Bullying, Starting with Fugaku

Slap—

Kaminazuki swatted away Nawaki's hand, his expression sour. "Are you going to keep holding on forever?"

Even with Sarutobi Hiruzen standing right there, Kaminazuki had no intention of showing deference to Nawaki's status.

With over twenty years left until the Night of the Massacre, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village had not yet deteriorated to that point, and those two legendary mass murderers hadn't even been born yet.

Kaminazuki saw no need to mask his true nature or worry about the trivialities of avoiding the suspicion of the Hokage's faction.

Besides, the Uchiha clan had not yet been weakened to the state it would reach in the later years; many of the old monsters from the Warring States period were still alive and kicking.

Kaminazuki's appearance and height already made him stand out like a crane among a flock of chickens, drawing the attention of many.

And those children of ninja clans who knew the identities of both him and Nawaki kept their gazes locked firmly on the scene.

Is it starting!

The collision between the two biggest losers of the new generation from the Senju and Uchiha clans!

No one in the clan would speak of Kaminazuki's lack of chakra, but he wasn't the type to stay cooped up at home all day; others had long since learned of his peculiarity.

Take the Hyuga, for instance—while they wouldn't dare call the Uchiha a clan of losers to their faces, they were vicious behind their backs, to the point that even a brat like Ryosuke knew about it.

As for Nawaki...

How to put it? A ten-year-old member of the Senju clan, the grandson of the First Hokage, who couldn't even perform a basic Clone Technique proficiently—if that wasn't a loser, what was?

"Nothing bad will happen, will it..."

Hizashi asked in a low voice. Although he hadn't personally used his Byakugan to inspect the peculiarity of Kaminazuki's body, his older brother and cousin had already stepped on that landmine.

According to Hiashi, that guy possessed at least Chunin-level combat power; if he clashed with Nawaki, wouldn't it be a case of one touch and he's dead?

"The Third Hokage is here, so it shouldn't." Hiashi glanced to the side, noticing that the Uchiha Police Force, responsible for maintaining order, was also moving closer.

"Nawaki, what's wrong?"

Orochimaru pulled Tsunade back and spoke first.

He knew his teammate's temper all too well; it might have been a minor issue, but if she said a few words, it would inevitably blow up into something major.

Nawaki rubbed the back of his reddened hand and grinned. "It's nothing! Big Sister, Brother Orochimaru, I'm just making friends!"

"Hey! What about me! Brother Jiraiya! Are you ignoring me too! Nawaki!!!"

"Oh, oh! Brother Jiraiya, you're here too? My bad!"

"Making friends..."

Tsunade's delicate brows furrowed. She caught a glimpse of the hand Nawaki was deliberately hiding behind his back, and based on her experience, it would be swelling up in no time.

She looked at Kaminazuki with a hint of hostility. "There was no need to hit so hard, kid."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! My brother has naturally high strength and didn't know how to hold back!"

Mikoto hurriedly bowed in apology, looking quite practiced at it.

"Are you alright, Nawaki-kun?"

The young girl's gaze made Nawaki's cheeks flush even deeper as he waved his hand. "I'm fine!"

"It's just children playing around. Tsunade, let's continue with the class assignments." Orochimaru turned, but just as he took a step...

"If you consider the force used to flick away a fly to be 'hitting hard,' then sure, it was."

Kaminazuki looked up, meeting Tsunade's gaze without a hint of weakness.

Oh no!

Orochimaru quickly shifted his weight, ready to leap in and block Tsunade's devastating punch.

A vein throbbed on Tsunade's forehead. She wasn't so devoid of principles that she would strike a child in front of so many people, but she absolutely refused to lose the verbal exchange.

"With this kind of disrespectful attitude toward your classmates, is this how your elders taught you!"

A cold sneer curled the corner of Kaminazuki's mouth.

Trying to pin a label on me? I'm much better at that than you are.

"Bullying a student on the very first day of school—does Lady Tsunade have a problem with us clan members attending the Ninja Academy?"

"When did I ever bully you!?" Tsunade's eyes widened, completely oblivious to the trap in Kaminazuki's words.

"In other words... you're admitting that the Third Hokage's policies are wrong, then~"

"...Huh?"

Tsunade couldn't quite follow; what did this have to do with the Old Man?

Orochimaru helplessly pushed Tsunade aside, his dark golden slit pupils narrowing slightly: "Lord Hokage naturally welcomes you both. Tsunade just speaks a bit bluntly; she didn't mean it that way."

"It is Kaminazuki-kun, right? I have seen your enrollment file."

"Since we are already here, why don't we start the team placement tests with you two, how about that?"

Tsunade was no fool; once Orochimaru intervened, she realized what was happening, and the look she gave Kaminazuki became even more hostile.

"Kid, you tried to set me up!"

"Jiraiya! Take Tsunade to the other side!"

Orochimaru knew he couldn't let Tsunade and Kaminazuki keep talking. One had a fiery temper, and the other was a stubborn, black-bellied brat; if they kept chatting, Kaminazuki would definitely end up getting beaten.

On a day like today, if news spread that a member of a ninja clan was being targeted by the Hokage's students, it would be far too detrimental to their teacher.

Jiraiya didn't know any of this.

He simply assumed his good brother was creating an opportunity for him to spend time with Tsunade, and as he dragged her away, he didn't forget to give Orochimaru an "I get it" look.

Just then, members of the Uchiha Police Force walked over, led by a youth who looked remarkably mature for his age.

It was a strange description, but that was his defining image.

The clan head's son, currently a squad leader in the Uchiha Police Force, Uchiha Fugaku.

"Lord Orochimaru, what happened here?"

He greeted Orochimaru first, then frowned slightly when he saw Kaminazuki.

"Kaminazuki... did you cause trouble?"

One couldn't blame Fugaku for thinking that; from his perspective, Kaminazuki was absolutely the number one troublemaker of the Uchiha.

Several times, he had merely walked past Kaminazuki's house only to have dirty water splashed on him for no reason, and sometimes while he was patrolling the streets, Kaminazuki would inexplicably pop out to attack him.

He felt embarrassed to fight a brat, so he always gave him a wide berth.

What he didn't know was... Kaminazuki was preventing him from meeting Mikoto.

If they were to produce that genius who would eventually slaughter his own clan, Kaminazuki would be damned if he let them get married!

As for Sasuke...

It didn't matter; Sasuke took after his mother, so he would turn out the same regardless of who his father was.

"It is nothing, just that our discussion got a bit loud. I am about to test these students, so please go about your business, Fugaku-kun."

"Then I... oh? You must be Mikoto, right?"

Fugaku saw Mikoto behind Kaminazuki and smiled: "How strange, even though our families live so close, I haven't seen you in years. You've grown up!"

"Fugaku-nii... hello."

"Mm, keep an eye on your brother and don't let him cause trouble. Come to my house for dinner when you have time."

Sigh...

Kaminazuki looked up at the sky and let out a long, tragic sigh.

Don't do this, don't force this fated, morning-drama-style encounter on me...

--

"Stop right there!"

The sudden shout drew everyone's attention.

Kaminazuki's expression was unnatural as he glared fiercely at Orochimaru: "Lord Orochimaru, this so-called test is just to evaluate the students' Nintaijutsu, right?"

Orochimaru didn't know why Kaminazuki had suddenly become so agitated, but he nodded: "You could say that. We'll start with kunai throwing..."

"I want to have a live combat sparring session with Uchiha Fugaku!"

Orochimaru was even more confused.

"Why?"

Kaminazuki took a deep breath and said slowly: "Everyone says I am a famous waste who possesses no chakra."

"But I have natural-born strength and my Taijutsu is very strong. I want to prove my ability in front of everyone."

"It is too logical, which makes it impossible for me to understand."

Orochimaru wore a look of confusion; based on their recent exchange, he did not feel that Kaminazuki possessed such a childish personality.

"Why Fugaku?"

"He is too ugly, and I find him detestable."