Gray, Come Overthrow the Rule

Uchiha Gray fled in a panic.

Damn it, the brains of the Uchiha clan members were wired differently from normal people. Especially after awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan, a kind-hearted Uchiha would become even kinder, filled with great love.

A paranoid Uchiha would become even more paranoid, acting in extreme ways.

"Shisui is a character like the Fourth Hokage. Right now, beyond using Kotoamatsukami to control Fugaku Uchiha and stop the rebellion, it is more likely that he will try to persuade the others when the Uchiha clan finally revolts."

"But he has no idea that controlling Fugaku Uchiha alone is completely useless. Unless he uses Susanoo to kill every single member of the Uchiha clan, those lunatics in the clan will never listen to your reasoning."

Gray shook his head. If the Uchiha clan could be reasoned with, the world would have been at peace long ago.

Take Uchiha Madara, for example; even if it meant abandoning his entire clan, he still chose to leave Leaf. Or Itachi, who would rather sacrifice the entire Uchiha clan for the sake of Leaf's peace.

Then there is the cold, pretentious Nizushi—or rather, the current tsundere Little Sasuke—who, in the future, would be willing to betray the village and defect to Orochimaru, who would eventually kill him, all for the sake of revenge.

It could be said that 99% of the Uchiha clan are paranoid.

"I'm not getting mixed up in this crap. With Danzo, that old pervert, lurking ahead, the Third Hokage watching every move, and Uchiha Itachi's future massacre and Uchiha Madara's resurrection looming, I need to sign in and boost my strength!"

Uchiha Gray was very clear about his goals; if he couldn't improve his strength, all of this would be in vain.

Likewise, he had already signed in at most of the locations throughout Leaf.

If he wanted to improve his sign-in rewards, he would inevitably have to leave the village. But for now, he was just a student who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy, so graduating as soon as possible to carry out missions and trigger new sign-in points was imperative.

The next day.

Uchiha Gray upheld the principle that if a Shadow Clone goes to school, it doesn't count as him being late.

After grumbling, the Shadow Clone Gray left the house helplessly.

An hour later, a figure sneaked up, stealthily pulled open Gray's door, and revealed a weird grin. Swinging his arms back and forth, he suddenly leaped high into the air and roared, "Gray, you're actually slacking off again, using a Shadow Clone to go to school!"

As usual, Gray opened his eyes, his body moving as swift as the wind. With the agility of a rabbit, he dodged the attack and stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall with a look of disdain.

The figure crashed to the ground with a "bang," wincing in pain.

"Gray, you guy, you're just a Genin like me, why can you dodge my attacks every single time!" Uchiha Shinsei looked thoroughly annoyed.

He was especially irritated by the look of disdain on Gray's face.

We're both at the bottom of the class, so why do you always get to act so cool?

"Heh." Gray sneered and rolled his eyes. "As if you haven't skipped class yourself. Let's go."

Uchiha Shinsei was one of the few friends he had in the Uchiha clan, but he was a total clown—think of him as a chuunibyou, amplified version of Uchiha Obito.

Unlike Obito, however, Shinsei possessed the pride of the Uchiha clan.

So, while he was just a chuunibyou toward Gray, he was a pretentious jerk who mocked everyone else.

Accompanied by Shinsei's constant grumbling, the two arrived at the Ninja Academy just as the first break began. After dispelling their Shadow Clones, they sat back in their seats as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, hey, look! It's those two arrogant guys from the Uchiha clan again. They think they're so special because they're from a big family and can use Shadow Clones, so they're always late!"

"Exactly! Isn't it just because they're Uchihas? If they didn't have that surname, how could they possibly know a jutsu like the Shadow Clone!"

Seeing Gray and Shinsei acting so brazenly, using Shadow Clones to slack off, a group of brats gnashed their teeth in anger.

"Don't you dare talk about Gray-kun! Gray-kun has already learned the Shadow Clone jutsu, while you guys can't do anything yet. What right do you have to talk about him!"

"That's right! You can talk about Uchiha Shinsei all you want, but you absolutely cannot talk about Gray-kun!"

A group of young girls heard this and immediately joined the fray. Looking at Gray's fair, handsome face, their combat power instantly skyrocketed, rivaling that of keyboard warriors.

The boys were instantly enraged.

For any man or boy, what is the most unbearable thing?

Of course, it's women defending another male in front of them!

The entire classroom seemed to turn into a marketplace, filled with endless chatter.

Uchiha Shinsei: "???"

It's one thing for you all to take Gray's side, but for heaven's sake, do you have to put me down to lift him up?

It makes it look like I'm the one who's unpopular.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm a handsome guy with god-tier looks and countless beauties throwing themselves at me, you know!" Uchiha Shinsei bared his teeth, stepped onto a desk, and roared at the crowd.

The room went quiet. Everyone stared at the pretentious Uchiha Shinsei for three seconds.

Then, they looked away with disdain.

The boys didn't see him as a threat at all, and the girls didn't care about him, so they resumed their arguing.

Uchiha Shinsei: "..."

Gray rolled his eyes. He was an adult in terms of mental age, so he certainly didn't have time to bicker with these brats. His gaze drifted inadvertently toward Uchiha Itachi on the other side.

That's right, Uchiha Itachi was the same age as Gray—eight years old.

Usually, Uchiha Itachi also used a Shadow Clone to attend school, but today, he was there in person.

This meant that he must have something special to do today. Could it be that, like him, he was preparing for the Genin exam?

Uchiha Gray's eyes were deep in thought.

Applying for the genin exam early now was different from later times. Because the Third Shinobi World War had just ended, applying early not only meant increased difficulty but also strict limits on the number of participants.

If Uchiha Itachi also intended to apply for the genin exam, there might only be a single spot available, forcing the two of them into direct competition!

"You brats, what are you making so much noise for? Watch it, or I'll beat you!"

Compared to the gentle teachers at the Ninja Academy in later years, the instructors following the Third Shinobi World War were far more brutal. This was a natural shift influenced by the war; during the conflict, it wasn't uncommon for academy teachers to even resort to foul-mouthed berating.

The bit-part teacher glared fiercely, causing all the little brats to shudder in unison and sit up straight. Even the goofy troublemaker Uchiha Shinsei curled his lip and fell silent.

"Teacher."

Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Uchiha Itachi calmly raised his hand and stood up.

"Ah, Itachi. Do you have a question? I would be more than happy to answer it for you." A genius ninja would always receive preferential treatment. The teacher's face was full of kindness; if Uchiha Itachi, the top student of this year, went on to achieve great things in the future, then as his former academy teacher, he would certainly share in the glory!

"I would like to apply for early graduation. At this point, neither the textbook material nor the Body Replacement, Transformation, and Clone techniques offer me any further benefit. I wish to graduate early!"

The teacher was stunned. Was this the world of a genius?

While everyone else was still worrying about the exam, they were already considering higher levels of development!

"Very well, I grant your request!" He was excited; to him, this was a point of pride. "As expected, you are truly a genius of the Uchiha clan. Itachi, I believe you will certainly become a genin, unlike those two good-for-nothings from the Uchiha clan!"

Calling Gray and Shinsei dead-weights wasn't entirely fair, but damn it, while everyone else was studying diligently, Uchiha Gray was a chronic truant, and Uchiha Shinsei was the ringleader of all troublemakers.

Compared to Uchiha Itachi's excellent grades and obedience, they were nothing but a plague!

Uchiha Shinsei fumed, his eyes spitting fire.

Uchiha Gray stood up calmly, as if he could no longer tolerate the oppression.

Uchiha Shinsei instantly grew fired up.

"Gray, are you finally starting a rebellion? Whoa, overthrow the tyrannical rule of this idiot teacher! Go for it, Gray!" Uchiha Shinsei instantly whipped out a gleaming kunai.

He wasn't just talking; he had long harbored such thoughts. Overthrow the regime, and he would never have to come to school again!

Cold sweat streamed down the teacher's face. It looked like these two were actually serious!

As it turned out, even a teacher had to respect the dignity of their students. If the Uchiha clan found out about this, there was no telling when he might end up getting beaten to a pulp.

Under Uchiha Shinsei's burning gaze, Gray said calmly, "Teacher, I also want to take the exam."

The kunai in Uchiha Shinsei's hand clattered to the floor.