48. Hammering Kushina's Head (Seeking Follow-ups)

Uchiha Setsuna did not speak to Uchiha Kurohane. After casting a stern, majestic glance at him, he led Uchiha Mikoto away directly.

Uchiha Mikoto followed behind him, but after a few steps, she turned her head to look at Uchiha Kurohane.

She pursed her red lips, offered Uchiha Kurohane a faint smile, and then raised her snow-white hand to wave, silently making a gesture of goodbye.

That secret, backward glance Mikoto gave when Setsuna could not see made Uchiha Kurohane's heart skip a beat.

Her smile was too radiant, too sweet; it possessed both the pure innocence of a young girl and a touch of alluring charm.

This woman really knows how to flirt.

If she's this good at it at only fourteen, what will she be like when she grows up?

Since you're so good at flirting, I'll just have to claim you for myself.

Brother Fugaku, it's not that I'm betraying you; it's just that your wife is too seductive!

However, it was clear that Uchiha Setsuna looked down on Uchiha Kurohane and did not want him to have any contact with Mikoto.

Trying to win Mikoto over right under his nose would be extremely difficult.

But the good news was that Uchiha Setsuna didn't have many years left to live.

Although he didn't know exactly when he would die, by the time Uchiha Sasuke was born, Fugaku had already become the clan head.

Furthermore, Setsuna was nowhere to be seen when the clansmen discussed their coup, which meant he was already dead.

Uchiha Kurohane inherited the Uchiha clan's sense of "filial piety," and he sincerely hoped that Setsuna would die sooner rather than later...

The next morning, Uchiha Kurohane strolled slowly into the classroom.

He saw over a dozen students gathered around Inoichi Yamanaka, who was describing something with vivid gestures.

Uchiha Kurohane listened carefully as he walked past.

"The troops dispatched to the Land of Rain yesterday have officially set out. This proves that the ninjas of Amegakure have truly betrayed us. Now that Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Amegakure have joined forces, the situation is extremely dire."

"Konoha truly has no allies left; we have no choice but to send newly graduated Genin to the front lines."

Inoichi Yamanaka was the young master of the Yamanaka Clan, and since his clan managed Konoha's intelligence division, he was privy to a great deal of information.

Inoichi knew far more than the other students, and he was always the first to get the latest intel.

Whenever there was the slightest stir in the village, students would flock to him to ask for the situation.

Inoichi's words left the group of students sweating profusely.

"No way, is it true that they're sending newly graduated Genin to the battlefield?"

"Newly graduated Genin have no experience; can they really handle the cruelty of the battlefield?"

Inoichi said with a grave expression.

"Don't you understand yet? Konoha has no way out. We absolutely cannot lose this war. Even if they lack experience, they have no choice but to be forced onto the front lines."

"If the situation deteriorates any further, even we will be sent to the battlefield."

The students cried out in alarm.

"What? Even us? I haven't even mastered the Three Body Technique properly; I can only throw kunai. What's the point of me going to the battlefield?"

"I only came to Konoha to learn ninjutsu; I don't want to throw my life away for Konoha!"

"I usually sleep with my mom; I can't fall asleep without her hugging me!"

Most of the students in the class were small fry, and they all had their own reasons for becoming ninjas.

Not everyone wanted to sacrifice their lives for Konoha, and many began to complain on the spot.

After hearing their words, Uchiha Kurohane understood why Sarutobi Hiruzen was so insistent on preaching the Will of Fire.

Konoha had only been established for forty years; many ninja clans had joined only because Konoha was powerful, and there were even more civilian ninjas.

These civilian ninjas wanted to change their social status by becoming ninjas; they only wanted to use Konoha to learn techniques and felt no sense of belonging to the village.

If Konoha faced a crisis, these two groups would surely run away immediately.

Promoting the Will of Fire to them was meant to make them view Konoha as their home and fight for it.

Clearly, the Ninja Academy hadn't implemented this well, which was why so many students were complaining.

It seemed the school's history textbooks needed further revision.

Uchiha Kurohane smiled as he returned to his seat, took the liberty of opening Kushina's school bag, and pulled out her notebook to copy her homework.

Kushina Uzumaki had been resting her chin on her hands, staring at the group in the distance, silently lost in thought.

Seeing Uchiha Kurohane arrive, she immediately turned her head toward him.

"You didn't do your homework again? Even if you were busy over the weekend, yesterday was a holiday! Why didn't you do your homework then?"

Uchiha Kurohane replied righteously.

"Do you know why a holiday is called a holiday? A holiday is meant for people to rest. If you still have to do homework on a holiday, what kind of holiday is that?"

"So, of course, you can't do homework when you're on holiday."

Kushina Uzumaki felt quite indignant upon hearing such unreasonable talk. She wanted to open her mouth to retort, but she truly couldn't think of any words to refute him.

In reality, she didn't like doing homework, and she also believed that one shouldn't have to do homework during the holidays.

Uchiha Kurohane saw Kushina with her little mouth agape, unable to utter a rebuttal, and continued.

"When you start working in the future, will you still handle work matters after your shift ends? Of course not. This is the same principle as not doing homework during the holidays."

"The holidays are sacred; they cannot be tainted by something as low-level as homework!"

Although what Uchiha Kurohane said sounded reasonable, Kushina Uzumaki still sensed something amiss.

"That's not right. Ever since I joined the class, I haven't seen you do your homework once. Are you just making excuses not to do it because you have my homework to copy?"

What a troublesome woman; she had actually figured that out.

"Do you think your boss is that kind of person? You are questioning your boss's character! Stop overthinking it; your boss is not the type to shirk homework."

Kushina Uzumaki narrowed her eyes and retorted with a look of suspicion.

"No, I think you are exactly that kind of person."

Uchiha Kurohane hadn't expected this Little Tomato to grow a backbone and actually refute him to his face.

He gave Kushina a light tap on the head with his fist, ending the conversation with a single sentence.

"You are my subordinate, so don't talk back."

Kushina Uzumaki clutched her head with both hands, aggrieved, her clear, large eyes filled with resentment.

She was clearly unconvinced, but since she didn't want to get hit on the head again, she had no choice but to endure it.

Kushina Uzumaki hadn't been quiet for long before the class monitor with the short ponytail ran over.

Uchiha Kurohane felt even more troubled.

Yoshino Nara was a stubbornly upright woman, even more headstrong than Kushina, and she was even harder to deal with.

However, Uchiha Kurohane had misunderstood; Yoshino Nara hadn't run over to accuse him of copying homework.

"Kurohane, have you heard? The Genin who just graduated have really been sent to the battlefield. They say it will be our turn next."

Uchiha Kurohane believed there wouldn't be a next time.

Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen were a scumbag, he wouldn't push nine-year-old students onto the battlefield; twelve was Konoha's bottom line.

However, it was also possible that the original story hadn't revealed some of the darker truths.

For instance, the Senju Clan was a famous family in the ninja world, yet after establishing Konoha, they suddenly vanished without a trace.

In the original story, no one with the surname Senju ever appeared.

Even Tsunade didn't use the Senju surname.

This was definitely not normal; something major must have happened behind the scenes.

If even the massacre of the Uchiha Clan could be revealed in the original story, then whatever happened to the Senju Clan must have been even darker...