Chapter 12: Konoha Year 59, Yagyu Gains Attention

When Sasuke Uchiha finally returned to school, five days had passed.

Just as Yagyu expected, the Sasuke who returned had an aura of coldness around him.

The darkness had already begun to take root.

However, Sasuke's fan club didn't notice this.

In fact, they thought this new, colder Sasuke was even cooler.

The girls in Class 1 felt they were incredibly fortunate, having both the warm and gentle Yagyu and the cold and aloof Sasuke. They didn't know which one to choose.

Watching Sasuke, who now exuded an intimidating presence and made his seatmate shrink away in fear, Yagyu fell into deep thought.

Though Sasuke couldn't activate it at will yet, he had already awakened the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

So, could this increase the chances of "dropping" the Sharingan or Indra's chakra from him?

As Yagyu pondered this, Sasuke seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly turned to look at him.

"What a terrifying look!"

"What's wrong with Sasuke?"

Ino and Sakura were both startled by Sasuke's piercing gaze.

Yagyu, however, didn't flinch and calmly met Sasuke's stare.

After a few seconds, Sasuke finally looked away.

Yagyu knew that he had now become Sasuke's target.

As the last remaining member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke would take immense pride in his family's honor. He wouldn't allow anyone to belittle or look down on the Uchiha clan.

Even more, Sasuke couldn't accept being overshadowed by someone else while he carried the Uchiha name.

From now on, Sasuke would train and study with all his might, doing everything he could to claim the title of top student.

This was exactly what Yagyu wanted.

If it weren't for the need to keep a low profile around Naruto and Sasuke, Yagyu would have sparred with them every day by now.

After all, these two reincarnations of the Sage's sons were the greatest treasures of this era.

If Yagyu could fully tap into these two gold mines, his ceiling would be nothing less than achieving the power of the Sage of Six Paths.

Time passed like a fleeting horse, and soon it was March of Konoha Year 59.

Almost four years had passed since the Uchiha clan's massacre.

The news of the Uchiha clan, one of Konoha and the ninja world's three greatest clans, being wiped out had shocked the ninja world at the time.

Of course, since Yagyu couldn't leave the village, he didn't know the full extent of the uproar.

But with the Uchiha clan's demise, Konoha's strength, already waning, took another major hit.

Yet strangely, none of the village's enemies took advantage of the situation, and the balance between the five great ninja villages remained intact.

This was good news.

If war had broken out, Yagyu's generation would undoubtedly have been sent to the battlefield early.

If Yagyu hadn't awakened his game system, it wouldn't have mattered whether war broke out or not, as kids his age wouldn't be sent to the front lines anyway.

But knowing his own potential and the strength he could one day achieve, Yagyu didn't want a war to break out—not yet.

He wasn't strong enough to fight on the front lines, and there was always the risk that an enemy might send a powerful ninja to wipe out Konoha's new generation in secret.

Getting eliminated before he had a chance to fully develop would be even more frustrating than mastering a powerful technique and getting taken out by a random shoe falling from the sky.

The fact that the five great ninja villages chose to maintain the current balance was the best news for Yagyu.

As Yagyu had expected, over the past four years, Sasuke had been constantly competing with him, trying to take the top student title away.

For every pop quiz or surprise test, especially in taijutsu duels, Sasuke would actively request Iruka to make Yagyu his opponent.

There was even an incident where Naruto provoked Sasuke, only to be instantly defeated by him.

Seeing Sasuke behave as if he would pummel any other classmate if not allowed to fight Yagyu, Iruka had a hard time managing him.

In the end, Iruka sought Yagyu's opinion, and Yagyu agreed readily. He had been wondering when he would get matched up with Sasuke again.

So for nearly four years, in every test that involved taijutsu or, starting from the third year, kunai combat, Sasuke had always been Yagyu's opponent.

And every time, Sasuke had lost.

No matter how hard Sasuke worked, Yagyu always worked harder.

Yagyu, who had mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu in his first year, was constantly training, growing stronger every day. He had long surpassed the level required to graduate early.

If not for the hope of getting lucky and dropping some valuable items over the six years, Yagyu would have already started sending a shadow clone to attend class, just like Itachi Uchiha had done.

Without the ability to activate his Sharingan, Sasuke simply couldn't match Yagyu in any of the foundational skills of a ninja.

As a result, the title of top student remained firmly in Yagyu's grasp every year.

Being the top student year after year, outshining even the heirs of the great ninja clans, Yagyu's reputation had spread not only throughout the Ninja Academy but also caught the attention of several prominent figures.

In particular, Yamanaka Inoichi and Hyuga Hiashi had begun to take a close interest in the boy who had "won over" their daughters.

They had even secretly observed Yagyu's training sessions with Hinata, Ino, and Sakura.

Seeing Yagyu teach the girls techniques typically reserved for genin, which they were able to master, both Inoichi and Hiashi were impressed. They no longer objected to their daughters spending time with him.

Even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had taken notice of Yagyu.

With the example of the Fourth Hokage fresh in his mind, Hiruzen placed great importance on the talents of civilian ninjas.

Bloodline limits weren't everything—what mattered most was innate talent.

Among the four Hokage, only the First Hokage possessed a bloodline limit.

The fact that Yagyu was consistently able to outperform the heirs of the great ninja clans and hold onto the title of top student proved that his talent and potential were exceptional.

If guided and nurtured, Yagyu could very well become a pillar of Konoha's future.

As for Yagyu, he had no idea that his "low-profile" self had attracted so much attention from important figures.

If he knew that he had already caught the eye of the Hokage, Yagyu would have breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't mind being noticed by Hiruzen Sarutobi—what worried him was being noticed by Danzo Shimura.

Thankfully, his parents had both been chunin of Konoha, firmly loyal to the Hokage faction.

Since he was considered "rooted in the right lineage," even Danzo wouldn't dare to abduct Yagyu for brainwashing without consequences.

In such a small village, the political scheming was endless.

There was no helping it—Hiruzen Sarutobi was living proof of the saying, "prosperity doesn't last beyond three generations."

Once, Konoha had been incredibly strong.

The number of Kage-level ninjas couldn't be counted on one hand.

But many of these powerful individuals had either been manipulated by Hiruzen and Danzo or had been driven away.

Now that Hiruzen was the only one left holding the village together, he had finally realized the gravity of the situation.

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