Enrolling in School

Ryosuke walked down the road, his heart finally settling.

It was fortunate that Uchiha Fugaku had been there; otherwise, he might have sent himself to an early grave by acting prematurely.

However, this gamble had granted him the Plunder System, which was the greatest harvest of all.

He still had four years before the Uchiha clan's impending annihilation.

In the past, he could only rack his brain for ways to avoid it, but now that he possessed the system, he wondered if he could transform from a pawn into a player.

Yet, all of this required strength, and the fastest way to achieve it was naturally through the help of the system.

Whether it was recording or plundering ninjutsu, or the heaven-defying abilities of character templates.

As long as he was given enough time, he could absolutely become an existence even more monstrous than Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

Just as Ryosuke was lost in his wild thoughts.

He suddenly felt his left hand tighten; it turned out little Hinata had nearly tripped.

He quickly pulled his right hand back from Uchiha Fugaku's grasp and scooped little Hinata up.

"Did you get hurt?"

Ryosuke asked cautiously.

Little Hinata shook her head, her large eyes reflecting Ryosuke's shadow, looking incredibly adorable.

"Ryosuke, it seems you are quite fond of that child. However, she is the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan's main house, and the Hyuga Clan has always coveted the status of my Uchiha clan. Otherwise, I might have helped you facilitate this happy union."

Uchiha Fugaku watched Ryosuke and Hinata with cold eyes as he spoke.

"Clan Leader, please don't joke around. I'm only eight years old."

"Haha, that is true. You are still just a child. But that move you pulled earlier really startled me. That wasn't an ability of the Sharingan, was it?"

Uchiha Fugaku let out a dry laugh before tossing out the question he had been pondering.

"Clan Leader, what are you trying to say?"

Ryosuke felt his scalp tingle.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Armor is an S-rank ninjutsu of the Cloud Village. Even within the Cloud Village, only the Third Raikage and the Fourth Raikage can use it. How did you learn it?"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice grew increasingly icy, as if he were interrogating a criminal.

His eyes shifted into the three-tomoe Sharingan, staring fixedly at Ryosuke.

"Is the Clan Leader suspecting that I am a spy for the Cloud Village? Don't forget that my parents died at the hands of the Cloud, not to mention that I am a member of the Uchiha clan."

Ryosuke felt a surge of intense killing intent; he even found it hard to breathe.

"Well said. If not for that, I wouldn't have protected you just now."

"By the way, go report to the Ninja Academy tomorrow. Also, do not get too close to Danzo; he is not friendly toward our Uchiha clan."

After saying this, Uchiha Fugaku turned and left.

Ryosuke let out a long breath.

For a split second, he had even considered striking first.

Fortunately, he held back. As the leader of the clan, Uchiha Fugaku would not attack a child of his own kin without rhyme or reason.

Ryosuke pondered his future plans while escorting little Hinata back to the Hyuga main house.

"Is Brother Ryosuke going to the Ninja Academy tomorrow?"

Just as Ryosuke was about to leave, little Hinata poked half her head out from behind the door and asked timidly.

"Hm? Haha, yes. By all rights, I should have started school a long time ago."

Ryosuke said casually.

Little Hinata nodded and pulled her head back in.

She leaned against the gate, clenching her fists as if she had made some sort of resolution.

Ryosuke returned to the Uchiha clan's residential district.

Located on the outskirts of Konoha, it was nominally for the sake of convenience, but in reality, it marginalized the Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha clansmen on the road all dressed the same, and they rarely greeted one another, appearing aloof and cold.

All of this made Ryosuke feel like an outsider.

"It's no wonder the Uchiha clan was wiped out; they are simply too out of place in Konoha. And here I am, actually wanting to save them. I fear that in the end, I will only end up like Uchiha Madara, abandoned by everyone."

Ryosuke gnawed on a cold steamed bun while packing his things for school the next day.

He did not intend to spend much time at the Ninja Academy.

Because the instructors there were only at the level of Chunin, and even with the system, he could only record low-level ninjutsu.

Therefore, he needed to graduate quickly and become a true ninja.

Only then could he accept missions and leave the village.

He no longer had much interest in saving the Uchiha clan or, for that matter, changing the history of the Naruto world.

Early the next morning.

Ryosuke arrived at the Ninja Academy in the center of the village with a bag of supplies on his back.

Since he had arrived so early, he did not run into any other children.

At the school gate, he was stopped by a man wearing sunglasses.

He remembered this man was Ekisu, a chunin.

Wasn't he the teacher of Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage?

No, it was still too early for that; it seemed that before becoming a private tutor, he was still just a security guard.

"A brat from the Uchiha clan? Come here, come here. How come I've never seen you before?"

Upon seeing Ryosuke, Ekisu immediately beckoned him over.

Ryosuke did not want to cause trouble, so he walked over.

"I'm here to enroll."

"Enrollment time has already passed. Come back next year."

Ekisu pushed up his sunglasses and said indifferently.

"I have a recommendation from Lord Fugaku. If you don't believe me, you can go ask."

Ryosuke said loudly.

He really had no love for this fence-sitter who swayed with the wind.

"Fugaku? Which Fugaku?"

"Are you talking about my father?"

A childish voice came from behind Ryosuke.

He turned his head to see a little boy a head shorter than him looking at Ekisu with a puzzled expression.

"Ah, so it's Young Master Sasuke. Do you come to school every day this early to practice ninjutsu? How diligent."

Upon seeing Sasuke, Ekisu immediately changed his face and even bowed to him.

It almost made Ryosuke want to vomit.

"You must be Brother Ryosuke, right? Father mentioned you yesterday. He told me to learn from you. Please take care of me in the future."

Six-year-old Sasuke bowed to Ryosuke.

Ekisu's expression became complicated.

"Ryosuke, Young Master Ryosuke? So it is you. I didn't see clearly just now. Please, go right in. I'll handle your enrollment paperwork immediately."

Ekisu's features were practically squashed together in a forced smile.

Ryosuke ignored him and walked straight into the campus with little Sasuke.

The Ninja Academy was larger than Ryosuke had imagined, and most of it consisted of training grounds for practicing ninjutsu.

As he looked around, Ryosuke asked little Sasuke, "Sasuke, where is your brother?"

"Brother Ryosuke, do you know Brother Itachi too? He has already graduated from the Ninja Academy and is now a chunin. Father says he works in the Anbu."

When Sasuke spoke of Itachi, his face was full of pride.

Hiss, Itachi, who was only a year older than Ryosuke, was already a chunin.

Although he had expected it, he still felt a sense of disparity. He had to pick up the pace.