"Huh? You're treating me?"
Uchiha Zuho asked, looking utterly incredulous.
"You're actually being this nice?"
"Come if you want. Don't if you don't."
Hyuga Shinichi rolled his eyes at him and turned to leave.
"I don't have time. I have to go home and train..."
"Is that so? Then we can go eat together next time you're free."
Hyuga Shinichi left after saying that, leaving Uchiha Zuho standing alone, staring blankly at the three of them as they walked away.
The match had made Hyuga Shinichi famous at school. Quite a few people were astonished and impressed by his strength.
Uchiha Zuho returned home to find Uchiha Setsuna waiting for him in the main seat in the living room. His older brother, Uchiha Fun, sat beside him.
"Grandfather. Big brother."
Uchiha Setsuna sat in the main seat with his eyes closed and didn't respond. Uchiha Fun, however, sprang to his feet in anger and confronted Uchiha Zuho.
"Did you lose a match to someone from the Hyuga Clan who's a few months younger than you?!"
Uchiha Zuho lowered his head and said nothing. He knew he'd disappointed his grandfather and brother this time.
"Do you have any idea? You made me a laughingstock in front of my friends!"
Uchiha Fun roared.
Uchiha Zuho thought, So those clan members told my brother. That makes sense. Some of the students who watched the match know him, and even though he didn't go to school, he'd still be able to find out what happened there.
"I..."
Uchiha Zuho was about to explain himself to his brother when Uchiha Setsuna opened his eyes in the main seat and spoke slowly.
"A loss is a loss. There's no point making excuses. But I'd like to know what you think of Hyuga Shinichi."
Uchiha Zuho raised his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"I... I don't know. I only know he's strong..."
"Hmph! You're an Uchiha, and you're actually bowing your head to a Hyuga! I heard he even invited you to go eat barbecue with him! I don't know what you're thinking! Don't tell me you want to be friends with him!"
Uchiha Setsuna's scolding continued, but the moment Uchiha Zuho heard the word "friends," he stopped hearing what his grandfather was saying.
The word "friends" echoed in his mind. He'd never thought of himself and Hyuga Shinichi as friends before. At most, they'd interacted because they couldn't stand each other. But Hyuga Shinichi had invited him to eat barbecue. Did that mean he considered him a friend?
"Uchiha Zuho! Are you even listening to me?!"
Uchiha Setsuna's furious roar pulled Uchiha Zuho back from his thoughts.
"Hmph! Now you won't even listen to me, is that it?"
"Grandfather, I..."
Uchiha Zuho opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"Enough! You're not to associate with Hyuga Shinichi anymore! Oh, he graduated from the Ninja Academy early, didn't he? Hmph! Someone younger than you has overtaken you. Get to the training ground and put in extra work!"
Uchiha Setsuna waved his hand, his face full of anger, as though he were trying to fling away all his discontent and rage.
The fury in his eyes made him impossible to look at, as if he were telling Uchiha Zuho:
Get out of my sight. Now!
Uchiha Zuho silently turned and left. A sense of emptiness welled up inside him.
After that, Uchiha Zuho rarely had the chance to see Hyuga Shinichi again. After graduating from school, Hyuga Shinichi devoted himself wholeheartedly to training under Uzumaki Mito.
Even when the two happened to cross paths, Uchiha Zuho would only make a few sarcastic remarks before they hurried off in opposite directions.
And so, the two who had first crossed paths on the rooftop returned to being strangers.
Time flew by, yet that brief but profound memory remained in Uchiha Zuho's heart, lingering to this day...
The memory ended there, and the scene returned to that room.
Uchiha Kaori, Zuho's mother, wanted to stand and comfort her son. She had clearly heard the commotion between the two brothers outside just now, but Uchiha Shin, her husband, caught her hand and shook his head. He shot a furtive glance at Uchiha Setsuna in the main seat.
Uchiha Setsuna had noticed the little exchange. He gave an unhappy snort.
Uchiha Zuho flinched at the snort, and Setsuna noticed that too.
"Zuho! With that weak-willed nature of yours, how will you ever become a support to your brother Fun?!"
Uchiha Setsuna's roar startled Uchiha Zuho so badly that he immediately fell to his knees, pressing his forehead firmly to the floor.
Over the years, Uchiha Setsuna had grown increasingly cold toward Uchiha Zuho. It seemed that ever since Hyuga Shinichi defeated him, Setsuna had become more and more dissatisfied with him.
That was partly because Uchiha Fun had successfully awakened his Sharingan at the age of six, even if it was only a Single Tomoe Sharingan.
But when Uchiha Zuho turned six, he still hadn't awakened his Sharingan. Even now, at seven, nothing had changed.
Whenever Uchiha Zuho saw his brother's enviable Sharingan, a sense of dejection rose in his heart.
Why couldn't I be like my brother? Was it because I wasn't working hard enough?
Although Hyuga Shinichi had once told him that he'd actually awakened his Sharingan during their match when he was four, no matter how hard Uchiha Zuho had tried over the years, he'd never been able to use its power.
"I'm sorry, Grandfather..."
"Enough! You're not even half as good as your brother! The Uchiha Clan has no place for a weakling like you!
"Listen carefully! Starting tomorrow, you're not to set foot outside the house! You'll stay here and train without stopping!
"Now! Right this instant! Get out of my sight! I don't want to look at that useless, cowardly face of yours!"
Uchiha Setsuna glared furiously, his voice deafening, as though he were about to tear Uchiha Zuho apart.
Uchiha Zuho shakily got to his feet, doing his best to hold back his tears. He was afraid Uchiha Setsuna would notice. If he did, Zuho would be punished for crying after being scolded—after all, how could an Uchiha cry?
The couple watched their younger son leave the room, his body trembling, after bowing to them in farewell.
Uchiha Kaori couldn't bear it any longer. As his mother, she spoke up to Uchiha Setsuna.
"Dad, Zuho's still young..."
"Enough! You two have spoiled Zuho too much. That's why he's become such an irritating weakling! What foolish softness! Don't you know my grandson bears the mission of restoring the Uchiha Clan?!"
Uchiha Zuho hadn't gone far when he heard another roar from inside the room. He lowered his head even further.
He went upstairs to his room, closed the door, and collapsed onto the bed.
He'd always thought he wasn't as good as his brother and couldn't satisfy his grandfather. That was why he was disliked and scolded, and he'd quietly endured it.
But after running into the two Hyuga brothers at the bathhouse today, his thoughts were in turmoil.
One of them was a member of the Hyuga Main Family, yet he'd stood up for his younger brother from the Branch House.
What about him and his brother?
P.S. I wanted to mention that Uchiha Zuho will be important to the story later, so I've written quite a bit about him because I wanted to make him a more well-rounded character. I'm almost done with his story, and then I'll continue with Hyuga Shinichi's. Just think of this as a flashback from Naruto.
Please support me with free votes, and leave lots of comments. Thank you, everyone.
Before you continue