After the tournament, I took my bag and started walking towards home while thinking about kids, especially Naruto’s way of fighting. ‘Academy fighting style isn’t as good as Interceptor Style but where Interceptor Style is all about counters, it seems like academy fighting style has an answer for everything. And their mastery…’ It seemed like all of them were at home with the style. Easily changing their stance when needed and knowing exactly what stance to use. ‘Maybe Arata’s way of teaching is really better than the academy’s or even my brother’s.’ I shook my head. “No, my brother is the best.”

“Yes, Itachi-san is a prodigy and an Uchiha with active Sharingan. Of course, he is the best, after Fugaku-san that is.”

I turned to the voice and noticed that I was already at the gate to the Uchiha compound. I smiled at the Saba and answered, “Hn.” He nodded at me, and I nodded back. Then I continued my walk. I thought about learning Academy Taijutsu Style too. They seemed to learn it fast enough after all.

After walking a few minutes, I was in front of the door to my home. I knocked on the door and after a while, a fairly tall woman with dark hair and onyx eyes opened it. She smiled at me. “Sasuke-chan, you are home.” She yelled then took me in a hug. My protests about the suffix she used ignored but my embarrassment still came to an end. I took a deep breath and got inside. I closed the door and dropped my bag on the ground.

Mother took the bag and looked at me oddly. “Your father wants to talk to you. Your brother is with him too.”

I nodded. “Where are they, police building?” My mother shook her head and pointed at the door to my father’s study. I sighed and knocked on the door before sliding it open. What greeted me was two men with dark hair and onyx eyes, much like my mother. But not as welcoming in my father’s case. He pointed to the ground in front of him, so I bend my knee and sat down on my legs.

Father nodded and said, “I heard there was a tournament today. You won, isn’t that right, Sasuke?” He asked, but what I heard is ‘you better won.’ So I started sweating. I sighed reflexively and shook my head. Father continued then. “Who won?”

“Naruto… Uzumaki.”

“Hn.” I looked up surprised. I was expecting him to berate me, asking me how I managed to lose against an orphan, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Who did you lost against?”

“H-Hyuuga Hinata.”

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That won me a stare. “You lost to a Hyuuga.” I nodded reluctantly. “I heard Hinata Hyuuga was too… kind. Maybe your previous match took a toll on you.”

He looked at me expectantly, to give him a reason not to get angry or worse, disappointed. So I nodded. “In my first match, I acted carelessly and took a kick to my knee. While I was fighting with Hinata… Hinata wasn’t kind father. She fought like she wanted me dead.”

My father and brother looked at each other, then father said, “Perhaps we were wrong about her.”

I shook my head. “She was normally kind but Arata and Naruto did something to make her fight like that.”

“Why?” Father asked.

I wiped the sweat dripping from my eyebrows with my sleeve and answered, “Arata and Iruka-sensei made a bet.” I quickly relayed what was bet about and Arata’s attempts to cheat. I told him about how Arata said Hara to kick my leg too.

Father took it all and turned to my brother. “Are you sure he is a friend to Uchiha?” My brother nodded. Father then turned to me. “I heard he was teaching kids taijutsu. How are his… students?”

I gulped rather loudly. “They are good. The one I thought had a weak body but I still felt her kick. It was enough to injure me temporarily. Other kids too were good. I even…” I sighed and caught my father looking at me expectantly. “Father, should I learn Academy Taijutsu Style? It seems to has an answer for everything.”

Father nodded. I felt some air escape my lungs in relief. Then my brother said, “Nidaime wanted Academy Taijutsu Style to be the main taijutsu style for Konoha Shinobi. To facilitate that, he made it an encompassing style with stances against every problem that can arise on the field. It’s also used as a springboard to learn other, more specialized styles. We don’t learn it because of what we have.

‘Sharingan.’ I squeezed my fists and nodded.

Father nodded again and gave me a piercing gaze. “Your brother told me about other kids’ improvements in the style. Since it won’t take long to learn enough, I permit you to learn from Arata. But while doing that, I want you to observe him closely; I want you to learn how he teaches that good and if he has another trick we don’t know about.”

I nodded. “Yes, father.”

Father cleared his throat, “Did you say Arata what I told you?”

“Yes, father.” I took the paper Arata written and said while giving it to my father. “I told him and he wanted me to write my name. He said he will teach me when my calligraphy is good enough.”

“I saw your calligraphy. It’s good.” He then looked at the paper and hummed, “It seems it isn’t.” After thinking for a while, father asked, “Is there anything else?”

I nodded. “Arata is going to teach Naruto too.”

Father looked at me seriously. “Did he say why?”

I shook my head. “No, but he is like that. I wouldn’t be surprised he starts teaching the rest of the class too.”

“I understand.” He then turned to my brother. “Itachi. I want you to go Arata and tell him Uchiha doesn’t wish him to teach fuinjutsu rest of the class for now. But he… can teach Uzumaki. I don’t mind.”

“I can tell him too,” I told them.

“No, Itachi will.” My brother nodded and disappeared from the room. ‘So cool.’ I thought inside but didn’t let my face show it.

“Let’s talk about this tournament some more.” I suddenly felt the temperature drop. ‘Brother, come back.’