The clan elders had in fact already arrived at the scene when Uchiha Tonan released the Great Fireball Technique. From all the signs on the scene and the conversation between Tonan and Uchiha Tetsugo, the elders more or less understood the course of events.
However, Tetsugo, after all, was a clan member. They needed to investigate things carefully before drawing any conclusion.
Therefore, the Great Elder instructed Tetsugo to be treated and imprisoned in the ancestral hall, where he would personally question him.
Tonan had stayed behind and fought against Tetsugo because he guessed the clan members were already at the scene. After all, they were still within the Uchiha territory, and he did shout out his lungs in the very beginning.
He had done everything to push the crime on Tetsugo.
In the dim ancestral hall, the Great Elder sat on a seat looking down at the kneeling Tetsugo and said, "Do you admit that you unintentionally killed Teno?"
Tetsugo gritted his teeth. His heart was full of grievances but the Uchihas never expressed their protests. He could only angrily say, "Who would have thought that that trash was so useless, and would make an error while releasing a mere C-ranked ninjutsu?"
"According to what you said, Teno had awakened the Sharingan, do you know how precious Sharingan is for the Uchiha clan? And you even wanted to kill Tonan to silence the witness, didn't you?"
"Speak up! Is this true or not?"
"I did."
"He is just six years old and he has already awakened the Sharingan. He is a genius of the clan. He has more potential than both you and Teno."
Tetsugo was unconvinced. He replied "That's because he saw Teno's death that stimulated him into awakening the Sharingan. Though I don't know why he had such a deep relationship with Teno."
The Great Elder looked gloomy as he got up and walked out of the ancestral hall.
"Among the two geniuses who awakened the Sharingan, you killed one and tried your best to kill the other. The first time might be accidental, but the second time, you wanted to kill your clansman deliberately. In a few days, the investigation will be completed, and you will be executed in front of the clan members."
Although Tetsugo had already admitted it, anything could happen in the Ninja World.
At this moment, in the Hokage office, an Anbu suddenly appeared in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Reporting to Hokage, there's a murder case in the Uchiha clan."
"What happened?" Hiruzen blew out a smoke ring and listened to Anbu's report while dealing with the documents.
"It is suspected that two Uchiha students had a conflict, and one accidentally killed the other."
Upon hearing the names of the two people, Hiruzen paused and said, "Both Teno and Tetsugo were about to graduate. It's a pity."
He continued dealing with the documents. Obviously, these two geniuses meant nothing in his eyes. More importantly, they were from the Uchiha clan.
"There was also another Uchiha, named Uchiha Tonan, a first-year student, present on the scene. It is suspected that he had a very good relationship with the murdered Uchiha. On witnessing his death, he awakened one-tomoe Sharingan, and he used the Great Fireball Technique to fight against Tetsugo. Moreover, they were equally matched."
"Oh? Tonan, I didn't expect him to be a genius. Alright, you can withdraw."
After the Anbu left, Hiruzen put down the documents and narrowed his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking.
......
The next day.
Tonan woke up from the bed and saw the Great Elder warmly smiling at him.
"You are awake!"
Tonan nodded, and as if he suddenly recalled something, he asked anxiously, "What about Teno-san?"
An inexplicable look flashed through the Great Elder's eyes. He lightly patted Tonan's hand and said, "Don't dwell on the past. This old man's eyes are very accurate, and I can see that you are a very capable child. Remember, the clan will never harm or exploit you."
After comforting Tonan, the Great Elder got up to leave. But when he reached the door, he said, "By the way, I will implement the family law tonight and execute Tetsugo in front of everyone. I have already asked someone to request a leave for you from the academy, so you can rest at home."
After speaking, he left without looking back.
In the bedroom, Tonan curled up in the bed looking downcast, his thoughts undecipherable.
A while later, a white pigeon landed on the windowsill and quietly eyed Tonan. The boy took out a special feed from his pocket and held it to the bird, who pecked on it and left, perfectly satisfied.
This white pigeon was a lookout ninja beast that Tonan trained according to the methods written in the 'Ninja Beast Training Record'.
It assisted Tonan to watch out for someone tailing or keeping an eye on him. In fact, this kind of ninja beast was truly ordinary. Tonan only needed to use special illusions on it to make it recognize him as the master and feed it often.
The white pigeon symbolized peace. Tonan preferred it to crows. The latter, he thought, would make people know he was a bad person at a glance.
A conniving hunter must don the right camouflage before revealing the fangs.
Tonan didn't attend the public sentence execution at night but stayed home to write in his diary.
Teno-san died. Tetsugo killed him. I'm very sad.
Suddenly, I remembered what Sandaime-sama said before... (13,000 words omitted here.)
Tonight, Great Elder will execute Tetsugo-san in front of everyone.
I hope Teno-san's soul can rest in peace.
After closing the diary, Tonan went to the kitchen and stared at the remaining vegetables and weeds in the refrigerator. He took out all the remaining weeds and put them in a pot to cook.
That night, Tonan made a run for the bathroom over a dozen times, much as per his plan. He almost collapsed.
Early the next morning, he sorted his belongings and went to the Ninja Academy, maintaining the abandoned look. On the way to the academy, the Uchiha clan members no longer looked at him with contempt. Instead, they had goodwill in their eyes.
Was this the change brought about by a person's potential?
After he arrived at the academy, Umino Naoto saw his haggard look and assumed that he was grieving. He didn't ask any questions, and just patted Tonan's shoulder lightly when he entered the classroom.
In the morning's theory class, Tonan kept his head on the table the whole time, with a lost look.
He may appear grief-stricken but little did onlookers know that Tonan was already thinking about his next plan. The lives of his parents were a bit tough. Even at their chunin level, they survived for so long.
Now that he had strength, Tonan couldn't put all the eggs in one basket. The Naruto plot began to unfold in his mind as he started thinking about the short-lived characters.
Suddenly, a name appeared in Tonan's mind — Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
Kakashi was still a first-year student. But according to the plot, Kakashi should graduate in a year. In other words, Sakumo would commit suicide within the next year.
Perhaps, he could grasp a big one. Since Sakumo was certain to die, he just needed to gain timely acknowledgment.
There were various kinds of acknowledgments. The emotional acknowledgment was impossible in this case. After all, Sakumo was neither his relative nor friend. Strength acknowledgment would be even more difficult. Even if his parents died immediately, his strength wouldn't reach the required standard.
That left only the belief acknowledgment. Perhaps, he could carefully plan and prepare.
As long as he succeeded, it would ensure he would have the strength to survive for the next twenty years.
During the recess, Uchiha Obito ran over to Tonan's desk and poked his arm.
"Hello, hello."
Tonan raised his head. There were still tear stains on his cheeks.
"I heard about what happened from the clan members. Don't be sad," Obito scratched his head and said awkwardly.
Tonan nodded weakly and buried his head in his arms again.
Obito smiled awkwardly and said, "Don't worry, Teno-san is not here, but I, the future Hokage, will guide you in your training."
Uchiha Tonan said softly, "Thank you."
Obito smiled and returned to his seat.
"Obito, what's going on, tell me."
"Yes, why is Tonan crying like that?"
"Did his parents..."
"A clan member who had a good relationship with Tonan passed away. He was a Ninja Academy's graduate, Uchiha Teno." Under the gentle offense of a crowd of girls, Obito laid down his arms.
......
Combat class in the afternoon.
With Naoto at the lead, the students assembled in the training ground.
"Today, it's one-to-one combat training. You can choose your opponent. Everyone must participate. The one who wins first place will get extra credit at the end of the term."
"Tonan, do you need to rest it out for a bit?"
Following Naoto's gaze, everyone looked at Tonan, who had his head lowered the entire time.
Tonan shook his head, then slowly raised his head, revealing the one-tomoe Sharingan. He firmly said, "No need, Naoto-sensei, I have already pulled myself together. I will carry forward Teno-san's last wish and become an outstanding ninja."
After experiencing emotional turmoil, Tonan awakened the Sharingan. It seems that the child was dealt a huge blow. But being able to pull himself together so quickly indicated that his psychological strength was commendable.
An understanding smile appeared on Naoto's face as he said, "In that case, today, you can choose your opponent first."
"I'm here." Among the crowd, Obito raised his hand high, "Challenge me."
Tonan's gaze moved among the crowd, passing over Obito who had recommended himself and stopped on a white-haired youth. He placed his hands on his knees, bowed deeply to the person, and said, "Kakashi, I look forward to your advice."