Kurenai walked between the two of them and interrupted the silence: "Dad, is the food ready?"
Shinku snapped out of his memories of his old friend and replied, "It's already prepared, in the kitchen. Go and bring it."
Kurenai obediently went to the kitchen, and Shinku turned to Shintaro and invited him to sit, "Sit down, Shintaro, make yourself at home. After all, you have no one at home. Come to my house for dinner every night from now on and try my cooking. It'll also make my home more lively."
Shintaro politely planned to decline, but Shinku seemed quite insistent, and he couldn't refuse any longer.
"Thank you, Uncle."
Shinku smiled contentedly, "You and Kurenai are the same age. She's less than a year older than you. You two are good friends, so it's convenient for you to study and practice together."
Shintaro looked at his thin and serious face, filled with kindness.
He obediently nodded to Shinku.
Kurenai came out carrying plates of food, large and small. Shintaro immediately stood up, took the plates, and set them on the table, filling it with food.
Shinku had a satisfied smile on his lips, then took out chopsticks and handed them to the two of them.
The three of them sat down and enjoyed the sumptuous meal.
While eating, Shinku told Kurenai what he had just told Shintaro, asking them to have dinner together at home in the future and to help each other when facing difficulties.
Compared to the calm Shintaro, Kurenai's reaction was much more intense, even her movements while picking vegetables became a bit unnatural.
However, she did not refuse, she just kept repeating in her mind that Shintaro was like a younger brother to distract herself from thoughts of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.
After all, her father's words seemed like he had found a husband for her.
After the meal, Shintaro took the initiative to stay and help wash the dishes before leaving.
By the time he left the Yuhi house, it was already dark.
Fortunately, Shintaro had a good memory and had already memorized the route from the Yuhi residence to the Uchiha Clan's home.
He intended to go straight home but was stopped by a group of acquaintances along the way.
It was Kotetsu and the others.
Shintaro initially thought they were there to cause trouble again, but unexpectedly, Kotetsu threw himself at him as soon as he saw him.
"Shintaro Aniki!!! You have to stand up for us!! We're being bullied!"
Kotetsu hugged Shintaro's thigh and cried, very different from his previous attitude.
Shintaro, who was slightly germophobic, shook his leg twice to shake off Kotetsu and asked, "What happened?"
Hamasu then explained the whole story clearly.
It turned out that Kotetsu and the others had planned to find a place to practice after school, but their family's training ground was under repair, so they went to Public Training Ground No. 4.
They were practicing well, but a group of students from the Hyuga Clan liked the spot they were in and wanted them to leave. When they refused, a conflict arose.
But it seemed there was a senior member of the Hyuga Clan among them, and the others were beaten until they couldn't fight back and were forced to leave in desperation.
"Aniki, those Hyuga Clan members are too arrogant. They beat us without saying anything and even insulted our reputation as Uchiha, saying that our title as the strongest clan in Konoha is meaningless!"
"Aniki, you have to help us!"
The others nearby also imitated Kotetsu and called him Aniki, asking Shintaro to step forward and avenge them.
Kotetsu lifted his and his younger brother Hamasu's clothes, revealing dense and terrifying red spots, "Shintaro Aniki, this is all because of that senior! It still hurts."
Shintaro observed and was surprised. He saw that the acupoints on Kotetsu and Hamasu's bodies were blocked by the residual chakra of someone else.
"This must be the work of the Hyuga Clan. It seems like a taijutsu that uses fingers to concentrate chakra and penetrate the opponent's body to disrupt their chakra. No, it's definitely taijutsu."
Shintaro used his Six Eyes to quickly analyze the Hyuga Clan's methods, which seemed somewhat intricate.
Faced with the requests of several people, he didn't immediately agree. Instead, he first approached Kotetsu and Hamasu, gesturing for them not to move, and injected his chakra into their bodies, expelling the residual Hyuga Clan chakra.
Both of them immediately felt the blockage in their bodies disappear. Kotetsu sighed, "Aniki can heal!"
Hamasu, holding back for a long time, finally managed to say, "Thank you, Aniki."
Shintaro then responded, "The Hyuga Clan is quite capable. I'll help you teach them a lesson, but not now. It's already late. You should go back and rest first, you can take me to settle the score with them after school tomorrow."
Hearing that Shintaro agreed to avenge them, Kotetsu and the others were very excited, and after agreeing on the time, they ran off.
On the way, Hamasu asked confidently, "Do you think Shintaro Aniki can win?"
Kotetsu, changing his previous flattery, showed a cunning look completely different from his younger brother, "My intuition tells me that this guy is stronger than that Hyuga Clan member. If he can't even beat a Hyuga Clan member, then he doesn't deserve to be our Aniki."
Clearly, he was only using the so-called Aniki as a tool for revenge to regain his dignity.
On the other hand, Shintaro also saw through the other's cunning. Regardless of whether he could avenge them or not, at least he could fight to a draw with both sides suffering losses. That was Kotetsu's real goal.
But Shintaro still agreed. He had heard about the Hyuga Clan's reputation, and it seemed they were also a prominent clan in the village, and among them was a senior Hyuga ninja academy student.
If he could defeat this Hyuga Clan member, it would undoubtedly be the best proof of his strength.
Shintaro planned to further showcase his exceptional talent to the Clan in exchange for more attention.
However, he wasn't ready to fight without preparation. Shintaro went to the Clan leader's house.
At this moment, Fugaku was sitting in his yard, so Shintaro found him and explained everything about Kotetsu and the others.
Seeing that Fugaku didn't stop him from causing trouble for the Hyuga Clan, Shintaro asked for information about the Hyuga Clan.
Fugaku mainly talked about the two methods of the Hyuga Clan: Byakugan and Gentle Fist.
As Shintaro had guessed, Gentle Fist was the physical technique that caused the red spots all over Kotetsu and the others.
Byakugan became the focus of Shintaro's attention. According to Fugaku, almost every member of the Hyuga Clan could master this equally famous ocular technique as the Sharingan.
The Byakugan's field of view was nearly 360 degrees, reaching over a kilometer, and could see through all obstacles. Combined with the Gentle Fist's acupoint skills, it was a deadly move.
Shintaro knew in his heart that tomorrow's opponent would be somewhat difficult, but he could win.
After coming to this conclusion, he left the clan leader's house.
After Shintaro left, Fugaku looked at the trees in the yard alone and murmured to himself, "Is this just a conflict among juniors, or is there a directive behind it from the Hyuga Clan? The strongest clan in Konoha? Hizashi, do you think this is a good title?"