Kakashi's Hatred · Teaching Kurenai Yuhi

The next day, Konoha's upper echelons displayed their absolute control over public opinion.

All discussion of the White Fang, of missions and comrades, came to an abrupt halt. The streets returned to their usual "harmony," as though yesterday's bloodshed had been nothing but a dream.

How others felt about the swift calming of public opinion, Uchiha Hara did not know. But with the extraordinary perception gained from stacking [Three-Aperture Exquisite Heart], [Ninja Way Grandmaster], and [Sword Heart Enlightenment], he keenly caught the trace of cold, bone-deep hatred forcibly suppressed in Kakashi's eyes.

"He hates Konoha's upper echelons, especially Sarutobi Hiruzen..." Uchiha Hara concluded.

After all, from Kakashi's perspective, if Konoha was capable of controlling public opinion so well, then why had it allowed those rumors to spread freely a few days ago, driving his father directly to death?

That also explained why, in the original story, when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan, Kakashi had taken the initiative to draw Might Guy away. To a certain extent, he had simply stood by and watched the Third Hokage die.

This was revenge!

"What a shame. That old bastard Sarutobi Hiruzen never did anything decent while he was alive, yet after dying, he somehow became a hero."

Kakashi was not the only one whose mindset had changed. The other students had changed as well.

But Uchiha Hara did not care about the other students' psychological changes. Kurenai Yuhi, however, was worth paying attention to.

He could sense that Kurenai Yuhi beside him was somewhat lost as well.

On the way home after school, the setting sun stretched their shadows long behind them. Kurenai Yuhi clutched her schoolbag strap, absentmindedly picking at the edge of the canvas with her fingertips. After walking for quite a while, she finally spoke softly, her voice as light as a dandelion scattered by the wind. "Hara-kun, Lord White Fang... was he right or wrong? Yesterday, I heard Mom and Dad arguing. Mom said he was a hero, but Dad just stayed silent. Between comrades and missions, which is more important?"

She raised her head. A mist clouded her amber eyes, making her look like a lost fawn. Even the tips of her ears carried a hint of helplessness.

Uchiha Hara stopped and turned to look at her.

A small petal had caught in the girl's hair. He instinctively raised a hand to brush it away, and when his fingertips touched her soft strands, they both froze for a moment.

He withdrew his hand, his tone gentler than usual. "The mission is more important."

The instant the words left his mouth, he saw Kurenai Yuhi's gaze dim. He hurriedly added, "That's not to say comrades aren't important. It's just... forget it. The matter behind this is complicated. You only need to know that if anyone asks where you stand, just say the mission is more important."

With the White Fang dead, putting missions first had already become Konoha's political correctness. Otherwise, would that not mean the White Fang should not have died? Would that not mean the Konoha villagers who drove him to death had been wrong?

How could the living take the blame for the dead?

He did not explain too many complicated political considerations, afraid of frightening her. He merely patted her shoulder gently. "When you get stronger, you'll be able to choose for yourself—choose the mission, and still protect the people you want to protect."

Kurenai Yuhi blinked. Her misty eyes brightened somewhat, but she still looked discouraged. "But I'm so weak right now. My shuriken can never hit the target..." She squeezed her wrist and muttered softly.

"It would be great if I could be as amazing as Hara-kun."

Though Uchiha Hara was a bottom-ranker within the Uchiha clan, at the Ninja Academy, he simply was not first or second. He could still reliably stay in the top ten.

The fundamental logic of the Low-Key Way was to blend in with the crowd and avoid drawing attention. It was perfectly normal for Uchiha Hara to rank in the top ten.

After all, he was an Uchiha, and his bloodline was right there. Being dead last would be even more conspicuous.

Listening to her soft complaint, Uchiha Hara suddenly smiled. "If you want to become stronger, I have a way."

He paused, deliberately keeping her in suspense. "My family has an old Uchiha method that can steadily improve one's strength. Do you want to try it?"

Kurenai Yuhi abruptly looked up, her amber eyes wide and round. "An Uchiha secret art? I-I can learn it? Wouldn't that cause you trouble?"

She knew that ninja clans valued their secret techniques highly, and her fingers began nervously twisting the corner of her clothes again.

"Don't worry. I found it in an old scroll left behind by my grandfather. No one in the clan uses it anymore." Uchiha Hara spoke openly, though he had already rehearsed the excuse three times in his mind. "I'm practicing it too. As long as you don't tell anyone, no one will say anything."

"Then... Hara-kun, how long have you been practicing it? Does it work?" Kurenai Yuhi was still hesitant, but she could not help asking curiously.

"This secret art requires years of cultivation, so its effects won't show in a short time. But I can guarantee that it definitely works!" Uchiha Hara said seriously.

"Mm-hm, I believe you!" Kurenai Yuhi hurriedly nodded. She had not asked whether Uchiha Hara practiced it because she doubted him. She was only afraid that he was teaching her a secret art he had not even been willing to practice himself.

She bit her lip, then broke into a smile, revealing two shallow dimples on her cheeks. "Then I'll learn it! Thank you, Hara-kun!"

"Mm. Let's go!"

"Where?"

"To my house!"

"Oh, okay!"

Kurenai Yuhi did not think much of it, though Uchiha Hara's thoughts were a little improper. Fortunately, he had cultivated the visualization method for several months already. He quickly calmed his restless mind and led Kurenai Yuhi to his home.

The Ninja Academy letting out at three-thirty did have its benefits. At this hour, most Uchiha clan members were at work, with only a few elderly men and women sitting by the roadside in the sun.

When they saw Uchiha Hara walking past while holding a little girl's hand, the old men and women immediately began whispering among themselves.

Uchiha Hara's heart trembled. Though his strength was already considerable, facing this kind of village intelligence station still gave him a feeling of dread.

Fortunately, his house was at the edge of the clan grounds. Once they entered the Uchiha Clan Grounds, it was only a few steps away.

This was Kurenai Yuhi's first time visiting Uchiha Hara's home.

When she pushed open the wooden door, she quietly tightened her grip on her clothes. But the moment she walked inside, she froze—Uchiha Hara's home was furnished differently from ordinary houses. Normal homes should have several bedrooms, followed by a living room and kitchen.

But in Uchiha Hara's home, aside from one bedroom, one kitchen, and one bathroom, everything else was actually a training ground.

Fine ninja technique runes were carved across the floor of the training ground. Several unfurled cultivation scrolls were piled in a corner, and two polished wooden training dummies stood nearby.

"Hara-kun, why does your house have a training ground?" Kurenai Yuhi asked in surprise.

Uchiha Hara smiled and explained, "I live alone, so what would I need so many rooms for? And I don't like training with other people, so I simply turned my home into a training ground. It's suitable for studying some ninja theory and practicing taijutsu or swordsmanship. Sit down first. I'll bring you the scroll."

He turned and went inside. Soon, he returned carrying a yellowed scroll and spread it across the stone table. "This is an Uchiha secret art, the 'Governance Divine Art.' It is a cultivation method created by a senior clan member. It can replace body training and meditation through the heavy expenditure of chakra, thereby increasing physical and spiritual energy. It also contains methods for regulating chakra flow through breathing..."

He had slipped some private material into this Governance Divine Art. He simplified the [Primordial Scripture], then simplified it again and again, eventually organizing it into a breathing technique that could drive chakra flow through breathing.

Its effects would not be obvious in the short term, but with long-term cultivation, it could not only improve chakra control, but also nourish the meridians beyond chakra's reach and perfect the body's yin-yang circulation. The hidden benefits were enormous.

He could not let Kurenai Yuhi rise to greatness in one leap, or the Hidden Leaf Village would discover it.

Nor could he let Kurenai Yuhi learn skills that clearly bore Uchiha traits, or the Uchiha would discover it.

Uchiha Hara had put considerable thought into strengthening Kurenai Yuhi without anyone noticing.

As for why he wanted to strengthen Kurenai Yuhi, that thought had also been prompted by Sakumo Hatake's death.

Before he had transmigrated, he had known that Konoha was dark. But he had not known just how dark it truly was.

Only after transmigrating to the Hidden Leaf Village—using crows to scout during the day and Senju Jerry to scout at night—did he gain a complete understanding of the village.

And now, having witnessed the White Fang of Konoha incident from beginning to end, he finally understood.

The core of Konoha's darkness lay in sacrifice.

The kind of sacrifice where, as long as it was for the village, anyone could be sacrificed.

If it had truly been sacrifice for the village's sake, that would have been one thing. But the village was held in the hands of people with selfish motives, and so the words "for Konoha" had become nothing more than a slogan.

Sacrifice had changed from protecting Konoha into a tool for certain people to exercise power.

If the White Fang of Konoha could be sacrificed, then could Kurenai Yuhi be sacrificed too?

In the original story, Kurenai Yuhi had lived well because she was Asuma's lover and Sarutobi Hiruzen's daughter-in-law.

But now, Kurenai Yuhi was not Sarutobi Hiruzen's daughter-in-law. If Uchiha Hara did not want to hear one day that Kurenai Yuhi had died in battle, then he had to begin strengthening her combat ability from now on.

He explained patiently. Kurenai Yuhi listened attentively, nodding from time to time. Whenever she encountered something she did not understand, she raised a finger to ask a question. Her ruby-like eyes sparkled as though they held stars.

By the time he finished explaining, the sun was nearly setting. Kurenai Yuhi rubbed her slightly sore wrist and said softly, "I think I understand a little. I'll try again tomorrow."

The moment she finished speaking, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the girl's stomach.

Kurenai Yuhi's face instantly turned red.

Uchiha Hara immediately found it amusing, then smiled. "Hungry? Have something to tide you over first."

Uchiha Hara brought out a plate of red bean cakes from the kitchen. He picked one up and held it to her lips. "I made these myself. Want to try one?"

Kurenai Yuhi's ears instantly reddened. She stiffened for a moment before gently opening her mouth and taking a bite of the red bean cake. The sweet fragrance of red bean filling spread through her mouth. She secretly looked up at Uchiha Hara and found him focused on the scroll, as if what he had just done was entirely ordinary.

Yet her heartbeat quickened, and even her chewing slowed by half a beat. After finishing, she even unconsciously licked the corner of her lips.

Uchiha Hara had actually been watching her from the corner of his eye the whole time. Seeing her like this, the corners of his lips could not help curving upward. But he deliberately kept a stern face and said, "There's something in these that replenishes chakra. Remember to eat one every day. It'll help your cultivation. Also, whether it's the scroll or the pastries, you can't tell anyone. Understand?"

Kurenai Yuhi hurriedly nodded, her cheeks still burning. "I understand! I'll keep it secret!"

But she secretly thought, Hara-kun must have added the clan's secret medicine to the pastries. He isn't even willing to eat it himself, yet he gave it to me... Thinking of that, she quietly clenched the corner of her clothes, sweetness filling her heart.