Time was like the Uchiha Clan members, gone in the blink of an eye.
When Xia Mu was in second grade, Sasuke was also seven years old, and then Sasuke experienced the most painful moment of his life.
His beloved older brother, Itachi Uchiha, massacred the entire Uchiha Clan, leaving only him alive in hatred, making him wish he were dead.
From then on, he no longer liked dango, had no favorite things, and his purpose in life was to seek revenge. No one could stop him, otherwise, they would be his enemy.
The girls in the class were still Sasuke's cheering squad.
Because they didn't know about the Uchiha's change, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand that kind of pain.
However, Ino, perhaps having thought something through, although still a member of Sasuke's cheering squad, was no longer as obsessed as before, nor did she constantly try to stick to Sasuke.
Instead, she often stood with Shikamaru and Choji, seemingly understanding the meaning of the Ino-Shika-Cho combination.
Xia Mu only glanced at them and didn't pay much attention.
He was only worried about the Village's safety.
Before the Uchiha Clan was still around, although security was guaranteed, Danzo's Root was very rampant, which made Xia Mu very vigilant. Now that the Uchiha Clan was annihilated, Root would probably be disbanded by Sarutobi Hiruzen soon. However, Konoha, without the Uchiha Police Force, was basically like a sieve, and spies would also start to become active. Xia Mu dared not relax even more.
Fortunately, his current strength is truly not weak, and he has the ability to protect himself against Jonin.
However, there has still been no progress in the research of Water Release: Spiraling Torrential Blast. Instead, he has developed other techniques, such as the previously conceived Water Release: Water Blade, Chakra Sticky Threads, Earth Release: Soaring Revolving Giant Top, etc.
The techniques are still relatively simple, but his Chakra volume is large, so when he uses them, they are definitely at the level of ultimate moves.
As long as he catches them off guard with a sneak attack, he might even take down a Jonin.
In addition, he also took the time to create some things, mainly because his research had no progress, so he could only work on other things to relieve boredom, such as the design of the Demon Blade Thousand Blades, and the ninja killing card game.
Demon Blade Thousand Blades, referencing the Demon Blade Thousand Blades from Assassin Five Six Seven, is a cracked blade forged from thousands of Chakra metal fragments. By controlling the transmission of Chakra, one can control the separation and combination of the fragments, allowing the blade's length to be adjusted at will, making it an absolute divine weapon.
Xia Mu even specifically went to the library to find a book on swordsmanship to learn, which would be useful later, and it would also provide some foundation if he were to learn the Hatake swordsmanship in the future.
However, currently, the Demon Blade Thousand Blades is still just a blueprint. Tenten has already taken it to study, and there's no telling when she'll be able to forge it.
As for the ninja killing card game, Xia Mu came up with it on a whim.
Since he started dating Tenten, his sense of responsibility exploded, and he felt that he couldn't always rely on his future Father-in-law's money. He should also find a way to earn money. Then, by chance, he saw Naruto playing poker with Shikamaru and Choji, and considering the monotony of games in the Ninja World, he took inspiration from the Hero Kill game from his previous life and created this ninja killing card game.
However, it hasn't been long since it was created. Yesterday, he took two new decks to give to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and it passed Sarutobi Hiruzen's review.
The ninja killing card game uses the identities of many deceased Konoha heroes and also involves some clan Ninjutsu, so it had to be approved by the Hokage.
Fortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought it was good, and since the back of the cards all had the political correctness of the Will of Fire, which was beneficial for promoting the Will of Fire, the review was approved.
As for the two decks given to Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was also considered a gift, so he could take them home and play with his grandson.
Speaking of which, that kid Konohamaru should be several years old now, right?
Now all that's left is promotion. Xia Mu plans to find a few friends to play with and then give each of them a deck. He thinks it will spread quickly.
This day was the outdoor combat class.
Iruka held the list and began to call out: "First match, Xia Mu versus Sasuke Uchiha!"
As soon as he finished, he was stunned, and the students also looked at Xia Mu and Sasuke, curious about what kind of battle would follow. After all, their battle in the first year was very exciting, but they hadn't fought since. Now, no one knew what their strength was like.
Sasuke was also very curious about Xia Mu's strength. He stepped forward coolly and said, "Come on, show me your techniques!"
Is Two-Pillared Sasuke getting arrogant again?
Doesn't seem like it!
Xia Mu looked at the originally handsome and cute Sasuke, who now had a gloomy face and dark circles under his eyes. He must not have slept well for a long time, probably having nightmares every night.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. His most respected brother killed the entire clan, even his parents, and used the Sharingan to cast a Tsukuyomi Genjutsu. How could a young Sasuke endure it? Surrounded by hatred during the day and troubled by nightmares at night, it would be strange if his mental state were good.
Xia Mu sighed in his heart, thinking how pitiful Two-Pillared Sasuke was.
Even if he did kill his own brother later, he didn't get revenge. Instead, he was swallowed by darkness and completely blackened.
So pitiful!
However, Xia Mu was not a saint. He could lament Two-Pillared Sasuke's pity, but he wouldn't interfere. Saviors have their own destiny, which Xia Mu could only respect. The rest was just living his own life.
Xia Mu stepped forward and formed the Confrontation Seal, silently pulled out a smoke bomb from his Ninja Tools pouch, and threw it on the ground, where it exploded.
"Smoke bomb? It doesn't seem like it's supposed to be used like that!" Sasuke sneered.
However, in the next second, many Shuriken shot out from the smoke at high speed, directly targeting several vital points and escape routes of Sasuke. Oh, right, starting from the second year, using Ninja Tools and Ninjutsu in combat was allowed.
Sasuke's eyes were sharp. He held a Kunai and deflected two Shuriken, also dodging one by stepping aside.
He was about to say something when he suddenly heard a bang next to his ear. A Shuriken suddenly transformed into Xia Mu's appearance, and Xia Mu swept his foot across Sasuke's unguarded face.
Then he flew out, rolled several times on the ground, and finally got up.
For a moment, everyone was surprised.
Iruka praised, "Xia Mu is very clever. Everyone thought it was foolish of him to detonate the smoke bomb in place, but it was to conceal the truth of himself transforming into a Shuriken. He transformed himself into a Shuriken and threw it out, taking advantage of Sasuke's inattention to launch a sneak attack. It was truly unexpected. In this regard, he is already qualified as a Ninja."
Upon hearing this, the students immediately looked at Xia Mu with envy, not expecting him to have become so powerful.
Last time, he was also the first to knock Sasuke flying, and this time, he knocked Sasuke flying again.
How did he become so powerful?
Naruto immediately shouted, "Xia Mu is awesome! If you defeat that arrogant Sasuke, I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen!"
The girls were furious upon hearing this and loudly bombarded Naruto. Sakura even directly punched Naruto, saying that anyone who treated their beloved Sasuke like that deserved to be hit.
However, the girls didn't notice that Ino was not in the cheering squad and wasn't joining them in punishing Naruto.
Instead, she stood beside Shikamaru and Choji with a serious expression, seemingly unsurprised by Sasuke being knocked flying.