He Is a Friend of Mine, Uchiha Sasuke!

After a brief silence, Fugaku Uchiha let Sasuke leave the study.

Back in his room, Sasuke immediately began refining chakra.

He had said those things to Fugaku Uchiha today to steel his cheap father's resolve!

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

He seemed steady, but was actually useless.

In the end, he would even sacrifice his own life and those of the clan's Radical Faction, handing the family's future over to the village.

That was what led to the Uchiha Clan's annihilation.

So the family's sense of unity had to be firmly established, starting with the clan head.

The next day.

On the road to school.

A blond boy walked toward the school alone.

"Seriously? That fox demon can attend the Ninja Academy too?"

"You've got to be kidding! That monster nearly destroyed our village!"

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

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

"This is unacceptable! I'm going to protest to Lord Hokage..."

The road had been noisy, but the arrival of this small figure made the atmosphere unbearably strange.

The adults' faces were full of disgust and contempt. Their curses were vile, and some children even threw trash and fruit cores at the boy.

That's right. It was Naruto's first day at school.

Before leaving home, he had put on the clothes he'd washed. They were a little too small for him, but they were the newest clothes he had.

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

He was ready to welcome a new life.

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

Clenching his fists, Naruto deliberately ignored the voices and the things people were doing.

All he wanted—what he wanted more than anything—was to hurry and find the boy who had reached out to him yesterday: Uchiha Sasuke!

"Thud!"

Just then, half an apple landed in front of Naruto.

"Tch. A mere fox demon thinks he can study at the same school as us?"

"Exactly! My mom said you're a monster, and monsters should be killed on the spot. Why don't you just go die?"

"Gross. Do you see those marks on his face? They're a monster's marks."

Three little brats appeared in front of Naruto and openly began to mock him.

They even felt proud of themselves for acting this way.

They had bullied the fox demon that even adults were afraid of!

As Naruto held back, a dark figure appeared in his sight.

"Are you bullying a friend of mine? I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke's low voice reached Naruto's ears.

For the first time, Naruto found that this haughty tone wasn't so unpleasant.

"Friend?"

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

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

The boy in the lead looked at Sasuke with contempt.

He didn't hear the threat in Sasuke's words at all.

"Exactly! If you're friends with a fox demon, you must be a monster too, right?"

Another boy jumped out and shouted at him.

"Trash always hangs around with trash. It's called—"

"Smack!"

The boy who had been shouting was sent flying by a slap.

"Thud! Thud!"

The other two didn't get away either.

Sasuke grabbed them by the heads and pressed them right down into an intimate meeting with Mother Earth.

"Dad, he's trying to kill us!"

"Waaah..."

After their close encounter with the ground, the boys' foreheads were bleeding.

They immediately started wailing.

An adult nearby saw that his son was being bullied.

With a Body Flicker Technique, he appeared in front of Sasuke, intending to rescue his child.

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

"Ugh!"

The next moment, a hand grabbed the man's arm.

The grip was so strong that the man, a Chunin wearing a Forehead Protector, was forced to his knees.

"Hey, didn't you hear him introduce himself just now?"

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

"What's the matter, Chunin Morishita? Planning to attack a junior of the Uchiha?"

Uchiha Natsume's gaze was icy.

The killing intent and fury he had built up over a long time

erupted all at once.

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

"I was just worried about my child. I didn't mean to attack the Uchiha."

Morishita grimaced in pain and could only beg for mercy.

He knew how the Uchiha operated.

If the conflict continued, he could very well be taken to the Military Police Force.

And then, he wasn't sure he'd make it out of there alive.

"Naruto!"

"Come on, let's go to school."

Sasuke glanced at Natsume. He made no attempt to stop him, instead calling Naruto to come to school with him.

As for the people in the Military Police Force, especially the clan's hardliners, Sasuke wasn't planning to get involved with them until he had shown enough strength for them to respect him.

"Okay!"

"Sasuke, can I call you that?"

"Of course."

"Here, this is my favorite cup noodle. You can have it."

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

As Natsume watched the two little figures gradually disappear, his expression grew even more peculiar.

"Chunin Morishita, I suspect you've committed acts of treason against the village. Come with me to the Military Police Force."

"You'd better cooperate. Otherwise, your family will be taken to the Military Police Force for questioning too."

After saying that, Natsume took Morishita away.

As for resisting...

He had just tried to attack a junior of the Uchiha in the middle of the street.

That alone was enough to land him in serious trouble.

No matter how weak the Uchiha had become, a civilian ninja like him couldn't hope to stand against them...

Inside the Hokage Office.

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

"Furthermore, an Elite Jonin of the Uchiha Clan was secretly protecting him."

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

"Mm. I understand."

"You may go."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly.

"Yes, sir."

The Anbu vanished with a Body Flicker Technique.

Then a figure stepped out from the side.

"Itachi."

"Have you completed the mission?"

"Tell me, what does your clan think about the Jinchuriki?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe, his calm expression turning grave.

Itachi had been there the whole time.

He had dismissed the Anbu because he was afraid they might mention something else.

"The clan has no plans regarding the Jinchuriki."

"This is just Sasuke's own idea."

"Of course, if anyone in the clan really does get involved, I'll deal with it immediately."

Itachi spoke with a serious expression.

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

But he didn't let them show.