Night
When dinner time arrived, Sasuke Uchiha picked up the shuriken he had been practicing throwing and headed inside at his mother Mikoto Uchiha’s call.
Under the warm glow of the lights, the family gathered around the dinner table—his gentle mother, his stern father, and his deeply admired older brother.
“Sasuke was exceptionally hard-working today,” Mikoto said with a gentle smile.
She placed a piece of fish into Sasuke’s bowl, then reached over to brush a grain of rice from the corner of his mouth.
“Hehe~”
Sasuke smiled bashfully at his mother’s affection.
“Hard work is commendable, but you must know your limits.
Overexerting yourself will only have the opposite effect.” Seated nearby, his father, Fugaku Uchiha, looked at his youngest son who had just returned from training, the stern expression on his face softening slightly.
“Yes!
I understand, Father!” Sasuke nodded vigorously, a trace of delight showing in his expression.
“How was your first day at the Academy?
Did anything interesting happen?” His older brother, Itachi Uchiha, seemed to notice something, a look of quiet curiosity in his eyes as he looked at Sasuke.
“I guess so…”
The image of the Byakugan girl flashed through Sasuke’s mind—the one who had essentially provoked the entire class, and how she had effortlessly flattened the boy from the Inuzuka clan after school.
Sasuke related everything he had seen to his family.
“A member of the Hyuga clan, huh…” Fugaku Uchiha murmured thoughtfully.
Unlike Sasuke, as the leader of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku was far more concerned with the hidden implications behind the incident.
After all, with the Hyuga clan being a prominent clan on par with the Uchiha, Fugaku always kept a close eye on them.
Yet, frustratingly, the Hyuga clan had always been a quiet, tight-lipped bunch; they did exactly what the Hokage commanded and never voiced their own opinions.
It was as if everything in Konoha, even the position of Hokage itself, had absolutely nothing to do with them.
For the notoriously conservative Hyuga clan to suddenly produce such an attention-grabbing heiress was enough to make Fugaku overthink things.
Especially given the incredibly precarious position the Uchiha currently found themselves in.
Is Hiashi trying to signal something to me?
Fugaku pondered instinctively.
As fellow leaders of renowned dōjutsu clans, Fugaku believed he and Hiashi Hyuga shared a great deal of common ground.
In his eyes, any talk of the heiress being “rebellious” was absolute nonsense.
Therefore, Fugaku was convinced that Hinata Hyuga’s bold behavior at the Academy must have been orchestrated behind the scenes by her father, Hiashi.
“Then Sasuke will have to train extra hard.
You wouldn’t want to be outdone by a girl, would you?” Mikoto teased gently after listening to her son.
“Yeah, I’ll definitely work hard!” Sasuke responded with a solemn nod.
Unlike his mother’s lighthearted teasing, his attitude was dead serious.
Unlike the other kids in class, he truly viewed Hinata as a rival.
Hinata Hyuga was the future head of the Hyuga clan, a status almost identical to his brother Itachi’s position within the Uchiha.
But since Itachi was clearly several years older than Hinata, it naturally fell upon Sasuke to be her rival.
Both were noble clans with thousands of years of history, and both were legendary for their ocular powers.
Sasuke refused to let the Uchiha lose to the Hyuga.
Watching the interaction between mother and son, Fugaku’s chewing paused slightly.
!
He figured it out!
As expected of the Hyuga clan head!
As the saying goes, “if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.” The Uchiha clan’s current plight was dire, and the leader of the Hyuga clan had undoubtedly noticed.
Hiashi, are you having Hinata put on a rebellious front to catch Sasuke’s attention, just to tell me to rest easy because the Hyuga have our backs?
Fugaku’s heart stirred.
Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Uzumaki, Kaguya—of the five ancient clans of the shinobi world, though the Uchiha and Hyuga usually minded their own business, only two of the five now remained.
It was only natural to feel a sense of shared fate.
Of course, this was still just his speculation; he still needed to verify whether Hiashi actually meant it this way.
In such a desperate situation, Fugaku was bound to grasp at straws.
“Sasuke, since Hinata has already issued a challenge to everyone, as my son, you naturally cannot back down.
Spar with her tomorrow.
No matter the outcome, you are classmates first and foremost.” Fugaku spoke slowly, causing the entire family to instinctively look at him.
“M-me?” Sasuke pointed a finger at himself, utterly dazed.
He had witnessed firsthand how Hinata Hyuga completely obliterated Kiba Inuzuka earlier today.
“Father, wouldn’t that be a bit…” Itachi expressed some concern.
Right now, Sasuke was only slightly stronger than the average child his age.
How could he possibly match Hinata Hyuga, who had effortlessly defeated the Inuzuka heir? Get faster updates on g.com.
Sasuke blinked, casting a desperate, pleading look toward Mikoto.
Mom, quickly, say something!
Does Dad not love me anymore?!
He’s sending me out just to get beaten up!
Though Sasuke viewed Hinata as a rival, he wasn’t an idiot.
That Hinata girl was absolutely ferocious.
Even if he wanted to face her, he needed to train for a while and learn a few powerful jutsu first.
Going straight into a 1v1 against her right now was just asking for a thrashing.
Yet, in response to Sasuke’s pleading gaze, Mikoto could only offer a helpless, sympathetic expression.
Waaah, Mom doesn’t love me either…
NightThe Hyuga Clan Compound
“Good girl, just a little bit more, okay~?”
During dinner, while Hiashi Hyuga was eating, Hinata was holding a baby bottle, trying to coax a child who looked barely a year old.
Holding his bowl and chopsticks, Hiashi watched the scene with an incredibly complex gaze.
This was Hinata’s younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga.
When Hinata was five, Hiashi had recognized her extraordinary talent, yet he had still hoped for a son to inherit the Hyuga clan.
Instead, his wife passed away due to complications during childbirth, and the child born was another girl.
“What are you staring at?” Noticing Hiashi’s intense gaze, Hinata looked up at her old man.
“It’s nothing…” Hiashi shook his head, clearing the stray thoughts from his mind.
If there was a reason Hiashi indulged Hinata so much, his late wife played a big part in it.
“Little Hanabi~” Seeing her little sister gulp down the rest of the milk, Hinata pinched Hanabi’s cheek with a smile.
She then handed the baby over to Natsu Hyuga, who was waiting nearby, and prepared to eat her own food.
“Hinata, I heard you beat up the Inuzuka kid?” Just as she picked up her chopsticks, Hiashi spoke from across the table.
“Yeah, what about it?
He asked for a 1v1 himself,” Hinata replied nonchalantly, chewing her food.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full.” Seeing his daughter’s casual demeanor, Hiashi instinctively corrected her manners.
“Oh.”