Uchiha Kyō wanted to say more, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
There was nothing he could do. Just as he'd said, the weak submitted to the strong, and Izori Uchiha was a genius of the clan.
She had awakened her Sharingan at the age of five and was greatly valued by the clan!
By contrast, he was six and still hadn't awakened his Sharingan. There was no doubt his standing was lower.
"Let's put an end to this farce. I'll apologize to everyone on Kyō's behalf! I hope you won't hold this against us. The Uchiha Clan isn't at all the way you think it is!"
Izori Uchiha's words put an end to the farce and helped the civilian children regain a little of their dignity.
Their impression of the Uchiha improved slightly, but some of them weren't convinced.
They now firmly believed what their parents had warned them: don't associate with the Uchiha Clan.
Maruboshi Kosuke was released by his two friends and went over to Kumonaka Torikaze to thank him.
Then he shot Izori Uchiha an unhappy glance and returned to his seat.
As he saw it, Kumonaka Torikaze had been the one to put the Uchiha Clan on the spot.
Izori Uchiha had only spoken up to protect the clan's reputation. Kosuke had no goodwill toward the Uchiha at all now!
Izori Uchiha gave a wry smile. "Kosuke seems to dislike me."
Kumonaka Torikaze pursed his lips. "Can't be helped. Uchiha Kyō's actions made everyone angry. It's understandable that Kosuke judged you all at first glance."
Izori Uchiha understood that, too.
She'd come to the Ninja Academy in the first place to ease the villagers' prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.
But now, it seemed Uchiha Kyō had ruined everything.
Though Izori Uchiha was a genius of the Uchiha Clan, she wasn't arrogant and never looked down on people.
She'd always felt that the clan's shinobi shouldn't act so high and mighty.
It was clear she was part of the Uchiha Clan's more moderate faction, much like Kagami Uchiha.
It was Kagami's influence that had led Izori Uchiha to choose the Ninja Academy.
Otherwise, a genius like her should have been trained within the clan.
"Changing how the clan and the people see each other really is difficult."
Kumonaka Torikaze smiled. "Not really."
"Why not?"
"As long as you're strong enough, everyone in your clan will have to listen to you."
"Just like the Shinobi World, which seems peaceful now. That peace only exists because the great nations fear Lord Hokage's strength."
Izori Uchiha hadn't expected Torikaze to say that.
But when she thought it over, she realized there was no way to get the old traditionalists in her clan to accept her and her brother's ideals without strength.
Without strength, everything was just empty talk.
"But wouldn't that make me just like Kyō? Using strength to force others to obey?" Izori Uchiha asked deliberately.
"Of course not. He just enjoys putting people down and humiliating them to satisfy his own selfish desires."
"You want to stop your clan and the villagers from treating each other as enemies and help the Uchiha truly become part of the village."
Izori Uchiha smiled. "You really are an interesting person, Torikaze. You don't seem to dislike the Uchiha."
At her words, Torikaze gave her a warm smile.
"We're all part of the village. The Uchiha are part of Konoha, too. There's no reason to dislike them."
From the moment she'd met Kumonaka Torikaze, Izori Uchiha had felt he was different from the other students, though she couldn't say why.
He'd stood up for Maruboshi Kosuke when others mocked him, even though they'd known each other for less than half a day.
And he had no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, whom everyone else feared or disliked.
As I thought, Torikaze really is special.
A little while later, Suiya Sarutobi returned.
Kumonaka Torikaze didn't believe for a second that Suiya knew nothing about what had happened in the classroom.
But he didn't say a word about it and simply moved on to the next lesson.
"Okay, everyone. For the rest of the day, you'll practice extracting Chakra yourselves, using what we learned last lesson."
Suiya Sarutobi's words immediately got the students' attention.
They'd felt utterly powerless when Uchiha Kyō mocked them during the break.
Now they were finally going to learn to extract Chakra, and they were all eager to get started.
They were all five- or six-year-old children who believed they were no less talented than anyone else. Soon, they were all following the previous lesson and working to extract Chakra.
They wouldn't be able to move on to the rest of the lessons until they extracted Chakra.
But for those who had already learned to extract Chakra, it was incredibly boring.
They couldn't talk, for fear of disturbing the others, and they couldn't skip class on the first day. All they could do was sit in the classroom.
Nearly three hours passed before someone finally managed to extract Chakra.
"Shinku, well done! You managed to extract Chakra in just three hours. Excellent!"
Kumonaka Torikaze wasn't surprised by the result.
Soon after, Maruboshi Kosuke and Umino Ikkaku also managed to extract Chakra.
Even the children of some major clans might not be able to do it that quickly.
Suiya Sarutobi nodded to himself. There are quite a few talented students this year. I should report this to Lord Hokage, along with what happened earlier.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Kyō had extracted Chakra long ago, even though he hadn't awakened his Sharingan.
Seeing the civilians he looked down on extract Chakra for the first time faster than he had made him furious!
What made him even angrier was that Izori Uchiha, a clan genius, hadn't stood up for him. Instead, she'd sided with those civilians!
That white-haired guy! Just wait until practical class. I'll make you pay!
Then he noticed Kumonaka Torikaze seemed to be concentrating on extracting Chakra, too.
He muttered disdainfully, "Tch! I thought you were someone important, but you're just a civilian."
That gave him even more confidence about next week's exam. After all, he'd already learned a ninjutsu. There was no way he wasn't stronger than that white-haired kid!
If Kumonaka Torikaze had heard Uchiha Kyō, he would surely have rolled his eyes.
In truth, he just didn't want to waste time sitting around. He was using it to practice Cloud Release.
If he could successfully develop Kekkei Tōta, his dream of a peaceful life would be all but guaranteed.
Seeing Torikaze beside her, Izori Uchiha thought he was practicing hard, so she joined him.
It was as if it were contagious: the students who had extracted Chakra in the classroom all began practicing.
Everyone, that is, except Uchiha Kyō.
The first day at the Academy came to an end, and half the civilian children hadn't managed to extract Chakra.
That showed they lacked talent. At best, they'd become Chunin someday.
Some students left the classroom happy, others disappointed. Kumonaka Torikaze was among the former.
His practice had failed at the last moment again, but he'd begun to understand where the problem lay!
A few more tries, and he might be able to develop Cloud Release.
After class, Maruboshi Kosuke and the others said goodbye to Torikaze and asked if he wanted to walk home with them.
Kumonaka Torikaze agreed. After saying goodbye to Izori Uchiha, the four of them left the Academy together.
Unfortunately, it seemed their homes weren't along the same route at all. Yunzhong Clan Grounds lay in the opposite direction from the homes of the other three.
So Kumonaka Torikaze had to walk home alone.
Before you continue