Sarutobi Zhang mentally retraced the chain of events, belatedly realizing how pathetic his performance had been. After a few more seconds of reflection, he ultimately had to accept reality; he didn't dare to complain, knowing that if the whole story came out, the consequences might be even worse.
Subsequently, the teacher used the Shadow Clone Technique to create two clones. Including the original, there were three of them in total. Each grabbed one of the boys by the collar and brought Sarutobi Zhang to the school infirmary. After a thorough examination by the school doctor, it was determined that nothing was seriously wrong and they would be fine after a short rest.
The teacher then left, but not before dropping a parting remark: "Oh, right, for the next six months, the clean-up duty for this entire area will be handled by the few of you."
Clearly, this was a punishment—a penalty for losing a fight, and also an opportunity given by the head of discipline for Sarutobi Zhang to make amends. As for whether Sarutobi Zhang would grasp the underlying message, that depended entirely on him; the head of discipline had no intention of spelling it out for him.
This unexpected punishment made the faces of the boys lying on the beds and Sarutobi Zhang turn instantly grim. However, the head of discipline couldn't be bothered with their gloomy expressions. He turned and left the infirmary, clearly quite displeased by having his leaving-work time interrupted.
From then on, Uchiha Chi's life returned to peace. Every day he went to school, spending his mornings listening to lectures, studying theoretical knowledge, and occasionally discussing things with his two deskmates.
At noon, they would share lunch together, and occasionally he would enjoy the homemade bento boxes brought to him by his deskmates, Mizutani Hayun and Tachibana Taki. His days were as comfortable as could be.
Especially Aburame clan member Aburame Zhihua and Inuzuka clan member Inuzuka Hui, who had misunderstood the relationship among the three of them. The looks they gave Uchiha Chi were somewhat off, and they wished they could take his place. As for Qiu Dao Xiu, he was doing fine and was only interested in good food.
Uchiha Chi, however, didn't sense any romantic ambiguity. Although he harbored certain feelings for them, his emotional intelligence was lacking, and he didn't really know how to close the distance between them, so he simply let nature take its course.
He only felt that the relationship between the two girls was somewhat strange—it was unusually close—though Uchiha Chi clearly failed to perceive the essence of it.
Naturally, he never slacked off in his training either. During afternoon practical classes, he often practiced The Three Techniques and polished his Taijutsu alone, and of course, his hand-seal practice was never neglected. Occasionally, when he had free time, he would practice alongside Mizutani Hayun and Tachibana Taki, offering them pointers along the way.
Thanks to his guidance, coupled with their own decent natural talent and willingness to work hard, the potential of Mizutani Hayun and Tachibana Taki was fully unlocked. By the final class exams, they had pulled themselves out of the bottom tier of the class and approached the upper-middle standard.
Right after advancing to the second year, during Taijutsu training, they even took turns challenging the three punks who had bullied them at the beginning, beating them into a thoroughly wretched state. It was a satisfying outlet for their pent-up anger, letting those fellows learn that "heaven's way has its cycles, and the heavens spare no one," while also making the two girls increasingly spirited and bold.
Ultimately, left with no alternative, the trio even persuaded Sarutobi Zhang to step forward and have a private talk with Uchiha Chi, offering a hefty sum of money as protection money to avoid further physical suffering. After parting with this sum, Sarutobi Zhang's relationship with the three girls eased somewhat, though the other three bullies had already gone their separate ways—after all, they were still young, and Uchiha Chi had effortlessly dug a pit and buried half of them in it.
Uchiha Chi handed all of this money over to the two girls. After all, with these funds, their training could proceed much more smoothly, and they could afford to buy more nourishing supplements for a while.
In fact, Uchiha Chi would occasionally bring back some local specialties from the Uchiha Clan and give them to the two girls. It wasn't anything particularly expensive, but it offered great value for money—something that would cost a lot of extra money to buy outside—allowing the two of them to enjoy a few extra benefits.
Uchiha Chi had once offered to simply give the items to them, but the two girls, whose personalities were becoming increasingly strong and independent, refused to accept handouts. In the end, through mutual compromise, they established the current arrangement, which still left the two of them deeply grateful to Uchiha Chi.
Not long after the Sarutobi Zhang incident concluded, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, acting as his boss, likely felt that Uchiha Chi had shown him no respect by beating up his underling, and decided that he needed to make a move.
Otherwise, it would be detrimental to his reputation. Although the matter hadn't spread widely yet, he felt his own strength could suppress Uchiha Chi, and he believed it was time to put Uchiha Chi in his place.
Thus, the two boys, who had been in the same class for over a year, had their first real confrontation. It happened during a Taijutsu training session. After the teacher led everyone through a round of Taijutsu drills and offered corrections on everyone's incorrect postures, the teacher was just about to announce free practice and invite questions from anyone who didn't understand.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who had been prepared for a long time, spoke up and said, "Teacher, I feel that training alone is a bit too boring. I wonder if you could find me an opponent? I think sparring will help me progress much faster."
The moment he spoke, the teacher knew this trouble-maker was about to stir up trouble; and as soon as he finished, the teacher found that his expectations were spot on. In truth, the teacher was already sick to death of Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Day in and day out, all he knew was how to throw his weight around and cause trouble by relying on his Hokage father. He lacked respect for teachers and elders, yet put on a clever act, as if no one could see right through him. But who could blame him—his father was the Hokage, after all. To avoid trouble, the teacher had to keep up appearances.
Then he thought of Nawaki, who had graduated a couple of years prior. That boy was the grandson of the First Hokage himself, and in terms of status, he was every bit a match for Sarutobi Shinnosuke—if not superior. Yet how had Nawaki behaved at school? He had friends everywhere, and everyone had nothing but praise for him.
And look at you—aside from a few bootlickers, who was even willing to give you the time of day? How he missed the days of the First and Second Hokage; the atmosphere in the village back then was nothing like this. And so, the teacher unconsciously drifted back to memories of his own school days.
While the teacher's mind was wandering, Sarutobi Shinnosuke repeatedly signaled to him that the person he wanted to spar with was Uchiha Chi. Unfortunately, the teacher was spaced out and didn't see it at all.
Finally, unwilling to give up, Sarutobi Shinnosuke directly said, "Uchiha Chi, classmate, would you be willing to help me out? I'll thank you in advance." With that, he even gave a bow, appearing terribly polite.
This declaration snapped the teacher right out of his reverie. The teacher's dissatisfaction with him grew even greater, but it wasn't a grievance he could easily vent, so he cast his gaze toward Uchiha Chi, clearly waiting for Uchiha Chi's response.
This left Sarutobi Shinnosuke extremely displeased, and he plotted to go home and complain to his father. Having been fawned over by his sycophants one too many times, he now truly considered himself some kind of big shot.
Before he could ponder his next move, Uchiha Chi replied, "Teacher, I agree. Please make the arrangements."
With that, he also bowed respectfully to the teacher, instantly distancing himself from Sarutobi Shinnosuke and leaving the teacher thoroughly pleased with him.
"Very well, get ready then," the teacher adjusted his mood and said bluntly.