Two days had passed since Zoro withdrew from ANBU.
Throughout those two days, he remained inside his own courtyard within the Uchiha compound, rarely stepping outside. Because of that, he did not personally hear too many of the disgusting rumors spreading throughout the village.
Even so, Zoro knew very well that the situation outside was only getting worse.
The rumors surrounding him had beco more outrageous with each passing hour, and the words used against him were growing increasingly vicious.
At this point, the scale of the public condemnation was already comparable to what Sakumo Hatake had endured several years ago.
At the very least, Konoha's White Fang had possessed visible achievents known to the public.
But aside from ANBU itself, almost nobody in Konoha knew what Zoro had actually done for the village over the years.
Naturally, the villagers had no reason to hold back their judgnt of him.
Ironically, Zoro's reputation outside the village was far greater than within it.
In fact, in several other hidden villages, parents would even use the title "Three-Sword Death God" to frighten disobedient children into behaving.
And strangely enough—
That thod worked exceptionally well on naughty little brats.
During this period, the Uchiha clansn Zoro had secretly placed inside ANBU also sent him reports.
Even though those ANBU mbers had tried investigating the source of the rumors from the shadows and suppressing them whenever possible, their efforts were ultimately aningless.
It was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
There were simply too many civilians spreading the rumors, while the number of Uchiha embedded within ANBU was far too small.
In the end, Zoro ordered them to stop.
There was no point wasting effort on sothing that could not be controlled.
Continuing the investigation would only drag them into unnecessary danger.
"Young Master, the clan competition has been moved forward. The Clan Head has asked you to attend."
At the entrance to the courtyard, Uchiha Tekka's respectful figure appeared quietly.
The mont Zoro saw him, he noticed the faint trace of worry hidden in Tekka's expression.
Clearly, he was already aware of the recent events surrounding Zoro.
Several tis, Tekka looked as though he wanted to say sothing, only to stop himself midway.
In the end, he asked nothing.
Because he already knew that once the clan competition ended, the clan eting would begin imdiately afterward.
And when that ti ca, soone would inevitably bring up the matter.
As for why the eting had suddenly been moved ahead of schedule—
Everyone understood the reason perfectly well.
Zoro's prestige within the Uchiha Clan was nowhere near as low as Shisui had once claid.
In reality, many people within the clan understood very clearly that Zoro's standing had already reached a level comparable to so of the clan elders.
More importantly—
No Uchiha could tolerate outsiders slandering the boy who had brought so much glory and prestige to their clan.
If shinobi regulations did not strictly forbid the casual killing of civilians, then the blood of those rumor-spreading villagers would probably have stained Konoha's streets red overnight.
"Uncle Tekka, why are you being so formal?"
Zoro walked toward him with a faint smile.
"Didn't I already tell you? When there's nobody else around, you can just call by na."
Although Uchiha Tekka was no longer acting as his personal guard, the two had spent several years together.
Naturally, they had long since developed a close relationship.
Konoha itself no longer ant much to Zoro.
But the concern and protectiveness the Uchiha Clan showed toward him was sothing he could genuinely feel.
That alone was enough reason for him to attend both the clan competition and the clan eting afterward.
After all, he had already heard what had happened over the past two days.
Many clan mbers had openly violated regulations and fought with villagers after hearing the rumors spread about him.
Even the five- and six-year-old Uchiha children who had only recently entered the Ninja Academy were no exception.
After hearing classmates slander Zoro at school, those children had directly started fights.
One after another, they returned ho with bruised noses and swollen faces, yet every single one of them looked as proud as victorious generals returning from war.
As a result, in just two short days, the Uchiha Clan had received more complaints than they normally would over several entire months.
Hearing Zoro's words, Uchiha Tekka rely smiled faintly and said nothing further.
His personality had always been sowhat conservative and rigid.
Even though he had practically watched Zoro grow up, he still would not casually cross certain boundaries.
Very soon, the two of them arrived at the plaza where the clan competition was being held.
At a glance, the area was already packed with people.
Large numbers of Uchiha clansn filled the surroundings, making the atmosphere unusually lively.
Under Uchiha Muneyoshi's signal, Zoro calmly walked up the stone steps and took his place beside him.
"Zoro, you're here."
Standing nearby, Fugaku gave a slight nod and greeted him with a faint smile.
Naturally, Fugaku also knew everything that had happened over the past few days.
Looking at Zoro's calm expression, he could not help sighing inwardly.
He could already imagine just how chaotic the clan eting afterward was going to beco.
"Since everyone has arrived…"
Uchiha Fugaku swept his gaze across the gathered clansn below before speaking in a deep voice.
"The clan competition will now officially begin."
The Uchiha Clan's internal competitions were aid specifically at the younger generation.
As long as a clansman was under ten years old, they were qualified to participate.
Every competition served the sa purpose—to discover talented young shinobi within the clan and provide them with focused training and resources.
The mont Zoro appeared, whispers imdiately began spreading among the gathered clansn.
Most of them were openly discussing the rumors circulating outside the compound, and many voices carried unconcealed anger.
Naturally, nobody within the clan believed Zoro was the cold-blooded monster described by the villagers.
Compared to outsiders, the Uchiha understood far better than anyone exactly what kind of person he was.
The rules of the competition itself were extrely simple.
All participants would battle freely within the arena.
Whoever remained standing at the very end would beco the champion of this year's clan competition.
Naturally, Zoro himself had no intention of participating.
He had only co because the clan eting would begin imdiately afterward.
Before long, every young ninja intending to compete had stepped into the arena.
Looking at the young figures below, Zoro suddenly recalled his own younger self from several years ago.
Back then, he too had stood in a similar place, holding nothing more than a wooden sword in his hand.
Ti flowed onward like an endless river.
Leaves withered and fell year after year.
Without even realizing it, so many years had already passed.
The sapling that had once worried about the coming Shinobi World War had now grown into a towering tree capable of sheltering others beneath its branches.
While Zoro was briefly lost in thought, the competition below had already reached its conclusion.
There were no surprises whatsoever.
The final victor standing in the center of the arena was Uchiha Shisui—the greatest genius the clan had produced after Zoro himself.
Shisui was now seven years old.
To many of the gathered clansn, seeing him almost felt like seeing Zoro's shadow from several years ago.
"Shisui, is there any reward you want?"
From the viewing platform above, Fugaku looked down at him and spoke calmly.
"Clan Head, I do not require any reward."
Shisui bowed respectfully before continuing.
"However, I do have one request."
"Oh?"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed slightly with interest.
"What request?"
"I wish to challenge Brother Zoro."
The mont those words left Shisui's mouth, the surrounding clansn imdiately changed expressions.
The quiet atmosphere instantly erupted into discussion.
So believed Shisui was too arrogant and overestimating himself.
Others felt he simply wanted to personally witness the gap between himself and Zoro.
After all, Zoro was publicly recognized as the greatest genius in the history of the Uchiha Clan—perhaps even the greatest genius in all of Konoha.
Before even reaching the age of ten, he already possessed jōnin-level strength.
And recently, more and more people had begun speculating that the so-called "jōnin level" being used to describe him likely referred to elite jōnin strength.
Elite jōnin.
Even across the entirety of Konoha, there were only a handful of shinobi who could stand at that level.
They were existences just one step beneath Kage-level experts.
"Zoro, what do you think?"
Fugaku turned toward Zoro, who was standing beside Uchiha Muneyoshi.
With Muneyoshi's open support behind him, Zoro had already begun to faintly establish himself as one of the leading figures of the clan's Dove Faction.
"Since a clansman wishes to challenge , naturally I have no reason to refuse."
A polite smile appeared on Zoro's face.
The next instant, his figure leapt lightly from the viewing platform and landed in the center of the arena.
Now, only Zoro and Shisui remained standing there.
The age difference between the two of them was actually not large.
Strictly speaking, only two years separated them.
Seeing Zoro accept the challenge so directly, anticipation imdiately rose within the hearts of many clansn.
In a sense, this could be considered the first clash between the previous genius and the new genius of the Uchiha Clan.
"It seems the earlier fights were only a warm-up for you."
Zoro stood calmly in place with one hand behind his back, his gaze fixed on Shisui before him.
"I'm older than you, so I won't take advantage of you."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'll only use one hand."
Zoro knew very well what kind of person Shisui was.
The boy belonged to the type who walked both sides at once.
Almost everything that happened within the clan would eventually find its way to Hiruzen Sarutobi's ears through him.
As for whether this challenge was Shisui's own decision or sothing Hiruzen had subtly encouraged from the shadows, Zoro neither knew nor cared.
There was no need for him to waste ti thinking about such things.
Since Shisui had chosen to challenge him—
Then he naturally had to be prepared to get beaten down properly.
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