Gua, What Do You Think of the Uchiha?

After taking Itachi home,

Gua finally headed home alone.

Today, he had broken his usual routine for once.

So by the time he got home, his mother, Nai, and his father, Dashan, were frantic.

The two of them were pacing anxiously inside.

The moment they spotted Gua in the yard, they both froze, then rushed toward the door at the same time.

"What are you doing?"

Dashan wasn't nimble enough and nearly tripped Nai at the doorway. She turned and glared at him.

She was in a particularly foul mood today.

Naturally, Dashan didn't dare say a word. Their son was home now, so he wasn't worried anymore. Letting his wife scold him a little was no big deal.

Besides, he had been at fault.

The important thing was to show the right attitude.

Nai didn't dwell on it and hurried over to Gua.

"Gua, why are you home so late?"

As Nai asked, she checked Gua all over.

She was terrified he might have been hurt.

They couldn't help it. He was their only son, and he was so meek that he was bound to get bullied whenever he went out.

Not to mention that Orochimaru had abducted him just recently.

Nai had been worried sick.

"Mother, I'm fine. I just took Itachi home."

Gua explained why he was late as simply as he could.

Nai paused.

"You took Itachi home?"

Gua nodded.

He headed inside.

Nai stared blankly at her son's retreating back.

Oh my, my precious boy is finally catching on.

First he started learning to flirt, and now he knows how to make friends.

He's finally more than the Gua who only knew how to idle.

Nai was delighted.

As she watched him walk away, she could barely contain the smile in her eyes.

But when Gua reached the doorway, his father, Dashan, caught hold of him too.

He checked him all over.

He practically stopped just short of pulling down his pants to check there too.

Like a mindless NPC, Gua let Dashan move him around however he pleased.

Only after finishing his inspection did Dashan breathe a sigh of relief.

"As long as you're not hurt. What made you think to take Itachi home today? You've never done that before, Gua."

Dashan asked with concern.

As a father, he cared deeply about his son's physical and mental well-being.

He was determined to raise his son into a healthy Uchiha.

Frankly, Dashan wasn't particularly fond of the Uchiha's melodrama and insanity.

Otherwise, Gua's family wouldn't have been like this.

A typical Uchiha ought to have been like Itachi...

Gua suddenly shuddered.

Just thinking about it sent a chill down his spine.

Imagine if I were Itachi, growing up without a shred of love, obsessing over the philosophy of life, only to go to school and get the Will of Fire drilled into me.

I'd probably end up...

Nope. Not going there.

Gua didn't dare think any further.

He shook his head, cutting off his wandering thoughts.

"Itachi seemed really off today, so I walked him home."

Gua explained to Dashan.

Dashan stared into Gua's eyes for a long time.

Gua simply met his father's gaze.

It was like a game where whoever moved first lost. Gua remained expressionless throughout.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

Noticing the grave look on Dashan's face, Gua took the initiative to ask.

"Gua, tell me. What did you learn at school today?"

Dashan's expression turned serious.

Gua thought about it. In truth, he had spent the whole day idling. How was he supposed to remember anything?

At that moment, Gua was like a child returning from kindergarten only to have his parents ask, "What did you learn at kindergarten today?"

The question put him on the spot.

"I think they talked about the Uchiha and the village's history."

Gua kept his answer as vague as possible to conceal the fact that he had been idling through class.

Even those details were just things that had happened to drift into his ears during lessons.

Dashan sighed. "Just as I thought."

Gua studied his father's expression. After hesitating a moment, he said nothing and headed straight inside.

He was hungry.

"Gua, what do you think of the Uchiha?"

Dashan suddenly called out behind him.

Gua stopped and turned to look at his father in bewilderment.

"The Uchiha are great."

Gua said.

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah."

Gua thought his father was being incredibly tiresome today. Without saying anything more, he went into the kitchen alone.

Sure enough, his mother had already prepared dinner.

"Can I start eating?"

Gua turned to look outside.

At the same time, he pointed at the dinner in the kitchen.

"Your father and I haven't eaten yet! How can you start all by yourself?"

Nai came over, crossing her arms and putting on a stern face.

Gua said, "Then can we start eating?"

"Pfft!"

Nai covered her mouth and laughed.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Dashan! Hurry up and bring the dishes out!"

"Okay, okay, coming!"

Before long, dinner was on the table, and the family of three ate in the last remaining light of day.

After dinner, night quietly fell.

Gua returned to his room alone to sleep.

"Up at sunrise, asleep at sunset. Feels like I've reverted to my ancestors' way of life..."

Lying in bed, Gua draped the thin bedding lightly over himself, then placed the stuffed toy from beside his bed on his pillow.

Time to sleep.

Gua hadn't checked his panel much these past few days. Mainly, there wasn't much he could do with it besides idling.

The biggest adjustment he could make was frequently switching the idle slots.

At present, he had Taijutsu, eyesight, and Great Fireball set to idle.

During that time, he had swapped out Great Fireball for Chakra Extraction.

But no matter how he adjusted things, he hadn't noticed much difference.

Mostly because his talent was simply too poor.

Someone more talented might have seen a difference in their idle training.

Still, geniuses had their way of living, and ordinary people had theirs. As far as Gua was concerned, I'm not jealous at all.

The next day.

Early that morning, Gua heard some news.

Orochimaru's trial was about to begin.

Apparently, the Third had chosen to uphold justice and put his own student on public trial.

Everyone in the village would be allowed to watch.

Supposedly, this was for fairness, for justice, and for the Will of Fire.

Gua was completely baffled.

This isn't like the Third I know.

Wasn't the Third supposed to be the sort who acted righteous in public but turned a blind eye behind the scenes, and occasionally even bent the rules for personal favors?

Of course, that wasn't to say the Third was particularly bad.

Judging by his conduct in the original story, he already counted as a good person in the shinobi world.

After all, the moral standards of the shinobi world... were hard to put into words.

The trial of one of the Sannin, the Third's beloved student, was such a major event that all of Konoha had been given the day off.

Workers and students alike flocked to Konoha's central plaza.

They were ready to watch the drama unfold.

Ordinary people felt neither particularly fond of nor hostile toward Orochimaru. He was simply an untouchable figure above them, no different from any other person in power.

Besides, people in the shinobi world weren't so versed in scheming. No one kicked him while he was down or stirred up public opinion. So although Orochimaru's reputation had plummeted after his arrest, everyone had their own ideas about how he should be dealt with.

Some thought, Orochimaru is one of the Sannin. Doing a few human experiments might be evil, but it's perfectly understandable. It's all for science.

Others thought, Human experiments are evil! Orochimaru must be expelled from the village!

Others thought, Expelling him won't work. Orochimaru will definitely keep abducting people from Konoha for his experiments. He must be executed here and now.

In short, there were all kinds of opinions.

Gua was squeezed into the crowd too.

His mother had brought him along.

He hadn't been particularly interested in this sort of thing.

He still preferred idling at home.

But his mother had insisted on dragging him along, saying, "Just think of it as keeping me company. I want to watch, Gua. Surely you'll come with me?"

Faced with his mother's show of anger, Gua had only been able to shake his head and sigh.

And so, he had come.