Sitting in the classroom, Uchiha Yuan let out a helpless sigh.
Senju Gen had just left his side. This was the third time in five days that he had come to challenge him.
After some thought, Uchiha Yuan decided to find their instructor, Sarutobi Retsu.
He couldn't let Senju Gen keep pestering him like this.
On the other side of the classroom, Senju Gen was talking with two classmates. When he saw Uchiha Yuan leave, a thoughtful look crossed his face. He then got up and left the classroom as well.
"Teacher Retsu."
Uchiha Yuan ran into Sarutobi Retsu in the corridor near the classroom.
"Yuan, what is it?" Sarutobi Retsu asked in confusion.
"It's Senju Gen. He's challenged me several times, but I turned him down every time. I'm worried he might come to you and ask you to arrange a one-on-one match for us at the Training Ground."
At Uchiha Yuan's words, Sarutobi Retsu frowned, but inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sarutobi Retsu knew that Uchiha Yuan had excellent Taijutsu, but his talent for ninjutsu was ordinary. Moreover, as an outer family member of the Uchiha Clan, the chances of him awakening the Sharingan were very low.
Thus, Sarutobi Retsu had assessed Uchiha Yuan's overall strength as somewhere outside the top ten in the class.
As for Senju Gen, he could only say that he truly lived up to his Senju Clan heritage. Whether it was Taijutsu, ninjutsu, or Chakra reserves, he far surpassed his peers. His strength ranked among the top five in the entire grade.
After Uchiha Yuan's match against Hyuga Kagami that day, Sarutobi Retsu had been somewhat worried.
He hadn't expected Senju Gen to really want a match with Uchiha Yuan. Fortunately, Uchiha Yuan seemed well aware that he was outmatched and had no intention of fighting Senju Gen.
Sarutobi Retsu smiled. "Don't worry. Teacher won't arrange a match between the two of you."
"That puts me at ease."
At that moment, Senju Gen's voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Uchiha Yuan, why won't you spar with me? You accepted Hyuga Kagami's challenge, after all."
Uchiha Yuan turned around and saw Senju Gen striding over, his face full of displeasure.
Uchiha Yuan looked at Senju Gen coldly. "Senju Gen, you're the strongest in the class, and you rank among the top five in the entire grade."
"I'm ranked twelfth in the class. Are you trying to humiliate me and the entire Uchiha Clan in front of everyone?"
Senju Gen froze at that. He had merely been eager to fight after seeing a worthy opponent. How had it turned into humiliating Uchiha Yuan and the Uchiha Clan?
After saying that, Uchiha Yuan walked straight past Senju Gen and headed back to the classroom.
Senju Gen shouldn't keep pestering me this time, right?
Back in the classroom, Uchiha Yuan pondered this inwardly.
Not long afterward, Senju Gen returned to the classroom as well. Uchiha Yuan noticed that he kept his head lowered, looking rather dejected.
After school, Uchiha Yuan and Hatake Harukaze walked toward the Hatake Clan Land together.
Hatake Harukaze said, "I ran into Kakashi-bro yesterday. He seemed even colder than before. I didn't even dare get close to him."
Uchiha Yuan's expression shifted slightly. "It's wartime now. Perhaps one of Kakashi-senpai's comrades died."
Hatake Harukaze said quietly, "I heard from an uncle in the clan that the father of one of Kakashi-bro's friends died on the battlefield.
"The elders in the clan all seemed very surprised by Might Duy-senpai's sacrifice."
The image of Might Guy's bright, cheerful smile surfaced in Uchiha Yuan's mind.
Uchiha Yuan said, "Seeing his friend lose his father, Kakashi-senpai must be in great pain too. It must have reminded him of White Fang-senpai."
After a pause, he continued, "But that's war. There will always be sacrifices. Yet it is precisely because of their sacrifices that we can enjoy this peaceful life in the village."
Hatake Harukaze said, "Yes. I heard that Might Duy-senpai killed four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in one go.
"Might Duy-senpai was truly powerful. Teacher Retsu spent three whole lessons talking about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Every one of those seven was a renowned strong person in the Ninja World."
Uchiha Yuan said, "Though the village has many filthy deeds that disgust people, it also has many people worthy of admiration. Might Duy-senpai was one ninja worthy of respect."
"Yuan, if only the Fourth Hokage hadn't died. The war only began escalating after the Fourth Hokage's death.
"And if the Fourth Hokage had been around, he definitely could have stopped those dark things in the village."
If Minato Namikaze hadn't died, the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village would indeed have eased considerably.
Since Uchiha Mikoto and Uzumaki Kushina were friends, there would have been a channel of communication built on mutual trust. Their conflict would not have erupted into the outcome of the clan's extermination in a single night, Uchiha Yuan thought.
A trace of mockery appeared in his smile. "Harukaze, perhaps the Fourth Hokage could have changed the village if he had lived. But do you think the Third Hokage truly gave up power just because he stepped down?"
"There had always been voices in the village calling for the selection of a Fourth Hokage. Even Ninja Academy students like us knew that, which showed that quite a few village ninja were dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's rule."
"In my opinion, although Namikaze Jonin became the Fourth Hokage, the real power would still have remained in the Third Hokage's hands. The Fourth Hokage would probably have become the Third Hokage's puppet."
"Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was not only powerful, but also enjoyed immense prestige in both the Ninja World and the village. Many ninja in the village trusted him."
"If he had become the Fourth Hokage, the Third Hokage could only have truly become a lecherous old man who peeked into women's bathhouses every day."
"That was why the Yellow Flash ultimately won the competition for Fourth Hokage."
Hatake Harukaze said with a complicated expression, "Did Third Hokage-grandpa really do this?"
Uchiha Yuan smiled. "Look at the village now. The Third Hokage is temporarily serving as Acting Hokage. Why wasn't a Fifth Hokage selected after the Fourth Hokage died?
"Because if they selected the Fifth Hokage now, no one could stop it. Orochimaru would definitely be elected."
"Then who will the Fifth Hokage be?"
"Who knows? How could people like us possibly know about the struggles among the village's higher-ups?"
As they spoke, the two arrived in a forest near the Hatake Clan Land.
Then Uchiha Yuan suddenly stopped. Turning toward the rear, he said, "Senju Gen, why have you been following us all this way?"
Hatake Harukaze was immediately startled and hurriedly looked around for signs of the stalker.
Water Style—Water Shockwave!
At that moment, a surge of Chakra suddenly erupted from the surrounding bushes, and a torrent of water came blasting toward Uchiha Yuan.
Uchiha Yuan raised his hand and threw a punch, blasting the torrent apart into a mist of water that scattered through the air.
Almost simultaneously, a figure shot out from the water mist and launched a meteor-like kick at Uchiha Yuan.
Uchiha Yuan swung out another punch to meet it. Several of his knuckles protruded sharply as his fist collided with the sole of the foot.
Bang!
Amid a heavy crash, the attacking figure flipped backward and landed on a tree more than ten meters away.
It was Senju Gen.
Pain twisted across his face, and he held his right foot slightly raised, unwilling to put it down.
"Uchiha Yuan, what kind of move was that?"
Senju Gen sucked in a cold breath. The instant his right foot had collided with Uchiha Yuan's fist, his entire right leg had gone numb, as though countless electric currents were surging through it.
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