He's My Friend, Uchiha Sasuke!

After a brief silence, Fugaku Uchiha dismissed Sasuke from the study.

Back in his own room, Sasuke immediately began to refine his chakra.

The reason he had spoken those words to Fugaku Uchiha today was to steel the resolve of his cheap father!

As the clan head, he was always weighing pros and cons, wavering back and forth.

It looked like stability, but in reality, it was completely useless.

In the end, he would even go so far as to sacrifice his own life and the lives of the radicals within the clan, handing the future of the Uchiha over to the village.

This led to the annihilation of the Uchiha clan.

Therefore, he had to solidify the concept of the clan starting with the clan head himself.

The next day.

On the road to the academy, a blond-haired boy walked toward the school in solitude.

"Is this for real? That demon fox is actually allowed to enter the Ninja Academy?"

"Are you kidding me? That's the monster that nearly destroyed our village!"

"How could someone like that be allowed into the Ninja Academy?"

"What if he becomes a powerful ninja later and takes revenge on us?"

"No way, I'm going to go protest to the Hokage..."

The once bustling street became extremely strange due to the appearance of this small figure.

The expressions of disgust and loathing on the adults' faces, the waves of unbearable curses, and even children throwing trash and fruit pits at the boy.

That's right, it was Naruto, on his very first day of school.

When he left the house, he had put on his cleanest clothes; although they were a bit ill-fitting, they were the newest ones he had.

He had even washed his face three times and scrubbed his hands several times over.

He was ready to welcome his new life.

Because, yesterday, someone had been willing to be his friend.

Clenching his hands tightly, Naruto deliberately ignored those voices and actions.

He only wanted, he just wanted to hurry and find the boy who had reached out to him yesterday—Sasuke Uchiha!

"Thud!"

At that moment, half an apple smashed down in front of Naruto.

"Tch, a mere demon fox, and you think you're worthy of studying at the same school as us?"

"Exactly, my mom said you're a monster, and monsters should just be killed. Can't you just go die already?"

"So disgusting. Did you see the marks on his face? Those are the marks of a monster."

Three little brats appeared in front of Naruto, mocking him without the slightest restraint.

They even felt proud of their behavior.

After all, they were bullying the demon fox that even the adults were afraid of!

Just as Naruto was enduring it, a black-clad figure appeared in his line of sight.

"Are you bullying a friend of mine, Sasuke Uchiha?"

A low voice reached Naruto's ears.

For the first time, he felt that this haughty tone wasn't so annoying after all.

"A friend?"

"You've got to be joking, right?"

"That's a monster, a demon fox!"

The ringleader of the boys wore a look of disdain on his face.

He hadn't caught the threat in Sasuke's words at all.

"Yeah, being friends with a demon fox—that makes you a monster too, doesn't it?"

Another boy jumped out to clamor as well.

"Trash always hangs out with trash, that's called..."

"Smack!"

The next moment, the boy who had been clamoring was sent flying with a single slap.

"Bang! Bang!"

As for the remaining two, they naturally couldn't escape either.

Sasuke pressed their heads down, forcing them into an intimate encounter with Mother Earth.

"Dad, this guy wants to kill us!"

"Waa..."

Because of the close contact with the ground, the boy's forehead instantly began to bleed.

He immediately started wailing and shrieking.

Not far away, an adult man saw his son being bullied.

With a Body Flicker Technique, he appeared before Sasuke, intending to rescue his child.

At the same time, he wanted to teach this ignorant brat a lesson.

"Pfft!"

The next second, a hand caught the man's wrist.

The grip was so forceful that it crushed the man—a Chunin wearing a forehead protector—and forced him to his knees on the ground.

"Hey, didn't you hear his introduction just now?"

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

"What is it, Chunin Morishita? Are you planning to lay a hand on a junior of our Uchiha clan?"

Uchiha Natsume's gaze was icy.

The killing intent and rage he had accumulated over a long time erupted in that instant.

"Lord Natsume, I didn't..."

"I was just acting out of concern for my son; I had no intention of attacking you Uchiha."

Morishita put on a mask of pain and had no choice but to beg for mercy.

He was well aware of the Uchiha's style of conduct.

If the conflict continued, he would likely be dragged to the Police Force.

And once there, he wasn't sure he would be able to make it out in one piece.

"Naruto!"

"Let's go, we're going to school."

Sasuke glanced at Natsume and, having no intention of stopping him, called out to Naruto to head to school together.

He had no intention of associating with these people from the Police Force, especially the hardliners of the clan, until he possessed strength they would sufficiently acknowledge.

"Yeah!"

"Sasuke, I can call you that, right?"

"Of course."

"Here, this is my prized cup ramen. It's for you."

"Thanks. I'll give you a practice kunai in return."

Watching the figures of the two little ones slowly disappear, the expression on Natsume's face became even more peculiar.

"Chunin Morishita, I suspect you of betraying the village. Come with me to the Police Force."

"It would be best to cooperate with my work, otherwise your family will also be brought to the Police Force for interrogation."

After saying this, Natsume took Morishita away directly.

As for resisting...

The fact that he had just tried to attack an Uchiha junior in the middle of the street was enough to land him in serious trouble.

No matter how much the Uchiha had declined, they were not a force that a civilian ninja like him could contend with...

Inside the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, early this morning, the second son of Fugaku Uchiha made contact with the target again."

"Furthermore, there was an elite Jonin from the Uchiha clan protecting him from the shadows."

The Anbu member reported everything that had just happened to the Third.

"Mm, I understand."

"You may withdraw."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a slight nod.

"Yes."

The Anbu vanished in a flicker of movement.

From the shadows nearby, another figure stepped out.

"Itachi."

"Has the mission been completed?"

"Tell me, what are your clan's thoughts regarding the jinchuriki?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe, the calm expression on his face shifting into one of gravity.

Itachi had been there the entire time.

The reason he had dismissed the Anbu was to prevent them from overhearing anything else.

"The clan has no designs on the jinchuriki."

"Those were merely Sasuke's own thoughts."

"Of course, should the clan truly involve themselves in this, I will handle it immediately."

Itachi spoke with a serious expression.

At the same time, other thoughts stirred within his mind.

However, he did not let them show.