"Stop it—shut up!"
Sasuke roared, True Shinji's piercing questions striking at his very soul.
If it had been anyone else saying these things, he'd be angry but not ashamed. But because it was Shinji, the shame was unbearable.
He was the one who'd awakened the Sharingan!
Yet whether it was losing to Naruto before or getting crushed by Yakumo later, he'd been humiliated time and again, dragging the Uchiha name through the mud.
Watching Sasuke's mix of shame and rage, Shinji slowly stood up.
In truth, Sasuke didn't need to feel so ashamed for losing to Naruto and Yakumo.
Yakumo's rise, though orchestrated by Shinji, had spiraled into something filled with chance and unpredictability.
The Yakumo of now had long surpassed the academy level.
Once she mastered the Koryugan, honed her control over "Wood Release," and patched up her basics, she'd be a solid elite jonin.
Given a bit more time, reaching kage-level wouldn't be far-fetched.
Let alone academy students—even jonin losing to Yakumo wouldn't be surprising.
As for Naruto…
Thanks to Shinji's influence, the Akatsuki's designs on the tailed beasts of each village had been exposed earlier than in the original timeline. Through a twist of fate, Naruto had mastered "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu" and "Rasengan" sooner than expected.
As a jinchuriki with the Uzumaki clan's Sage Body, paired with techniques perfectly suited to him like "Multiple Shadow Clones" and "Rasengan," Naruto's strength had outstripped many chunin. Even jonin could stumble against him.
So losing to Naruto and Yakumo was actually quite normal.
But in this timeline, Sasuke—who'd awakened his Sharingan early—had been placed on too high a pedestal!
His arrogance blinded him to Naruto and Yakumo's growth, dismissing them as dead-lasts.
Strength breeds pride—it's unavoidable. But excessive pride can weaken that strength.
So Shinji was both pushing Sasuke and warning him!
Noticing the gloomy shift in Sasuke's Yin Release chakra starting to plateau, Shinji decided to ease off.
His prodding now was mostly to set the stage for later plans. Expecting Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan from mere provocation was unrealistic.
"Such a pity—it's you who awakened the Sharingan, not me."
With one final jab, Shinji turned and walked away.
Watching Shinji's retreating figure, Sasuke struggled to his feet.
He'd only taken one kick, and his body wasn't badly hurt, yet it felt like he'd been pummeled all over.
Especially Shinji's parting words—they stabbed deep into his heart.
"Yeah! If Shinji had awakened the Sharingan, he'd be even stronger than he is now!" Clutching his head in agony, he bellowed: "Why—why am I always so useless!?"
Whoosh.
Kakashi reappeared before Sasuke, greeting him with a smile: "Yo, lost on the path of life, huh?"
At a training ground in the Hyuga clan compound.
Night had fallen, yet Neji was still practicing his Gentle Fist.
Swish!
Suddenly, a gust of wind sounded behind him!
Instinctively, he spun around, unleashing a flurry of Eight Trigrams Palms.
Thud, thud, thud.
In an instant, both sides exchanged a bout of Gentle Fist strikes before leaping apart.
Neji, breathless, hurriedly said: "Clan Leader, you…"
Clearly.
The one who'd ambushed him was none other than Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Hyuga main branch.
Hiashi waved a hand, cutting off Neji's question, then lunged at him again.
Soon, they were locked in fierce combat.
Only then did Neji realize Hiashi, the Hyuga clan leader, was personally sparring with him to help refine his Gentle Fist!
After a long while, they finally stopped.
Sizing Neji up, Hiashi nodded with satisfaction: "Good. Your Gentle Fist has no obvious flaws now!"
Neji bowed to Hiashi: "Thank you for your guidance!"
Since learning of the Otsutsuki branch family on the moon and their intent to destroy the shinobi world, his resentment toward the main branch had softened. With it, his view of his own fate had shifted, allowing him to face Hiashi more naturally.
"I've heard about your performance at the academy—very impressive!" Hiashi smiled, then sighed: "Hinata's been a disappointment to me. Now, it's up to you to uphold the Hyuga clan's honor."
Neji said: "Lady Hinata's been trying hard."
Hiashi shook his head: "Compared to the geniuses at the academy, her talent's just too lacking!"
Neji fell silent.
The academy's geniuses were simply monstrous. Shinji, Sasuke, and Kimimaro were already outrageous enough—now Yakumo had risen, even more terrifying.
Next to them, Hinata's efforts did seem underwhelming.
Hiashi declared: "Starting today, I'll personally train you. No matter the enemy, we must protect the clan's honor!"
"Yes!"
Neji bowed again.
Near the village's outer walls.
Rock Lee leaned against a tree, panting heavily.
Drip.
Drip.
Sweat rolled down his cheeks, soaking the ground beneath him.
"How many laps is this? Seven? Eight?"
Extreme exhaustion blurred his mind—he couldn't even recall how many times he'd circled the village.
But he quickly brushed aside the confusion, muttering to himself: "Whatever—let's say seven!"
Just then, a strange figure darted out from behind him.
"A ghost!?"
He whipped around, startled.
On closer look, he realized it wasn't a ghost but a person in a green training suit, upside-down, "running" with their hands.
Lee shuffled closer: "Uh, what are you doing?"
The oddball replied: "I'm training!"
"Training!?"
Lee blinked.
In that brief moment, the stranger overtook him and vanished like a puff of smoke.
"I'm running with my legs—am I slower than someone using their hands?"
Gritting his teeth, Lee dragged his weary body after them.
He knew that as long as he stayed on Neji's team—even as the dead-last—he'd still contribute to solid group results.
But the more that was true, the less he could tolerate dragging Neji down.
And so.
That night, many Hidden Leaf villagers witnessed two oddballs: one racing around the village upside-down on their hands, the other trailing behind, foolishly running lap after lap.