Summer Vacation Arrives

Looking at Hyuga Natsu, who was ignoring him as if in a huff, Hyuga Gen felt a bit of a headache.

It was indeed his fault; they had agreed to walk home together after school, but he had stood her up on the very first day and completely forgotten about her.

Hyuga Gen felt a twinge of shame in his heart for having been so preoccupied with eating with Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi yesterday that he had forgotten about Xia.

It was truly inexcusable to have forgotten his promise to Hyuga Natsu because of Uchiha Izumi.

Recalling the scene from yesterday, although Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi had barely spoken, now that he thought about it carefully, there seemed to be an unspoken rapport between them.

Is it impossible to change fate? Am I destined to just watch helplessly as Uchiha Izumi is killed? Thinking of Uchiha Izumi's smiling face, Hyuga Gen felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest and clenched his fists.

"Brother Dongyi, what's wrong? Alright, I'm not mad at you anymore, please don't cry, okay?" Hyuga Natsu said, shaking Hyuga Gen's arm.

Hyuga Natsu, who had been walking in front, had been keeping an eye on Hyuga Gen behind her despite her anger, maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

Suddenly noticing that Hyuga Gen had stopped and was standing perfectly still, Hyuga Natsu couldn't help but turn around, only to find him lost in a daze.

Hyuga Natsu called out to Hyuga Gen twice, and seeing no response, she walked over to his side.

Looking at his dejected expression and the tears at the corners of his eyes, Hyuga Natsu assumed it was her fault, so she couldn't help but grab his arms with both hands and say those words.

"Cry? I'm not crying."

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

"Brother Dongyi is a liar, then what is that on your face?"

Only then did Hyuga Gen notice that there seemed to be something at the corners of his eyes.

Are these tears? Did I really just cry? Although I felt a bit stifled and uncomfortable, it shouldn't be enough to make me cry, right? Hyuga Gen muttered to himself.

"No, Xia, it's not that I'm crying, it's that it's about to rain. Let's run!"

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

The two figures sprinted down the road, and before long, they reached the Ninja Academy. Just as they entered the school building, the rain began to pour down in torrents.

Hyuga Natsu and Hyuga Gen exchanged a smile, and all the previous unpleasantness and unhappiness vanished into thin air.

"Xia, let me walk you to your classroom."

"Okay."

So, Hyuga Gen continued to hold Xia's hand as they walked toward her classroom.

At this moment, the people around them looked over from time to time—or more accurately, at their two small hands held together, which was not a common sight in the school.

Of course, Hyuga Gen didn't realize this; he had always treated Xia as a little sister, and wasn't it normal to hold his sister's hand?

After dropping Hyuga Natsu off at her classroom, Hyuga Gen headed toward his own. He had calmed down quite a bit now and had thought some things through.

In this world, everything still relied on strength. Once you possessed absolute power, all problems would cease to be problems.

If he lacked strength, could he protect the people he wanted to protect? Clearly, it was impossible. If things went like the plot in Shippuden, when the masked man Obito came to kill Uchiha Izumi, would he really be able to stop him?

Therefore, possessing powerful strength was the most important thing right now. Of course, maintaining a low profile was also necessary—he had to make his fortune in silence.

Walking into the classroom, he greeted Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi before sitting down at his desk to begin self-studying.

First, he had to absorb all the knowledge taught at the Ninja Academy. These basics were very important; a tall building rises from the ground, and the foundation must be solid.

And so, the monotonous and dull routine began: going to school with Hyuga Natsu in the morning, picking her up to go home in the evening, and practicing once he returned home.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During these six months, Hyuga Gen fulfilled his promise well, accompanying Hyuga Natsu to and from school without ever standing her up again. If he had something to do, he would always inform Hyuga Natsu in advance.

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

Uchiha Itachi was truly a genius of the Uchiha clan; he learned everything very quickly. Talent aside, the key was that he was also extremely diligent and hardworking.

In half a year, Uchiha Itachi had learned all the knowledge taught at the Ninja Academy, and his grades in every aspect were perfect in every test.

Such a shining "gold" was hard not to be noticed.

Moreover, as the eldest son of the Uchiha clan head, such outstanding strength combined with his handsome face made him lethal to girls.

Such a "tall, rich, and handsome" guy was very popular in any world. Therefore, wherever he appeared, there was always a large group of fan girls; besides those in his own grade, even senior girls confessed their feelings to Uchiha Itachi.

As for why Hyuga Gen knew about this, it was because Uchiha Itachi had asked him for advice not long ago; after all, Hyuga Gen was the only friend he could really talk to in the class.

Hyuga Gen had gone to watch that time, and without any surprise, the senior girl was rejected by Uchiha Itachi. Although he had already known the result, Hyuga Gen still felt it was a pity, as the senior was truly very pretty.

It had to be said that the children here were quite precocious, starting to date at such a young age. In their ignorant years, such green and simple affection was actually quite nice.

Thinking back to when he was six or seven years old, he didn't even know where he was playing with mud. It seemed he didn't have a budding crush on anyone until the fourth grade of elementary school.

"Ahhh, Itachi is so amazing, his movements are so cool!" Watching a group of girls with hearts in their eyes looking at Uchiha Itachi, Hyuga Gen was speechless.

Honestly, Uchiha Itachi's movements just now weren't that cool—at least he didn't jump up, spin twice in the air, and then throw the kunai; he just simply crossed his arms and threw the kunai out.

The difference was that while others threw one, he threw six at once, and all six hit the dead center of the target.

As for the result, it was indeed quite cool. However, Hyuga Gen knew that Uchiha Itachi's strength went far beyond this.

He remembered the scene in the anime where a young Itachi was being pelted with stones; he used a single stone to knock down the four stones thrown at him one by one—it was simply a miraculous feat.

In terms of accuracy in throwing kunai, if Uchiha Itachi claimed second place in the world of the Hokage, no one would dare claim first—though, of course, there was one other person who could rival him, and that was Uchiha Shisui.

"Itachi, you're really amazing."

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

"Why do I get the feeling you were intentionally going easy on me during the exam?"

Uchiha Itachi looked at Hyuga Gen and asked suspiciously, while Uchiha Izumi beside him also stared at him.

Observing the expressions of the two, with those two pairs of dark, glistening eyes fixed on him, Hyuga Gen found them a bit adorable.

"Perhaps I was just a little nervous."

Hyuga Gen couldn't take it after a while, so he turned his head to the side.

Of course, the nervousness was a pretense; he knew in his heart that while Uchiha Itachi and Izumi were somewhat doubtful, they didn't press the matter further.

"School breaks tomorrow. Do you two have any plans for the summer vacation?" Hyuga Gen asked them.