Could Might Guy Become the Strongest in the Class?

The classroom fell silent for three seconds.

Then, gasps rang out one after another.

Dozens of pairs of eyes simultaneously shifted away from Ye.

Like high-powered searchlights, they locked precisely onto Might Guy in the front row.

Every expression in the room said the same thing: What kind of hidden boss was this guy?!

When Might Guy, sitting in the front row, heard the words "best friend" come from Ye's mouth—

His whole body froze as if struck by lightning.

He whipped around, his eyes instantly reddening.

Hot tears fell like severed pearls, while a long shining strand of snot hung from his nose.

"Ye... you... I really..."

Guy was so moved he could barely speak. Both hands clenched tightly around the back of his chair, overwhelmed with emotion.

"This is... the bond of youth!!!"

He spread his arms, lifted his butt from the seat, and looked ready to step onto his desk and roar at the whole class.

Ye naturally pulled his right hand from his pocket and gently pressed it downward at Guy.

"Keep a low profile, Guy."

Guy shuddered and obediently sat back down.

But his tears would not stop. They streamed silently down his face as his fists clenched tightly.

In the eyes of the entire class, that exchange instantly completed a flawless and astonishing chain of logic.

Ye had trained with Guy, which was why he could crush genius Kakashi with one hand.

So just how strong was Might Guy's Taijutsu?!

"So that's how it is..." a civilian freshman in the front row muttered in sudden realization.

"With Guy's demonic training regimen, even Chunin probably couldn't take a single punch from him."

"Yeah! No wonder Obito got kicked flying!"

Another student suddenly understood.

"So it wasn't that Obito was too weak. It was that Guy, this hidden powerhouse, was too strong!"

"How could an Uchiha genius possibly be that weak? He just ran into someone too tough!"

Obito, who had just returned to his seat, listened to the others' "enlightened" analysis and "understanding."

The color on his face changed from red to purple, then finally deepened into a liverish shade.

What did they mean, it wasn't because Obito was weak?

What did they mean, it was normal because Guy was too strong?!

I fucking awakened my Sharingan!

I really wanted to show off!

So getting one-shot with a kick had become perfectly natural instead?!

Who the fuck needed this kind of sympathy?!

Obito gripped the edge of his desk with both hands, his nails nearly digging into the wood.

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Obito Uchiha: +777!]

The system notifications rang continuously in his mind, and Ye felt absolutely wonderful.

Just then, a gritted voice suddenly came from the back row.

"You only went to the Training Ground with him for extra training for the first time yesterday evening."

Kakashi abruptly raised his head. Those perpetually dead-fish eyes were filled with anger. "You only trained for one day. Who are you trying to fool?!"

The classroom's discussion stopped dead.

Everyone's gaze snapped back toward Uchiha Ye.

Asuma even cursed inwardly. The evening before yesterday, you were still chasing me around the whole village with red bricks. When did you have time for extra training every day?!

Faced with being exposed on the spot, Ye did not panic for even half a second.

Instead, he went with the flow and slammed his right hand onto the desk.

Bang!

The loud sound jolted every student in the classroom.

Ye's eyes blazed as he swept his gaze across the room and shouted in a powerful voice.

"That's right! I only trained with him for one day!"

He suddenly raised a hand and pointed straight at Kakashi in the back row, his tone impassioned.

"In one day, I was able to beat up the genius Kakashi with one hand!"

Ye looked at the civilian freshmen as though he hated that they could not live up to expectations. His highly infectious voice poured directly into every ear.

"Did you hear that?! Even a genius like Kakashi knows to practice swinging a blade in his dreams!"

"And I only trained for one day, yet I can already stomp him beneath my feet!"

"What excuse do you have left for not working hard?!"

The moment those words came out, it was like throwing an explosive tag into an oil barrel.

The eyes of every civilian freshman in the class lit up at once.

One day!

Just one day of training, and he could crush a genius!

Then what if they trained with Guy for a month?

What if they went all out for a year?!

"Ye is right!"

A civilian freshman stood up directly, his face flushed red.

"I'm not going home after school today! I'm going to the Training Ground for extra training!"

"Count me in! I'm going to work hard with Guy!"

"Youth must not be wasted! Senior Guy, please accept me as your disciple!"

In less than half a minute, the entire classroom had turned into a frenzied pyramid scheme rally.

Guy in the front row cried his eyes out, his body radiating a fiery aura of youthful passion that seemed capable of burning down the Training Ground.

Every civilian swore to work themselves to death. Even Gang Ziyun stood there with his mouth open, unable to say a word for a long while.

Only Kakashi curled up in his seat, looking at these classmates who had been thoroughly duped, trembling with rage.

[Ding! Recognition Points from Might Guy: +999!]

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Kakashi Hatake: +888!]

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Obito Uchiha: +666!]

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Gang Ziyun: +444!]

[...]

Listening to the notifications in his mind, Ye calmly returned to his seat without changing expression.

There was only one word in his heart: awesome.

At the same time.

In the center of Konoha, at the Hokage Building.

Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind a broad desk.

The Crystal Ball on the desk was dim and lifeless, but before him lay a file that had just been urgently delivered.

The seal had already been broken. Hiruzen held a pipe between his lips, its embers flickering atop the tobacco.

He read through the combat assessment Gang Ziyun had submitted, word by word.

"Uchiha Ye, six years old. One-Tomoe Sharingan awakened."

"Taijutsu assessment: Peak Genin."

"In actual combat, he suppressed Kakashi Hatake with one hand, humiliated him with cat's cradle, and did not use Ninjutsu throughout."

Hiruzen's hand holding the pipe paused in midair as a wisp of smoke drifted from its stem.

He stared at that line for a full ten seconds.

Six years old.

One-Tomoe.

In the history of the Uchiha Clan, there had been very few geniuses who awakened their Sharingan at that age.

The image in the Crystal Ball could only show the surface, but this solid assessment confirmed his suspicions.

This child was a little monster with a mature mind, ruthless methods, and absolutely no regard for convention.

Most importantly, he lacked the arrogance of a great clan.

Not only was he willing to mingle with civilians, he also understood exactly how to stir their emotions!

The cracks between the Uchiha Clan and the higher-ups were growing larger and larger.

Right now, the village desperately needed a piece that could stabilize the Uchiha Hawk faction while also leaning toward the Hokage faction.

He raised his head toward the direction of the Ninja Academy, his gaze unfathomable.

"What an excellent seedling."

"This little fellow must be brought over to our side."

"At any cost."

Beneath Konoha.

At the Root Base.

Within a sunless secret chamber, only a dim oil lamp cast swaying shadows upon the stone walls.

An ANBU ninja wearing a fox mask turned into a shadow and knelt on one knee, holding a scroll over his head with both hands.

"Lord Danzo, this is a copied intelligence report just intercepted from the Hokage Building."

The ANBU ninja's voice did not fluctuate in the slightest.

This was the first time Danzo had ever planted an extremely covert informant among the upper ranks of ANBU, directly intercepting a top-secret document meant for the Hokage.

Shimura Danzō sat upright in a broad stone chair, half his face concealed in shadow.

He snatched the scroll and spread it open.

"Withdraw."

Under the dim candlelight, Danzo rapidly scanned the writing.

When his eyes landed on the lines "awakened Sharingan at age six" and "crushed the White Fang's son with one hand," an intensely cold killing intent erupted from him.

"That weakling Hiruzen..."

Danzo's voice squeezed out between clenched teeth.

"To actually harbor unrealistic fantasies about such a glaring young shoot."

"The Uchiha are an inherently evil clan."

Bang!

The scroll was slammed heavily onto the stone table, sending up a layer of dust that had accumulated over the years.

"Since you cannot bring yourself to act, Root will clear this tumor from Konoha."

Danzo slowly rose to his feet. The flickering firelight reflected in his eyes, making him resemble a venomous snake lying in wait within the darkness.