In the small courtyard, Ryan lay back in a chair, quietly pondering the future.
Sometimes, he honestly envied his airheaded little brother.
Sasuke's biggest worry was nothing more than Itachi not spending time with him.
Unlike himself…
He already had to start thinking about how to keep the Uchiha clan alive.
If his father truly led the clan to take action…
Then Shisui and Itachi would definitely stand on the village's side and turn their blades on their own people.
Those two were automatically crossed off the list of allies.
On top of that, there was Uchiha Obito lurking in the shadows.
Known facts:
The Uchiha clan had one suspected Mangekyō, Kage-level combatant—Fugaku.
Konoha's side, however…
There was absolutely no way to win this fight.
Running might leave a sliver of hope, but Ryan knew Fugaku would never run.
And the village would never allow the Uchiha to simply leave Konoha.
Unless—
Danzō was eliminated immediately, or during the night of the massacre they directly fought Obito and Itachi head-on.
Otherwise, the entire Uchiha clan would sooner or later be sacrificed—just to help his idiot brother awaken a single tomoe.
In the end…
It still had to be him.
"Maybe I should go wander outside," Ryan muttered. "See if I can trigger some kind of quest."
Right now, aside from strengthening himself, everything else was just empty talk.
"You and Itachi…"
"Finished talking?"
Fugaku appeared behind him at some point, gazing in the direction Itachi had left. The emotions in his heart were a tangled mess.
He roughly knew where Itachi was headed.
"Don't think too much about it," Fugaku said quietly.
"Everything will work out in the end."
Ryan rolled his eyes and sighed lazily from the lounge chair.
"Father, don't be stupid."
"That's something you should say to Sasuke—not to me."
"And also…"
"Are you standing here looking all depressed because you want me to comfort you?"
Ryan pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and held them out toward his gloomy old man—this being his own unique way of offering comfort.
"Hahahahahaha—!"
Fugaku suddenly burst into laughter, so abruptly that Ryan jolted in his chair.
Ryan looked up, eyes full of confusion and disbelief, staring at his suddenly laughing father.
"Fugaku," Ryan asked flatly, "why are you laughing?"
Fugaku raised his fist and knocked Ryan on the forehead, then bent down and sat beside him. Only after a long pause did he speak.
"The village…"
"It looks peaceful on the surface, but underneath, it's already full of undercurrents…"
"Our Uchiha clan…"
Fugaku talked for a long time, going over the village and the clan again and again. Ryan was starting to get irritated and was just about to tell him to stop venting—
When his father's tone suddenly changed.
"Ryan, if one day your mother and I are gone…"
"I hope you'll take good care of your brothers."
In that instant, a flash of light went off in Ryan's mind. He turned sharply to look at Fugaku.
"What did you just say?!"
Seeing his son's reaction, Fugaku's expression turned a bit solemn as he began to repeat himself.
"Did you just say…"
"Peace?!"
Fugaku nodded without really understanding, his expression turning increasingly strange.
I talked for so long… and you didn't hear a single important thing?!
The more Fugaku thought about it, the angrier he became. He even felt the urge to hit his kid.
"And then?" Ryan pressed.
Ryan sprang up from the lounge chair and stood in front of Fugaku. He took several deep breaths, as if steeling himself for something monumental.
"I want to…"
"Destroy the shinobi world!"
Fugaku: ????
Fugaku immediately began questioning reality itself. He even rubbed his ears, wondering if age had finally caught up with him and caused him to mishear.
"Y-You…"
"What did you just say?"
Ryan seemed to think he hadn't spoken loudly or firmly enough. When he spoke again, his voice was several degrees louder.
"I! Uchiha Ryan! I want to destroy the shinobi world!"
At that moment, Ryan's words struck like a thunderbolt, blowing Fugaku's mind into complete blankness.
He stiffly turned his neck to look at Sasuke in the courtyard, who was practicing by spitting out tiny fire sparks.
Then he looked toward the direction Itachi had left.
Finally, he turned back to Ryan.
In just a few seconds, Fugaku's expression shifted from shock, to confusion, to disbelief, to utter despair.
His emotional journey was… rich.
Eldest son Itachi constantly opposed him and even sided with outsiders.
Youngest son Sasuke was naïve beyond belief—and his talent was painfully average.
Fugaku had thought Ryan might at least be the worry-free one…
And now this kid was telling him he wanted to destroy the shinobi world?!
Fugaku completely lost it. He turned toward the house and roared.
"Mikoto!!"
"Go get my stick from the living room!!"
"The metal one!!"
"Uchiha Ryan! I see now—I've been far too lenient with you!"
Cursing nonstop, Fugaku lifted his leg and kicked toward Ryan's backside.
Ryan simply sidestepped the kick with ease and immediately began explaining himself.
"F-Father, I know you're in a hurry—but calm down first."
"Destroying the shinobi world isn't necessarily a bad thing."
The Uchiha clan had issues in the head—others might not know it, but Fugaku certainly did.
His three sons all had decent personalities, which once made him think his children were relatively normal.
Even if not perfectly normal, they were better than most of the clan.
But…
He had never imagined that among them was a lunatic like Uchiha Ryan.
The craziest clan members only dreamed of replacing the Hokage—
And his son skipped several steps straight to world destruction?!
Already furious, Fugaku's blood boiled even harder at Ryan's explanation. Veins bulged on his forehead as he spat words furiously.
"You're telling me you have reasons to destroy the shinobi world?!"
His anger completely flared. Seeing that Ryan had even dodged his kick, Fugaku immediately began forming hand seals.
Ryan felt a killing intent surge from his father. Every hair on his body stood on end. At the brink of life and death, instinct took over.
"What are you barking about?!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Two voices rang out at the same time.
But the moment Fugaku unleashed his fire, Ryan vanished from the courtyard.
And Fugaku…
After spitting out the fireball, his rage surged too hard. Blood rushed to his head, his eyes rolled back—
And he collapsed, unconscious.
"Uchiha Ryan!!"
"What new jutsu did you secretly learn this time?!"
Earlier, Sasuke had noticed the commotion between Ryan and their father and assumed Fugaku was testing Ryan again.
That alone had ignited his competitive spirit, causing him to focus entirely on his own training.
But when he finally turned back—
He saw his father collapsed on the ground, and Ryan had used that Beast Substitution Techniqueagain.
This jutsu… I absolutely have to learn it!
Sasuke's desire for the Beast Substitution Techniquetechnique skyrocketed.
Ryan reappeared in the courtyard and, upon hearing Sasuke's words, immediately smacked him on the head.
"Idiot! Hurry up and help me carry Father inside!"
"What?!"
"You defeated Father?!"
Sasuke's thought process took a strange turn. Instead of worrying about their unconscious father, he became even more convinced of his earlier belief.
That technique…
It's insanely strong! I want it!
...
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