Ruri spotted five children arguing fiercely in the middle of the Playground nearby. They soon drew a crowd of onlookers. Watching a bunch of brats fight could be entertaining, too.
"Our Uchiha Clan is the strongest in Konoha! What does your Hyuga Clan amount to...?"
"Uchiha Jin, you can't say that about our Hyuga Clan! Even if we're classmates, that's going too far, all right?"
Ruri had not intended to join the crowd watching these brats. He had assumed they were just playing and roughhousing, but those children had the crests of the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan printed on their backs.
Those caught Ruri's attention, and he also saw Reika Hyuga and Momokusa Harukawa, who had spoken to him in class earlier, trying to calm them down.
"Stop arguing. We all go to the same school. Why ruin things between us like this...?" Momokusa Harukawa tried to persuade them not to keep arguing.
Clearly, Momokusa Harukawa's soft voice did nothing to stop them. The children's argument grew more heated, and they soon came to blows. At that point, Momokusa Harukawa and Reika Hyuga stepped back.
"Tokuma Hyuga, Hyuga Takashi, let's see just how strong you losers from the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family really are..." The two Uchiha Clan children raised their feet and kicked at the two Hyuga Clan children.
"If you two from the Uchiha Clan want a fight, we're not afraid of you! Let's see who's stronger..." As they spoke, the two Hyuga Clan brats refused to back down. They rolled up their sleeves and started fighting the two Uchiha Clan children.
The onlookers could all tell that these were two of Konoha's most prestigious clans. Even a fight between a few brats who were not yet ninja offered something different from an ordinary children's scuffle.
Although none of them used their Ruowu or Shuriken, every move had proper form. One glance was enough to tell that they could only fight like this because they had received special training.
After a few minutes, the outcome quickly became clear. Students like them, who were not even ninja yet, had not mastered much Ninjutsu. For now, they could only rely on Taijutsu in a fight.
As everyone knew, although the Uchiha Clan's Taijutsu was formidable too, the result was unmistakable: the two Hyuga Clan children had gained a slight advantage.
"Hmph! You two Uchiha Clan brats see how strong we are now? Our Hyuga Clan isn't to be messed with! Your Uchiha Clan isn't anything special!"
After knocking the two Uchiha Clan brats to the ground, Tokuma Hyuga brushed the footprints and dust off his clothes and spoke as he looked down at them.
Just as the two Hyuga Clan children were feeling pleased with themselves, an utterly calm voice reached everyone present.
"If that's what you're going to say, I can't pretend I didn't hear it!"
After saying this, a small figure passed through the crowd of onlookers and came to stand before them.
Everyone turned toward the voice and discovered that the speaker was Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Jin, still on the ground, looked at the boy standing before him and said, "It's Itachi, the clan leader's son!"
Uchiha Jin slowly got up, walked over to the other Uchiha child, and helped him to his feet. Once that child stood up, he also recognized Uchiha Itachi and immediately said, "That's right! I've heard he's our clan's genius!"
Uchiha Itachi's arrival seemed to cause another stir among the onlookers.
"Look, that's Itachi, the Uchiha Clan genius everyone in the village has been talking about lately!"
"Really? That's him? He doesn't look all that impressive!"
"That's him, the kid they call a genius. I heard he can already use Ninjutsu!"
It seemed Itachi had quite a reputation in the village. The title of genius seemed tailor-made for him.
Quite a few onlookers also said, "Haha, now we're in for a good show! On one side, we have the Uchiha Clan's genius, and on the other, the Hyuga Clan kids. I wonder who'll win!"
"I wasn't planning to get involved in your business, but you just said the Uchiha weren't anything special. I can't pretend I didn't hear that! You really couldn't be any more foolish!"
Uchiha Itachi stood at the front of the crowd. He was only a child himself, yet something about him gave off a sense of maturity. His expression remained composed and calm, his eyes resting impassively on the two Hyuga Clan children before him.
"So you're Uchiha Itachi? You don't look any different from us. Genius or not, you're still just a kid like us!" one of the Hyuga Clan children said when he saw Itachi walk straight over.
Anyone who had read the original story knew that Uchiha Itachi was an extraordinary ninja. He loved his younger brother deeply and cherished his clan's reputation as well. Members of the Uchiha Clan were not to be trifled with.
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