The Shrine Maiden

The world of the Shinobi World was wrong.

Frequent battles and repeated wars had cast a dark cloud over the Shinobi World, spreading sorrow throughout the entire world.

Even while staying at home, Uchiha Yuji could absorb heaps upon heaps of negative emotions.

But at school, among children who had yet to be colored by this world, their pure-white radiance, and emotions as soft and tender as cake, as sweet as cream, were quite a treat to savor.

The Nine-Tails' intense negative emotions accumulated over a thousand years, Uzumaki Kushina's sincere love, the children's pure joy, and the villagers' gratitude had all helped the Hyper Zetton inside him grow stronger several times over the course of that year.

Zetton was a weapon, one that could grow rapidly and was powerful enough to destroy civilization.

Its latent physique subtly affected Uchiha Yuji as well. Anyone who watched him for even a moment would feel their pores open involuntarily, their hair standing on end.

Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi understood this all too well.

It wasn't pressure exerted on the body, but an instinctive terror that came from the cells—a fear of death etched into the soul, causing the body to feel uncomfortable.

It was a negative state that neither experience nor talent could dispel.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid to come near me?"

"If you don't come closer, do you think you can beat me with Shuriken?"

"Useless, useless!"

"You can't beat me if you don't come closer!"

A gentle breeze swept dust up from the ground, but the dust, which should have been dancing freely, lost the courage to rise any higher after ascending just half a meter.

Though Uchiha Yuji said that, Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi weren't foolish enough to fall for it.

If they kept their distance, they could at least wear him down with Shuriken and the like. But if they got close...

Their eyes flicked toward the unlucky Uchiha pinned beneath Uchiha Yuji's foot.

Even a Steel Fist fighter like Might Guy knew the difference between himself and Uchiha Yuji. And that Uchiha...

"If you manage to touch my clothes in a head-on fight, I'll arrange a marriage proposal for you in the name of the Uchiha Clan."

"How about that girl named Nohara Rin? I remember you're always sneaking glances at her."

"I don't think anyone in Konoha would refuse."

After Uchiha Yuji finished saying all that, the two still couldn't stop Uchiha Obito, who charged at him like a madman, tempted by such a simple offer.

Uchiha Obito unleashed nearly all his strength, only to find himself pinned beneath Uchiha Yuji's foot in an instant.

Might Guy: Is this guy an idiot?

The two remained motionless for so long that Uchiha Yuji tapped his foot. Uchiha Obito wanted nothing more than to scrape up some dirt and cover his face with it.

"He's your teammate. Are you really going to abandon him?"

For a ninja, the mission was paramount. It had to be completed at any cost. This ironclad rule was written in the ninja handbook at the Ninja Academy.

But a ninja's rules were just that—rules for ninjas. Before a ninja was a ninja, he was still a person.

So Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had written a ninja handbook, kept emphasizing the Will of Fire and the importance of comrades, making the whole thing rather contradictory.

Uchiha Yuji couldn't yet get his hands on the books Sarutobi Hiruzen used to indoctrinate the next generation, but his lessons focused more on comrades.

Were you really going to risk your life just to earn a little money from the person who posted the mission?

With a comrade you could trust completely to watch your back, you could help each other and greatly improve your chances of survival. If your team couldn't complete a mission?

Fall back first. You could call in more people and tackle it together!

It'd just cost a little more!

"Even if the sky falls, I'll still be here." Uchiha Yuji crossed his arms, his tone rather calm, yet that calmness revealed unparalleled confidence.

That lesson was one the boys and girls at the Ninja Academy would never forget.

Their thoughts were both pulled back to the present at nearly the same time.

"If I were the enemy and you still didn't act, I'd kill your teammate." Uchiha Yuji reminded them with ill intent.

As if a certain word had struck a nerve, the chakra around Might Guy suddenly surged. "Now is the time to break free of our limits! To protect my comrade! Open the Eight Inner Gates!"

Hearing Might Guy's desperate roar, a memory buried deep in Uchiha Yuji's soul suddenly surfaced. "You're not even producing red steam? You're underestimating me... idiot!"

A shadow flashed. A precise chop struck Might Guy at the back of the neck.

He only had time to let out a faint whimper before Might Guy, who had just been fired up enough to take on heaven and earth, went limp as a rag.

"Opening the Eight Inner Gates at your age won't do you any good! You hot-blooded idiot!" Uchiha Yuji shouted.

Speeding up the body's functions and opening up the mind's thoughts was dangerous even for many fully fledged ninja, let alone a child who hadn't even turned ten.

It would only ravage his body.

One Uchiha Obito with an intelligence score of 2 was already exhausting enough. Add Might Guy, who was still all passion and knew little about self-restraint, and Uchiha Yuji could only let out a long sigh.

Though it was a team battle, the other two clearly weren't ordinary people who followed the usual path.

They were genius idiots!

Even after both his teammates had been captured by Uchiha Yuji, Hatake Kakashi didn't run away! Instead, he thrust his short sword at Uchiha Yuji.

His swordsmanship had grown ever more fierce, the blade flashing in nothing but afterimages!

White Fang came down like a nail, slicing toward Uchiha Yuji's face amid the howl of the wind.

The short sword hadn't even reached him, but his skin already seemed to feel the sharp edge cutting into it.

"Not bad." Uchiha Yuji wasn't stingy with praise. "Your blade's getting sharper, and you've gotten a lot stronger, too. You've been training hard, Kakashi."

"But it still isn't enough. You have to get even stronger before you can become a true ninja."

As usual, he flicked the blade, sending Hatake Kakashi spinning like a top, then calmly walked away from the training ground.

Someone was already waiting outside. She wore pure white clothes, and her golden hair fell over her cheeks and rested on her shoulders. A pair of enormous, round glasses with black frames looked almost as if they were her true form.

The black frames were especially conspicuous.

"You look much healthier, Yakushi Nonō. How's the orphanage been lately?"

Yakushi Nonō smiled with genuine happiness. "The children are growing up happily. It won't be long before they're all grown adults."