The Uchiha Are Repressed Again

Sasuke returned to his seat in a daze. As he passed Naruto's desk, Naruto saw how distracted he was and stopped worrying about Lin Chuan. He instantly understood that Sasuke had gotten the short end of the stick.

Seeing Sasuke suffer another setback, Naruto could not help laughing, only to get a hard knock on the head from Sakura. He could only fall silent in resignation as Teacher Iruka entered the classroom.

As Iruka opened the textbook, the morning lessons officially began. Yet Sasuke remained absent-minded all day, constantly wondering how Lin Chuan had vanished, how he had appeared behind him, and how he had knocked him unconscious...

After afternoon physical education ended, Lin Chuan skipped class again today, while Sasuke was naturally made to call for his parents.

Fugaku Uchiha came from the Police Force to the Ninja Academy. Seeing his second son standing there with his head lowered in silence, his expression darkened. Even Iruka, the homeroom teacher, found Fugaku Uchiha's oppressive aura hard to bear.

"Ahem." Iruka cleared his throat and explained to Fugaku Uchiha, "Captain Fugaku, this morning Sasuke prevented his classmates from entering the classroom and got into a fight with another student in the hallway..."

"Sorry, Teacher Iruka. May I ask Sasuke a few questions?" After apologizing to Iruka, Fugaku did not wait for permission before asking, "Sasuke, who did you fight? Did you win or lose...?"

At his father's question about victory or defeat, Sasuke's small body trembled. He knew what would come next, but he had no choice but to answer in a low voice, "It was Chiba Lin Chuan. I lost..."

"Chiba Lin Chuan again." Fugaku Uchiha showed no surprise upon hearing that name. After all, he had sent people to investigate the boy, and Lin Chuan was a very hardworking child.

In terms of diligence, he was no less hardworking than any child of the Uchiha. With Sasuke having been careless, it was quite possible that he would suffer a setback at the boy's hands.

As the son of the Uchiha clan head, he had actually lost twice in a row to the child of an ordinary ninja. Fugaku looked at Sasuke with disappointment and said quietly, "I still have matters to attend to at the Police Force. Wait at school for your mother..."

"Sorry, Teacher Iruka. I'll notify his mother to pick him up." Fugaku Uchiha apologized to Iruka once more, then turned and left the Ninja Academy, unwilling to look any longer at the son who had disappointed him again and again.

Perhaps in Fugaku's eyes, beneath the shadow of his genius elder brother and the glory of the Uchiha, fighting itself did not matter. Only victory and defeat mattered...

The next day, at the Ninja Academy...

News of Sasuke Uchiha losing a fight spread like wildfire. Everyone knew that the younger son of the Uchiha clan head had lost to one of his classmates, though opinions differed over who exactly he had lost to.

Lin Chuan heard the rumors circulating among the students. Someone else in the class had probably spread them around. His reputation as a genius was becoming hard to hide, but he did not care and went to school as usual.

This time, Sasuke did not dare block the entrance. He still wore a sour expression, though. Lin Chuan guessed that after going home last night, Sasuke had been physically punished by Fugaku Uchiha all evening.

As the class bell rang, today's ninja lesson began. When the subject interested him, Lin Chuan would settle down and listen. If it was knowledge he had already seen before being transported here, there was no need to listen, and he continued his daily training.

When afternoon physical education came, he skipped class again and went out to train. As the school dismissal bell rang, his afternoon workout came to an end, and he prepared to tidy up and head home for dinner.

Just as he left the training ground, he saw some unlucky fellow being cornered in an alley. If those people had not been wearing clothes bearing the Uchiha crest, he would not have bothered taking another look. The Uchiha were probably being depressed again.

His home was on the outer left side of Hokage Rock, near the forest. Naruto's home was in the middle of Hokage Rock, within the second ring from the Hokage Building. The Uchiha lived on the far right edge of Hokage Rock, where they had moved after the Nine-Tails' Attack.

There was a lake there, very close to the Uchiha District. It was by that lake that Fugaku Uchiha had taught Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke the Fireball Jutsu.

The fact that these three Uchiha had appeared near his home puzzled him somewhat. Had they gotten the direction home wrong? They actually dared bully the Uchiha clan head's son. These two really were fearless calves.

"Trash. You've thrown away all of the Uchiha clan's pride." Two older Uchiha students stood on either side of Sasuke Uchiha, hemming him in. Both were clearly half a head taller than Sasuke and were probably upperclassmen.

As Lin Chuan passed by, he happened to hear one of the Uchiha berating Sasuke. He clicked his tongue in surprise and looked at Sasuke, who was being cornered, without the slightest intention of rescuing him. The guy had been making that sour face all day. He deserved a beating...

When Sasuke saw Lin Chuan passing by, he stared fixedly at him and ignored the insults from the other two Uchiha. If not for this guy, his father would not have despised him, and his clansmen would not have cornered him here to insult him.

"What are you looking at? You're the clan head's son, yet you actually lost. You're a disgrace to the Uchiha!" Seeing that Sasuke was not listening and was looking elsewhere instead, the older Uchiha shouted angrily and turned his head.

When the two older Uchiha turned around, they saw Lin Chuan passing by. One of them said uncertainly, "Wait, are you the Chuan who defeated Sasuke...?"

"I'm not." Lin Chuan hurriedly shook his head in denial. Nothing good could come from being stopped at a time like this. He should have taken a detour home, but this was the shortcut.

"Stop him." The older Uchiha saw Sasuke staring hard at Lin Chuan. After looking back and forth between the two several times, he finally confirmed that this was the Chuan they were looking for, Sasuke Uchiha's classmate who had defeated him.

"What are you doing? If you dare lay a hand on me, I'll shout!" Lin Chuan watched the two warily. The moment they showed any sign of attacking, he would cry out loud. He did not believe the Uchiha would really dare act so arrogantly.

"Kid, this place is very secluded. Even if you scream your throat raw, no one will come save you." The older Uchiha secretly reveled in it. If this place had not been secluded enough, they would not have dared corner Sasuke here.

"Kid, now that you've fallen into our hands, we need to settle the score for humiliating the Uchiha." The other older Uchiha gave a sinister grin, staring intently at Lin Chuan as he licked his lips.

"Is that so?" Hearing that no one would come, Lin Chuan immediately relaxed. With the strength of a Genin, he truly did not fear these two Uchiha.

"What are you laughing at?" The older Uchiha was somewhat confused. This guy had been surrounded, yet he could still laugh. Had he been scared stupid? He sneered. "Fine, you won't be laughing soon. Knock out his teeth and see how he laughs then..."

"So talking won't work, then. I know a little fistwork too." Seeing the two older Uchiha clench their fists and charge at him, Lin Chuan used the Body Flicker Technique the moment they swung at him and vanished. Their fists struck each other in the face, sending both of them flying.