Acknowledgment

School was over, and Toru packed up his things, preparing to head home.

Just then, Kurenai, sitting nearby, noticed his movements and reached out to bid him farewell.

"See you tomorrow, Toru."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Kurenai."

Yuhi Kurenai had used Toru's first name rather than his surname primarily because there was already another Uchiha in the class.

To avoid sounding too intimate, she had even specifically added the suffix "classmate."

Yet, unexpectedly, Toru had addressed Yuhi Kurenai by her given name, which in the culture of the Land of Fire was considered intimate to the point of being offensive.

After all, the two had only just met.

Usually, only very close classmates would ignore such social conventions.

Consequently, Kurenai blushed at the address, while Toru, having finished his teasing, had already walked away.

In truth, this wasn't Toru intentionally flirting.

Toru had two reasons for using her first name: first, in his previous life, he hadn't liked those rules and had always called people by their names; second, in his heart, he viewed Yuhi Kurenai as a child, so he hadn't paid any mind to whether it was intimate or not.

On the other side, Asuma's face had turned green with anger.

They had only known each other for a day and he was already using her first name—he didn't even want to think about what might happen in a few days.

After suppressing the jealousy and rage in his heart, Asuma said to Kurenai, "Kurenai, let me walk you home; it's getting late."

Asuma seemed to be trying to compete, also calling her by her first name.

Kurenai finally snapped out of her daze from the previous address, and upon seeing Asuma's eager gaze, she refused: "No thanks, I'm going home with Anko."

With that, Kurenai trotted off to find Anko and head home.

"Your new seatmate is too much, Kurenai. If you don't like him, why not just let me have him?"

"What are you talking about!"

"So you do like him? Tee-hee!"

Asuma watched the two girls giggling and chasing each other, slammed his fist on the desk, and ended up grimacing in pain as he clutched his hand.

The Uchiha compound was a place that could be called a village within a village, complete with its own walls, gates, and commercial street.

As Toru walked through it, his keen mind—brought over from his previous life—made him feel that the Uchiha clan had become too big for Konoha to manage, a heavy burden for the village.

In his textbooks, Toru had learned the history of the village and knew that the Uchiha were a major clan that had existed since the village's founding.

Moreover, after the decline of the Senju clan, they had remained the largest clan in Konoha.

Yet, such a great clan had never produced a single Hokage, and Uchiha Madara, who had led the Uchiha to cooperate with the Senju to build the village, had even defected. All of this was sufficient proof that the Konoha leadership did not trust the Uchiha.

Toru turned into an alley, still deep in thought.

After all, he was now a member of the Uchiha. If the nest fell, how could the eggs remain intact? If the Uchiha declined, he wouldn't benefit either.

Just then, Toru noticed something strange. He looked up to find his path blocked both in front and behind by several children.

"So you're the half-breed? You really do have white hair! Hmph!"

Toru laughed at himself. I was so lost in thought that I got surrounded by kids. Being a child really does affect me; even my senses have become dull.

These children looked to be the same age as him, likely five or six-year-old students at the ninja academy.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" Toru wasn't annoyed by their insults; after all, no adult would get angry at children.

"You don't even know who I am? I am Uchiha Doka!" The leader of the group announced his name.

Another, more silent child followed up, "Uchiha Tekka, Doka's younger brother."

The remaining children also gave their names.

"So, what exactly are you here for?" Toru continued to ask.

The leader, Doka, gave a reason that left Toru speechless. "I heard you beat Hatake Kakashi. Hmph, it really ticks me off to see you showing off. We have to teach you a lesson!"

"So you're here to fight?" Toru smiled.

Doka declared, "That's right, we're here to beat you up."

"That makes things simple."

Toru's smile grew even brighter.

Doka felt a sudden, inexplicable tension in his gut.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Ten seconds later, Doka and his group were all beaten into the dirt, unable to even put up a fight.

Toru stacked the group together and sat down on top of them.

"You're so weak, so why did you have the guts to come find me for a fight? I don't get it."

Toru cast his gaze toward the alley entrance. A few seconds later, a member of the Konoha Military Police Force passed by, noticed the commotion, and rushed in upon seeing Toru sitting on top of the bruised and swollen children.

"I am Uchiha Yakumi of the Konoha Military Police Force! What are you doing? Let them up immediately!"

Seeing help had arrived, the children under Toru burst into tears.

Toru obediently stood up.

Uchiha Yakumi hurried to help the children up and asked, "What happened? Why were so many of you beaten like this?"

Uchiha Doka tremblingly pointed a finger at Toru. Toru had no intention of hiding it and directly admitted the truth.

"They wanted to beat me up, so I took the initiative and beat them all instead."

Uchiha Yakumi finally recognized him. "So you are Uchiha Toru. Come with me; this matter needs to be reported to the clan head."

A while later, inside the clan head's residence, Fugaku listened quietly to Uchiha Yakumi's report. Ignoring Uchiha Doka, who was still sobbing, he walked over to Toru.

"This matter cannot be blamed on you; it is an issue with the Uchiha. Don't worry, I will make the Uchiha acknowledge you."

Fugaku turned to Yakumi and ordered, "Assemble all the ninja of the Uchiha clan. Have them gather at the Naka Shrine before sunset."

"Yes." Yakumi, seemingly a loyal subordinate of Fugaku, followed the order immediately.

The Uchiha shrine, also known as the Naka Shrine, was located on the edge of the village. Though called a shrine, it was actually dedicated to the ancestors of the Uchiha.

Toru followed behind Fugaku, climbing the steps one by one and passing through the red torii gate that symbolized the shrine. The sun was setting, and the dim, golden light draped over the ancient shrine, adding a touch of divinity to the already aged structure.

Inside the shrine, a statue stood in the center.

The figure in the statue wore a robe adorned with tomoe, with two small braids hanging down on either side of its face. The features were no longer clear, but the three-tomoe pattern in the eyes was still visible.

"That is the ancestor of our Uchiha. His name is long forgotten, but we still carry his bloodline, and so do you."

Seeing Toru looking up at the statue, Fugaku spoke from the side.

Toru looked up and asked, "Is the three-tomoe the highest level of the Sharingan?"

Toru remembered that his father also possessed a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.

Fugaku had originally thought Toru was paying respects to their ancestor, but he hadn't expected his focus to be on the Sharingan. He gathered his thoughts and replied, "Above the three-tomoe is the Mangekyo, but that is not something you can touch upon right now."

Toru nodded and didn't speak again.

The two waited in silence as the Uchiha clansmen arrived one after another. Yakumi came to report, "Clan head, everyone has been notified, except for those currently on missions."

Fugaku gave a few more instructions, and Yakumi left again, returning shortly with a black coat.

By now, everyone had arrived. There were over two hundred Uchiha ninja in total, and the vast majority were gathered within the shrine.

Toru used his Six Eyes to observe the crowd. Generally speaking, their strength was not weak. At that moment, Toru also discovered that the space beneath the shrine was hollow; there must be a hidden chamber there.

Fugaku spoke in a clear, resonant voice: "The reason I have called you all here today is because of him: Uchiha Toru."

"I want you all to acknowledge that Uchiha Toru is a member of the Uchiha."