New mission: A choice at the Graduation Exam

Year 64 of Konoha.

Five full years had passed since the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

After that night, everything had changed completely.

Sasuke had grown quiet and withdrawn, always keeping his head down as he walked.

Yet Sahiro Uchiha remained just as he had always been: carefree and entirely set in his ways, acting as though the whole world owed him an explanation yet leaving him too lazy to ever ask for one.

[Host: Zuo Hao Uchiha]

[Bond list:]

[Obito Uchiha — Bond level Lv. 2]

[Unlocked ability: Kamui Dimension: Intermediate Mastery]

[Kamui Dimension: Intermediate Mastery]

[Ability 1: Freely enter and exit the Kamui Dimension (activation time: 0.1 seconds) (not Obito's Kamui Dimension)]

[Ability 2: Intangibility (duration depends on chakra usage)]

[Unlocked at next level: Kamui Dimension: Advanced Mastery, Wood Release.]

[Remaining link attempts: 0]

Five years had passed, and his link attempts were still at zero. Fortunately, his bond with Obito had reached level two during those years.

With an ability as broken as the Kamui Dimension, he could more or less keep himself safe now, but he was still a long way from taking on experts head-on.

The two walked side by side down the street.

Murmurs rose behind them, undisguised, almost as though the speakers deliberately wanted them to hear.

"Look, it's those two."

"The last survivors of the Uchiha Clan... tsk, tsk. Just those two left."

"Hey, my husband told me the one who killed their whole clan was their own older brother, that Uchiha Itachi."

"Exactly. He even killed his own parents. There's something wrong with the blood running through that family's veins."

A woman carrying a basket of vegetables leaned closer as well, lowering her voice just enough for the two boys to hear.

"People like that should be driven out. Who knows when they'll go mad too? They're carrying an entire clan's blood debt."

Someone sneered, forcing a few words through clenched teeth. "Hmph. Walking curses."

Then a small stone flew from the roadside, struck the ground beside Sasuke's feet, bounced once, and rolled into the gutter.

Several children stood at the entrance to an alley, shoving one another. The boy in front worked up his nerve and shouted at them, "Monsters! My mom says your whole family are monsters!"

Then he ducked back into the alley, leaving a burst of laughter behind him.

Sasuke stopped.

His shoulders were rigid, and his fists slowly clenched inside his sleeves, his nails digging into his palms. Still, he never lifted his head.

It was as though he had grown used to all this—or rather, had forced himself to get used to it.

Zuo Hao merely tilted his head and swept a glance over the watching adults through the loose black strands hanging across his face.

His gaze was indifferent, as though he were looking at a swarm of flies. Yet that very indifference made several adults instinctively avert their eyes, even as they kept muttering.

"What an attitude... just what you'd expect from that family."

Zuo Hao looked away and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Sasuke followed behind him. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly spoke in a low voice. "Brother."

"Hmm?"

"Why aren't you angry?"

Zuo Hao kept walking, his voice lazy. "Would getting angry help?"

Sasuke said nothing.

He kept his head lowered, his shadow stretched long by the setting sun, like a black wound nailed to the ground.

Zuo Hao glanced sideways at him, then suddenly reached out, pressed a hand onto Sasuke's head, and gave his hair a vigorous ruffle.

"Don't overthink it," he said. "We can't shut their mouths. But we can decide whether they live."

Sasuke lifted his head. There was some confusion in his eyes, but far more of a longing he was desperately suppressing.

He wanted to become stronger.

For five years, that thought had grown wildly in his heart like weeds, every blade edged with teeth that cut him painfully yet kept him clearheaded.

The two turned onto an abandoned street within the clan compound.

The Uchiha Clan's residences had been sealed off by order of the Konoha High Command five years earlier. Vast courtyards stood empty and overgrown, with only Zuo Hao and Sasuke still living in the old house at the very edge.

No one looked after them.

Nor did anyone want to.

Zuo Hao pushed open the creaking wooden door. The moment he stepped into the entryway, a translucent blue screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Mission triggered: A choice at the Graduation Exam]

[Mission description: The Ninja Academy's Graduation Exam will be held in three days. As one of the last surviving Uchiha, your every move will be watched. Choose one of the following options—]

[Option 1: Pass quietly, conceal your strength, and graduate with mediocre results.]

[Mission reward: Chakra control increased by 20%.]

[Option 2: Display your strength, graduate in first place, and make everyone remember the Uchiha name.]

[Mission rewards: Fire Release Ninjutsu: Majestic Destroyer Flame (B-rank), bond link attempts ×1.]

Zuo Hao's gaze stopped on the final reward.

A bond link attempt.

Five years.

The system hadn't given him a single link attempt. He had made it this far with the Kamui Dimension gained from his initial bond with Obito. Though his ability to stay alive was first-rate, his strength in direct combat had always been a weakness.

And this time, the system was offering him one outright.

The corners of Zuo Hao's mouth lifted slightly.

"Interesting."

With almost no hesitation, he tapped the second option.

[Selection confirmed.]

[Mission objective: Pass the Graduation Exam in first place.]

[Mission rewards will be issued upon completion.]

The screen faded away.

Sasuke poked his head out of the kitchen, holding two rice balls, and offered one to Zuo Hao.

"Brother, what's your plan for the Graduation Exam?"

Zuo Hao took the rice ball and bit into it, his words muffled as he answered, "Take first place."

Sasuke's hand paused.

He looked at Zuo Hao, a flicker of complicated emotion passing through his eyes.

For the past five years, he had trained like his life depended on it, working tirelessly at Shurikenjutsu and Fire Release, all so he could prove himself at the Graduation Exam—prove that the Uchiha Clan still had hope.

Yet now Zuo Hao was casually saying he would take first place.

As though it were nothing more than a little errand he could finish without effort.

"Are you... serious?" Sasuke asked.

"When have I ever not been serious?" Zuo Hao stuffed the last bite of rice ball into his mouth and brushed the grains off his hands. "Sasuke, do you want first place?"

Sasuke fell silent for two seconds, then nodded firmly.

"Yes."

"Then earn it with your own skills." Zuo Hao smiled. "I won't go easy on you."

Three days later, at the Ninja Academy.

The Graduation Exam tested the Clone Technique.

The Clone Technique was a basic ninjutsu, and practically everyone could pass.

The number and quality of the clones determined the examination score.

All Zuo Hao had to do was graduate in first place and complete the system's mission.