Some grudges were loud. Others were quiet. And the Uchiha never forgot either.
"Good morning, Adrian! Shizune!"
At the Ninja Academy gates, Adrian and Shizune ran into Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara, who happened to arrive together.
Adrian returned their greeting with a polite smile. "What a coincidence. Morning, Kurenai. Morning, Rin."
"Morning," Shizune added softly, nodding.
As they walked closer, Rin looked at Adrian with open curiosity. "Adrian, team assignments are coming soon. Have you decided who you want to be with?"
Kurenai's eyes carried the same expectation. "Yeah… is there anyone you want to team up with?"
The moment they asked, Shizune's expression tightened. If her hands weren't full of lunch boxes, she looked like she might've grabbed Adrian's arm and declared ownership on the spot.
Adrian glanced between the two girls and answered calmly, "I'm fine with anyone. If I ended up on a team with you two, that'd be great too. But usually the teachers decide based on our grades and balance—strengths and weaknesses. I don't really know how they'll arrange it."
Rin and Kurenai's eyes sparkled.
"Ah… I really hope I can be on a team with you," Rin said softly.
"Me too," Kurenai added, just as eagerly.
Shizune, meanwhile, was visibly unhappy.
They had just stepped through the school gate when a loud voice came from behind them.
"Adrian, you jerk! Fight me!"
A boy in Uchiha clothing, wearing goggles, stormed toward them—Obito Uchiha.
For once, he hadn't been late. And the moment he arrived, he saw Rin looking at Adrian with that admiring expression again.
His patience snapped instantly.
"Obito!" Rin started, trying to stop him.
Too late.
Obito swung an angry, clumsy punch straight at Adrian.
Adrian frowned. Rude.
Future Obito—after awakening Mangekyō Sharingan—would become a nightmare.
But the Obito in front of him now?
This weak, sloppy punch wasn't even worth taking seriously.
Adrian shifted his body slightly, letting the blow sail past. Then, without urgency, he lifted one foot and hooked Obito's unsteady step.
Obito's foundation was terrible. His stance was floating. He wasn't even stable enough to start a real fight, and he still rushed in like that.
Adrian almost felt secondhand embarrassment.
Obito lost balance immediately.
"Ah—!"
He fell face-first into the ground.
A full, clean, humiliating faceplant.
Rin gasped and covered her mouth.
Then she looked at Adrian first. "Adrian, are you okay?"
Adrian shook his head lightly. "I'm fine."
Only then did Rin turn, frowning at Obito. "Obito! How could you do that? You can't just attack Adrian!"
Obito lowered his head, miserable. He hadn't even hit Adrian—and he'd managed to humiliate himself in front of Rin on top of it.
Shizune and Kurenai both stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
Even though Rin was angry, she was still Rin. Gentle. Kind.
She crouched down anyway. "Obito, are you hurt?"
Her simple concern instantly made Obito's chest swell with emotion.
It was the same pattern that would eventually ruin him—mistaking kindness for romance, building a fantasy where Rin belonged to him, ignoring reality until it broke him.
"Rin…!"
Obito's eyes turned watery.
Then he saw Adrian's calm, unreadable face—and somehow interpreted it as mockery.
He sprang up. "Adrian! You cheated! Fight me again!"
Before Adrian could respond, Kurenai cut in sharply.
"You were the one who tried to sneak attack him! You fell on your own!" Her eyes were cold. "Are all Uchiha this petty when they lose?"
It was a reckless thing to say in Konoha.
A very reckless thing.
And sure enough, a boy who had been walking a little behind Obito stepped forward before Obito could even protest.
He looked younger than them by a few years, also wearing Uchiha clothing, and his voice was calm—but firm.
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that. The Uchiha name isn't yours to judge."
Kurenai blinked. "You are…?"
Then recognition hit.
"…Uchiha Shisui?"
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
If Kurenai hadn't said it, he might not have noticed. He didn't pay much attention to academy drama. His focus was training.
But Shisui…
This was the Uchiha prodigy who would one day possess the infamous dōjutsu known as Kotoamatsukami.
Adrian wasn't impressed by the legend the way others were. If it was truly all-powerful, certain tragedies would've ended far sooner.
Still—Shisui's talent was real.
And Uchiha pride was realer.
Kurenai's expression turned cautious, realizing she'd stepped on something sharp.
Adrian didn't particularly want trouble, but he also didn't want the Uchiha targeting Kurenai afterward. Whether she knew it or not, she'd already become one of his most loyal little admirers.
He stepped forward with a polite smile.
"You're right," Adrian said smoothly. "Kurenai shouldn't have phrased it like that. She didn't mean to insult the Uchiha clan—she was just angry because Obito attacked first. That's all."
Shisui's expression eased slightly.
Then—
A hand seized the back of Shisui's collar.
At the same instant, Shisui's chakra locked up completely.
A cold voice spoke close to his ear.
"And since your clan was at fault first… why can't people question it? Or is the Uchiha way to bully anyone who speaks back?"
Shisui's body went rigid.
He turned his head with effort—only to see Adrian smiling gently at him.
But the terror wasn't in the smile.
It was in the fact that Shisui couldn't move.
Couldn't form seals.
Couldn't even pull chakra.
A shinobi without chakra in front of another shinobi wasn't much harder to kill than a chicken.
Shisui's pupils contracted.
He hadn't sensed footsteps.
Hadn't seen hand seals.
Hadn't felt a chakra fluctuation.
Yet something had appeared behind him, restrained him, and shut his chakra down in a single breath.
Then the pressure vanished.
A flower clone dissolved into petals and disappeared.
Shisui remained frozen in place.
Rin, Kurenai, and Obito stared at Adrian in shock.
Only Shizune looked relatively calm—she'd seen enough of Adrian's ability to know better than to panic.
Adrian brushed it off with an easy smile, ruffled Shizune's hair, and turned toward the building.
"Come on," he said. "Class is about to start."
Rin didn't even bother with Obito now. She and Kurenai hurried after Adrian.
Kurenai glanced back at the motionless Shisui, eyes wide. "Adrian—what did you do?"
"Nothing serious," Adrian replied lightly. "Just made him stand there for a while. A small lesson."
Rin's eyes sparkled. "Adrian, you're incredible! Shisui is known as a genius in the Uchiha clan!"
Before Adrian could answer, Shizune spoke up with unmistakable pride.
"Of course he is! Adrian works really hard. He's just low-key. If he wanted attention, there wouldn't be any 'Uchiha genius' talk at all!"
Behind them, Obito stood up, furious, and stomped over to Shisui.
"Hey—are you okay?"
Shisui didn't respond.
His eyes were still wide, unfocused, as if his brain was replaying what just happened again and again.
Obito snorted, saw Rin walking away with Adrian, and immediately abandoned Shisui without a second thought—chasing after Rin like a dog chasing food.
Shisui remained rooted to the spot.
That single head turn had felt like it drained all of his strength.
His mind raced.
No hand seals. No chakra wave. No warning. A clone behind me. A lock that shut down my chakra instantly…
From his experience, Shisui could only come to one conclusion:
If that had been a battlefield, he would've died in the first second.
He did know the name Adrian Voss.
Everyone did.
Among the girls in every grade, Adrian was famous—because every lunchtime, a crowd gathered around him near the trees.
His academics were only "above average."
His practical sparring results were unimpressive.
Shisui had dismissed him before.
In his mind, the shinobi three prohibitions were clear—wine, lust, greed. A boy surrounded by girls every day shouldn't have much future.
Today, Adrian taught him a lesson.
Perfect scores didn't mean you were truly dangerous.
But someone who knew how to control their scores?
That kind of person was terrifying.
Adrian never dominated in sparring. He always stopped short. Drew. Withdrew. Kept fights "even" no matter who stood across from him—whether they were talented or not.
If Adrian were truly weak, he wouldn't have been this admired.
Because girls weren't blind.
And now Shisui understood—
Adrian Voss wasn't just good-looking.
He was hiding something sharp enough to cut throats before anyone realized they were in danger.
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