Attack of the Dark Department

After the farce, Uchiha Kei ultimately did not make a move.

However, the pressure he exerted on the crowd still earned him a wave of shock.

He lay on the desk, huffing in annoyance; aside from Naruto beside him, everyone else kept their distance.

"Don't be mad, Kei."

Naruto felt a bit guilty, as Uchiha Kei had stood up for him after all.

Someone had kindly stepped in on his behalf, only to be held back by him.

"Get lost, I don't want to talk to you."

Uchiha Kei huffed and turned his head away.

In the first year after he arrived in this world, it was Naruto who had cleared his confusion and given him the intention to integrate into this world.

Uchiha Kei truly regarded Naruto as a friend and a brother, and for that, he had put in quite a lot of effort.

"If they want to talk, let them talk. I'm used to it anyway."

A silly grin appeared on Naruto's face.

"You, oh you."

Uchiha Kei couldn't do anything about Naruto and could only lie on the desk, sulking to himself.

He checked his shock value: 1980. He was still 20 points short of two draws.

Being a bit of a perfectionist, Uchiha Kei looked around and spotted Sasuke, who was peeking at them from not far away.

Sorry, Sasuke...

Uchiha Kei raised his head and stared straight at Sasuke.

Sasuke had been peeking, and upon being caught, he hurriedly turned his head away, staring at the blackboard with a haughty expression.

After a long while, Sasuke couldn't help himself and turned back to sneak another glance at the two.

This turn nearly made his heart stop.

A pair of scarlet eyes, with three tomoe spinning eerily and slowly, carried a soul-capturing sensation.

"Holy crap! Holy crap!"

Sasuke stood up instantly, his mouth wide open, pointing at Uchiha Kei in disbelief.

"Ding, received shock from Uchiha Sasuke, shock value +99."

"Ding..."

"Ding..."

In an instant, wave after wave of shock value was generated, making Uchiha Kei squint his eyes in delight.

"Sasuke, is there something you don't understand?"

On the podium, Iruka, unaware of the situation, looked toward Sasuke.

"He... he..."

Sasuke stammered, pointing at Uchiha Kei, the shock on his face still not fading.

Iruka frowned and turned his gaze toward Uchiha Kei.

Uchiha Kei retracted his Sharingan and shrugged innocently at Iruka.

"Alright, listen to the lecture carefully and don't mess around."

Sasuke sat down sullenly, but his gaze remained fixed on Uchiha Kei.

He could guarantee he hadn't seen wrong!

That was...

A three-tomoe Sharingan!

Uchiha Kei had actually already awakened the Sharingan!

And it was a three-tomoe Sharingan at that!

Ignoring Sasuke over there, Uchiha Kei began his exchange with satisfaction.

"Ding, shock value 2380, can exchange for two random basic ninjutsu. Do you wish to exchange?"

Uchiha Kei chose to exchange without hesitation.

"Ding, exchange successful, 2000 shock value deducted."

"Obtained Mangekyō Sharingan."

"Obtained Mastery of Swordsmanship."

In an instant, a familiar swelling pain gathered in his eyes.

Already experienced, Uchiha Kei quickly lay down on the desk, letting the tears flow freely.

To think he would possess the Mangekyō Sharingan so soon!

This was something Uchiha Kei had not anticipated.

The Mangekyo Sharingan was undeniably powerful, but for him right now, it was somewhat of an unaffordable burden.

One had to remember that the Sharingan was notorious for its massive chakra consumption; had he not seen how the formidable Kakashi would run out of chakra after just a few exchanges once he possessed the Sharingan?

What's more, he currently only possessed Genin-level chakra.

He shouldn't even think about the Susanoo; he would be lucky if he could use his Mangekyo abilities once or twice.

As the throbbing pain in his eyes gradually subsided, Uchiha Kei lifted his head and subtly activated his Mangekyo.

An incredibly complex, symmetrical polygonal pattern cleverly formed the shape of a long sword, with a sharp edge faintly radiating from it.

Uchiha Kei instantly grasped the abilities contained within his Mangekyo: Amaterasu, Amenotokotachi, Omodaru, and Uhijini.

Amaterasu was easy to understand—the strongest Fire Release that burned everything—even though it had never actually burned anyone to death in the original story...

The remaining three, however, gave him an unparalleled surprise.

"Uchiha Kei!"

A roar interrupted his deep contemplation.

Uchiha Kei retracted his Mangekyo and looked up, dazed.

Iruka strode up to him. "Your shuriken score was perfect yesterday, but you can't become a ninja relying on shuriken alone!"

"Ah, I understand, Iruka-sensei."

Uchiha Kei was still feeling a bit foggy.

"Then why aren't you listening in class? Do you and Naruto intend to sleep through the entire year at the Ninja Academy?"

Uchiha Kei turned his head to the side.

Sure enough, Naruto had already fallen into a fatal hallucination: sleep.

"Uncle Ichiraku's ramen is the best..."

As luck would have it, at this critical juncture, Naruto muttered in his sleep.

"You two!"

"Get out and stand in the hallway!"

A thunderous roar erupted, and Uchiha Kei grabbed Naruto and bolted outside.

"Huh? What happened?"

While running, Naruto woke up, looking at the sprinting Uchiha Kei with a confused expression.

"What happened?" Uchiha Kei gave a bitter smile. "Either way, we won't be getting back into class for a while."

With that, he set Naruto down and led the way toward the school exit.

"Kei, what did you do to make Iruka-sensei so angry?"

Behind him, Naruto chased after Uchiha Kei, muttering incessantly.

Uchiha Kei stood still, took a deep breath, and suppressed the urge to turn around and punch him.

The two arrived at the woods where they usually hung out, and Naruto began throwing shuriken out of sheer boredom.

Uchiha Kei had originally intended to test his Mangekyo abilities, but he had discovered something interesting on the way here.

"This amount of chakra... it should be two Chunin and three Genin. Tsk, they really went all out."

"Kei, what are you talking about?"

Hearing his voice, Naruto turned back to look at him.

"Ah, nothing, just talking to myself—talking to the dogs."

Uchiha Kei casually plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth, a bitter taste spreading through his palate.

"Swish!"

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out, and a pitch-black kunai flew straight toward Uchiha Kei.

"Tch, so impatient?"

Uchiha Kei sneered, instantly activating his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and moved his body to dodge the kunai's attack.

"Who's there!"

Naruto was startled, gripping the shuriken in his hand tightly.

"Who else? Like I said, the little dogs."

Uchiha Kei rushed in front of Naruto and yanked him aside just as a kunai grazed Naruto's chest, his hands flying through seals simultaneously.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A thin line of fire spewed from Uchiha Kei's mouth, instantly expanding into a fireball one meter in diameter three meters away, surging upward and sweeping toward the two of them with intense heat.

"Water Release: Water Wall Technique!"

"Water Release: Water Rope Technique!"

The two opponents coordinated with seamless synergy, one parrying the Great Fireball while the other restricted their movements.

"Hiss!"

A massive cloud of steam surged upward instantly. Simultaneously, two ropes of water erupted from the ground beneath them, coiling tightly around their ankles.

Uchiha Kei activated his Sharingan covertly, keeping every minute movement under his observation.

"Whoosh!"

Several shuriken flew from his hand, colliding in mid-air before drilling straight into the water ropes.

The water ropes dissipated instantly.

Five figures appeared abruptly around the pair, forming a blockade.

Looking at the animal masks on the five men's faces, Uchiha Kei smiled.

"So, the Anbu will actually lay hands on their own villagers. I've learned something new today."

The five Anbu members did not reply; to them, completing the mission was all that mattered.

Everything else was outside their scope of consideration.

"Did Lord Third send you? Or was it Danzo?"

This question seemed to strike a nerve, and without a word, they all attacked Uchiha Kei at once.

In an instant, ninjutsu of various affinities came crashing down like a torrential downpour.