After parting ways with Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Kurohane returned home with a bright smile, where he ran into Uchiha Setsuna, who was heading out to dinner with the clan members.
Uchiha Setsuna gave her a dignified glance and asked in a cold voice.
"Mikoto, why are you smiling so happily? Did something good happen?"
"Something good? I suppose so. I saw Kurohane training in the woods."
Uchiha Setsuna blinked, a trace of confusion appearing in his eagle-sharp eyes.
"What was so special about that Disgrace of the Uchiha?"
"Was he secretly practicing some Ninjutsu?"
Uchiha Mikoto instinctively wanted to tell him about Uchiha Kurohane's tremendous strength—the fact that he could shatter a huge tree with one punch—but then she remembered that he had been hiding his abilities and began to ponder inwardly.
That child was strange. Everyone wanted to show off their strength.
But he was the opposite, hiding his strength and deliberately pretending to be weak.
She did not know why, but he must have had his reasons.
Forget it. I'll help him out.
"There was nothing special. He was just practicing taijutsu."
"Hmph, taijutsu? That guy truly has no prospects."
The Uchiha Clan was a ninja clan skilled in Fire Release Ninjutsu, and its members took pride in being able to use Fire Release.
Uchiha Setsuna knew that Uchiha Kurohane could not use Fire Release and looked down on him completely.
"Hmph, you found his moves weak and funny, didn't you?"
"That's only natural. Your talent is exceptional. Among the clan members, only Fugaku can compare to you. Spend more time with Fugaku. That child has a bright future and will surely become a pillar of our clan."
After saying that, Uchiha Setsuna used the Body Flicker Technique and left.
Uchiha Mikoto looked in the direction where he had vanished and thought to herself.
No. Kurohane is far more talented than Fugaku.
His dream is far greater than Fugaku's too.
Fugaku only wants to become the head of the Uchiha Clan. His ambitions are far too small!
As a young and innocent girl, Uchiha Mikoto was instinctively drawn to men with strong bodies and immense power.
Without realizing it, she had been attracted by Uchiha Kurohane's athletic charm and formidable strength...
Nine o'clock the next morning.
Uchiha Kurohane walked into the Ninja Academy classroom with his hands in his pockets, and his attention was immediately caught by a flash of red.
Kushina Uzumaki was sitting obediently in a seat near the back.
Though she did not speak and appeared quiet, her red hair was far too eye-catching. Like a walking tomato, she was truly hard to ignore.
Uchiha Kurohane had something important to do, so he paid her no mind. Ignoring the other noisy, rowdy students as well, he hurried to the window seat in the second-to-last row and sat down.
He took out his workbook, stared at the blank pages, and scratched the back of his head in frustration.
When he had met Uchiha Mikoto last night, she had been all over him.
She had patted his head and hooked a finger beneath his chin. Uchiha Kurohane had gotten worked up by her teasing, and after returning home, he could not stop fantasizing about her. He had not been in the mood to do his homework.
And because they were currently in a state of total war, Ninja Academy students could be sent to the battlefield at any time.
The teachers managed the students very strictly. If they discovered that someone had not done their homework, that student's vacation would be canceled.
Uchiha Kurohane had to finish his homework before the teacher arrived for class.
"Uh... The horizontal distance from Point A to Point B is fifteen meters, and the wind is blowing from the southeast at one meter per second. Calculate the optimal angle for throwing a kunai and its corresponding initial velocity..."
What a pain. You practiced enough and threw by feel. Who actually calculated this stuff?
Konoha's Ninja Academy did not teach the five elemental Ninjutsu, nor did it teach Summoning Jutsu.
It just loved teaching this useless stuff.
What was the point of becoming a top student like Sakura?
Wouldn't you still be unable to use even a single elemental Ninjutsu?
At the Chunin Ninja Exams, you could only use the Substitution Technique and fight with kunai.
That was why Konoha, in the original story, had a shortage of new talent and could not select the next Hokage.
They were unwilling to teach ninjas Ninjutsu, so how were civilian ninjas supposed to grow?
After living in the world of the Hokage for nine years, Uchiha Kurohane understood that the rigid class divide among ninjas was even worse than in the world before his transmigration.
Before his transmigration, if you were a top student, you could get into Tsinghua or Peking University.
But in Konoha, no matter how intelligent a civilian was, they had no way to learn Ninjutsu.
In the end, they could only become workhorses completing missions and cannon fodder on the battlefield.
This world was far too dark!
Uchiha Kurohane grumbled as he quickly worked through the problems.
Suddenly, a sweet and fragrant breeze drifted over, as though someone had leaned close beside him.
He turned his head and found that Kushina Uzumaki had somehow come over and sat in the seat beside him.
Uchiha Kurohane needed to finish his homework and had no time to chat with Kushina, so he asked directly.
"What is it?"
Kushina Uzumaki flashed her pearly white teeth and gave him a dazzling smile.
"No one is sitting here, right? I want it. Do you mind?"
Of course Uchiha Kurohane did not mind, but the Ninja Academy teachers would.
Kushina Uzumaki's identity was unusual, after all. She was a member of the Uzumaki Clan.
Children did not understand how important that identity was, but adult ninjas did.
Konoha and the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools were allies. The clothes worn by Konoha ninjas even bore the Uzumaki Clan's emblem.
The two hidden villages had been extremely close.
But when the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools was besieged by several hidden villages, Konoha stood by and did not send reinforcements.
They only secretly sent people to bring Kushina over, resulting in the destruction of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools.
And Konoha had not saved Kushina Uzumaki because its conscience had stirred, but because Konoha needed her to become the next Jinchuriki.
Abandoning an ally while caring only for their own interests was utterly shameless.
Out of guilty conscience, the Ninja Academy teachers would surely turn a blind eye to Kushina Uzumaki.
"I don't mind. Sit wherever you like."
After receiving Uchiha Kurohane's permission, Kushina Uzumaki leaned her little head closer and looked at his workbook, then let out an amazed cry.
"Wow, you haven't done any homework at all. What were you doing last night?"
The Second Shinobi World War was raging outside the village. What was so surprising about not doing homework?
"I was training last night, so I didn't have time. Did you do yours?"
"Of course I did."
Kushina Uzumaki proudly puffed out her completely unremarkable little chest, took out her workbook, and flipped it open for Uchiha Kurohane to see.
Though Kushina was carefree and looked rather rough around the edges, her handwriting was unexpectedly neat and beautiful.
Even though the page was densely filled with writing, it did not look crowded at all. Instead, it was pleasing to the eye.
"Give it to me. I'll help you check whether your answers are right."
Uchiha Kurohane snatched Kushina's workbook and immediately began copying.
Kushina Uzumaki stared at him in shock.
"Why are you copying my homework? The teacher said we can't copy homework, and we can't lend our homework to classmates to copy either."
"If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, how will the teacher know?"
"Huh... Your homework will be exactly the same as mine. Won't the teacher know?"
"Of course not. There are so many students in class. What teacher would remember the answers of two students? I'll deliberately get a few answers wrong too."
"..."
Though Kushina Uzumaki felt a little uneasy, she did not want Uchiha Kurohane to be punished. She pursed her little lips and said nothing more.
Just then, Namikaze Minato, who was sitting some distance away, turned around. His small eyes watched Kushina Uzumaki and Uchiha Kurohane pressed close together. He sniffled and felt a trace of regret in his heart...
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