Memory Seal

Yuun had also heard the villagers talking on his way to the Ninja Academy. The Uchiha clan was known as Konoha's strongest clan, so naturally Konoha's higher-ups regarded them as a thorn in their side. But to the villagers, the prestigious Uchiha clan was synonymous with mystery and strength, and its reputation was fairly good.

I hope we won't have to fight the next time we meet. Yuun thought helplessly. That strangely familiar scene last night had reminded him of the Uchiha clan massacre. Yet even though he knew what was coming, he had no ability to stop it. He was no longer a match for Itachi, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Yuun was not particularly afraid of the Mangekyō Sharingan itself, but in Itachi's hands, those eyes were an enormous problem.

Having already promised to substitute for Hana and Anko, Yuun naturally intended to keep his word. Fortunately, substitute Chunin teachers were only temporary, so the two women's classes did not add up to much.

Regrettably, Yuun soon realized that his earlier thoughts had been far too naive. Even eight classes a month were too many, because he was teaching a group of little brats who excelled at getting themselves killed in every imaginable way.

They placed chalkboard erasers and buckets of water above the classroom door, set mousetraps behind it, put mice in the teacher's desk drawers, smeared industrial-strength glue on chairs... The brats' imagination when it came to courting death was practically limitless. Heaven knew how they had made chalk that could not write, chalkboard erasers that could not erase chalk, and podiums that collapsed at the slightest touch. If Yuun had not possessed the Byakugan, which naturally rendered most traps useless, those little monsters might have tormented him to death in a single day.

"First..." Since he trained in the mornings, Yuun usually taught early classes. "Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba, go stand outside as punishment."

"Why?!" At six or seven years old, Naruto already possessed most of the traits he would have in the future. At the very least, his nerve had never changed.

"Because you two idiots did not even pick up your homework. Don't tell me you actually did it." Yuun took two exercise books from the drawer and flicked them toward Naruto and Kiba. The thin books landed on their desks with a smack, perfectly placed without the slightest deviation.

"Excuse me." Before Naruto could say anything, the classroom door sounded.

"It's Iruka. Hmm..." Yuun looked at the little boy behind Iruka with a complicated expression. Only a few days had passed, but Sasuke had become much more haggard. There was not a trace of emotion on his pale face.

To Yuun's surprise, Sasuke merely glanced at him before turning and walking toward his seat, as though he did not know Yuun at all.

"Teacher Yuun, this is Uchiha Sasuke. He was previously a student in this class, but he has not attended for some time because of an incident," Iruka explained.

"Mm, I understand." Yuun nodded and watched Sasuke curiously. When had this little guy become so calculating that he could pretend not to know him even face-to-face?

"Then I'll leave him to you." Although Iruka was the homeroom teacher, he could not really act tough in front of Yuun, the substitute teacher.

Whether it was the Third Hokage's arrangement or simply fate, Iruka had applied to remain here as a teacher almost as soon as he began interacting with the students. Yuun had once darkly wondered whether Iruka had been severely scolded by teachers when he was a student, and whether he loved being a teacher so much after growing up because he wanted to scold people back, or else he would feel psychologically unbalanced.

"You're welcome." Although he looked down on Iruka a little, Yuun was also a teacher now, so he would not neglect even this basic courtesy.

After several tests from Yuun, the facts proved that he had overthought things. Compared to the Sasuke from before, the current Sasuke had not changed in the slightest apart from his deep-seated grief and hatred. He was still only a six- or seven-year-old child. However, Yuun also discovered something strange. Sasuke seemed to have completely forgotten everything about him. If Yuun had not been absolutely certain that he was in the Naruto World, a hot-blooded manga world, he would almost have thought he had transmigrated into some melodramatic romance world. Even something as clichéd as amnesia had appeared.

Once he learned that Sasuke had lost part of his memories, Yuun reported it. Neither his friendship with Itachi nor his concerns about the plot spiraling out of control allowed him to ignore the matter.

The report came from a Jonin and concerned the orphan of the recently massacred Uchiha clan, so the Anbu acted swiftly. The day after Sasuke left school for home, he somehow ended up lying in Konoha Hospital without even realizing it. After a series of examinations, both his blood and skin tissue samples confirmed that he was Uchiha Sasuke. As for the cause of his amnesia, that could only be left to Inoichi Yamanaka, who specialized in such matters.

As one member of the Ino-Shika-Cho iron triangle, Inoichi Yamanaka was proficient in secret mind techniques. If the target had no ability to resist, or could not resist, he could even directly read their memories. As long as Sasuke's memories had been tampered with in the slightest, it would be impossible to hide it from him.

Leaving the matter to a professional had indeed been the right choice. Before dawn, Inoichi Yamanaka had reached his conclusion. Sasuke's memories had been altered. Every memory related to Yuun had been sealed, while some other memories had been endlessly magnified.

"Does this count as someone targeting me?" After telling Hana about Sasuke, Yuun ultimately could not resist the urge to complain.

"Why would Itachi do that?!" Hana had recently been busy caring for two dogs, and she did not even know much about the Uchiha clan's tragic massacre.

"Who knows." Yuun shrugged. Even after being teammates with Itachi for several years, he still could not understand his thoughts. There was no denying that Itachi was great. For peace, he had sacrificed everything, including his parents, family, and clan. If it had been Yuun, he would definitely have helped his clan destroy the village instead, even if the Hyuga Clan was not exactly much better. But that greatness was only relative. To the villagers, Itachi was naturally great because he had saved them. But to the Uchiha clan, to Itachi's parents and clansmen, what Itachi had done was betrayal.

"Then wouldn't Sasuke be all alone?" Compared to Yuun, Hana was not particularly familiar with Sasuke. She only knew him as her friend's younger brother, and the two had barely met a handful of times. Still, it was perfectly normal for Hana to worry about Sasuke's current situation.

Compared to Yuun back then, Sasuke had lost both parents somewhat later, but Yuun still had his clan to rely on. The village would also take care of Yuun as much as possible, since his father had been the first casualty of the Third Shinobi World War. Even for Konoha's publicity, they would treat Yuun well.

But what about Sasuke? Nearly everyone connected to him was dead, and the Uchiha clan had previously plotted a rebellion. Even if the village's higher-ups did not dare make things difficult for Sasuke out of consideration for Itachi, they would not show Sasuke any kindness either. The only person he could rely on, Yuun, could not easily help because Sasuke no longer remembered him. Most importantly, Yuun had the soul of an adult hidden within him, while Sasuke was still only a child.