White Fang Incident: Kurenai Becomes His Deskmate

The emergence of the [Elemental Grandmaster] talent propelled Uchiha Hara's strength to another level.

Now, in terms of his control and understanding of ninjutsu alone, he was no less capable than any veteran Jonin. His three basic attributes—essence, vitality, and spirit—had also firmly crossed the threshold of a Jonin.

As for his true combat power, he had likely surpassed the vast majority of Jonin and reached the level of an Elite Jonin.

After all, ordinary Jonin did not possess his abundance of methods, much less his many talent bonuses.

Moreover, thanks to his increasingly profound control over chakra and his own energy, his aura had not become aggressive. Instead, it had grown restrained and tranquil, carrying a gentleness that did not match his age.

His five-year-old body was wrapped in oversized Uchiha clan robes, black hair cascading down, his eyes as deep as pools beneath the night.

He walked without a sound and spoke softly. A faint, gentle smile often lingered at the corners of his lips, like a spring breeze brushing across one's face.

Without close inspection, no one would have imagined that such a quiet, well-behaved child harbored power capable of stirring the entire Ninja World.

His chakra control had also reached a near-perfect state. He could precisely regulate even the faintest neural signals, his emotions like the deep sea—calm on the surface, yet turbulent with hidden currents.

That night, Uchiha Hara sat cross-legged on his bedroom bed, his eyes lightly closed while his consciousness had already drifted far away.

Under his mental control, the mouse Avatar named "Senju Jerry" was silently making its way through the underground drains like a soundless shadow.

Tonight, the underground world remained shrouded in the undercurrents of gang activity.

The major factions still occupied their usual territories, and the bosses remained familiar faces. He had also come to know several newly prominent figures—Kumagai, the scar-faced man; Fujiwara, the one-eyed man; and Snake Granny, who excelled in poison techniques.

However, Uchiha Hara felt that these people's "talents" were all mediocre, with hardly anyone worth noting.

Could it be that, with rotten leaders above, those below followed suit? Konoha's higher-ups suppress and fear geniuses, and these gangs have copied them, quietly "dealing with" talented commoners who might threaten them before they can grow?

A dark suspicion flashed through his mind.

Of course, it was also possible that anyone with talent had been sent to learn chakra refinement and become a ninja.

What Uchiha Hara was looking for were people with talent who could not refine chakra, and such people were destined to be few.

Controlling Senju Jerry as it infiltrated a new Root Tendrils hideout, he found that after Amemiya Aki and Cross Fang's "elopement," the security here had clearly become far tighter.

No longer was it guarded by a single ninja. Instead, two Root squads took turns day and night, with eight people watching the place in total.

Just as Uchiha Hara carefully searched for useful information, Senju Jerry's sharp hearing caught a conversation coming from a secret room. A Root ninja was issuing orders to several Root Tendrils leaders:

"Mission details: spread news throughout the village's crowded areas that a certain person selfishly chose an action that caused a mission to fail, resulting in severe losses for the village."

"Take note: do not mention any specific name. However, the guiding phrasing, tone, and even the disappointment and anger you display must strictly follow this outline... Include teahouses, bathhouses, markets, the outskirts of the Ninja Academy... Make sure public opinion ferments naturally."

Hearing the detailed, almost rigid process of incitement, Uchiha Hara was first startled, then suddenly understood.

This is... the White Fang Incident!

He knew the original timeline well.

Kakashi Hatake had graduated in Konoha Year 42, while his father, Sakumo Hatake, had been crushed by rumors of "mission failure" in that same year and ultimately committed suicide.

Now, there were only a little over twenty days left until the New Year of Konoha Year 43, yet neither of these far-reaching events had happened.

It seemed they would occur within the next few days.

So that's how it is...

Uchiha Hara traced the chain of cause and effect in his mind. Sakumo Hatake must have died first. Kakashi was affected by it and graduated early, then bore the disgrace of being the 'White Fang's son' and his own self-denial, walking down the extreme path of putting missions above all else...

Kakashi claimed he was atoning for his father, but in Hara's view, that was not atonement. It was a twisted form of rebellion—You say saving comrades is wrong? Fine, then I'll only complete the mission. Whether my teammates live or die has nothing to do with me!

That extreme attitude had ultimately resulted in Kakashi's early teammates suffering terrible casualties, forcing the Third Hokage to assign Obito and Rin to him, with Minato Namikaze personally leading their team in an attempt to change his mindset.

Uchiha Hara lightly tapped his fingers against the bed, weighing the pros and cons.

Could he intervene?

He could.

He had information, methods, and could even secretly manipulate public opinion in the opposite direction.

But in the end, he shook his head.

He could not interfere in this matter, nor should he.

He was not close to Kakashi, and he had no connection at all with Sakumo Hatake.

For the sake of a stranger, interfering in an incident that was clearly being pushed along by the higher-ups carried risks of exposing his secrets that far outweighed any possible benefits.

Rather than risk getting involved, I should think about what comes next... Where will Sakumo Hatake be buried after his death? His talent is so strong that he almost certainly possesses some kind of swordsmanship talent, and its grade should be quite high. Maybe I can obtain another talent that is at least red, with a purple upper limit.

Purple talents were Super-Kage level talents, on the same level as the Three-Aperture Exquisite Heart. There could not possibly be many of them in an entire world.

With a chance to obtain a purple talent, he naturally did not want to let it slip away.

And it might even be a swordsmanship talent.

Although he possessed numerous general talents that enhanced his swordsmanship, if he could obtain a talent specializing in the sword, his mastery of the blade might experience a qualitative leap.

This was not cold-heartedness. It was clarity.

In this ninja world, emotions were a luxury. Reason was the law of survival.

Retracting Senju Jerry, Uchiha Hara slowly opened his eyes. Moonlight flowed beyond the window like water.

He gently exhaled, as though breathing out the weight of the entire night, then lay down and peacefully drifted into sleep.

The next morning, while the sky was only beginning to brighten, Uchiha Hara finished exercising, pushed open his front door, and stepped onto the street. An unusual atmosphere hit him at once.

The village had changed.

Not its buildings, not its roads, but its atmosphere.

At street corners and in alleyways, people spoke in lowered voices, their eyes flickering. Whenever a gaze swept over him, it carried a faint, barely noticeable trace of scrutiny.

Several housewives whispered beside a well, mentioning words like "mission failure," "White Fang," and "dragging down the entire team," their tones full of regret and disdain.

At the edge of the training ground, a Genin murmured to his companion, "I heard the higher-ups have already held a meeting. They said they're going to reassess the contributions of certain 'heroes'..."

Uchiha Hara's expression remained unchanged, but alarms were already ringing in his heart.

The propaganda war had begun.

And he had not left home until eight-thirty. Most people had started work at six, meaning the rumors had already been spreading for over two hours.

But there were not that many people in the Root Tendrils organization.

Judging by the scale of this, it seemed more than just Root Tendrils was stirring up trouble. Perhaps the Golden Ape Society was involved as well.

What, Sarutobi Hiruzen had not given the order, and this was all Danzo's doing?

What need was there for an explicit order in something like this? A glance from those at the top was enough for those below to take care of it themselves.

Not long after, Kurenai Yuhi came from around the street corner, her hair slightly disheveled, her brows carrying the sensitivity and worries unique to a young girl.

She quickly walked up to Hara and lowered her voice. "Hara-kun, did you notice it? This morning, everyone has been talking about some mission failure... It seems to involve a very powerful ninja. Do you know what happened?"

Uchiha Hara turned to look at her. Kurenai's eyes were clear and worried, like a lake ruffled by the wind.

He gently shook his head, his tone calm. "I know even fewer people than you do. If you don't know, then I definitely don't."

He took her hand, the motion natural, as though they were simply walking to school as usual.

But Kurenai's hand was slightly cold, and he could feel her nervousness.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "We're just students. Adult matters aren't for us to interfere with. They won't affect us either!"

Though if Sakumo Hatake were still alive, would the Sand Village have had such courage to start the Third Shinobi World War?

The two walked side by side toward the Ninja Academy. Sunlight fell across their shoulders, but it could not disperse the invisible gloom hanging in the air.

The first class should have been the dull Ninja Code lesson.

However, the person who entered the classroom was their homeroom teacher, Daisuke Nakano.

At that moment, his face was ashen, his gaze as sharp as a blade. In one hand, he held a scroll of the Will of Fire marked as authored by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and he stepped heavily onto the podium.

"Today's schedule has been changed," he said in a low voice that nevertheless carried through the entire classroom. "We will have a literacy lesson and review the Will of Fire."

The classroom immediately fell silent.

The students exchanged looks, but they had all sensed the village's unusual atmosphere on their way here. Faced with this situation, no one dared make a sound.

Teacher Nakano slowly unfurled the scroll, his hawk-like gaze sweeping across the class before pausing slightly on Kakashi—the silver-haired boy was lowering his head over a copy of Tactical Analysis, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

"The Will of Fire is not a slogan." Nakano's voice suddenly grew heavier. "It is responsibility, sacrifice, and the courage to bear infamy for the village and for one's comrades. Yet some people..." He paused, his voice revealing a trace of suppressed anger. "At a critical moment, they chose selfishness."

The classroom was deathly silent.

Kakashi finally raised his head. His eyes flickered slightly, but he said nothing.

Teacher Nakano looked around at everyone, his voice hard as iron. "Something has happened in the village recently, but that is an issue for adults to handle. You are students. Your foremost task is to study and grow. During school hours, discussing any related rumors is forbidden. Anyone who violates this rule will be severely punished according to the circumstances, up to and including expulsion."

At this point, Kakashi clearly had not connected the gossip on the streets with his father. He only felt that his teacher was unusually stern today and showed no abnormal reaction.

In some ways, Ninja Academy students were closer to reserve soldiers. Faced with their teacher's direct prohibition, most chose to obey.

Only Uchiha Obito scratched his head and turned to ask Rin Nohara beside him, "Rin, what happened? Why is the teacher so serious?"

Rin Nohara hurriedly nudged him and whispered, "The teacher said not to discuss it, so stop asking! Be careful or you'll get a demerit!"

"Oh, okay, Rin, I won't ask!" Obito immediately raised his hands in surrender, though he could not help secretly glancing at Kakashi's back.

Uchiha Hara was rather curious about Daisuke Nakano's stance. When he spoke of selfishness, was he referring to Sakumo Hatake, or Sakumo Hatake's teammates?

If he meant Sakumo Hatake, then he opposed Sakumo Hatake. If he meant Sakumo Hatake's teammates, then he supported Sakumo Hatake.

All that could be said was that either interpretation worked.

Uchiha Hara could not help clicking his tongue in admiration. As expected of an adult—he left room in every word. Before the situation became clear, he truly gave no one anything to use against him.

Just then, the boy seated beside Uchiha Hara—Mitate—slightly turned toward him and leaned closer, his voice almost too quiet to hear. "Uchiha Hara... do you want to switch seats? I can trade places with Kurenai Yuhi."

Mitate was such an ordinary student that he was nearly invisible. His family was a clan of clerks serving in Konoha's Logistics Department, his chakra talent was average, and he was introverted.

The two had been desk mates for months but had exchanged fewer than three sentences. Most of the time, Hara was "catching up on sleep," while Mitate studied.

"Why do you want to switch?" Hara asked calmly, though there was a trace of inquiry in his voice.

Mitate's face reddened, and the tips of his ears grew hot. His evasive gaze flicked toward the diagonally forward seat, where a black-haired, round-faced girl named Nan Shi sat. She was from a branch family of the Aburame Clan, gentle in temperament, and often handed out homemade honey biscuits during breaks.

"I... I like Nan Shi..." His voice grew quieter and quieter. "She recently... seems to be in a bad mood. I want to be closer to her and comfort her..."

Uchiha Hara followed his gaze.

Nan Shi sat behind Izumo Kamizuki with her head lowered, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes.

An unfinished biscuit sat on her desk, its edges already slightly dry. It was one of her favorite almond honey biscuits to make, yet she had not taken a single bite today.

Hara suddenly understood.

The rumors seemed unrelated to Ninja Academy students, but their parents were most likely ninjas. As Sakumo Hatake was almost the successor to the Fourth Hokage, he naturally had many supporters under his command.

When something happened to Sakumo Hatake, it would naturally affect his subordinates. Among those subordinates were people whose children attended the Ninja Academy.

Such as Nan Shi.

Nan Shi's father had been an old subordinate of Sakumo Hatake and had once fought side by side with White Fang.

Now, as White Fang was being disgraced, his old subordinates had also been implicated, and even their families were treated with cold looks.

This morning, several girls had publicly mocked Nan Shi, asking, "Was your dad also a coward who feared death?" That was why she had hidden herself away in the corner and silently cried.

And Mitate, a boy who normally did not even dare to speak loudly, had actually gathered the courage to use a seat change as a way to quietly get closer to her and offer her a little silent companionship.

Looking at Mitate's flushed face, Uchiha Hara suddenly felt that there seemed to be a faint glimmer of light within this oppressive classroom.

He fell silent for a moment, then gently nodded. "All right."

"Really?!" Mitate's eyes lit up.

Uchiha Hara looked toward Nan Shi. She sat behind Izumo Kamizuki, and her seat was neither in front of nor beside Kurenai Yuhi.

"But what's the point of switching? She still won't be beside you."

Mitate explained, "Feng Xiang sits behind Nan Shi—a pretty girl with black hair and an oval face. Akimichi Tanji likes Feng Xiang, and Kurenai Yuhi and Akimichi Tanji are desk mates. If I switch places with Kurenai Yuhi, then I can switch with Feng Xiang. That way, you and Kurenai Yuhi can become desk mates, Akimichi Tanji and Feng Xiang can sit together, and I... can sit behind Nan Shi!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Hara immediately found the child rather interesting. Though he had never heard Mitate's name in the future, the boy's mind seemed fairly sharp.

"I have no objection, but does Feng Xiang agree?" He remembered that Feng Xiang's current desk mate was Ebisu, while Hayama Shirakumo sat behind her. Though neither was an exceptionally handsome boy, they still looked better than the chubby Akimichi Tanji.

"I already asked Feng Xiang. She doesn't mind," Mitate quickly said.

After thinking it over, Uchiha Hara understood.

Ebisu and Hayama Shirakumo came from ordinary families, while Akimichi Tanji was a descendant of the Akimichi Clan, one of the Ino–Shika–Cho clans. Their status was worlds apart.

From a practical perspective, Feng Xiang's choice was not difficult to understand.

Of course, it was also possible that she simply did not care who she sat with.

Since none of the parties objected, Uchiha Hara looked at Kurenai Yuhi. "Kurenai, do you want to sit here?"

A smile immediately bloomed across Kurenai Yuhi's face, and she nodded without hesitation. "I do!"

Thus, the seat-switching operation began.

Uchiha Hara moved to Mitate's window seat, while Kurenai Yuhi hugged her books and sat in Uchiha Hara's former place.

Mitate symbolically sat in Kurenai Yuhi's seat for a moment before eagerly going to find Feng Xiang.

Before long, Feng Xiang carried her books over to sit beside Akimichi Tanji, while Mitate contentedly took the seat behind the Nan Shi he had been longing to be near.

And just like that, Uchiha Hara and Kurenai Yuhi officially became desk mates.

From then on, not only could they hold hands on the way to and from school, they could quietly hold hands beneath their desks during class as well.

Watching the classroom's relationships quietly shift because of this small seat-changing disturbance, then thinking of the storm brewing in the village, Uchiha Hara could not help feeling a touch of absurdity.

Konoha's top combat power, a powerful contender to become the Fourth Hokage, is being besieged by invisible blades, swords, and spittle. Yet the children of the Ninja Academy are busy with innocent feelings and seating arrangements...

All I can say is, that's not so bad.