonight, we have the honey glazed roast meat Izumi just learned to make."
His mother, Uchiha Rei, leaned halfway out of the kitchen as she spoke.
Uchiha Yuan came to the dining room and sat down. Before long, his mother and younger sister brought the dishes to the table.
At the sight of Uchiha Yuan, Izumi pouted and turned her face away, her little face slightly cold as she completely ignored him.
Uchiha Rei sighed helplessly and said, "Izumi, are you still angry with your brother?"
Izumi shot Uchiha Yuan a glance and said, "Yes. If someone doesn't apologize, I'll stay angry forever."
Uchiha Yuan wore a helpless expression. Then he pulled a pastry box out from beneath the table and said affectionately to Uchiha Izumi, "Izumi, look what this is. Your brother bought it especially for you. It's your favorite, Seven-Colored Rainbow Dumplings from Seven Colors Pavilion."
As the pastry box opened, an enticingly sweet fragrance spread through the room.
Izumi could not help looking over. Inside, delicately crafted, adorable, brightly colored dumplings were arranged neatly in rows.
She tried hard to look away and said, "Even so, I won't forgive you, Brother."
Uchiha Yuan said, "Izumi, your words make your brother very sad."
At that, a hint of panic appeared on Izumi's face. She looked at Uchiha Yuan and said, "As long as Brother apologizes, Izumi will forgive Brother right away."
"All right, Brother apologizes to you. I shouldn't have told you to stay away from Uchiha Itachi. I take back what I said before. I won't interfere with your interactions with Uchiha Itachi."
Uchiha Yuan said.
He knew that since he could not force his younger sister Izumi to stay away from Uchiha Itachi through harsh means, he could only stop opposing it. The harder one tried to suppress certain matters, the more likely it was to backfire.
At last, a smile appeared on Izumi's little face.
Then, unable to wait any longer, she picked up a yellow dumpling shaped like a little rabbit and took a bite. The sweet flavor immediately brought a delighted smile to her face.
Next, Izumi picked up a piece of roast meat coated in sweet sauce and held it to Uchiha Yuan's mouth. "Brother, hurry and try it. This is the first roast meat I've ever made myself today."
Uchiha Yuan swallowed the roast meat in one bite and smiled. "It's delicious. This is the best roast meat I've ever eaten."
For a time, the family happily enjoyed their dinner together.
His younger sister Uchiha Izumi occasionally acted spoiled and asked her brother Uchiha Yuan to pick food for her.
After dinner, Uchiha Yuan sat alone in the courtyard, gazing quietly at the sky.
As the sun sank in the west, the evening clouds looked as though they had been painted with a dazzling layer of gold.
His thoughts returned to the moment he had left the Training Ground earlier that day, when he sensed an aura carrying the intent to challenge him.
It was Senju Gen.
When he left, he had exchanged a glance with Senju Gen amid the crowd, and he could sense Senju Gen's soaring fighting spirit.
When he had first entered school, Uchiha Yuan had never expected there to be a classmate from the Senju Clan in his class.
Nor did he understand why Senju Gen had been assigned to Class Nine. Given how highly the village regarded the Senju Clan, Senju Gen could easily have been placed in one of the top-ranked classes.
One had to know that before Senju Gen enrolled, the Senju Clan had not had a child enter the academy for many years.
This was also a sign of the Senju Clan's decline. The clan was running out of successors, and the number of newborns in recent years had been pitifully small.
Senju and Uchiha were known as Konoha's two great noble clans, yet now one had a dwindling population while the other's influence remained immense.
The Senju Clan had declined because of the two Shinobi World Wars. In both wars, the Senju Clan had fought bravely at the front, and victory in several major battles had only been achieved through the Senju Clan's relentless assaults, regardless of losses.
Even Senju Nawaki, heir to the Senju Clan leader, had died in the Second Shinobi World War.
They were a group of reckless, hot-blooded people, but they were truly admirable.
The reason the Uchiha Clan had such a flourishing population was that the Uchiha had not been greatly affected by the Shinobi World Wars.
During the First Shinobi World War, after the suppression by the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, the Ninja World had enjoyed peace for quite a long time.
Every ninja clan had developed during that period, so the losses inflicted by the war remained within what the clans could bear.
During the Second Shinobi World War, although the Uchiha Clan repeatedly requested to fight, the village kept them behind to defend the village on the grounds of the Police Force's duties.
Only half of the Uchiha Clan's strength was allowed to be dispatched, sent separately to several flanking battlefields.
Uchiha Yuan immediately realized that the village's higher-ups would rather sacrifice more Konoha shinobi in order to suppress the Uchiha Clan.
In the shinobi world, strength reigned supreme, and military achievements were the most glorious and conspicuous thing.
If the Uchiha Clan had gained enough military achievements in the two Shinobi World Wars, then no matter how unwilling the village higher-ups were, they would likely have had no choice but to grant the Uchiha Clan several positions within the Center of Power. Otherwise, they would not have been able to convince the masses.
Suppression in the shadows could never be spoken aloud.
Uchiha Yuan believed that the village had likely been watching Senju Gen all along. After all, every Senju clan member had the potential to awaken Wood Style.
Wood Style was a power the village higher-ups had always desperately wanted to possess.
Thus, even though he and Senju Gen had been classmates for several years, he had always kept his distance from Senju Gen and had never spoken to him.
Perhaps the village had placed Senju Gen in Class 9 precisely to avoid conflict. In the higher-ranked classes, there were as many as six or seven Uchiha students, and as few as three or four.
Given the grudge between the two clans, Uchiha students would certainly come into conflict with Senju Gen. When that happened, it might very well become a case of the Uchiha ganging up on one person.
A burst of light footsteps came from nearby, interrupting Uchiha Yuan's thoughts.
His younger sister Izumi came over holding pastries from Seven Colors Pavilion and sat beside Uchiha Yuan. "Brother, try this red one. I think it's the best one."
Uchiha Yuan swallowed the red dumpling Izumi held to his mouth in one bite. As he reached out to smooth a stray lock of hair from her forehead, he said, "Izumi, as long as you're happy, that's enough. Brother will deal with everything bad."
A trace of confusion appeared on Uchiha Izumi's face. She did not quite understand what her older brother Uchiha Yuan meant.
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