Over an hour later, Sasuke and Hinata left the little Ichiraku Ramen shop.
Teuchi was left staring blankly.
At the table, bowls were piled up like a little mountain.
In all these years, he had never met anyone who could eat so much.
"I'll walk you home."
"It's nighttime, so a girl shouldn't be out alone."
"Next time you're hungry, prepare something to eat at home instead of coming out."
After saying that, Sasuke didn't wait for Hinata to reply. He started walking toward the Hyuga Clan.
In the eyes of most fans, this little princess of the Hyuga Clan was the standard heroine destined to marry the protagonist.
Or, rather, she was the typical wife character.
But in Sasuke's eyes, she was completely different!
As the direct daughter of the Hyuga Main Family, Hinata's talent had been overlooked by far too many people.
That she could reach such a high level with her Gentle Fist despite not getting enough nourishment, having a timid childhood, and feeling inferior because of her Byakugan...
It was clear that Hinata had tremendous talent!
If it could be fully developed, she would definitely become a powerful ally in the future.
Getting closer to her... couldn't hurt.
Soon, the two arrived at the back entrance to the Hyuga residence.
"I'll walk you this far."
"I'll head back now. See you tomorrow."
Sasuke waved and turned to leave.
"Thank you..."
By the time Hinata had worked up the courage to say those two words, Sasuke was already gone.
"He... is a very good person."
"The Uchiha aren't so bad after all."
Hinata clasped her hands to her chest, a faint blush appearing on her face.
After returning to his room, Sasuke once again gathered his chakra and began training to temper his cells.
For the next little while, Itachi seemed to have disappeared.
It had been more than half a month since Sasuke had last seen him.
"Sasuke, what are you thinking about?"
A pair of enormous, blood-red eyes suddenly appeared before Sasuke.
Terrifying ocular power instantly warped the space around them.
It directly dispelled the genjutsu Sasuke had just cast: Forest of Thorns.
After a moment's daze, Fugaku Uchiha stared at Sasuke with a stern expression.
"Father, I was thinking about my brother."
"Why haven't I seen him lately?"
"I'm sorry, Father. I shouldn't have let my mind wander while training."
Sasuke immediately admitted his mistake, then explained what was on his mind.
"Itachi went on a mission."
"Let's continue."
"The strength of a genjutsu depends on the strength of your spiritual power."
"But controlling spiritual power is much more difficult than controlling chakra."
"When you first begin training, you mustn't take this lightly."
Fugaku Uchiha patiently began instructing him.
The more time he spent with his younger son, the more astonished Fugaku Uchiha became.
No matter what ninjutsu it was, Sasuke learned it quickly.
And he could make it far more powerful than an ordinary technique.
Sometimes, Sasuke's control of chakra was so precise that even Fugaku Uchiha had to admit he couldn't match it.
That was why, when Sasuke proposed training in genjutsu, Fugaku had agreed at once.
As the father of two geniuses, Fugaku Uchiha had to do more than take pride in them; he also had to think about how best to raise Sasuke.
Itachi had been exposed to the battlefield too early, which had left him with a pathological aversion to the killing and bloodshed of war...
As a result, he now had such an ambiguous attitude toward the conflict between the clan and the village.
So Sasuke absolutely couldn't be raised that way.
Time always passed quickly.
Two months later, the Ninja Academy held its first test.
"Sasuke, we've got an exam today."
"I couldn't sleep at all last night."
"Are you feeling confident?"
On the way to school, Naruto kept chattering away.
"It's just a test. There's no need to be so nervous."
"Besides, with your current strength, you don't need to worry."
Sasuke gave him a reassuring smile.
"Sasuke!"
"Let's race to school today!"
"If I lose, I'll double all of today's training!"
Rock Lee, wearing his youthful, skin-tight outfit, rushed over and shouted excitedly.
"Not today. We have a test, and I need to save my energy."
"Oh, Lee, this is Uzumaki Naruto, my friend."
"You two should be friends too."
"How about you race him?"
Sasuke pushed Naruto forward.
A contest between two simple-minded people should be pretty entertaining.
"Huh?!"
"Me?"
"Let's do it, dattebayo!"
Naruto didn't care what kind of contest it was. If Sasuke was friends with him, then he couldn't be weak.
"Come on, my youthful comrade for today, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Rock Lee was one of the few people in the village who didn't discriminate against Naruto.
That was because he had no time to discriminate against him.
He spent all his time training.
"Okay!"
"Let's go!"
The two of them dashed off at once, vanishing from sight.
"Are some people still watching me?"
"Root? Or the Anbu?"
As Naruto ran off, some of the feeling of being watched disappeared.
But someone was still spying from the shadows.
"Sasuke-kun, shall we go to school together?"
"Sasuke-kun, I brought you breakfast."
"Sasuke-kun..."
As soon as Naruto left, a group of girls swarmed over.
Sasuke finally understood why his original self had become such a cold, conceited jerk after starting school.
Being surrounded by so many girls really was a headache...
At last, he made it to school. With Naruto acting like a good-luck charm that kept them away, there were finally fewer girls around him.
"Naruto, from now on, let's go to school together."
Sasuke said meaningfully, then returned to his seat.
The morning exam was on academic subjects.
History, strategy, geography, Konoha culture...
With his powerful mental strength, Sasuke could handle all this knowledge easily.
But the final question on the last page of the exam made the corner of Sasuke's mouth twitch.
[Reflections on the Third Hokage's achievements]
[At least 500 words]
Sasuke had already grown immune to the Third Hokage's shamelessness... but even so, seeing this question left him speechless!
Of course, he had no trouble dealing with a situation like this.
[The Embodiment of the Will of Fire in My Heart—The Honorable Third Hokage]
Sasuke immediately began praising Hiruzen Sarutobi...
He piled on flowery phrases, and before long, he had written more than two thousand words expressing his boundless admiration for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The only problem was that the exam paper wasn't long enough. Otherwise, Sasuke could've written another two thousand words...
The bell rang, and the academic test ended.
Next came the afternoon's combat test.
Before you continue