Uchiha Zuho (3)

Uchiha Zuho's birth should have brought a new spark of life and hope to the family.

The brothers should have grown up side by side, sharing life's little moments and thriving under the careful guidance of their parents and grandfather. But all of that came crashing down when Zuho was two.

Like Uchiha Fun, Zuho began undergoing harsh training at the age of two.

But his talent fell far short of his older brother's, so every day he was scolded and made to train even harder.

Under Uchiha Setsuna's twisted teaching, Uchiha Fun had come to see his younger brother as his subordinate. From the moment Zuho was born, Fun believed he was just like a member of the Hyuga Clan's Branch House, destined to serve Fun, the Main House heir, for the rest of his life.

So Fun was cold toward his useless younger brother. Whenever Zuho tried to approach him, Fun would mock and sneer at him.

Little Zuho didn't know why his grandfather and older brother disliked him. He just thought it was because he kept disappointing them.

Once, Zuho learned from his parents what his name meant. But he didn't think there was anything wrong with helping his brother. He resolved to train hard and become his brother's most dependable support.

Through sheer grit and determination, Zuho gradually reached the level Uchiha Setsuna found acceptable. After that, he was no longer scolded.

Zuho thought he had finally begun earning his grandfather's approval, and the thought made him happy for a long time.

He didn't realize that, in Uchiha Setsuna's eyes, Zuho didn't need to surpass his brother. He only had to follow the path Setsuna had laid out for him. Once Setsuna put his plan into action, Zuho would sooner or later become a support for Uchiha Fun.

After that, Uchiha Setsuna still focused on the more talented Uchiha Fun, while Zuho enrolled in the Ninja Academy.

Setsuna believed that the three-year-old Zuho was surely the strongest student at the Ninja Academy.

After entering the Ninja Academy, Zuho lived up to his grandfather's expectations. He studied hard at school and kept training at home, determined to prove himself.

A year passed. During a spar, four-year-old Zuho faced a formidable opponent: a child his age from the Sarutobi Clan who could use Water Release: Water Formation Wall.

All the students thought this boy was the strongest in their year, and Zuho agreed.

His pride and joy, the Great Fireball, was no match for Water Formation Wall. He gave it everything he had and still couldn't win.

Just as he was about to lose, he suddenly remembered his name: "Zhuo." He was Uchiha Zuho, destined to become his brother's support!

The memory filled him with strength again. He unleashed his most powerful Great Fireball, and his opponent used Water Formation Wall once more.

The two techniques collided again. But this time, the Great Fireball was even stronger. Water Formation Wall stopped it, yet the clash filled the arena with mist from the water vapor, making it impossible for the spectators to see what was happening.

The Sarutobi child in the mist thought neither of them could see the other and let his guard down. But Uchiha Zuho could still see him.

His conviction had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan!

The Sharingan possessed powerful abilities such as observation, copying, and hypnosis, and its users had extraordinary powers of perception.

Using his Sharingan to spot his opponent, Zuho caught him off guard with Taijutsu in the mist and ultimately won.

Before the mist cleared, Zuho's Two-Tomoe Sharingan had already shut off. He hadn't even noticed that he had awakened it. But Hyuga Shinichi, watching from outside the arena with his Byakugan activated, had seen everything clearly.

By observing the flow of chakra inside Zuho, Shinichi saw a special concentration of chakra in his eyes and realized that Zuho had awakened his Sharingan.

Hyuga Shinichi couldn't help thinking, He awakened the Sharingan at only three—and with two tomoe, no less. What a genius.

When the mist cleared, the Sarutobi child was revealed, lying on the ground with a hand over his face, while Zuho stood with his fist clenched.

"Uchiha Zuho wins! Both sides, exchange the Seal of Reconciliation!"

The teacher outside the arena announced the winner. The kindhearted Zuho wasn't affected by awakening his Sharingan. He reached down to help his Sarutobi classmate up, and the two joined hands to make the Seal of Reconciliation.

The students watching from outside the arena all shouted:

"Zuho! Zuho!"

When Zuho got home, he told his family about the spar at school. When Uchiha Setsuna learned that his grandson had beaten a fellow clan member of the current Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was the first time he had praised Zuho.

It was only a simple "Well done!" but it made Zuho feel that he had truly earned his grandfather's approval.

His victory and his grandfather's approval filled Zuho with confidence. He began to think he was the strongest student at the Ninja Academy, and he gathered many underlings at school, including several Uchiha peers.

He became even more determined to be a strong support for his older brother.

From then on, Zuho trained even harder, and his strength continued to grow.

In the days that followed, he entered more and more spars, displaying extraordinary skill each time.

Zuho's reputation gradually spread throughout the Ninja Academy, and his classmates thought more and more highly of him.

But he didn't let it go to his head. Instead, he became even more humble and hardworking.

He knew he still had a long way to go. If he wanted to support his brother, he had to keep getting stronger.

Then one day, shocking news swept through the entire Ninja Academy: a student planned to take the graduation exam early—and the student was only four years old!

The astonishing rumor instantly became the students' main topic of conversation, and almost everyone assumed that the student daring to challenge convention was Uchiha Zuho.

Before long, blessings poured in from every direction, leaving Zuho both surprised and confused.

Faced with his classmates' enthusiastic congratulations, he was so bewildered that he had no idea what was going on.

Though he was still puzzled, once he understood the situation, Zuho did his best to explain to everyone that he wasn't the one taking the graduation exam early.

After clearing up the misunderstanding, Zuho decided to go to the exam site and see for himself.

Curious, he hurried to the exam venue, eager to find out who was taking the graduation exam early.

As he hurried along, all kinds of guesses and questions crowded his mind. Who had decided to take the graduation exam early? He wouldn't know until he reached the exam hall.

When Zuho arrived at the exam hall, his eyes widened and disbelief spread across his face. The person taking the exam was Hyuga Shinichi!

It was completely unexpected. Zuho had never imagined it would be him.

What surprised Zuho even more was that Hyuga Shinichi finished all the written questions in no time.

Watching Shinichi look so calm and at ease, Zuho marveled inwardly.

"I had no idea he was so impressive."