"Forget it! There's no need to argue with a child!"
Richard turned away from Naruto, ignoring the "weird uncle" comment entirely.
Sasuke secretly agreed with Naruto's assessment, but kept this to himself. Instead, he explained, "I purchased this katana from his ninja tool shop, so he's treating me to ramen."
He gestured toward the silver-white vibranium katana he'd set aside.
Naruto glanced at the weapon dismissively. "That sword looks terrible at first glance. Sasuke, are you sure you haven't been scammed?"
Richard couldn't let this pass. Being called a "weird uncle" was one thing, but he wouldn't tolerate anyone insulting his craftsmanship!
Though not a traditional blacksmith, he took pride in his work—these were, after all, made by his own hands.
Before Sasuke could respond, Richard addressed Naruto directly. "Kid, don't criticize what you don't understand. I know you dislike me, but I won't allow anyone to casually insult my work."
As he spoke, Richard released a subtle wave of intimidating chakra, focusing it directly on Naruto.
Predictably, upon being targeted by this pressure, Naruto immediately felt an overwhelming sense of dread—like a small animal confronted by its natural predator.
Just as Naruto was about to buckle under the weight of this presence, Richard relented, suppressing his chakra back to ordinary levels.
Naruto hadn't even noticed that under Richard's pressure, the Yang Nine-Tails sealed within him had shown signs of destabilization.
Had Richard maintained his intimidating aura, the sealed Yang Nine-Tails would have soon gone berserk, attempting to break through the Eight Trigrams Seal that contained it.
After being warned through this display of power, Naruto dropped the subject of the vibranium katana and said to Sasuke, "After tomorrow's mission, I'll treat you to ramen too."
He shot Richard a defiant glare.
Sasuke regarded Naruto with resignation. "Fine."
After receiving Sasuke's acknowledgment, Naruto returned to his seat and continued eating.
Soon, he finished his meal.
While paying his bill and departing from Ichiraku, Naruto approached Sasuke one last time. "I still think you should avoid contact with him, Sasuke. He's not a good person."
Without waiting for a response, Naruto turned and left.
Once Naruto was gone, Sasuke said to Richard, "He doesn't mean any harm. He just disapproves of your actions in the Land of Waves, thinking you hurt his new friend."
Though Sasuke found it difficult to understand why Naruto would consider Haku, whom he'd met only once, a friend, he didn't want to see Richard retaliate against Naruto.
Unlike Naruto, who harbored hostility toward Richard and consequently underestimated him, Sasuke recognized that Richard was far more formidable than he appeared.
Kakashi was among the village's elite jōnin. If even Kakashi acknowledged Richard as superior to himself, it spoke volumes about Richard's true capabilities.
Though Sasuke couldn't yet fully gauge Kakashi's strength, he knew with certainty that "Copy Ninja" Kakashi's judgment would never be so flawed.
He didn't believe that Kakashi, possessor of the Sharingan, would misjudge Richard's abilities.
"Are you afraid I'll attack him?" Richard asked Sasuke.
Sasuke nodded silently.
Seeing Sasuke's response, Richard smiled. "Don't worry. I won't target an underage child. As long as he doesn't go too far, I'll leave him be."
Just as Richard finished speaking, Ayame arrived with their freshly prepared tonkotsu char siu ramen.
For the remainder of their meal, Richard and Sasuke concentrated on enjoying their food.
After finishing, they walked together toward the Uchiha clan compound.
Shortly thereafter, they reached a forest near the Uchiha territory.
Though night had fallen and visibility was limited, this posed no challenge for either Richard or Sasuke.
Upon reaching a clearing, Richard retrieved a wooden bokken from his system space, twirling it deftly through the air.
"Come at me with everything you've got," he instructed Sasuke. "Whether it's ninjutsu, swordsmanship, or shuriken—if you can land a single hit, you'll have completed the first stage of training."
Observing the wooden practice sword in Richard's hand, Sasuke frowned immediately.
In his estimation, Richard was belittling him by choosing to spar with a wooden weapon.
Though displeased, Sasuke remained silent. Gripping the vibranium katana in his right hand, he channeled chakra through his body and launched himself toward Richard.
In an instant, Sasuke appeared before Richard, slashing the vibranium katana at his opponent's neck.
Though Sasuke hadn't yet developed a distinctive swordsmanship style, his technical skill wasn't particularly poor—nor was it exceptional.
Facing Sasuke's attack, Richard raised his right hand unhurriedly.
Just as the vibranium katana was about to connect, the wooden bokken in Richard's hand struck Sasuke's chest, sending him flying backward.
"Your intentions are too obvious!" Richard called out. "No enemy would be foolish enough to allow you to target their vital points. Unless you can strike before they have time to react, you should abandon attacks that can be anticipated at a glance."
Sasuke, who had been knocked away, quickly regained his footing and regarded Richard intently.
He planted the vibranium katana in the ground before Richard and began rapidly forming hand seals.
However, before he could complete the second sign, Richard kicked him away once more.
"I just explained this, and already you've forgotten," Richard sighed. "Why do you imagine an enemy would grant you sufficient time to complete hand seals? If this were actual combat, you'd have died twice by now."
Before Sasuke could rise, Richard's voice reached him again.
"No one else is as fast as you!" Sasuke protested, his expression defiant.
"You think this is unfair?" Richard challenged. "There's no fairness in combat between shinobi! If you maintain this ridiculous concept of fairness, you'll never surpass Itachi—not in this lifetime."
Though Sasuke had experienced the clan massacre and endured pain uncommon for someone his age, his mentality remained immature.
This was to be expected. It reflected Konoha's current educational approach.
Following the Third Shinobi War, Konoha's ninja academy had modified its teaching policies, becoming less rigorous than before.
Superficially, this appeared beneficial—at minimum, it allowed more genin to graduate.
But this moderated educational policy also created a significant problem: post-Third War Konoha genin graduated with considerably less psychological maturity than previous generations.
Sasuke and Naruto exemplified this; their current mentalities were quintessentially adolescent.
At the mention of Itachi, Sasuke's face contorted with uncontrollable anger.
Within seconds, however, he suppressed his rage.
Having received Richard's guidance just the previous night, Sasuke recognized the importance of controlling his inner fury.
"Very good—much better than last night," Richard nodded with satisfaction upon witnessing Sasuke master his emotions.
He retrieved the vibranium katana embedded in the ground and tossed it back to Sasuke.
Catching the weapon, Sasuke attacked Richard again.
Unlike before, he didn't foolishly charge directly toward Richard but attempted to strike from what he perceived as Richard's blind spot.
Though Richard possessed no true blind spots, Sasuke was clearly beginning to apply what he'd been taught.
Seconds later, Sasuke, attempting to attack from behind, was once again sent flying by Richard.
Time passed swiftly. Before they realized, an hour had elapsed.
Sasuke lay on the grass, breathing heavily, gazing weakly at the night sky.
Though Richard had utilized only a fraction of his strength, it had been more than enough to thoroughly exhaust Sasuke.
Had Richard not deliberately controlled the pace and highlighted Sasuke's shortcomings, the young Uchiha would have "died" at least a hundred times during their session.
Observing Sasuke, whose chakra and physical strength were nearly depleted, Richard stowed the undamaged wooden bokken back into his system space. "That's enough for tonight."
With that, he left Sasuke and walked toward his new residence.
Though Sasuke was extremely fatigued, Richard harbored no concerns about his safety.
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, utilizing the Telescope Technique, frowned as he gazed into the crystal ball before him.
He hadn't anticipated that Richard would provide Sasuke with specialized training that evening.
Upon witnessing Richard and Sasuke sparring, his initial reaction was that Richard intended to kill Sasuke and claim the Sharingan.
Soon, however, he realized his suspicions were unfounded.
Though Richard had relentlessly tested Sasuke's limits, the Hokage could see that Richard was genuinely teaching Sasuke how to fight.
Moreover, he recognized that Richard's instruction was remarkably effective. Despite the brief session, Sasuke's improvement was already evident.
Richard's teaching methods appeared somewhat harsh, but the experienced Third Hokage could easily discern their validity.
More importantly, Richard's approach provided Sasuke with invaluable experience that would otherwise have cost him blood—or even his life—to acquire.
"What is his purpose in coming to the village?" the Third Hokage wondered, frowning deeply at the crystal ball.
Though uncertain of Richard's intentions, seeing that Richard was now heading home, the Third Hokage dispelled the Telescope Technique and summoned an ANBU operative wearing an ox mask.
"Did Uzuki Yugao purchase a katana from Richard's ninja tool shop today?" the Third Hokage inquired.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the ANBU operative promptly confirmed.
"Locate her and determine what's exceptional about this recently acquired weapon."
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
The ANBU operative departed from the Hokage's office.
Less than thirty minutes later, the operative returned, presenting Uzuki Yugao's vibranium katana to the Third Hokage.
Examining the weapon, the Hokage frowned slightly.
Though he had just ordered an investigation, he hadn't expected the ANBU operative to return with the actual katana.
Typically, the operative would simply report findings without bringing the item itself.
The Third Hokage lifted the vibranium katana.
The moment he grasped it, he detected something unusual.
Under the ANBU operative's watchful gaze, he made a few simple slashes with the weapon.
After setting it down and resuming his seat, the ANBU operative shared the complete investigation results.
Upon learning that the vibranium katana commanded a price of 10 million ryō, the Third Hokage showed unexpected surprise.
He didn't find the price exorbitant—he considered it remarkably reasonable.
Had he not personally examined the vibranium katana, he might have thought Richard deranged for setting such a steep price.
Now, however, he felt certain that exchanging 10 million ryō for such a weapon represented not just a fair deal but an exceptional value.
"How many ninja tools remain in Richard's shop?" the Third Hokage asked.
"According to Uzuki Yugao, there were only 20 items in the shop when she visited," the ANBU operative reported. "Before closing this afternoon, someone witnessed Uchiha Sasuke purchasing a katana as well. If nothing unexpected occurred, 18 items should remain"
"Arrange for several operatives to purchase some tantō and kunai tomorrow," the Third Hokage instructed.
For ordinary individuals, Richard's tools were prohibitively expensive. But for the Third Hokage, this expenditure was inconsequential.
As Hokage, he commanded astronomical resources. Spending tens of millions of ryō on specialized equipment was well within his authority.
Of course, items purchased with village funds became village property, not his personal possessions.
This distinction mattered little to him. Though not his in name, he could access them whenever necessary.
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
"Nothing further. Return this katana to Uzuki Yugao."
The ANBU operative nodded, retrieved the vibranium katana, and exited the Hokage's office.
The following afternoon, ANBU operatives disguised as customers visited Richard's shop. While performing their roles convincingly, they purchased three vibranium kunai and one vibranium short sword.
Initially, Richard assumed his establishment was gaining popularity.
Soon, however, he recognized his misapprehension.
Using his enhanced vision to observe these seemingly ordinary "customers," he detected the ANBU insignia on each of them.
Had only one "customer" borne the ANBU mark, it might have been coincidental.
When every "customer" displayed the same mark, the implications were unmistakable.
Though they weren't genuine customers, Richard still sold them the vibranium kunai and short sword.