The Third simply smoked in silence.
He had heard Danzo say the same thing eight hundred times already.
When Shisui was born, Danzo had said, "The Uchiha have produced a genius. They're going to rebel!"
When Itachi was born, Danzo had said, "The Uchiha have produced a genius. They're going to rebel!"
When Gua showed a hint of anything unusual, Danzo had said, "The Uchiha have produced a hidden genius. They're going to rebel!"
So the Third had long since stopped being surprised.
He knew what Danzo was thinking, too. He simply wanted to crush the Uchiha completely.
When it came to the Uchiha, Danzo was a hardliner just like their teacher. He held to the belief that once an Uchiha, always an Uchiha, and wanted to wipe them out to the last member.
But Konoha as it was now really could not withstand that kind of upheaval from Danzo.
Besides, the Uchiha had shown no signs of anything unusual. Their current clan head, Fugaku, was a very levelheaded man.
"We should take a gentler approach. After all, the Uchiha are part of Konoha, too. Even the Second never declared that the Uchiha were going to rebel and used that as grounds to wipe them out. Danzo, you need to calm down."
The Third took a deep drag, turned, and slowly walked away, leaving Danzo enveloped in a thick cloud of secondhand smoke.
There really was nothing worth watching about a bunch of children fighting.
"Hiruzen! You'll regret this!"
As he left, Danzo shouted after him.
Hiruzen walked away without answering. His old classmate's favorite daily pastime was shouting, "Hiruzen! You'll regret this!" once a day.
He had no idea what Danzo wanted him to regret.
In any case, he would regret it.
Regret certain choices? Regret some selfish motive? Or regret a mistaken decision?
Hiruzen had long since grown used to it.
I really do have plenty of regrets.
Elsewhere.
Ye Chuan Dahei was stunned by Gua's hard work, but once the shock passed, he still had to deal with the fight.
Usually, in a situation like this, he could just give both sides the same punishment and be done with it.
After all, there was little point insisting on deciding which child was right or wrong when they themselves did not even know what right and wrong were.
Come to think of it, who in this Shinobi World could truly say what was right and what was wrong?
So Ye Chuan Dahei's solution was, "Gua, go apologize to Nohara Fat Tiger. Shake hands and make up."
Gua's answer was,
"Okay!"
That was a little beyond what Ye Chuan Dahei had expected.
He had assumed that since Gua had actually struck people several times today, he would not readily admit fault. Getting him to apologize should have been difficult. At the very least, he had expected to have to force the issue with his authority as a teacher before Gua would submit.
And given how the Uchiha were, even forcing him might not make him submit.
Instead, Gua had simply said, "Okay!" as though it were nothing.
Then he walked toward Nohara Fat Tiger, who lay on the ground some distance away. Nothing seemed unusual about him. He really did appear to be going over to apologize.
When he reached Nohara Fat Tiger, the boy instinctively scooted backward on his backside.
Gua stood over him and looked down.
"Stand up."
Gua spoke.
Nohara Fat Tiger glanced at the teacher behind him, and Ye Chuan Dahei nodded.
Nohara Fat Tiger got up off the ground and faced Gua.
"Sorry."
Gua spoke.
Nohara Fat Tiger's fear faded, replaced by hurt and anger. His face flushed slightly as he snapped, "You think one little 'sorry' makes it all okay?"
Gua turned and glanced back at Ye Chuan Dahei.
He was clearly seeking his opinion.
Look, Teacher. You told me to apologize, so I did, but he won't accept it. Do you have a better solution?
Ye Chuan Dahei had not expected things to get this awkward.
How was this Fat Tiger even more stubborn than an Uchiha?
The expression on Ye Chuan Dahei's face shifted several times.
Gua could tell that Teacher Ye Chuan Dahei did not have any other, better solution.
Then he would continue carrying out the order Teacher Ye Chuan Dahei had just given him.
Gua turned back and looked calmly at Nohara Fat Tiger.
Nohara Fat Tiger instinctively stepped back, but remembering that the teacher was there to back him up, he straightened his back again and met Gua's gaze.
Gua did not care. He said again, "Sorry."
A mocking smile curled at the corners of Nohara Fat Tiger's mouth.
"All right. If you want me to forgive you, say it in front of the whole class: 'I, Gua, am a useless piece of trash and a total fucking idiot.' How about it?"
Nohara Fat Tiger raised an eyebrow.
Gua said nothing.
Nohara Fat Tiger went flying again.
Ye Chuan Dahei: "..."
This Fat Tiger really is... I think you're the biggest fucking idiot here.
Aren't you just asking to get hit?
Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Ye Chuan Dahei groaned inwardly and hurried toward Gua.
"Gua!"
Ye Chuan Dahei stopped Gua just as he was about to step forward.
Gua turned. "Teacher?"
"Gua! You can't keep hitting your classmates!"
Ye Chuan Dahei stood beside Gua and spoke sternly.
Gua said, "But he hasn't sincerely accepted my apology yet."
Ye Chuan Dahei's face twitched.
You don't actually have to insist on apologizing.
After that inward complaint, Ye Chuan Dahei looked at Gua seriously. "Gua, this ends here. Fat Tiger said some nasty things just now, and you hit him, so let's call it even. Is that all right with you?"
"Okay."
Gua nodded.
If the teacher said it was all right, it was all right.
If the teacher told him to apologize, he would apologize.
Most of the time, if someone reliable gave him instructions, Gua would habitually follow them. For example, if his dad told him to stay home and read extracurricular books that day, Gua stayed home and read extracurricular books. If his mom told him to finish the remaining food, Gua finished the remaining food. If Shisui told him to go train, Gua went to train...
So when Ye Chuan Dahei told him to apologize, Gua went to apologize.
Because Ye Chuan Dahei counted as someone reliable, in a way.
A reasonably responsible teacher.
The incident was over.
In the end, Nohara Fat Tiger still wanted to say something, but one look into Gua's eyes left him too afraid to utter a word.
There was no anger in Gua's eyes, no warning. They were so clean and pure that they seemed to hold nothing at all, like looking at a clear blue sky and white clouds. The sky and clouds did not care whether you were looking at them. They simply drifted there in silence.
Yet those calm eyes made Nohara Fat Tiger never want to meet his gaze again.
What a terrifying Uchiha.
Gua had no idea what Nohara Fat Tiger was thinking. He simply opened his idle training panel in silence.
Watching the white light on it brighten and dim made him feel at ease.
[Taijutsu (10x boost active)] [Eyesight (10x boost active)] [Shuriken (10x boost active)]
He had kept Shuriken training running on idle for a month, which was roughly equivalent to two and a half years of practice for an ordinary shinobi training eight hours a day.
And only today had the students here begun learning about shuriken.
Sure enough, one step ahead meant staying ahead at every step.
Before you continue