Compensation?

"What a brilliant tactical setup. Not knowing whether the opponent had a way to counter the Great Fireball, he planned to use the Substitution Technique while the Great Fireball had yet to dissipate and was still obscuring their vision, waiting until the enemy revealed their trump card and relaxed after believing they had won before launching a surprise attack?"

Dan Katō had deduced all of Meikyō's tactics with remarkable accuracy.

After hearing Dan Katō's explanation, Gekko Hayate was finally completely convinced.

Not to mention that he truly had no means of countering his opponent— even if he had, Uchiha Meikyō still had other methods.

"Ah!"

Gekko Hayate let out a sigh, then stepped forward and formed the Reconciliation Seal with Uchiha Meikyō.

"You bastard..."

Gekko Hayate shook his head.

"I thought I was pretty outstanding among the Genin of my year, but I ended up losing to a Ninja Academy Student. My teammates are definitely going to laugh at me when I get back."

"I could tell that you were actually very strong."

Uchiha Meikyō smiled as well.

"The truth is, I was nearly out of Chakra too. I could only rely on a few tricks. Otherwise, I definitely would have lost to you."

"A loss is a loss. There's no 'otherwise.' In a ninja battle, intelligence and tactics are among the most important factors."

Gekko Hayate patted Uchiha Meikyō on the shoulder.

"I'll wait for you to become one of the village's big shots. That way, even if I lost to you, it won't be so embarrassing."

At the edge of the field, Dan Katō watched the scene and gave a slight nod.

The village's younger generation was becoming more and more outstanding.

"A-Amazing!"

Itai stared at Uchiha Meikyō in disbelief.

"You actually defeated a senior two years ahead of us who graduated a year ago! Meikyō, it looks like the top spot in this graduation assessment will be yours."

Inuzuka Tsume wore the same shocked expression.

News of Meikyō defeating a Genin two years ahead of him had already spread among the students of his year.

After all, he was the only one so far in this assessment to defeat his assigned opponent.

The matches had been divided into ten groups. By the time Uchiha Meikyō and Gekko Hayate finished their battle, quite a few examinees had already completed theirs and personally witnessed Uchiha Meikyō fighting Gekko Hayate fiercely with his Sharingan activated.

In truth, the students in Uchiha Meikyō's class had all done fairly well. It was an advanced class, after all, and in these wartime days, Konoha desperately needed fighting power. It would not allow people to fail to graduate. Even if their skills truly fell short, as long as they could use Chakra and throw Shuriken, they could still serve as low-level Cannon Fodder on the battlefield, drawing the enemy's attention.

Once the graduation assessment ended, Kuroda Ofune once again stepped onto the podium and called the students up one by one, personally tying Konoha ninja forehead protectors around their heads.

Whenever a student stepped onto the podium, he would always study the student before him carefully for a while, trying his best to remember their face.

If one day they went to the battlefield and never returned alive, then perhaps he, their teacher, would be the only one who still remembered them.

But that did not mean this was the last time these students would see Kuroda Ofune.

Because three days later, they would return here to be assigned to teams.

"Well then, see you in three days."

Uchiha Meikyō picked up his backpack and said goodbye to his two companions.

"Meikyō, you took first place this time, but in the future, the first to become a Chunin and eventually the Hokage will definitely be Lord Itai! Don't let me catch up to you too quickly, or it'll be no fun for me to chase you!"

Itai shouted as he, Inuzuka Tsume, and Uchiha Meikyō went their separate ways at the entrance.

When Meikyō returned home, a member of the Konoha Military Police Force soon came to notify him that the Clan Head wished to see him.

The Uchiha Clan's former Clan Head had passed away last year. The newly appointed Clan Head was the previous Young Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku. Just over twenty years old, his strength was formidable even among Uchiha who possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. In addition, the connections left behind by his father's generation still remained, and the conflict between the Uchiha and the village had not yet escalated because of the Nine-Tails incident. Thus, his position as Clan Head was fairly secure.

Uchiha Meikyō had long guessed that he would receive this summons soon after returning to the clan grounds.

The Uchiha Clan placed tremendous importance on bloodlines, and even more importance on clansmen capable of awakening the Sharingan. Given the Uchiha's intelligence network, they surely already knew that he had awakened his eyes.

After politely seeing off the Chunin from the Konoha Military Police Force who had come to deliver the notice, Meikyō washed his face, straightened his clothes, and only then set out for the Clan Head's residence.

It was simply proper etiquette when dealing with others, especially when he was about to meet his own Clan Head.

Hopefully, this Clan Head would be generous enough to reward a rising genius of the clan with something nice.

The Clan Head's residence was exceptionally grand, making Meikyō's eyes burn with envy.

There was even a small pond inside.

The current Uchiha were nothing like they would be later, after the Nine-Tails incident, when they were relocated to Konoha's outskirts.

As the clan that had founded Konoha alongside the Senju, the Uchiha clan grounds were currently close to the center of Konoha, where every inch of land was priceless. Anyone would be envious of such an imposing mansion in a place like this.

Reception hall.

The interior was elegant and luxurious. Even the floor was covered in an exquisite, ornate carpet, while a massive painting hung at the center of the wall, depicting the Uchiha Clan's red-and-white fan Clan Crest.

"Clan Head."

Uchiha Meikyō sat meticulously on the tatami mat and addressed the young man before him, whose mature-looking face carried a perpetually grave expression.

"Meikyō, you're here."

Uchiha Fugaku wanted to show warmth toward the newly emerged genius of the clan, but with a face like his, even when he tried hard to smile, his expression still looked as serious as ever.

"If I remember correctly, you are the child of Cousin Senji and Cousin Rinna. I'm sure that, seeing you awaken the Sharingan today and grow into an Uchiha capable of standing on your own, they would be proud."

Uchiha Fugaku pushed a half-filled teacup toward Meikyō while playing the family card.

"You flatter me, Clan Head. I am only a Genin who has just graduated. I am still far from becoming a ninja capable of standing on my own."

Uchiha Meikyō gave his habitual modest reply.

At last, Uchiha Fugaku managed to force the faintest smile onto his face.

"My relationship with Cousin Senji was very good. When I first entered the Police Force, Cousin Senji took great care of me."

Uchiha Fugaku spoke with a hint of nostalgia.

His relationship with Uchiha Senji had actually been decent, and the latter had indeed looked after him somewhat back then—mainly because Fugaku was the Clan Head's son, so everyone in the Police Force had treated him with great care.