"You're Uchiha Sasuke, right? I heard you act all high and mighty at school. Want to fight me?"
Uzumaki Shuji spoke the line he had rehearsed, even as it made him feel unbearably awkward.
He had spent the entire afternoon preparing himself mentally for this.
He had already chosen his target—first priority was Sasuke Uchiha.
Next would be Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino.
As for Sakura and Ino, he had a decent relationship with them and felt too embarrassed to act this way. And Hinata… considering she might become his future sister-in-law, how could he face her later if he did something like this?
So, Sasuke was the best choice.
"Naruto?"
Sasuke looked at Uzumaki Shuji in surprise.
But soon, he noticed something was off. This "Naruto" had no whisker marks on his face, and his pupils were red, almost like the Sharingan.
"Naruto? Are you talking about my little brother?"
"He's the one who said you're full of yourself. Come on, fight me. I want to see if you're really that strong."
Uzumaki Shuji felt so embarrassed he could practically dig a three-bedroom house out of the ground with his toes.
After all, mentally he was over thirty years old. Doing something like this was bound to feel shameful.
The ANBU watching from behind him were also surprised. They hadn't expected Uzumaki Shuji to act like this.
Still, this wasn't entirely unprecedented. Whenever someone bullied Naruto, Uzumaki Shuji would go and beat them up in return.
The ANBU assumed Naruto must have been mistreated by this Uchiha kid at school, which was why Uzumaki Shuji came looking for him.
He found the whole situation rather entertaining.
"You're not worthy."
Sasuke snorted, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Are members of the Uchiha clan afraid?"
Uzumaki Shuji delivered his prepared line, while internally raising Sasuke's annoyance level by another notch.
He really was as arrogant as rumored.
"What did you say?!"
"Fine. I'll show you the power of the Uchiha!"
Sasuke's eyes widened in anger. How dare someone speak like that about the Uchiha clan?
Unforgivable.
Without hesitation, he charged forward with his schoolbag slung over his shoulder, aiming to punch Uzumaki Shuji in the face.
Uzumaki Shuji, on the other hand, put on a flawless act—years of experience showing through.
Sasuke threw a straightforward punch.
"…Don't blame me."
Uzumaki Shuji felt a bit guilty, but he didn't hesitate.
He flung a handful of flour straight at Sasuke's face.
"Wah!!"
Sasuke was caught completely off guard.
Uzumaki Shuji had originally considered using sand, but decided that might be too harsh. Flour seemed… more humane.
And the effect was excellent.
It was Sasuke's first time dealing with this kind of street fight. With flour blinding him, he couldn't see a thing.
The moment his vision disappeared, confusion set in. Uzumaki Shuji swept his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground, then pinned him and punched him in the right cheek.
The pain hit instantly.
Sasuke panicked.
"Waaah—!"
Seeing Sasuke burst into tears, Uzumaki Shuji suddenly couldn't bring himself to keep hitting him.
His expression turned awkward.
Reincarnated into the ninja world, inheriting Gilgamesh's power… and he just made a seven-year-old Sasuke cry.
"Mentally, Uzumaki Shuji was over thirty years old. Beating up elementary school kids was honestly disgraceful—but survival in Konoha came before dignity."
That was… kind of humiliating.
If you act arrogant again, I'll beat you every time I see you!"
After throwing out a final threat, Uzumaki Shuji turned and ran.
Too embarrassing.
It felt like he was the one who lost.
"Hahaha!"
The ANBU following him nearly burst out laughing.
So this was how children fought?
"Two hundred points… just like Naruto. Same level!"
Looking at the system notification, Uzumaki Shuji felt his fists itching again.
He always held back when fighting his own little brother, but when it came to other people's brothers… he had no such restraint.
Thinking about how Itachi Uchiha would one day beat Sasuke and even shove a crow into Naruto's body, Uzumaki Shuji felt his confidence return.
Sasuke deserved that beating.
…
"Sasuke, what happened?"
Standing at the entrance with a gloomy expression, Itachi Uchiha immediately changed his face upon seeing his younger brother crying.
Sasuke was covered in white powder, looking utterly miserable.
A cold killing intent flickered in Itachi's eyes.
This was his bottom line—and his greatest weakness.
No one was allowed to touch it.
"Onii-chan… I got beaten up after school…"
"He said I was arrogant! He even insulted the Uchiha clan! I got angry and tried to hit him, but he threw flour in my face. I couldn't see, and then he knocked me down and beat me…"
Sasuke's right cheek was still slightly swollen.
Seeing Itachi, he immediately started complaining, occasionally sniffing, looking pitiful.
"Damn it… who was it?"
Already walking a path toward darkness, Itachi's first thought was whether this was Danzo's doing.
Or perhaps another clan trying to curry favor by provoking the Uchiha.
He wouldn't allow it.
"It was Naruto's older brother. He didn't tell me his name."
With his backer present, Sasuke stopped crying, speaking indignantly.
"An adult bullying a child?"
"…Wait, Naruto's older brother?"
Itachi's anger flared, but then he paused.
If it was Naruto's twin brother, then the other party was actually younger than Sasuke.
That made things… complicated.
He couldn't exactly go and take revenge on a child himself.
"…I'm already an adult. I can't bully children."
Itachi said helplessly.
His position aside, the fact that Uzumaki Shuji was just a child made direct retaliation impossible.
"Then what do we do? He said he'll beat me every time he sees me!"
Sasuke looked aggrieved.
Even his older brother couldn't help him?
"What's wrong, Sasuke?"
At that moment, Fugaku Uchiha returned home, his face weary from the day's work.
"This kid…"
At the dinner table, Fugaku took a sip of sake, looking somewhat speechless.
Recently, tensions between the Uchiha clan and Konoha had been escalating rapidly, leaving him deeply troubled.
"And you couldn't beat him?"
Fugaku asked, puzzled.
Though he didn't pay much attention to the Uzumaki brothers, he knew their living conditions weren't great.
Sasuke had been training since childhood. Even if he was average, he shouldn't have lost so easily.
"He used tricks! He threw flour in my face. I couldn't see, and then he knocked me down."
Sasuke pouted, clearly unwilling to accept the loss.
Itachi, find some time to guide Sasuke's training. Children's matters should be resolved by themselves."
Fugaku had no intention of interfering.
"I understand."
Itachi agreed, though his schedule had been extremely tight lately.
"Next time… I'll definitely beat him!"
Sasuke declared firmly, trying to uphold his pride as a member of the Uchiha clan.