"Good morning."
When Yun Xi arrived at school, he found that many people were already in the classroom.
Shikamaru, who was sitting in the front row, also greeted Yun Xi first.
"Morning, Shikamaru."
Although Yun Xi knew Shikamaru was only being polite,
he still returned the greeting before going back to his own seat.
He also noticed that Uchiha Sasuke had arrived at school early.
But it seemed Sasuke still remembered how Yun Xi had taught him a lesson last time.
When he saw Yun Xi looking at him, he turned his head away...
That kid...
Seeing Sasuke's reaction, Yun Xi smiled faintly.
Although Sasuke disliked him so much, Yun Xi didn't hate Sasuke.
After all, he was still just a child. Maybe he would truly grow up after what happened today.
In fact, Yun Xi thought Sasuke was the most tragic person in the whole Uchiha Clan Downfall Incident.
In just one night, he had gone from being one of the Uchiha Clan's top geniuses to its sole orphan.
And his beloved older brother had become the murderer of their parents.
A change that huge would have been too much for most people...
The fact that Sasuke could still attend school normally after such a terrible upheaval already made him more mature than most children his age.
"Big Brother Yun Xi! Good morning!"
Naruto arrived in the classroom just then.
Seeing his only friend and big brother, Naruto naturally ran straight over to Yun Xi.
He also pulled an egg out of his pocket and said, "This egg is super tasty. Want some, Big Brother?"
"No, thanks. You eat it yourself."
Yun Xi quickly raised a hand to refuse, his face full of helplessness...
Clearly, having such an airheaded little brother had left Yun Xi's patience wearing thin.
"Huh? Why don't you want any, Big Brother?"
Naruto didn't mind at all. Instead, he was puzzled.
He just couldn't understand why Big Brother Yun Xi didn't want to eat a bird's egg.
"Naruto! Get back to your seat."
Fortunately, Naruto had arrived rather late. Just as the whole class's attention was on him and Yun Xi,
class time began, and Iruka, their homeroom teacher, walked into the classroom,
calling Naruto back to his seat while he was still wondering whether Big Brother didn't like bird's eggs or the eggs simply weren't tasty.
"Phew, that Naruto..."
Once Naruto had finally returned to his seat, Yun Xi relaxed a little.
He really didn't understand why Naruto had been so absent-minded as a child—almost a little dim...
"Everyone, open your books. Today's lesson is about how to refine chakra..."
After calling Naruto back to his seat, Iruka began the lesson.
But the material was all basic. Aside from a few civilian ninja,
most of the others, such as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, were already nearly asleep.
Iruka, standing at the front of the room, pretended not to notice and continued teaching.
He understood that these clan heirs didn't need to learn how to refine chakra.
They had already mastered chakra refinement before entering the academy.
The only real reason they came to school was to become Genin.
Yun Xi naturally had no time to listen to such basic lessons.
At that moment, he was focusing all his attention on the distant surroundings.
Tonight was when the Uchiha Clan would launch its rebellion.
It was also the night the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out.
And Obito Uchiha—the masked man—should already have arrived in Konoha.
Yun Xi's goal was to find him!
But Yun Xi wasn't a sensory ninja, so the area he could search was extremely limited.
He could only monitor the area around the Ninja Academy.
Karin, however, was different. After telling her about the plan yesterday, Yun Xi had already asked her to wait for him at the school gate.
As soon as school let out, he planned to take Karin and search for Obito Uchiha.
"All right, that's all for today. See you tomorrow."
At three in the afternoon, the dismissal bell rang, and Iruka announced that class was over...
A few minutes later, only Yun Xi, Naruto, and Sasuke remained in the spacious classroom.
"Big Brother, aren't you going home?"
Seeing Yun Xi still sitting in the classroom, Naruto asked with a puzzled look.
"Naruto, you go on ahead. I have something to take care of."
Since Naruto showed no sign of leaving and seemed to be waiting for him, Yun Xi could only tell him to go home first.
"Okay, I'll go, then."
Hearing that Yun Xi had something to do, Naruto didn't ask any questions. He left the classroom alone.
Now only Sasuke remained in the classroom.
"Are you waiting for your brother to pick you up?"
Seeing Sasuke deliberately turn his face away, Yun Xi started a conversation.
"Hmph!"
But Sasuke clearly didn't want to talk to Yun Xi. He only snorted and said nothing.
"Sasuke, let's go home..."
Just as things had gone quiet between Yun Xi and Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi arrived.
As usual, whenever he wasn't on a mission, Uchiha Itachi would come to the academy to pick up Sasuke.
Even today, at a time like this, Itachi had still come, a faint smile on his face.
But when he saw Yun Xi in the classroom, his smile changed...
"You..."
Itachi had been about to say something, but seeing Sasuke already walking toward him, he decided not to speak.
He patted Sasuke on the forehead, then led him out of the Ninja Academy.
"He really is the most devoted big brother in all of Naruto. He still came to pick Sasuke up from school at a time like this..."
Watching them leave, Yun Xi couldn't help sighing to himself.
But after thinking about it, Yun Xi realized it made sense.
After all, even as he was dying, Uchiha Itachi was still thinking about his little brother.
Itachi had even given up his life so Sasuke could become stronger.
There was a scene like that in the original story.
Killer B asked Itachi, resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation, "How did you die?"
Uchiha Itachi replied in a casual tone, "Sasuke killed me."
Killer B couldn't believe it.
He even said outright, "You held back."
Now Yun Xi thought Itachi had largely realized there was no way he could fight Konoha.
The best outcome was to slaughter his own clan to protect Sasuke.
Then he would let Sasuke kill him and return to Konoha.
But unfortunately, Itachi's plan didn't work out in the original story.
He hadn't expected Sasuke to go down the path of a rogue ninja, too.
Of course, in this world, Itachi's plan couldn't succeed either!
Because Yun Xi planned to get involved. If Itachi really joined Akatsuki, how could Yun Xi bring Uchiha Itachi over to his side?
"Let's go. It's time for me to act, too!"
Gazing at the empty classroom, Yun Xi murmured.
Before you continue