"Alright, Naruto, you're up."
Naruto stepped forward a few paces and took the kunai Iruka handed him.
He aimed.
He threw!
And then... there was nothing else.
Naruto's kunai did not even touch the target. It missed completely.
Naruto: "..."
Naruto, who had placed high hopes on himself and wanted to put on a good performance, immediately shut down.
"Iruka Teacher, can I try one more time?"
"It's alright."
Iruka said, "It's fine that you failed, Naruto. This is only your first attempt. Failure is perfectly normal. Teacher wasn't very good at it back then either."
"Just practice slowly from now on."
"Today is mainly to let you all give it a try."
Naruto looked at Iruka.
"Iruka Teacher, did you miss the target too?"
"Not exactly."
Naruto wore a disappointed expression and stepped back.
"Next."
Second Pillar stepped forward.
"Teacher, I'll do it."
"Alright."
Second Pillar took the kunai from Iruka's hand.
Whoosh!
The next moment—
Clink!
Second Pillar's kunai struck the bullseye with perfect precision.
Before entering the Ninja Academy, Second Pillar had already undergone related training in kunai and shuriken.
What Second Pillar loved most was pestering Uchiha Itachi to teach him shuriken techniques.
"Awesome!"
"Sasuke is the best!"
A group of girls led by Sakura cheered.
One student after another stepped forward.
A small number missed the target.
Many managed to hit it.
But only a few could strike the bullseye.
Uchiha Setsuna had not expected these students to be so poor.
"Uchiha Setsuna."
Iruka called Uchiha Setsuna's name.
Second Pillar could not help looking over.
So did Yamanaka Ino and Hyuga Hinata.
But beyond them, no one else paid attention.
The divide between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha had already grown quite deep. Most people instinctively resisted the Uchiha, and Uchiha Setsuna had not displayed the same excellence as Second Pillar.
Even now, there were students in the class who could not recognize Uchiha Setsuna at all.
Uchiha Setsuna stepped forward and took the kunai.
"Don't aim for the bullseye. Aim for the third ring, at one o'clock."
Uchiha Setsuna flicked his wrist.
Whoosh!
The next moment, the kunai flew out.
It hit precisely.
The point of impact was exactly where Uchiha Setsuna had aimed.
"It hit. Well done, Setsuna."
Iruka gave him an encouraging smile.
"Keep it up."
"Yes, Iruka Teacher."
Uchiha Setsuna stepped back.
Originally, Uchiha Setsuna had planned not to hide his abilities during the kunai throwing lesson, but he had not expected the students' performances to be so poor.
More than half the class had already completed their first throw, yet Second Pillar was the only one who had hit the bullseye.
That meant that if Uchiha Setsuna hit the bullseye, he would stand out.
"Hyuga Hinata."
Iruka called Hyuga Hinata's name.
Hyuga Hinata stepped forward.
Whoosh!
She hit the bullseye.
Like Second Pillar, Hyuga Hinata had received extensive ninja training before entering the Ninja Academy.
That was the advantage of being born into the right family.
Many students did not have such opportunities.
"Well done. Keep it up."
"Yes, Teacher."
Hyuga Hinata stepped back and stood not far from Uchiha Setsuna.
A voice so quiet that only Uchiha Setsuna could hear reached him.
"Setsuna, do you want to practice kunai throwing? I can help you."
Uchiha Setsuna glanced at Hyuga Hinata and shook his head.
"Thank you, but no."
Uchiha Setsuna did not need anyone to teach him kunai throwing. He had not hit the bullseye, but the spot he aimed at was smaller than the bullseye and harder to hit.
Especially not Hyuga Hinata.
In the real world, Uchiha Setsuna absolutely did not want to get close to anyone from the Hyuga Clan.
As long as the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan took one look at the amount of Chakra in his body, they would notice something was wrong.
"Alright."
A trace of dejection appeared in Hyuga Hinata's eyes.
Uchiha Setsuna said nothing more.
Uchiha Setsuna knew very well about Yamanaka Ino's and Hyuga Hinata's affection for him.
If there had been no Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, if the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha had not been so terrible, if the Konoha High Command had not targeted the Uchiha Clan, if there had been no Uchiha Itachi...
Uchiha Setsuna would have been happy to interact with them.
But Uchiha Setsuna knew what the future held, so he could not do that.
He could only refuse their goodwill.
He could only distance himself from their affection.
"This is fate."
Uchiha Setsuna could not help looking toward the Hokage Office Building.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu... not a single one of them is any good."
"Calling Uchiha Itachi a beast would not be an exaggeration at all."
"Fugaku Uchiha is weak and useless to the extreme."
"I want to live a normal life too."
Fugaku Uchiha's performance in the Life Simulator had greatly disappointed Uchiha Setsuna.
Uchiha Setsuna no longer cared whether Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, and the others lived or died.
But Uchiha Sagiri, Uchiha Kayan, Uchiha Riko...
Uchiha Setsuna absolutely would not allow them to die at the hands of Uchiha Itachi or Konoha.
Uchiha Setsuna looked toward Second Pillar.
Right now, Second Pillar still knew nothing, so he could live happily.
That made Uchiha Setsuna somewhat envious.
The dismissal bell rang. Uchiha Setsuna left the classroom and quickly headed home.
"Uchiha Setsuna."
Second Pillar caught up to him.
"Hm?"
"You train on rest days, right? How about we train together next rest day? If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me. I can tell you everything."
Uchiha Setsuna: "..."
"Let's talk about it next time."
Uchiha Setsuna did not say much more to Second Pillar.
Second Pillar opened his mouth, but as he watched Uchiha Setsuna's retreating back, he had no choice but to force down the words already at his lips.
When he returned home.
"Grandpa, I'm back."
Uchiha Setsuna rejected Second Pillar's invitation to train together once again.
However, this gave Uchiha Setsuna a sense of urgency.
The more often Second Pillar came into contact with him, the more likely Uchiha Itachi was to notice him.
Uchiha Setsuna did not dare guarantee what Uchiha Itachi might do.
Once Uchiha Itachi learned that he had been hiding his strength, he might take action directly.
"I need to avoid Second Pillar as much as possible from now on."
"Hyuga Hinata and Second Pillar both want to help me. They mean well."
"But to me, both of them are trouble right now."
Before you continue