By the time Uchiha Sasuke returned to school, it had already been five days.

Just as Yagyu had thought, the reappearing Uchiha Sasuke exuded a chilling aura.

The darkness had already begun to take shape.

However, Sasuke's fan club was clearly unaware of this.

Instead, they felt that Sasuke looked even cooler now.

All the girls in class thought they were incredibly lucky.

Not only was there the gentle and warm Yagyu, but also the icy and aloof Uchiha Sasuke; they truly didn’t know which one to pursue.

Watching the somewhat intimidating Sasuke, who made his desk mate shrink away in fear, Yagyu was deep in thought.

Although he could not activate it on his own yet, Sasuke had already awakened the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

So, did the chances of him unlocking the Sharingan and Indra's chakra also increase?

Just as Yagyu was pondering this, Sasuke seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly turned to look at him.

“What a frightening look!”

“What’s wrong with Sasuke?”

Ino and Sakura were startled by Sasuke's eyes.

Yagyu, on the other hand, met his gaze without flinching.

After staring at Yagyu for a few seconds, Sasuke finally turned back around.

Yagyu knew he had become Sasuke’s target.

As an orphan, Sasuke placed immense importance on the honor of the Uchiha clan.

He would not allow anyone to slander or look down on the Uchiha clan.

Even more so, he would not permit himself, who bore the honor of the Uchiha clan, to be overshadowed by Yagyu.

From now on, he would certainly train and study hard, putting in every effort to compete for the title of top student.

This was exactly what Yagyu wanted.

If he weren't unable to approach Naruto and Sasuke at will, Yagyu would have been looking for opportunities to spar with them every day.

These two reincarnations of the sons of sages were the greatest treasures of this era.

If he could fully tap into these two treasures, Yagyu's potential could reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths.

———

Time flew like a white horse passing through a gap, and before long, it was March of the 59th year of Konoha.

Unbeknownst to him, nearly four years had passed since the destruction of the Uchiha clan.

The fall of one of the top three powerful clans in Konoha and the ninja world had shocked the ninja community at that time.

Of course, due to his inability to leave the village, Yagyu had no idea how great the uproar was.

However, the exit of the Uchiha clan had caused Konoha, already weakened, to suffer another significant decline in strength.

Yet, strangely, those hostile forces did not take the opportunity to attack Konoha; instead, they maintained the existing balance.

This was good news.

Otherwise, if war broke out, Yagyu's generation would surely be sent to the battlefield ahead of schedule.

If Yagyu hadn’t awakened the game system, the occurrence of war would not matter, as they certainly wouldn’t be assigned to the front lines at their age.

But knowing how great his potential was and what kind of powerful figure he could become after realizing it, Yagyu did not wish for war to break out—at least not for now.

He neither had the strength to go to the front lines, nor did he want to worry about whether the enemy would suddenly dispatch strong figures to stealthily eliminate the new generation of Konoha.

Being wiped out before fully developing by some strong figure who might have been a mere background character in the Fourth Great Ninja War would be more painful than achieving mastery in a technique and immediately being struck down by a shoe falling from the sky while boasting about being invincible.

The five great ninja villages choosing to maintain the existing balance was the best news for Yagyu.

Just as Yagyu had thought, over these nearly four years, Sasuke had been constantly competing with him, trying to snatch the title of top student from him.

In physical confrontations during small tests and surprise exams, Sasuke even proactively asked Iruka to let him be Yagyu's opponent.

During this time, there was an incident where Naruto provoked Sasuke, only to be effortlessly taken down by him.

Looking at Sasuke, who seemed like he would beat up other classmates if he wasn’t arranged to face Yagyu, Iruka felt a headache coming on.

But he did not agree; instead, he asked for Yagyu's opinion.

Of course, Yagyu agreed; he had been worried about how to match up with Sasuke anyway.

So, in these nearly four years, apart from the major exams, all the physical confrontation opponents in other tests, even the kunai duels that started from the third grade, were all Sasuke.

And naturally, Sasuke had lost all the challenges he posed over the past few years.

Sasuke might be very diligent, but he would never be as hardworking as Yagyu.

Having mastered the Shadow Clone Technique in his first year, Yagyu was not training alone; he was growing at every moment, already possessing the strength to graduate early.

If it weren't for wanting to take a chance to see if he could discover some good things over these six years, Yagyu would have already sent his shadow clone to attend class like Itachi Uchiha.

Without being able to activate his Sharingan, Sasuke was simply no match for Yagyu in terms of basic ninja skills.

Every year's top student was naturally Yagyu's to claim.

Continuously winning the title of top student while also outperforming the heirs of various ninja clans of this generation, Yagyu's reputation had spread not only throughout the ninja school but also caught the attention of some significant figures.

Especially Yamanka Inoichi and Hyuga Hiashi, who were very concerned about this guy who had taken their daughters away.

To this end, they had even secretly observed Yagyu and his friends' training.

Seeing Yagyu teach Hinata and the others techniques that only lower-ranked ninjas would learn, and that they all mastered them, both Yamanka Inoichi and Hyuga Hiashi looked at Yagyu with new respect, no longer stopping their daughters from playing with him.

Even Sarutobi Hiruzen was paying attention to Yagyu.

Having the Fourth Hokage as an example, Sarutobi Hiruzen placed great importance on civilian geniuses.

Bloodline limits were not what mattered; what mattered was talent.

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

Yagyu's ability to overpower the heirs of various ninja clans and consistently occupy the position of top student indicated that his talent and potential were exceptional.

With some investment and guidance, he might become a pillar of the village in the future.

And Yagyu, of course, was unaware that his "low-profile" self had attracted the attention of many significant figures.

If he knew that he had already caught the Hokage's attention, Yagyu would surely breathe a sigh of relief.

He was not afraid of Sarutobi Hiruzen paying attention to him; he was afraid that Shimura Danzo had taken notice of him.

Fortunately, both of his parents had been Chūnin in Konoha and were from the Hokage lineage.

He was also from the "pure and noble" Hokage lineage, so even if Shimura Danzo was domineering, he couldn't just send people to take Yagyu away for brainwashing without any discussion.

In such a small village, there were only so many calculations to be made.

There's nothing to be done; the saying "wealth does not last beyond three generations" applied perfectly to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

How strong was Konoha in the past?

The number of elite ninja was too many to count on one hand.

But these experts had either been played out by Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo or had been forced to leave home.

Now, with only himself left as the leading figure, he finally understood what it meant to be anxious.