You Can't Catch Up to Me

Kurama Yakumo?

So it was her. No wonder Sasuke had felt a sense of familiarity when he saw her earlier.

Kurama Yakumo came from the Kurama clan, a family in Konoha that had once produced quite a few elite jonin and chunin.

The clan specialized in genjutsu and possessed a Kekkei Genkai. Their Kekkei Genkai enhanced genjutsu, and its outstanding users were in no way inferior to the Uchiha clan when it came to illusions.

However, the clan's Kekkei Genkai was difficult to awaken. Coupled with the endless Shinobi World wars throughout the generations, the Kurama clan had now declined and withered away, becoming one of Konoha's inconspicuous minor clans.

"Hello, Miss Kurama!"

Sasuke replied politely, then asked, "But how did you know I was Second Pillar?"

Although Sasuke was now Konoha's only Uchiha descendant, he was wearing casual clothes today, with no Uchiha symbols on him.

Moreover, in the original timeline, Kurama Yakumo had always paid attention to Rock Lee. She even seemed to harbor feelings for him and had always used him as her goal, wanting to become a genjutsu ninja who specialized in taijutsu like he did.

So why did she now look so certain that he was Second Pillar?

Hearing this, Kurama Yakumo seemed to have anticipated the question. She explained unhurriedly, "Sasuke-kun, you may not know this, but judging by our ages, I should have been in the class before yours. It's just that..."

At this point, a trace of gloom flashed through Kurama Yakumo's eyes, and bitterness appeared at the corners of her lips.

"Although I had always wanted to enter the Ninja Academy and become a student..."

"My health had been poor since I was little. I would become exhausted after training for only a short while, and my body would develop problems. For two consecutive years, I collapsed during the basic physical fitness tests for enrollment."

"So genius students like Sasuke-kun, who shone so brightly at the Ninja Academy, had always been people I paid attention to."

Kurama Yakumo's tone was very calm, but Sasuke still heard the envy and unwillingness hidden beneath it.

"I'm sorry."

After hearing her out, Sasuke did not know how to comfort the little girl. After a moment of silence, he only said that one sentence.

If you do not know another's suffering, do not urge them to be magnanimous; if you do not know another's hardships, do not judge their right and wrong.

"Sasuke-kun, I was being rude!" Realizing that saying too much might trouble others, Kurama Yakumo softly apologized. Then she covered her mouth and smiled before continuing, "Actually, I saw Sasuke-kun two years ago, at the Ninja Academy's entrance ceremony. I saw Sasuke-kun from afar back then. At that time, Sasuke-kun and Sasuke-kun's brother..."

At that point, Kurama Yakumo's face went pale. Remembering what had recently happened to the boy before her, she hurriedly stopped herself and bowed in apology.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry."

Kurama Yakumo had also heard about what had happened to the Uchiha clan two months ago, and she felt sympathy for Sasuke, the lone survivor.

She had not expected that, after meeting the boy she had always admired today, she would unconsciously say so many things hidden in her heart, nearly even mentioning that...

"It's fine."

Sasuke shook his head slightly and responded calmly.

It was only the little girl's unintentional mistake. Sasuke possessed an adult's soul, after all. Why would he seriously argue with a little girl?

Sasuke also realized that Kurama Yakumo had a very weak grasp of social conventions and interpersonal taboos. It was likely because she had barely interacted with the outside world since childhood.

Otherwise, she would not have poured out so many heartfelt words the moment she met Sasuke, not even understanding the taboo of speaking too deeply to someone she barely knew.

Seeing that Sasuke truly did not seem to take her slip of the tongue to heart, Kurama Yakumo silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"No matter what, being able to unexpectedly meet Sasuke-kun here today makes me very happy."

Kurama Yakumo gave a light bow, and her eyes seemed to burn with flames.

"Although my body is weak, from now on, I will keep Sasuke-kun as my goal and strive to become an outstanding ninja!"

Kurama Yakumo's parents were the heads of the Kurama clan. Yakumo had awakened her Kekkei Genkai at birth, and great hopes had been placed upon her.

So as not to disappoint her parents, and for the expectations of her clansmen.

Although every training session placed a tremendous burden on her body and caused her great pain.

Yakumo had continued to train diligently!

Keep it up!

I will definitely become an outstanding ninja!

Just as Kurama Yakumo was quietly encouraging herself, Sasuke's calm voice came from beside her. "Miss Yakumo, you are yourself. You don't need to make anyone else your goal, much less make me your goal. You can't catch up to me."

Sasuke finally understood why Kurama Yakumo now regarded him as her goal because she knew him, rather than Rock Lee three years later in the original work. (Note: Kurama Yakumo awakened the dark monster and killed her parents one year before Team 7 graduated, which was the year Rock Lee graduated. She then officially appeared in the second year.)

Rock Lee was the first student since Konoha's founding to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a ninja purely through taijutsu. (Might Duy and his son did not count. They knew a little ninjutsu, while Rock Lee truly knew none at all.)

Rock Lee's story had undoubtedly inspired Kurama Yakumo, who had nearly fallen into despair at the time. It was as though someone trapped in a dark abyss for a long time had seen a ray of light shine in.

"Uh..."

Kurama Yakumo, whose eyes had seemed to ignite moments ago, immediately rolled her eyes, the corners of her eyes twitching. Though you were a famous genius at the Ninja Academy, still...

So annoying! [○?｀Д′?○]

Kurama Yakumo felt somewhat angry, yet she did not harbor the slightest resentment or jealousy toward the boy before her. After all, what she had nearly said earlier would have been even more hurtful.

Kurama Yakumo's heart was still filled with the desire to become a ninja, and she firmly believed that through her own efforts, she could become an outstanding ninja.

Although her parents worried about her health, they had not stopped her from training.

This continued until three years later in the original timeline, when Kurama Yakumo's parents saw that the problems caused by her training were growing increasingly severe, yet she still refused to give up. They invited Kurenai Yuhi, who was exceptionally skilled in genjutsu in Konoha, to become her private teacher.

However, after coming into contact with the girl, Kurenai Yuhi also worried about her health and persuaded her to give up her dream of becoming a ninja and live an ordinary life. Her parents, who also worried about her health by then, agreed with Kurenai's approach.

The dream she had persistently pursued for ten years shattered overnight, and resentment, desire, and a beast of vengeance began to grow within Yakumo's heart.

Finally, one night, the monster named Ido broke free from within Yakumo's heart!