Uchiha Yuu of Konoha

Year 34 of Konoha, Ninja Academy!

"Where leaves dance, fire ever burns. The flame will continue to illuminate this village and cause new leaves to sprout!"

A sonorous voice echoed through the classroom. Chishu wore a look of profound respect as he gazed at the group of brats before him and pointed to the textbook in his hand.

"Today I am going to lead you in studying Lord Hokage's Will of Fire! You must all inherit the Third's will!"

"Especially you! Uchiha Yuu!"

Compared to the brats from other clans, the brats of the Uchiha Clan were much more troublesome. Under normal circumstances, the Uchiha Clan would not let their people attend classes at the Ninja Academy.

Yet Uchiha Yuu's situation was terrible.

He had been judged a stillborn baby at birth, and if he hadn't taken one last breath at the end, he would have been mercilessly discarded.

He also suffered from a severe skin disease. Heavy bandages bound Uchiha Yuu's entire body, and anyone who had once caught a glimpse of the skin beneath the bandages saw only rotting chunks of flesh.

Within the village, Uchiha Yuu had a nickname known as the living monster!

Chishu did not see a shred of the Will of Fire in this child's eyes; all that remained were pain and numbness.

"You should be more cheerful, be a boy who loves to smile, and let the Will of Fire sustain your survival."

Sitting in the front row, Uchiha Yuu speechlessly looked at Teacher Chishu. The teacher had come down from the battlefield, which was why he cared so much about the younger generation, but could he feel the agonizing pain of being burned?

The corner of Uchiha Yuu's mouth formed a forced smile, and he used an extremely perfunctory tone to say:

"The Will of Fire is great, but it can't save me."

"Teacher, can you feel pain? I have embraced pain since childhood, and I understand pain. To me, pain is the power that makes me stronger."

He was not a masochist; rather, there was a terrifying radioactive substance inside his body.

Uranium element!

It was a good thing he could suppress this power, or countless people in Konoha would have already mutated and died.

As he grew older, the degree of fusion between the uranium element and his body was getting higher and higher, and soon he would be able to control this power.

Moreover, the torment over the years had not been without its benefits. In the process of fusing with the uranium element, his body had already broken free from the shackles of humanity.

Every shred of flesh and blood contained a massive amount of radioactive substances, and once they left the body, they would release terrifyingly horrific radiation.

Of course, ordinary attacks could not pierce Uchiha Yuu's defense. In short, the advantages and disadvantages were equal.

"You..."

Chishu still wanted to say a few words, but upon seeing his numb gaze, a sentence suddenly got stuck in his throat, and he did not know how to tell the child before him.

Abandoned by his clansmen, physically disabled, facing the threat of death at any moment.

Even as a ninja, could anyone match the other's sheer willpower?

"Yuu-kun."

Breaking the deadlock was a yellow-haired brat, none other than the future renowned Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!

Yet for this enthusiastic Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Yuu only felt a headache. The other boy threw an arm around his shoulder and spoke as a matter of course:

"After class, I'll treat you to ramen. Stop pulling a long face all day, you still have friends!"

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Yuu cast a deep glance at Minato Namikaze, incidentally looking up to catch Kushina's complicated expression. Clearly, she was unwilling to let him join their post-class dating activity.

Yet out of a sense of pity, she did not know how to voice these words.

"I hardly want to be your giant lightbulb. Have you forgotten? The last time we went out to play, you sat me under a big tree and went off to watch a movie with Kushina by yourselves."

"When you came back, you found me covered in spiderwebs."

"And another time! When Kushina threw a temper tantrum, you actually pushed me out to block the blow? You even said, Be careful not to hit him; Yuu's body is very likely to kick the bucket if he takes a punch from you."

He conceded that Minato Namikaze did not treat him like a disabled person, but the fellow didn't treat him like a human either!

Was that something a human being could pull off? Truly a dog!

"Ahem, they were all accidents..."

Minato Namikaze's face flushed red as he was rebuked to his face. It was rare to see Minato Namikaze deflated, and this scene ought to be properly recorded.

On another note.

He did not really want to come into contact with Kushina. Do not forget Kushina's identity; following Mito Uzumaki's death, she had inherited the power of the Nine-Tails.

The current stage was certainly not the era of the Fourth Hokage. Although the Third Hokage advocated the way of balance, Danzo stood behind him!

Danzo had always wanted to seize control of the Nine-Tails' power, and coupled with his identity as an Uchiha—even if Uchiha Yuu was viewed as trash in the eyes of others, once he fell into the hands of the Hokage's higher-ups, it would easily cause misunderstandings. Should trouble arise by then, he lacked the strength to handle it with his current abilities.

"So, go properly accompany your little girlfriend."

Children in the ninja world generally matured early, but having Yuu point it out on the spot caused Kushina's face to turn directly crimson. Coupled with her vibrant red hair, she was a proper little firecracker.

"Bastard Yuu! I'm just Minato's good friend! Not his girlfriend!"

"Bang!"

With a single palm strike, Uchiha Yuu's desk was shattered into two pieces. Such a massive motion naturally drew the gazes of everyone present, especially Minato Namikaze's gulping motion, which caused Kushina to suffer social death on the spot!

If she took another palm strike like that, she might really die!

No way! Whenever they went out to play in the future, she simply had to bring Yuu along. Good brothers ought to take a blade for each other, right...

Being watched by everyone, Kushina simply threw caution to the wind. She flew into a rage on the spot, pointed at the few people around her, and roared:

"Turn your heads around, all of you! Whoever dares look again! I'll beat him to death! So we were on a date, what of it!"

Scanning the circle, the oppressive weight of her glare made those present too cowed to meet her eyes. However, when Kushina's gaze landed on Teacher Chishu, she realized the man was staring at the three of them with a face as dark as charcoal.

"This is a classroom! Damned brats!"

Teacher Chishu glared fixedly at the three of them. Such lawless disruptions were practically a challenge to his dignity as a teacher.

It seemed he had been far too lenient with them usually, making them utterly unbridled during class time!

"Minato Namikaze! Kushina! The two of you, go stand in the doorway as punishment!"

"Everyone else, write a self-criticism for me! Turning your heads to gawk at people during class, copy the Will of Fire one hundred times!"

When Chishu looked at Uchiha Yuu's calm gaze, his raging fury suddenly extinguished. He merely picked up the shattered wooden blocks from the boy's person, wheeled the wheelchair over to the window area nearby, and said:

"Go soak up some sunlight properly, consider it punishment."

"Many thanks, Teacher."

Uchiha Yuu sat wrapped up in the sunlight, leaning back lazily. Chishu witnessed this scene, and a strange thought inevitably grew in his heart.

If the boy lacked his illness, perhaps he could be a fantastic Uchiha ninja, capable of becoming a bridge to ease the friction between the village and the Uchiha.