Konoha: This Uchiha is extremely sneaky

Chapter 37 The Grove

The school bell rang softly, its sound echoing throughout the entire ninja academy.

I've already endured the torment of the entire afternoon.

Many daring students, before the teacher even stepped out of the classroom, had already sneaked out through the back door and rushed towards the school gate, eager to escape this prison that seemed to confine their bodies and minds.

Groups of familiar students, or those going the same way, gathered at the school gate. They walked along that familiar road, heading home.

However, upon closer observation, it can be observed that quite a few groups of three to five, or even more than ten, of the teenagers have broken away from the group heading home.

Turn onto a side road.

These children, who turned onto the side road in groups, seemed slightly different from those who listened attentively in class and obediently went home after school; they appeared more "street-smart."

Some of them stood with their arms crossed, looking calm and collected. Others had their hands in their pockets, trying to appear nonchalant. Their demeanor was strikingly similar to that of a down-on-his-luck wandering samurai or a street thug.

Following this path, you'll soon arrive at a vast cherry blossom grove. Although it's autumn, some special varieties, such as the October cherry, the small Higan cherry, and the medal cherry, are still in bloom.

As the autumn wind blew, petals fell like rain, filling the entire grove with their fragrance.

Legend has it that this cherry blossom grove is...

It was planted by the First Hokage himself at the very beginning of the Ninja Academy. You can often see old trees that would take two or three people to encircle, each one growing remarkably well.

But none of that matters now.

In the center of the grove, on a relatively large clearing, two groups of ninja school students were facing off against each other.

The group of people sent a relatively small number of gifts, but their clothing was relatively uniform. With the occasional exception, most of them wore dark blue turtleneck long-sleeved shirts.

The other group, which was larger, wasn't so particular. Their clothing was a motley collection, clearly indicating they came from different families, but fortunately, the materials used in their clothes were relatively expensive.

The smaller group consisted mainly of children with black hair and black eyes, interspersed with a few brown-haired children. However, they all shared a common characteristic: they all wore the Flame Fan family crest. There were only twenty-six or twenty-seven of them, less than thirty.

The side with more people.

Their hair and eye colors were quite varied, and the family crests on their backs were even more diverse. There were nearly sixty members from major Konoha families such as Sarutobi, Shimura, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara.

"Uchiha Akane! If you don't give us a satisfactory explanation for this, you'll be sorry!"

"Explanation? What explanation do you want? Sarutobi New Village, do you think we'll be afraid just because you have more people today? Ridiculous! If that worked, we wouldn't need to fight; we could just outnumber each other!"

"Arrogant! I'll show you what regret really means!"

"Just a loser. If it weren't for the fact that there are more of you than me, you probably wouldn't even have the courage to raise your voice at me!"

At the forefront of the confrontation between the two groups, two boys, around eleven or twelve years old, were exchanging words, locked in a fierce battle of wits.

They are the representatives of their respective sides.

Both are sixth-year students at the Ninja Academy this year, and they will graduate in less than two months. Judging from their conversation, it's clear that the two don't get along at all.

[So this is how interesting it is for ninja academy students to fight! First, they engage in a verbal battle, trying to gain the upper hand in terms of momentum?]

[Could this cherry blossom grove be the place where Kushina Uzumaki was bullied by her classmate's older brother in the original story?]

[I remember that older brother who had already graduated from the ninja academy; I think he ended up getting beaten up by Kushina.]

He mingled among the Uchiha people.

Unlike his serious-looking companion beside him, who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, Toshiro was shaking his head and looking around.

"Uchiha Akane, why waste words with them? Let's fight!"

"Sarutobi Shinmura, what are you waiting for! Attack! Did we come here just to watch you chat?"

"Exactly! Exactly! Hurry up and do it, the first come, the better. We're still waiting to go home for dinner!"

An untimely urging voice broke the atmosphere between the two. Turning around, they both found themselves surrounded.

In the grove at this time.

A large group of people have already arrived.

Unlike the two groups of boys who were currently facing off, the new arrivals included both boys and girls, ranging from first-graders to sixth-graders nearing graduation.

Some stood atop the cherry blossom trees, looking down at them. Others stood beneath the trees, leaning against the trunks and gazing in their direction, their faces filled with excitement.

They seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

This is why Toshiro's classmate, Ryo Shishido, said things escalated so much. The two sides had arranged a fight that morning, and with so many people to notify, the news spread like wildfire.

Upon hearing the news, these energetic and restless prospective ninjas spread the word far and wide. The news reached every student in the ninja academy who wasn't completely out of touch. After school, there was bound to be a lively scene to watch in the grove.

There are probably no fewer than 300 school students gathered here.

Uchiha Akane and Sarutobi Shinmura clearly hadn't expected their conflict to escalate to this point. Now, both sides are caught in a difficult situation.

"There's still the New Year in Chiyan. There's absolutely no need for you two to fight over such a trivial matter. After all, you're all from the same village, and you'll be fighting side by side on the battlefield in the future..."

Just then.

A young man with long, flowing hair, pure white eyes, and a refined appearance walked into the arena and addressed both sides.

[They're still inexperienced; these two clearly don't know. The more people involved in a fight like this, the less likely it is to actually break out.]

[If I had known this would happen, there would have been no need for me to come to class in my physical body this afternoon. It was a waste of my entire afternoon.]

The man who came out to mediate was named Hyuga Takashi. His smooth forehead was a clear indication that he belonged to the main branch of the Hyuga clan.

However, it's clear that some people don't want this farce to end so prematurely.

Two whooshing sounds rang out as two egg-sized pebbles flew through the air, striking Uchiha Akane and Sarutobi Shinshun on the head.

"Ah!" X2

"Despicable! They actually launched a sneak attack! Let's take them all out!"

"Shameless! He actually called for backup. Everyone, follow me!"

Attacked, the two men retreated a few steps almost simultaneously, pointing at their opponent and shouting angrily.

This unexpected turn of events left Hyuga Takashi, who had just come out to mediate the conflict, dumbfounded. Looking at Akahira and Shinmura, who were clutching their heads and groaning in pain, he was momentarily unsure whether it was an ambush or a sneak attack.

Upon seeing their leader injured and accusing the other side of ambushing them, both sides roared and charged at each other.

(End of this chapter)