Chapitre 20: Discrimination
A/N: For those who didn't pick this up, Eiji doesn't know who is responsible for the discrimination the Uchiha face.
In no time, Hanako and Eiji arrived at a residence that had an emblem on the gates that Eiji recognized as belonging to the Yamanaka clan. Facing Hanako, Eiji asked, "You're from the Yamanaka clan?"
Hanako nodded and replied, "Is that an issue?" Eiji shook his head, and the two entered. Upon entering, Eiji noticed that he was getting a lot of stares from the few people who were still outside.
'They're probably not used to seeing members of other clans enter, except for Akimichi and Nara. I read that the three clans are very close to one another.'
Brushing off the stares as just curiosity, Eiji focused his mind back on the objective of obtaining the scroll. "How much longer until we get there?" Eiji questioned Hanako.
Raising two fingers, Hanako answered, "We should be there in around two minutes. It's not too far from here."
Eiji was beginning to feel uncomfortable from all the stares. Covertly scanning the faces of those staring at him, Eiji concluded that it wasn't just curiosity. It was also malice. At that moment, it all clicked for Eiji.
'For everyone to believe our clan are the culprits of what happened two years ago means this rumor was meticulously spread to every corner of the village. I've been the victim of rumors in school due to my intellect, and I know for a fact this isn't how a rumor organically spreads. Especially over such a large population. We were used as scapegoats for the Hokage's failure to protect the village. But why would they use OUR clan?!'
Eiji was so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed they had arrived at Hanako's house. "Eiji, we're here. Hello? Eiji?" Hanako said, poking Eiji's cheek. Eiji grabbed her finger and lowered it.
"Fetch me the scroll. I'll wait outside," Eiji ordered.
Hanako, taken aback by his rude tone, said, "It wouldn't hurt to say please, would it?" Growing impatient, Eiji obliged and said, "Please," in a sarcastic tone.
With a hurt expression, Hanako went inside her house to collect the scroll. Eiji sighed, facepalming.
'I shouldn't have been rude. I was just irritated from earlier. She did nothing wrong. She was doing me a favor...'
Feeling bad, Eiji eagerly awaited her return so he could apologize, even forgetting about the scroll he came for. A few minutes passed, and Hanako still hadn't come back out. Instead, there was an argument going on inside the house. Worried, Eiji snuck into the house through the already open front door and soundlessly edged towards the corner. Peeking around the corner, he saw the dining room and inside was Hanako arguing with an older family member.
'That man doesn't look that old, so I don't think it's her father... Maybe an uncle. I'm not entirely sure.'
"But he's an Uchiha! You know what type of people the Uchiha are? Snakes!" the man yelled. The man had a sturdy build and was around the same height as Fugaku. He shared Hanako's blue eyes and blonde hair.
"He's a friend of mine, though!" Hanako argued back.
Eiji could feel his heartbeat increase in pace.
'I can't do anything rash. It's best if I wait outside for now.'
Eiji quietly left the house, waiting a few meters away from the door.
'Snakes...'
Exiting the house were Hanako and the man who had insulted Eiji's clan. "Sorry for being late, Eiji, I got caught up in a long conversation with my brother," Hanako said, laughing nervously.
Eiji nodded, shifting his gaze to the person Hanako referred to as her older brother. The two locked eyes for what felt like an eternity. Hanako's brother was the first to concede, looking away for a split second. "What's wrong with this kid? Why is his gaze so strong?" Hanako's brother thought.
Hanako got closer to Eiji and stretched out the hand that was holding the scroll, offering it to him. Eiji took it without hesitation, thanked her, and turned to leave. Just as Eiji was about to depart, Hanako's older brother grabbed Eiji's shoulder, swinging him around.
"I don't want to see you here again! You can't be around my sister either!" the man whispered forcefully.
Eiji turned his face down, reached towards the man's hand that was gripping his shoulder, and grabbed hold of one of his fingers.
Turning his head up, Eiji activated the Sharingan and said, "Now if I snap your finger... What would you do?" The man panicked and attempted to pull his hand away from Eiji, but it was too late. Crack.
Eiji had a wide grin on his face, looking almost nightmarish with his Sharingan activated. "Argh," the man grunted. Hanako's brother quickly regained composure. His panic was now replaced with fury. With his other hand, the man swung at Eiji full force, but it was once again too late. Eiji disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving only a log in his place.
"DARN IT. THAT BRAT!" the man yelled, slamming his fist into the ground.
'That's a powerful punch. He's much bigger and physically stronger than me, so that would've done a lot of damage. Good thing I was prepared to use the substitution jutsu, but in general the jutsu is very inconvenient. I need to decrease the number of hand signs needed. If I can reduce it down to one, it'll be more useful to me. The scroll did mention the more adept you become with the jutsu, the fewer hand signs you'll need. I'm guessing that concept is the same for every jutsu.'
Climbing down the tree he hid in, Eiji swiftly left the Yamanaka clan residence. Knowing he was no longer in danger, he deactivated his Sharingan and sprinted towards the Uchiha residence.
The words of Hanako's brother echoed in his mind, swirling around refusing to stop. He couldn't ignore them as he had no one to distract himself with. Trying to get the thoughts off his mind, Eiji sprinted faster in the hopes they would be left behind, but they remained. It was a reality he didn't want to confront, but he no longer had a choice.
'I'm beginning to resent the village, aren't I? The Hokage's plan seems to be working... I'll make sure to fix things, but first I need to be strong. The Uchiha will be treated as equals and my younger sister will not have to face the humiliation we endure when she grows up. And if things don't go my way, I'll die for my clan.'
A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He experienced a sense of clarity that he'd been lacking for a long time.
'I vowed to become strong enough to protect those precious to me from any threat. I've gotten stronger thanks to my memory, but it's not enough. I'll have to try harder!'
After a while of sprinting, Eiji had finally arrived at his house. He knocked on the door, waiting for it to be opened. Kiyoko opened the door, but stepping out to greet him was his younger sister. "Big Bro!" she yelled as loud as her fragile voice could. Eiji lifted her up and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"I'll always protect you," he said.
Michiko wrapped her arms around his neck as she usually did and replied, "Love you, Bro!"
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Get to 70 powerstones for a double release next monday. Also give powerstones it helps a lot.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone