Second Pillar saw Uchiha Setsuna on the road, but this time, he did not approach him or say anything.
Uchiha Setsuna also acted as though he had not seen Second Pillar.
The two had become strangers.
Second Pillar was not in a good mood.
In Second Pillar's view, he clearly had done nothing wrong. He had clearly meant well, yet he had been misunderstood.
Second Pillar watched Uchiha Setsuna's retreating figure.
"Was what my brother said true?"
"This isn't my fault. Uchiha Setsuna is the one at fault."
"Uchiha Setsuna is just narrow-minded."
"But why would Uchiha Setsuna be like that?"
"We're both Uchiha, so why is the life I live, the conditions I have, so much better than Uchiha Setsuna's?"
"Because I'm the son of the Uchiha Clan Head?"
"But hasn't the Uchiha Clan declined under Father's leadership?"
Second Pillar kept pondering this question.
On one hand, Second Pillar trusted Uchiha Itachi deeply.
Uchiha Itachi was the standard Second Pillar measured himself against.
Yet Second Pillar also felt that Uchiha Setsuna should not be as terrible as Uchiha Itachi had said.
"Setsuna!"
Uchiha Setsuna ran into Yamanaka Ino at the entrance to the academy.
Yamanaka Ino greeted him happily.
Uchiha Setsuna nodded.
"Good morning."
Within the Life Simulator, Uchiha Setsuna had already used Yamanaka Ino twice.
At first, Uchiha Setsuna had felt guilty, but now he had figured it out. It was only a life simulation, not something that truly existed.
There was no need to care too much.
The instant Sakura saw Second Pillar, she could not pull her gaze away.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Second Pillar. She did not even notice Uchiha Setsuna.
They entered the classroom.
Iruka swept his gaze around the room, cleared his throat, and said, "Students, you have been at the Ninja Academy for over two weeks now."
"Over these past two weeks, everyone has performed quite well."
"I hope that in the time ahead, you will continue to work hard."
"You have more or less learned Chakra extraction. As long as you keep practicing it, there will be no problem."
"This course will not be taught again in the future."
"If there is anything you still do not understand, you may come ask me privately."
"Academic classes, physical training, and Ninja Tool classes will continue from here on."
"But today, we will be adding a new course."
"Ninjutsu class."
The moment they heard that, the students below immediately erupted in cheers.
Iruka had expected this reaction.
After all, he and his classmates had been the same back then.
What was the most appealing thing about being a ninja?
Naturally, it was ninjutsu.
Rampaging flames, water opposed to fire, invisible wind, lightning of incredible speed, earth with powerful defenses, and all kinds of Kekkei Genkai—these were what made ninja different.
If everyone were Taijutsu ninja, what major difference would there be between them and traditional samurai?
All the young ninja were full of anticipation for ninjutsu.
But there were a few exceptions.
Some students had already learned some ninjutsu before enrolling.
Let alone Uchiha Setsuna.
Uchiha Setsuna's current ninja information surfaced in his mind.
Chakra Level: Chunin. General Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu, Shadow Clone Technique. Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Great Fire Dragon Jutsu, Great Fire Annihilation. Genjutsu: Fox Heart Technique, Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique, Genjutsu: Sharingan. Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. Secret Technique: Mind Invasion.
"Great."
"We're finally learning ninjutsu."
"Only after learning ninjutsu can you be a true ninja."
"I wonder who will learn it the fastest."
"It'll definitely be Second Pillar."
Most of the students thought so.
But quite a few were unconvinced by Second Pillar. Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka were among them. Both dreamed of becoming Hokage, but the difference was that one would succeed while the other would fail.
Naruto possessed the prerequisite to become Hokage.
Kiba Inuzuka did not.
"Everyone, quiet down."
Iruka said, "I know you have all been waiting for this day for a long time."
"But you will soon learn even more ninjutsu."
"Today, I will teach you the Transformation Technique."
"I believe many of you have already heard of this ninjutsu."
"From its name, you can tell that this ninjutsu lets you transform yourself into the appearance of another person or object."
"I'll demonstrate first."
The next moment, Iruka formed hand seals.
"Transformation Technique!"
The hand seals for the Transformation Technique were simple, making it well suited for young ninja with no foundation in ninjutsu. It also produced results quickly, even if they did not achieve the exact transformation they had envisioned.
At the very least, they could produce some kind of transformation.
And as long as a transformation occurred, it could encourage these young ninja.
In turn, they would devote even more enthusiasm to their path at the Ninja Academy.
Iruka transformed into the likeness of one of the students.
"Students, this is the Transformation Technique."
Even Iruka's voice had changed into that student's.
A wave of astonished cries rang out.
"So amazing!"
"So this is ninjutsu? It's truly incredible."
"I want to learn it! I want to learn it!"
Iruka began the formal lesson.
Uchiha Setsuna glanced around. The vast majority of the students were deeply interested, which made him pause when he had been about to zone out and think about his next plan in the Life Simulator.
Uchiha Setsuna did not want to draw attention.
"The next life simulation should be easy enough. As long as I give Yakushi Kabuto those photographs, then tell him the truth about Yakushi Nonō from back then, there's a good chance Yakushi Kabuto will believe me."
"Not only can I gain an opportunity to escape, Yakushi Kabuto might even take the initiative to cause trouble for Danzo."
"That way, I will have a strong chance of gaining more time in the life simulation."
"I can raise my Chakra level to Jonin level."
"Only then will the plans afterward go more smoothly."
Like the other students, Uchiha Setsuna seriously studied the Transformation Technique.
Bang!
A puff of white smoke exploded.
The next moment, everyone's attention was drawn over.
Second Pillar used the Transformation Technique and transformed into Iruka. He looked remarkably similar to Iruka.
Iruka smiled.
"Sasuke, congratulations."
"You have already gained a preliminary grasp of the Transformation Technique. As long as you continue practicing, you will master it better and better."
"I hope everyone can learn from Sasuke."
Iruka knew Second Pillar was a genius, but Second Pillar's performance still surprised him.
To learn the Transformation Technique in such a short time was truly incredible.
Iruka recalled how long it had taken him to truly master it back then.
"The gap between people is really huge."
Before you continue