Uchiha Kyo wanted to say more, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
There was nothing he could do. As he had just said—"the weak submit to the strong"—and in the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Naori was a recognized genius. She had awakened her Sharingan at the age of five and was regarded as a future pillar of the clan. In contrast, he, a six-year-old who had yet to awaken his Sharingan, was undeniably in a lower position.
"This farce ends here," Naori declared, her voice calm yet firm. "On Kyo's behalf, I apologize to everyone. Please don't hold this against him. The Uchiha Clan is not as arrogant as you might think."
Her words diffused the tension in the room, restoring some dignity to the civilian children. Some even began to reconsider their prejudices against the Uchiha. However, there were still those who remained unconvinced, their wariness reinforced by what their parents had always warned them—Don't get involved with the Uchiha.
Kousuke, having been released by his friends, walked over to Torifū. After offering a simple "Thanks," he shot a cold glance at Naori before returning to his seat.
In his opinion, Torifū was the first to speak and put the Uchiha clan on the spot. Uchiha Naori had no choice but to stop it for the sake of the clan's reputation. To Kousuke, her apology was nothing more than damage control. Any goodwill he might have had toward the Uchiha was now completely gone.
Naori sighed, shaking her head. "Looks like Kousuke doesn't like me very much."
Torifū smirked. "Well, it's only natural. Kyo stirred up trouble, and since you're also an Uchiha, it's easy for people to assume you're just covering for him."
Naori understood this logic. She had enrolled in the Academy to ease the rift between the Uchiha and the village, but it seemed Kyo had just made things even worse.
Unlike most in her clan, Naori neither looked down on civilians nor carried an air of superiority. She firmly believed that the Uchiha shouldn't isolate themselves from the village.
It was clear that she, like Uchiha Kagami before her, was part of the more moderate faction within the clan. In fact, it was Kagami's influence that had driven her to join the Academy in the first place—otherwise, a prodigy like her would have been trained within the clan rather than sent to a public school.
"Changing how both the clan and the village see each other… It's really difficult," she muttered.
Torifū chuckled. "It's not."
Naori looked at him curiously. "Oh? And why's that?"
"Because if you're strong enough, your clan will have no choice but to listen to you."
He paused, then added, "It's just like how the current peace in the ninja world only exists because the great nations fear the Hokage's power."
Naori hadn't expected such an answer from him, but upon thinking it over, she realized there was truth to his words. If she wanted to push for change within the clan, they couldn't do so without strength. Without power, ideals were nothing more than empty words.
"Then wouldn't that be the same as Kyo? They all use strength to force others to comply." Naori said deliberately.
Torifū shook his head. "It's completely different. Kyo enjoys looking down on others to satisfy his own ego. You, on the other hand, want to bridge the gap between your clan and the village."
Naori smiled. "You're quite an interesting person, Torifū. You don't seem to dislike the Uchiha."
Hearing Naori say this, Torifū's face also turned slightly red: "Everyone is a member of the village. The Uchiha is also the Uchiha of Konoha. There's nothing to hate."
From the moment she met Torifū, Naori had sensed that he was different from the other students. When Kousuke had been ridiculed, despite only knowing him for a few hours, Torifū had spoken up without hesitation.
And unlike most people in the village, he showed no fear or prejudice toward the Uchiha.
'Sure enough, Torifū is an unusual person.'
After a while, Sarutobi Suiga returned. Given how much had happened in the classroom earlier, Torifū found it hard to believe the instructor wasn't aware of any of it. Yet, Suiga made no mention of the incident, choosing instead to move on with the lesson.
"Alright, class. For the rest of the day, you will focus on extracting your chakra. Use what we learned earlier as a guide," Suiga announced.
Sarutobi Suiga's words immediately made the students serious. They felt deeply powerless about Uchiha Kyo's ridicule after class. Now that they were finally going to extract chakra, everyone was full of energy.
Though only five or six years old, none of them believed they were any less talented than the so-called "elite" children. With renewed vigor, they began attempting to extract chakra.
If they don't extract chakra, they won't be able to attend the subsequent classes. But for those who have extracted chakra a long time ago, it was very boring. They couldn't talk, as it would disrupt their classmates, nor could they skip class on the first day. All they could do was sit in silence.
…
Time passed.
After nearly three hours, the first student successfully extracted chakra.
"Well done, Shinku! Extracting chakra in just three hours is an excellent achievement!" Suiga praised.
Torifū wasn't surprised. Shortly after, both Kousuke and Ikkaku also succeeded in refining their chakra. Their speed even rivaled that of some noble clan children.
Suiga nodded to himself in satisfaction. 'This year has some real talent… I should report this to the Hokage, along with what happened earlier.'
Meanwhile, Kyo, despite not having awakened his Sharingan, had extracted chakra long ago. Seeing these civilians surpass him in their first attempt filled him with frustration!
But what angered him even more was Naori's reaction. As a recognized genius of the Uchiha Clan, she should have supported him—but instead, she had sided with the civilians!
'That white-haired brat…' Kyo clenched his fists, glaring at Torifū. 'Just wait until the combat training lesson. I'll make sure you regret this!'
At this time, he suddenly saw that Torifū seemed to be extracting chakra seriously, so he whispered disdainfully: "Tch, and here I thought you were something special. Turns out you're just another commoner."
Then he was more confident in next week's exam. After all, he had already learned actual jutsu. There was no way that white-haired kid was stronger than him!
Had Torifū heard Kyo's grumbling, he would have laughed. The only reason he was "training" so seriously was because he didn't want to waste time sitting around doing nothing. He was using this moment to refine his Cloud Release.
If he could successfully develop his Kekkei Tōta, his dream of a peaceful life would be within reach.
Naori, seeing Torifū immersed in training, assumed he was working hard, and she too resumed her own practice. Strangely enough, this seemed to trigger a chain reaction—soon, all the students who had refined chakra also began training, except for Kyo.
By the end of the day, half of the civilian students had failed to extract chakra, a clear indication that their talent was limited. At best, their future prospects might reach the level of a Chunin.
Some students left the classroom feeling elated, while others looked dejected.
Torifū was among the former.
Though his training had ended in failure once again, he had finally pinpointed the issue. As long as he tried a few more times, he might be able to develop Cloud Release!
After school, Kosuke and others greeted Torifū and asked if he wanted to go home together. Torifū agreed. After saying goodbye to Naori, the four of them left the school together.
Unfortunately, their homes were in completely different directions. The Kumotsuru clan's estate was completely opposite to the location of the other three's homes. Torifū had to go home by himself.
[T/N: If it's feasible, consider supporting me on at: p@treon . com / claychampion, i recently started it]