No Enlightenment in My Heart, Only Hatred!

By the time Itachi returned to the training grounds, Sasuke already had Yasuda Shimura pinned beneath his foot, having secured victory in the battle.

This kid...

I should head back first and report these matters to Father.

Perhaps...

Itachi did not continue his thought, instead vanishing from the spot with a Body Flicker.

Meanwhile, the final battle arrived.

Team Shikamaru versus Team Sasuke.

"Teacher, we forfeit."

Just as Iruka prepared to announce the start of the match, Shikamaru raised his hand to signal his team's surrender.

"Why are you forfeiting?"

"Shikamaru, you..."

"We can't win."

"So far, only Sasuke has made a move."

"Hinata Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki haven't even stepped in yet."

"Even if we faced Sasuke alone, victory wouldn't be guaranteed, let alone with the other two still in play."

"I don't want to get beaten up, so I'm forfeiting."

Shikamaru spread his small hands.

Knowing he couldn't win and charging in anyway was simply not his style.

"Very well. The winning team for the group matches is the team of Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, and Naruto Uzumaki."

"The reward is a set of rare medicinal herbs. They can be brewed into a decoction, which is highly beneficial for physical enhancement when used in a bath."

"Additionally, the cash prize is 50,000 yen."

As Iruka spoke, he handed the herbs and the money to the three of them.

"Sasuke, am I dreaming?"

"Ow, ow, ow... it hurts... hahaha, I'm not dreaming!"

Naruto cheered.

50,000 yen!

For Naruto, this was undoubtedly an astronomical sum.

As for those medicinal herbs, Naruto had zero interest in them.

He was already busy calculating how many bowls of Ichiraku Ramen those 50,000 yen could buy.

Because of the testing, school was dismissed immediately after the matches concluded for the day.

Naruto wanted to drag Sasuke to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate, but Sasuke had other matters to attend to back home.

Itachi had come to observe him, so he should be home by now.

To bring Itachi back to his senses in the shortest time possible, he had to make the most of the time Itachi spent at home.

Therefore, he let Naruto go on his own.

Hinata also left, needing to return home for her training.

"How come everyone is going home?"

"Am I going to have to eat ramen all by myself again?"

"Sigh..."

"Naruto?"

"You haven't gone home yet?"

"Do you want to join me for some youthful training?"

Just as Naruto was feeling down, Rock Lee appeared.

Following that, the two single-celled organisms immediately kicked off a trial they called "youth."

Sasuke returned home.

Sure enough, Itachi Uchiha was back.

However, the atmosphere in the living room was somewhat strange.

Fugaku Uchiha sat in the seat of honor with a stern expression, while Itachi Uchiha sat with his head bowed, looking somewhat helpless.

As for his mother, Mikoto, she sat quietly to one side.

"Father, Mother, Brother."

"What is this about?"

Sasuke set his bag aside and looked at the three of them with curiosity.

This was the first time Sasuke had ever witnessed such a strange situation.

After all, in the original story, even when the night of the clan's annihilation finally arrived, Fugaku Uchiha and his wife had chosen to forgive Itachi.

"Mikoto, go and check if the meal prepared for Sasuke is ready."

Fugaku spoke up.

"Alright."

Mikoto Uchiha looked at Sasuke, then glanced at Itachi.

She then stood up with a smile and headed toward the kitchen.

"Sasuke, your brother said you got a perfect score on your academic test today and were also first in the practical exam."

"Do you have any thoughts on that?"

For a moment, Fugaku Uchiha didn't know how to question his youngest son.

Lately, Sasuke had been showing too much.

For a moment, Fugaku Uchiha even had the illusion of being overstuffed and unable to digest it all.

"A perfect score?"

"It seems the Third Hokage was quite satisfied with the little essay I wrote."

"Father, is there some kind of reward?"

Sasuke innocently held out his hand, opened his round eyes wide, and asked.

"A reward?!"

"Wait, what do you mean... by 'little essay'?"

Fugaku Uchiha had originally wanted to know why Sasuke possessed such a strong Will of Fire.

In his view, this was likely influenced by Itachi.

Coupled with the mission Itachi was about to carry out... it made Fugaku Uchiha feel a vague sense of unease.

But now, Sasuke's answer left Fugaku Uchiha feeling bewildered.

It felt as if he had thrown a punch, only for it to veer off into nowhere.

"A little essay is just... based on the requirements of the prompt, using the knowledge I've learned as a foundation to fabricate an article that meets those requirements."

"Things that praise the Third Hokage can be found everywhere."

"Integrating those, adding some flowery language, and that's a little essay."

"Father, why are you suddenly concerned about this?"

Sasuke looked at Fugaku Uchiha with some confusion.

If it was just because of something like this, there was no need to keep dwelling on it.

He didn't want to delay his meal.

So, Sasuke threw the question right back at him.

"It's nothing."

"Go wash your hands and eat."

"Come find me in the study with your brother in a little while."

After saying this, Fugaku Uchiha slowly stood up.

His brows were tightly furrowed, still wearing an expression of seriousness and doubt as he disappeared from their sight.

"Sasuke, is everything you just said true?"

"It didn't come from your inner realization, but was fabricated?"

Itachi felt somewhat disappointed.

After all, he had just accepted the mission to properly nurture Sasuke.

"Inner realization?"

"He, the Third Hokage, made our entire clan move to such a remote place, and I have to walk so much longer to get to school every day."

"Do you really think I would have any inner realization about him..."

"Inner resentment, perhaps."

Sasuke said with a serious expression.

"You... Sasuke, there are some things Brother doesn't know how to..."

"Brother, I'm going to go eat now."

"I'm so hungry!"

After saying this, Uchiha Sasuke vanished in a flash.

"This kid..."

"Is the Will of Fire truly correct?"

"Have I been..."

Uchiha Itachi's mind began to spiral into confusion.

Deep down, he desperately wanted to hold onto the convictions he had upheld for so long.

But... the points Uchiha Sasuke had raised were undeniable facts.

The collision of these two conflicting lines of thought left Uchiha Itachi feeling increasingly distressed.

As for the instigator of all this—Uchiha Sasuke.

He had already embarked on his journey of feasting.

He had to properly replenish the nutrients his body had consumed to train even harder!

The news that the Uchiha clan had produced another genius spread quickly throughout the ninja village.

It had to be said that as the most powerful clan in Konoha, the Uchiha still commanded a great deal of attention even now.

The name Uchiha Sasuke began to officially enter everyone's field of vision.

At the same time... Hinata was also being noticed!