The Truant

After returning to the base, Uchiha Zhuang took off his clothes and enjoyed a comfortable hot bath with Ootama and Tsugutama attending to him. Then he went back to his bedroom and slept peacefully. At daybreak the next morning, Uchiha Zhuang got up and dressed. He turned down the girls' pleas for him to stay and used Echo of the Distance to teleport back. Returning to the woods in the Uchiha Clan Compound, he went home, shouldered his schoolbag, and headed for school. Genmu shook his head as he read the newspaper. That kid reeks of women's perfume. Where's he been fooling around this time?

Feeling refreshed, Uchiha Zhuang bought freshly baked bread on the shopping street. Bread in the ninja world was much like bread back on Earth, with a similar taste—not particularly novel. After breakfast, he walked cheerfully into class. The little fat boy looked terrified as Uchiha Zhuang sat down. Akihime still looked exhausted. He said nothing, but felt a little sorry for her. Seeing her slumped over her desk, he quietly leaned over and whispered, "Have you been thinking about how you'll have to marry someone from your own clan someday?" Akihime looked at Uchiha Zhuang, then lowered her head again. "I can marry you someday. Then you won't have to marry within your clan." "What will you marry me with, you poor boy?" Akihime said, turning away. "I don't even know why I fell for you. You're so ordinary, so snobbish, and so bad-tempered. You're not gentle at all~" Akihime turned and glared at him, then looked away without saying anything. "But from the moment I first saw you, I liked you for no reason. When I see you sad, I feel sad too. When you're happy, I'm happy too. Maybe it's fate." Hearing this, Akihime lifted her head and said, "That's just your brain reacting to male hormones. I'm sure you'd feel the same way about any girl—or even a female animal. You're disgusting." "Too bad there's no one else here, just you. So I'd better stick close to you!"

"Annoying!" Akihime said. Then she slowly sat up straight and smoothed her hair. "I'm the only daughter of the head of the Hyuga Clan. How are you going to marry me? Become Hokage? That's a pipe dream, especially for someone from the Uchiha Clan. Become head of the Uchiha Clan? By then, you'll be an old man. This is how things are. If you can't do it, then give up early. Don't waste your time and feelings."

Faced with her sharp words, Uchiha Zhuang was at a loss for words. For the first time, he had lost an argument. Damn Akihime. He said nothing, just pulled her firmly into his arms as she struggled. When class began, he finally let go and said, "There's only one me in this world, and only one you. Let us share our deep love until our hair turns white, and never be parted, not even in life or death." He wrote the words in Xia script on Akihime's soft hand and spoke them in the ancient language passed down through the ages—which was really just ordinary Mandarin from Earth. Akihime instantly melted into his sweet embrace. First came a boring lesson on Konoha history, then another dull lecture on the Will of Fire, and finally a lesson singing the praises of the First's great life. After a tedious morning, Uchiha Zhuang took Akihime and ran away from school.

The two didn't stroll along the bustling shopping street. There were too many people from the great clans around; they could only find some quiet in places like "the little woods." In the forest above Kage Rock, Uchiha Zhuang took Akihime for a walk and told her historical and legendary tales from Earth. "So many things in that other world you talk about don't make sense. The Five Great Nations have science and technology too, but I don't think they could ever build vehicles that break through the sky and fly to the moon. And there's no way they could regenerate severed limbs or rebuild internal organs using only electricity and medical supplies. Nor could they have drilling machines that reach tens of thousands of meters underground. But they're fascinating as stories, and they've really opened my eyes!" Akihime said, kicking at the ground. "And why do you know so much about that other world? Are those stories, or did you dream them?" Seeing her curiosity, Uchiha Zhuang asked, "Akihime, have you heard of the ancient Xia Kingdom?" "Of course. It was an ancient civilization that existed even before the Divine Tree. Legend has it that its language, writing, and all kinds of wondrous creations were completely different from ours. Even now, everyone longs for a world like that." Akihime spoke enviously about what she knew.

"I learned about that other world at the Uchiha Clan's ancestral grounds. Rather than an otherworld, you could say it's the history of the ancient Xia Kingdom from thousands of years ago." "What?!" Akihime cried in shock. Uchiha Zhuang continued, "That's right. I'm not lying to you. The stories you think I'm telling are all real, and they happened in the Xia Kingdom. It sounds absurd, doesn't it? I didn't believe it at first either. But every month, I'd dream about that world for several days, experiencing the glorious history and advanced technology of that civilization. Eventually, I believed that such a world existed. That's why I think I'm the one chosen by fate—the one and only." Uchiha Zhuang wore such a serious expression that an air of reverence seemed to radiate from him without his even realizing it, drawing people close, making them yearn for him, making them submit.

Akihime gradually lost herself in the atmosphere. Before she knew it, she was leaning against Uchiha Zhuang. After a long while, she whispered, "Then... would you still hold me like this?" "Of course. If I didn't hold you like this back then, I wouldn't be me. Stay true to your original intentions, and you'll reach the end. That's my way of the ninja." Uchiha Zhuang said firmly. Akihime said nothing, holding him tightly.

The two walked slowly together, making their way through the woods to a stream. They watched the clear water flow toward a large lake, then sat down on the grass. "I'll make something fun for you," Uchiha Zhuang said. "Water Release: Small Animal Technique!" Lifelike water animals appeared in front of Akihime: a chubby giant panda, cute rabbits, a brown bear, a little pig, lively cats, dogs, birds, and more. They gathered together, dancing and tumbling about in a joyful racket. Akihime giggled as she watched them play together, gently poking them with her finger. The animals seemed to have found a new friend. They danced around her and washed her hands with water. Their ticklish touch made Akihime forget her old worries as she played with them. Uchiha Zhuang maintained the shapes of the animals. Watching Akihime's smiling face, he thought she was so beautiful and charming, and the warmth in his heart swelled. He quietly went over and kissed her cheek. Seeing Akihime blush, Uchiha Zhuang knew she had fallen in love with him. The five-year-old heartbreaker Uchiha Zhuang felt that he was so lucky in this life. Heaven really had arranged things wonderfully.

He used Water Release to conjure all sorts of things from his imagination, explaining each one to Akihime. Gradually, the sun sank toward the west. The orange glow of the sunset fell across Akihime's pale, delicate face, making her even more alluring. Uchiha Zhuang gazed at her, staring like a lovesick fool. Akihime felt both shy and annoyed, and smacked him to snap him out of it. Then she said it was time to go home. As the two walked back, they failed to notice the ninja who had been secretly following and watching them the whole time.