The Start of Summer Vacation

Looking at Hyuga Natsu as she sulked and refused to speak to him, Hyuga Gen felt a little helpless.

It really was his fault. They had agreed to walk home together after school, but he had stood Hyuga Natsu up on the very first day and forgotten about her.

Hyuga Gen also felt a little guilty about yesterday, when he had been so caught up eating with Itachi and Izumi that he had forgotten about Natsu.

It really wasn't right of him to forget his promise to Hyuga Natsu because of Uchiha Izumi.

Thinking back to yesterday, although Uchiha Itachi and Izumi had barely spoken, now that he thought about it, there seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them.

Could fate still not be changed? Would I have to watch helplessly as Uchiha Izumi was killed in the end? Thinking of Uchiha Izumi's smiling face, Hyuga Gen felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest and clenched his fists.

"Big Brother Gen~ What's wrong? All right, I'm not mad at you anymore, so please don't cry, okay?" Hyuga Natsu said, shaking Hyuga Gen's arm.

Though Hyuga Natsu had been walking ahead of him, still angry, she had kept an eye on him and maintained a short distance.

When she suddenly noticed that Hyuga Gen had stopped and wasn't moving, Hyuga Natsu couldn't help turning around. She saw him standing there, lost in thought.

Hyuga Natsu called out to Hyuga Gen a couple of times, but when he didn't respond, she went over to him.

Seeing his sorrowful expression and the tears at the corners of his eyes, Hyuga Natsu thought she was the reason he was upset. She took hold of his arm with both hands and said what she had just said.

"Crying? I'm not crying."

Coming back to himself and looking at Hyuga Natsu, Hyuga Gen asked, confused.

"Big Brother Gen, you're lying. Then what's that on your face?"

Only then did Hyuga Gen notice something at the corner of his eye.

Are these tears? Did I really cry just now? I did feel a tightness in my chest, but surely it wasn't enough to make me cry, Hyuga Gen wondered to himself.

"No, Natsu, I'm not crying. It's about to rain. We'd better hurry!"

Just as Hyuga Gen was about to taste the tear, another raindrop landed on the back of his hand. He looked up at the sky and quickly spoke to Hyuga Natsu.

The two figures ran down the road. Before long, they reached the Ninja Academy. They had barely entered the school building when rain began pouring outside.

Hyuga Natsu and Hyuga Gen smiled at each other, and all the earlier unhappiness vanished.

"Natsu, I'll walk you to your classroom."

"Okay!"

Hyuga Gen continued holding Natsu's hand as they walked toward her classroom.

People around them kept glancing their way. More precisely, they were looking at the little hands clasped together—a rare sight at school.

Of course, Hyuga Gen didn't notice. He had always thought of Natsu as his little sister. Wasn't it perfectly normal to hold his little sister's hand?

After taking Hyuga Natsu to her classroom, Hyuga Gen headed to his own. He had calmed down and thought some things through.

In this world, everything still came down to strength. Once you had absolute power, no problem would be beyond solving.

Without strength, could you protect the people you wanted to protect? Obviously not. If things played out as they had in Shippuden, and Masked Man Obito came to kill Uchiha Izumi, could he really stop him?

So gaining strength was the most important thing right now. Of course, he also had to keep a low profile and quietly build his power.

After entering the classroom and greeting Uchiha Itachi and Izumi, Hyuga Gen sat down and began studying on his own.

First, he had to absorb everything taught at the Ninja Academy. The fundamentals were important too. A towering building began at ground level, so he needed a solid foundation.

And so his ordinary, monotonous routine began: going to school with Hyuga Natsu in the morning, walking her home in the evening, then returning home to train. Day after day, it went on.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Hyuga Gen had kept his promise, accompanying Hyuga Natsu to and from school and never standing her up again. If something came up, he let her know in advance.

He had become good friends with Uchiha Itachi and Izumi, and the three of them often studied and played together.

Uchiha Itachi truly lived up to his reputation as a Uchiha prodigy. He learned everything incredibly quickly. He was talented, of course, but more importantly, he was extremely diligent.

In just half a year, Uchiha Itachi had mastered everything taught at the Ninja Academy. He scored full marks in every subject on every test.

A "shining gem" like him was bound to attract attention.

And as the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan Head, he was not only exceptionally capable but handsome, too. He was irresistible to girls.

A tall, handsome, rich young man like him was popular in any world. Wherever he went, a crowd of girls would gather around him. Not only girls in his year liked him; even older students confessed to him.

Hyuga Gen knew about this because Uchiha Itachi had asked him for advice not long ago. After all, Hyuga Gen was pretty much the only person in his class he could talk to.

Hyuga Gen had even gone to watch that time. As expected, the older girl was rejected by Uchiha Itachi. He had known it would turn out that way, but still felt it was a shame. The girl really was beautiful.

It had to be said, the children here were quite precocious. They were already dating at such a young age. There was something nice about those innocent, tentative feelings at that age.

Thinking back to when he was six or seven, he probably had been playing in the dirt somewhere. He hadn't developed a shy crush on anyone until around fourth grade, as he recalled.

"Ahhh, Itachi is amazing! That move was so cool!" Watching a group of girls gaze at Uchiha Itachi with hearts in their eyes, Hyuga Gen felt a little speechless.

Honestly, Uchiha Itachi's move hadn't been all that cool. He hadn't leapt into the air, spun around twice, and thrown his Kunai. He had simply crossed his arms and tossed them.

The difference was that everyone else threw one Kunai, while he threw six at once—and all six hit the very center of the target.

In terms of results, it really was pretty impressive. But Hyuga Gen knew Uchiha Itachi was capable of much more.

He remembered a scene in the anime where, as a child, Itachi was pelted with stones. He used a single stone to knock down the one thrown at him and the four more that were about to be thrown. It was an incredible feat.

When it came to accuracy with a Kunai, Uchiha Itachi could probably claim second place in the world of Naruto, and no one would dare claim first. There was one person who could match him, of course: Uchiha Shisui.

"Itachi, you're amazing."

Watching Uchiha Itachi turn and walk over, Hyuga Gen said with a smile.

"I get the feeling you were holding back on the test," Uchiha Itachi said suspiciously, with Uchiha Izumi watching him as well.

Looking at their expressions and their big, round eyes fixed on him, Hyuga Gen thought they looked kind of cute.

"Maybe I was a little nervous."

Hyuga Gen held out for a moment, then turned to look away.

Whether he had been nervous or had held back on purpose, he knew the truth. Uchiha Itachi and Izumi were a little suspicious, but neither pressed him.

"Tomorrow's the start of vacation. Do you two have any plans for summer break?" Hyuga Gen asked them.