Uchiha Fugaku's Fury

The next morning, the plaza at the Ninja Academy was packed with people.

"I heard someone's applying for early graduation?"

"Sure are. Look, even Lord Hokage is here."

"But didn't this year's students just enroll the day before yesterday?"

"Well, what can you do if the kid's a genius? Maybe he was already as strong as a Genin before he even started school!"

"Yikes, that's terrifying!"

The crowd whispered among themselves. Sarutobi Hiruzen wore his Hokage hat, a pipe clenched in his mouth.

Ever since Uchiha Itachi graduated early four years ago, no one had applied for early graduation.

When word got out yesterday, the whole village was in an uproar.

Hundreds of people had dropped what they were doing and rushed over first thing in the morning to see what was going on.

"Lord Hokage, it's time."

Iruka walked over to Sarutobi Hiruzen, looking awkward.

"So Uchiha Kei is late?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed helplessly.

Uchiha Obito used to be the one who was always late. Now it was Uchiha Kei.

Could the Uchiha Clan really not afford a clock?

"Yes..."

Iruka looked embarrassed, silently cursing Uchiha Kei.

You applied for early graduation, and Lord Hokage came all the way to proctor your exam, but you didn't show up...

What kind of thing was that...

"Give him another ten minutes. Then cancel the early graduation exam."

"Yes!"

Time ticked by, and just as everyone was growing impatient, two figures strolled in.

"Wow, there are a lot of people here today."

Naruto looked around at the packed crowd, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, why are there so many people?"

Uchiha Kei was just as confused.

It had rained last night, and his little shack had turned into a waterfall cave. He'd worked until dawn and only managed to get a little sleep, completely forgetting about the early graduation exam.

"Did something big happen? Kei, let's go see!"

With a curious grin, Naruto pulled Uchiha Kei into the crowd.

"Why hasn't anyone shown up yet? Weren't they supposed to hold an early graduation exam?"

"Yeah, I wonder who it is. They're holding everyone up. I even skipped work to come watch."

"Exactly!"

Whispers rippled through the crowd.

Naruto heard every word, while Uchiha Kei beside him had already dozed off.

"Kei! Kei!"

Naruto excitedly shook Uchiha Kei.

"Quit it. Let me sleep a little longer."

Still groggy, Uchiha Kei irritably pushed Naruto away.

"Wake up, wake up! There's something to see!"

Uchiha Kei opened his eyes with a frown. "What is it?"

"Do you know why there are so many people? Someone's applying to take the early graduation exam today!"

Naruto said excitedly, looking all around to see who could be so impressive.

Graduation exam?

Early?

Uchiha Kei froze. The next moment, his face turned pale.

"Who is it, anyway? So confident. Enrolled the day before yesterday and wants to graduate today. That's incredible—and they're late, too."

Naruto clicked his tongue beside him, not noticing Uchiha Kei's face growing paler by the second.

"Kei..."

Naruto turned around, only to see Uchiha Kei stiffly making his way toward the middle of the plaza.

"Huh? Kei, where are you going?"

Uchiha Kei couldn't hear Naruto anymore. His mind was filled with Iruka's furious scolding...

"Kei!"

Sure enough, the moment Iruka spotted Uchiha Kei, his booming voice rang out.

Thump!

"Ow!"

With a miserable look on his face, Uchiha Kei rubbed the fresh bump on his head as Iruka dragged him over to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Lord Hokage, Uchiha Kei is here."

Iruka held Kei's head down and bowed over and over in apology.

"Ah, he's here. Then let's begin the exam."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was calm.

"Yes!"

Iruka dragged Uchiha Kei to the center of the platform.

"Everyone, today Uchiha Kei of the Uchiha Clan is taking the early graduation exam. Since he's applying to graduate early, the assessment will consist of three parts..."

Iruka droned on from the platform, while the people below stared in disbelief.

Uchiha Kei?

The one who was always hanging around with the Fox Demon?

The Uchiha Clan's once-in-a-century failure?

You've got to be kidding...

In the middle of the crowd was a separate patch of open ground. Only about a dozen people stood there, and the people around them instinctively kept their distance.

The dozen wore stern expressions, and each had a gunbai embroidered on their clothes.

The Uchiha Clan!

"Clan Head, he's one of ours."

The man addressed as Clan Head frowned as he watched Uchiha Kei on the platform.

"Whose child is he?"

"I think he's Uchiha Tenshi's son," the man replied after watching for a while, uncertainly.

"Uchiha Tenshi? The Chunin who died in the Third Shinobi World War?"

Uchiha Fugaku thought for a moment, and a hazy figure came to mind.

"Yes, that's him."

Uchiha Fugaku's frown deepened.

If he remembered correctly, Uchiha Tenshi's child...

was the one called the Uchiha Clan's once-in-a-century failure...

"Absurd!" Uchiha Fugaku growled. "Who's taking care of him now? Get him down from there, at once! He's disgracing the entire Uchiha Clan!"

"Uh..."

The man looked like he wanted to say something, his expression troubled as he glanced at Uchiha Fugaku.

"What?"

"Clan Head, after Uchiha Tenshi died, his wife also passed away from a serious illness. The child... has been living alone."

Uchiha Fugaku spun around, his gaze icy. "A hero died on the battlefield, and after his mother passed away, nobody took him in?"

"Y-yes..."

The man kept his head down, his face flushed red.

Uchiha Fugaku swept his gaze around. Everyone in its path lowered their heads.

"Good. Very good!" Uchiha Fugaku sneered. "It seems you all knew about this. I'm the only one who didn't."

"Clan Head..."

"Silence!"

Uchiha Fugaku's presence erupted, and the people around him hurriedly dropped to their knees.

"A hero sacrificed his life on the battlefield, and no one looked after his child afterward. Is this how you've handled things?"

"A once-in-a-century failure? It's hard enough for this child to survive, let alone train!"

Uchiha Fugaku drew a breath, a faint flush spreading across his stern face.

"You spend all day thinking about becoming Konoha's leader, yet you can't even look after your own people. What kind of leader would you be?"

Uchiha Fugaku spoke so quietly that the words seemed to scrape their way out of his throat.

The families of clan members killed in battle received monthly compensation, paid to the people looking after their children. So where had that money gone?

The people around him trembled, not daring to answer.

"When we get back, investigate this thoroughly! Deal with it severely!"

"The Uchiha Clan will not tolerate parasites!"

"Yes!"

The people around him hurriedly answered.

Uchiha Fugaku turned back toward Uchiha Kei, his expression growing complicated.

A child orphaned at a young age...

A child called a once-in-a-century failure...

All these years...

He must have suffered so much...

At the thought, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes reddened.