"I know you boys are all competitive, but I really don't want to see you get hurt. If it really doesn't work out, you could just live peacefully as an ordinary person instead of becoming a ninja."
Kushina's gaze flickered, and she could not help saying it.
Hearing those words, Uya froze for a moment instead.
Live as an ordinary person?
He had never entertained that thought.
Even before he had obtained the quake release kekkei genkai, when he was only a dead last who could not master ninjutsu, he had never given up.
His previous life had been ordinary and uneventful, ending in an accident. Now that he had another life, and in the familiar world of Naruto at that, he absolutely refused to be ordinary again!
That was even more true now that he had obtained this quake release kekkei genkai!
"I won't get hurt."
Uya took a deep breath and said those words calmly and earnestly.
Hearing Uya's voice, however, Kushina felt a little regretful.
Had those words been too harsh?
Still, Uya had no talent for ninjutsu. He really wasn't suited to being a ninja, was he?
Thinking this, Kushina unconsciously felt another trace of guilt. She thought that even if Uya really stopped being a ninja, she would always protect him.
A while later, the Chunin teacher arrived in the classroom. After saying a few words, he led all the students out to the training ground.
Then the Chunin teacher began reading from a list he had prepared beforehand.
Pairs of students stepped forward in turn and began their matches.
The shuriken and kunai they used were unsharpened training weapons. Although this made fatal injuries less likely, it still could not prevent bloodshed entirely.
This was the Ninja Academy, after all, and the world of ninja was cruel.
Although Konoha's system was somewhat gentler, nowhere near as cruel as Kirigakure's blood mist policy in the Land of Water, it could not possibly raise a bunch of sheltered flowers.
There were quite a few familiar faces in Uya's class.
Kushina was one of them. Aside from her, there was naturally the genius ninja Minato Namikaze, as well as Uchiha Mikoto, the mother of God Itachi and Sasuke in the original story.
Of course, they were all only seven or eight years old now.
Still, Minato Namikaze was already an exceptionally brilliant young genius. Not only was he the undisputed best in Uya's class, but no one in their entire year was his match!
When Minato Namikaze took the field, a group of girls cheered. Without question, his popularity was outrageously high as well.
With his handsome face, powerful abilities, and talent, Minato Namikaze received much the same treatment as Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha in the original story.
Uya actually looked a great deal like Uchiha Itachi, except that his hair was pale silver.
In terms of popularity, Uya had been neck and neck with Minato Namikaze when they first enrolled. But later, his extremely poor talent for ninjutsu had allowed his peers to surpass him one after another, and his popularity gradually declined.
When Minato Namikaze instantly defeated his opponent in just a few moves, another wave of cheers and screams erupted.
At that moment, Kushina could not help glancing at Uya beside her, feeling indignant on his behalf.
Whether in effort or other respects, Uya was no worse than Minato Namikaze.
Yet their difference in talent for ninjutsu alone had created such a huge gap between them.
Just as Kushina could not help sighing softly, the Chunin teacher called out with the list in his hand.
"Next are Uya and Uchiha Izumiya. Please step forward."
Hearing this announcement, Kushina was stunned for a moment and could not help exclaiming, "Why is it a ninja from the Uchiha Clan? And Uchiha Izumiya, of all people?"
If Minato Namikaze was the greatest genius, then there had to be someone ranked second.
That person was Uchiha Izumiya.
Even against Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Izumiya could hold out for a few exchanges. His strength was essentially the greatest of anyone besides Minato Namikaze.
The Chunin teacher had absolutely paired Uya with Uchiha Izumiya on purpose!
"There's definitely something wrong here! Uya, don't go up there. Just forfeit. That Uchiha Izumiya will definitely..." Kushina looked at Uya, angry and anxious.
"No need."
Uya patted Kushina's shoulder, interrupting her, and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry. I won't get hurt."
There was an inexplicable force behind those words that left Kushina momentarily dazed.
With that, Uya turned around and walked onto the field with a calm expression.
Of course he knew the Chunin teacher had done this deliberately.
This Chunin teacher had never treated him, a student from another village, kindly.
People from other villages were often disregarded and treated as enemies, and that hatred was difficult to resolve.
Uya's treatment in Konoha was not much better than that of Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in the original story. Not every teacher could be like Iruka.
Especially after Uya's poor talent for ninjutsu had gradually sent him to the bottom of the class, this Chunin teacher had tried all sorts of ways to force him out.
The academy had its rules. Unless Uya asked to withdraw himself, even the Chunin teacher could not simply expel a student.
"Uya, would you like to forfeit now? It wouldn't be good if you got hurt later."
The Chunin teacher looked at Uya and deliberately spoke in that tone.
In his view, the more he spoke this way, the less likely Uya would be to forfeit in front of the entire class. Once Uchiha Izumiya beat Uya half to death, he did not believe Uya would refuse to withdraw.
Uya said nothing, merely giving the Chunin teacher a calm look.
Stare!
That look made the Chunin teacher's heart inexplicably skip a beat.
Such composure, such calm... it was nothing like the gaze of a seven-year-old child!
"No need. We can start now."
Uya turned his head and looked at Uchiha Izumiya.
Seeing this from among the crowd, Kushina was startled. She had not expected Uya to insist on fighting rather than forfeiting.
"How awful... each of these people treats Uya worse than the last."
Clenching her little fists, Kushina desperately wanted to rush onto the field, but in the end, she could only watch Uya with worried eyes.
Hopefully Uya would forfeit before he got hurt.
On the field, Uchiha Izumiya regarded Uya with cold arrogance. When he saw that Uya was not going to forfeit immediately, a trace of contempt appeared on his face.
A dead last who couldn't master ninjutsu thought he could beat him?!
Since he dared to choose to fight him, he would teach him a proper lesson this time and make sure he knew to forfeit immediately the next time he encountered the Uchiha surname.
"All right, begin!"
Although Uya's earlier gaze had left the Chunin teacher a little bewildered and uneasy, he instantly put it out of his mind and announced the start.
The instant the Chunin teacher's voice fell, Uchiha Izumiya flipped both hands, drew two stacks of shuriken, and abruptly hurled them at Uya.
Whoosh!!!
In an instant, eight shuriken seemed to become black afterimages. Four targeted vital points on Uya's body, while the other four blocked his escape routes!