Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

This curious and proactive girl is not the kind of reckless young woman who just blindly rushes in.

Uchiha wisteria flower,

She is Zongxian's younger sister.

While her talent may not match that of her brother, who seemed to have an unfair advantage, she was still considered top-notch in the clan and quite intelligent. However, sometimes her physical actions outpaced her mental thinking, which made her appear somewhat reckless. But in fact, the girl's intelligence was not clouded by this.

"Yes, the situation is quite complicated."

Sakura Haruno didn't deny it, but subconsciously felt that this wasn't the place to explain, so she simply nodded.

"Then let's talk somewhere else."

The vine flower, its curiosity piqued, couldn't wait to find out what was happening; it seemed quite interesting.

beside,

Yakumo sighed helplessly.

However, Sakura herself doesn't seem to mind communicating with people, so there's no need to stop her.

at this time,

"Yakumo, Fujika, you go first. I have something to tell Master." Tsuchigumo Hotaru, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "Let's arrange a meeting place. I'll be there to find you soon."

The girls stared in astonishment.

Even Zongxian was taken aback for a moment, then his brows furrowed slightly, as he had already guessed the reason behind it.

"...Okay, let's go get some sweet rice balls. It's graduation day! Let's celebrate with some meatballs. I haven't had their yokan in ages, I'm really craving it."

Fujika didn't ask Hotaru what she wanted to say, but quickly chose a place to meet.

and,

They ran to Zongxian's desk, naturally extended their right hand, and gently hooked it. The meaning was quite obvious. As a result, Zongxian's wallet was forced to undergo a slimming exercise. The girls who successfully robbed the Hokage left the Hokage Building in the same whirlwind as when they arrived.

······

"Hotaru, are you thinking about going back to Katsuragi Mountain?" Zongxian carefully examined his little apprentice. The twelve-year-old girl still retained some childlike innocence, but compared to the little child in his memory, she had undergone earth-shattering changes!

"I am, after all, a member of the Earth Spider clan."

"family?"

Zongxian raised an eyebrow. In the ninja world, clan is a very important term. Even in this era where the five great ninja villages stand side by side, ninjas still have a very strong sense of belonging to their clans. Putting aside everything else, the cohesion of the Uchiha clan is definitely one of the best in Konoha. Excluding the occasional 'talented individuals', most Uchiha are quite united.

but,

Even families have a dark side.

The Earth Spider Clan... Hmph, a small temple with a lot of evil spirits, a shallow pond with many turtles.

"Has someone been looking for you?"

"I didn't see anyone, but they found Dunbei."

Dunbei is a young girl's attendant.

Although Hotaru Tsuchigumo regards Dunbei, an old man who followed her grandfather and father, as an elder, Dunbei stubbornly considers himself Hotaru's attendant, and no amount of persuasion can change his mind.

"Don't overthink it. Even if you really wanted to go back to the Tsuchigumo clan, now wouldn't be the time. Right now, you're just a student who just graduated from the Ninja Academy. What could you do if you went back to the Tsuchigumo clan? Having lost the forbidden technique, Raging Hair Heaven, the Tsuchigumo clan is no longer the honey that attracts countless insects. The Tsuchigumo clan isn't in such dire straits that they need you to go back and help them."

"Then Master? I..."

"Let's talk about going back to Katsuragi Mountain after you become a Jonin! Don't even think about it until you become a Jonin."

Zongxian drew a clear line for his disciples.

Returning to Mount Katsuragi without sufficient self-defense capabilities is not a good thing. His title as the Sixth Hokage may not be enough to deter those ambitious and dangerous madmen. The ninja world has never lacked fools who think too highly of themselves.

Furthermore,

Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers.

That makes sense.

Not everyone will fear him, the Sixth Hokage. He might even attract some people who are desperate for fame. For the sake of fame, some people would even take on the task of assassinating the Hokage, let alone hunting down a Hokage's disciple. Zongxian, who has been in power for less than a year, has already encountered six assassination attempts.

of course,

The closest of these assassinations to success was when Zongxian was captured by the Anbu just 25 meters away. Many of the assassins were discovered before they even had a chance to infiltrate Konoha and formulate a plan.

However, just because Zongxian could withstand these annoying assassins who were like flies didn't mean his disciples could withstand the pressure. As a qualified master, he didn't want to hear that sad news too soon.

Just to be on the safe side.

Staying in Konoha is currently the best option for Tsuchigumo Hotaru.

"Yes, Master, I understand."

The girl nodded obediently.

She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, she didn't have many memories of her family. She had lived with her grandfather, Yoshino Yoshitsugu, deep in the Katsuragi Mountains since she was a child, and had no interaction with most of her clansmen, so she naturally didn't have any feelings for them.

The reason I hesitated was

It was entirely because her grandfather, Yoru no Yoru, deeply loved his family. Even though he was at odds with most of his clansmen, it did not diminish his love for his family. That is why the girl hesitated when she learned from Dunbei that the family had sent someone to contact her.

After Zongxian made the decision for her

There's no need to worry anymore.

"Once you understand, go find Fujika and Yakumo! Tell Fujika not to play too wildly. Tomorrow you need to go to the Ninja Academy to confirm your class assignments and meet your instructors! If you miss it, you'll have to go back to the Ninja Academy for another year. Don't expect me to pull strings for you."

Zongxian made threatening remarks.

However, the girl did not show any fear on her face. Instead, her eyes lit up and she said excitedly, "Master, is the group list really finalized? Teng Hua said she searched around but found nothing, but I always feel that something is wrong."

"This is not your business. Alright, if there's nothing else, hurry up and go find Yakumo and the others to play with. Don't disturb my work here."

Zongxian waved his hand impatiently, signaling his disciple to get lost.

He ultimately failed to establish his image as a strict teacher, mainly because Yakumo and Hotaru were both very well-behaved in the past. Back then, just looking at the cute and adorable little ones made him unable to resist softening his heart. Only Fujika would occasionally give Sogen a little something to do. But now... to be honest, putting on a serious face to scare people is completely useless.

"Really? Master, am I in a team with Yakumo and Fujika? Who is our instructor ninja?"

The problems never end.

Zongxian couldn't take it anymore, so he stood up, opened the window, and raised his hand towards the girl. The next second, the girl, who was three meters away, suddenly flew into the air, as if she had been grabbed by an invisible giant hand. From her waving and gesturing, it was clear that the girl hadn't taken the initiative to fly up, but had been passively lifted into the air.

and,

It flew straight out of the wide-open window and landed in the bushes outside.

"Huh?"

The girl, Hotaru, who had fallen into the bushes outside, let out a miserable cry, only to find that she seemed to be unharmed; the bushes had perfectly reduced the impact of her fall.

Ying, who stood up as if nothing had happened, frowned, pondering her master's method. She had no idea how she had suddenly been sent flying. She had never seen anything like it before! Was it a new technique her master had developed? It seemed pretty impressive! She wondered if she could learn it.

Please don't let it be related to the power of the Sharingan; you can't learn that kind of thing at all!

[Chapter 336 Graduation, Grouping]

The next day.

The classrooms at the ninja academy were packed with people.

The boys and girls tied their headbands, which symbolized their identity as Konoha ninjas, in whatever positions they liked. Some tied them to their arms as armbands, some tied them around their necks as chokers, and some even used them as belts. The wide range of uses and applications showed that they were truly young people, and their outstanding imagination was something that the older generation could not match.

of course,

Most people still obediently tie their headbands to their foreheads.

"From now on, you will all be..." Standing on the podium, Iruka encouraged the students with sincere emotion. Fortunately, the students were more patient than usual today. After all, they had no choice but to wait for the group list to be announced. Anyone who dared to skip class at this time was probably thinking of dominating the next graduating class.

but,

Not skipping class doesn't mean everyone will behave.

Speaking on stage, chatting off stage.

Fortunately, Iruka wasn't one to indulge in long-winded speeches. He wasn't lacking in speaking skills, but rather in a simple and unpretentious manner. Coupled with his overflowing emotions, these skills were overshadowed. Unfortunately, the twelve-year-old boys and girls at this age clearly couldn't appreciate their teacher's concern.

Their minds are now filled with fantasies of the glorious future they would have as ninjas.

I might only remember how fortunate I was to have met such a wonderful teacher when I have the chance to do so in the future.

"Now, I will read out your group assignments. Listen carefully." Iruka raised the cardboard sign he had been holding for a long time, looked at the names on it, cleared his throat, and said, "First up is Team One: Kurama Yakumo... Uchiha Fujika, and Tsuchigumo Hotaru."

When pronouncing names,

He deliberately drew out his voice so that the students could hear him more clearly.

"Ah! Yakumo, Hotaru, we're still together! We're still together!!"

Teng Hua excitedly hugged the girls sitting on either side of her, her posture of hugging one in each arm resembling that of a bandit king who would abduct women.

"With Master around, this is a sure thing!"

Yakumo muttered to himself.

However, she did not push away the wisteria's hand that was wrapped around her shoulder. A barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, clearly indicating that the girl was not entirely indifferent.

"Mmm, Fujika, I know you're happy, but could you be a little gentler? My shoulders hurt so much from your massage!"

Hotaru complained about her friend's rough behavior, but like Yakumo, she was weak and powerless to resist.

only--

Unlike the friendly atmosphere of sweet nothings among the girls, the male students, mainly concentrated in the back of the classroom, let out deep, defeated groans, mixed with cries of "No way?!", "What a waste!", "This is an illusion, this must be an illusion!" and so on.

On stage, Iruka was not unable to understand the boys' sadness.

Because there has always been a campus legend in the ninja academy that boys and girls who are assigned to the same class upon graduation are very likely to become couples, and at the same time, there will be an extra loser or a lone strongman. This legend has been passed down among generations of students. Iruka heard about it when he was studying at the ninja academy.

Such rumors certainly have little audience among students under the age of ten.

However, students over ten years old are no longer children.

This is already an age where one can begin to develop feelings for the opposite sex. In addition, Konoha Village is not so strict in terms of culture. Places like bookstores have clear classification systems, but that can't stop the boys and girls who have already learned the Three Body Techniques from exploring the unknown and mysterious world.

At the same time, graduating students usually form teams of two men and one woman, and indeed, due to long-term contact, many couples and spouses have emerged, providing fertile ground for the flourishing of the legend.

Therefore,