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**Chapter 18: The Shame of the Uchiha Clan!**
After discussing the plan with Jiraiya, he asked Rubik some questions about Naruto and entrusted him to take good care of Naruto during his stay at Naruto's home. Rubik agreed readily, knowing Jiraiya was already planning to reach out to Naruto.
Though Jiraiya never said it outright, Rubik knew his master harbored deep guilt toward Naruto.
The Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's sacrifice had not only devastated Konoha but also struck a heavy blow to this master who had placed so much hope in his disciple. Rubik had seen clearly how Jiraiya had endured these years, as someone who had been by his side day in and day out.
"Well then, I'm off. Naruto's in your hands for now, Rubik."
Jiraiya patted his disciple's shoulder, his smile full of trust. He had always felt at ease with this reliable apprentice.
"Yeah, don't worry."
Rubik nodded in agreement, then shifted the topic.
"By the way, I still don't know where you live. An inn?"
"What are you saying? I'm a Konoha ninja, after all—I have my own house."
Jiraiya looked utterly matter-of-fact.
"Hey, what's with that look?!"
Jiraiya caught the fleeting subtle expression on Rubik's face.
"Nothing. Must be your imagination."
Rubik looked away.
"You're definitely thinking, 'A guy like you actually owns a house? Didn't you blow all your money at nightclubs?' Isn't that it?" Jiraiya glared at him.
"That's all in your head—I didn't say a word." Rubik shrugged.
"You totally meant it..."
As the sun set, its glow stretched the master and disciple's shadows long. The two bantered like this as they parted ways in the deepening dusk.
**Naruto's House**
Rubik knew full well how terrible Naruto's eating habits were, so he specially bought a ton of vegetables to treat them both to a proper meal. These years of traveling with Jiraiya had kept them from starving and somewhat balanced nutritionally, but the food had never been anything special.
When Naruto got home, the table was already laden with steaming, aromatic dishes.
"Naruto, welcome home. Dinner's ready—go wash your hands." Rubik smiled at the stunned boy in the doorway.
"Huh? Oh! Right!" Naruto snapped out of it, his face lighting up with disbelief and joy. He bolted to the bathroom. "On it!"
...
At the table, Naruto devoured his food like a whirlwind. Rubik, having snacked at the food stalls midday, ate slowly and steadily.
"Oh yeah, Rubik bro!" Naruto said, mouth stuffed full and words muffled. "Sasuke asked me to pass a message to you."
"Hm? Sasuke?" Rubik raised an eyebrow. "I remember he mentioned challenging me again yesterday. It's only been a day."
"Yeah~ No idea," Naruto swallowed. "That guy said he had something to ask you, but didn't say what. Hmph, if he's looking for trouble, beat him up again, bro! Teach him not to act so cool all the time!" Naruto shook his fist indignantly.
Rubik chuckled but didn't take the bait.
...
After some post-dinner chit-chat, the exhausted Naruto turned in early. Rubik sat alone watching TV, but his mind was elsewhere.
*Sasuke coming to me... No surprise—he probably wants to know why I have the Sharingan but don't carry the Uchiha name.*
*That kid values Uchiha pride more than his life. Finding a surviving "clan member," only to see our ideals clash—he must be conflicted...*
Rubik mentally rehearsed tomorrow's meeting with Sasuke, a hint of anticipation curling his lips.
...
**Konoha Training Ground**
To prepare for the Chunin Exams, Team 7 had no missions these days—a rare break. Naruto was up at dawn, babbling about "seizing the chance while that smug Sasuke's gone to ask Sakura out..." and dashed off excitedly.
Rubik wasn't in a rush. He leisurely finished breakfast, strolled the Konoha streets, "caught" the secretly tailing Momoki and gave her a light warning about following him. They grabbed some dango from the shop together. When she seemed ready to cling more, he vanished with a Body Flicker, munching dango as he wandered to the training ground.
Sasuke eyed the late-arriving Rubik, clear displeasure furrowing his brow.
"You're late! It's almost noon." He'd been waiting since dawn.
"Haha, sorry about that."
Rubik grinned without a hint of sincerity and offered a skewer of dango.
"Met a lost old lady on the way, helped her out. Here, her thank-you gift—want some?"
"You expect me to buy that? Think I'm as gullible as Naruto?"
Sasuke snorted coldly. "You've only been in Konoha two days—who'd need *your* directions? You'd need theirs!"
"Whoops, busted." Rubik laughed and pocketed the skewer, utterly unfazed.
Sasuke glanced complexly at the dango but shook his head.
"No thanks. I don't like sweets."
"Oh? I do."
Rubik stowed it away for later and straightened up.
"Alright, to business. What do you want to ask?"
Sasuke's expression froze briefly, his eyes mixing struggle and urgency. Finally, he spoke:
"You can awaken the Sharingan, so you're Uchiha blood. But your surname is 'Uzumaki' like Naruto's. Why?"
"Why can't it be that my father was an Uzumaki and I took his name?" Rubik countered.
Sasuke's tone brooked no argument:
"In the Uchiha clan, women who marry out leave the compound, and the clan usually doesn't interfere with their children's surnames. But if a child awakens the Sharingan, that's different entirely." His voice rose sharply with pride.
"Once these eyes open, no matter the blood ties' closeness, they're deemed true Uchiha! That's the consensus of the Uchiha clan—and the entire ninja world!"
A deep reminiscence flashed in Sasuke's eyes. These were stories the clan elders told him as a child. He'd even known someone like that—the woman his brother loved, Uchiha Izumi, whom he'd disliked as a kid. Her father was just a villager, killed in the Nine-Tails attack. She returned to the clan with her mother and was officially recognized as Uchiha... only for that night to claim her too...
Thinking of his lost parents and kin, icy killing intent blazed in Sasuke's eyes.
"Sasuke?"
Rubik sensed the shift in his aura and called softly.
"..."
Sasuke took a deep breath, forcing down the surging emotions.
"Sorry. Old memories."
"Did I bring up something painful? My bad."
Rubik nodded, turning serious.
"Anyway, to answer you. In your view—or traditional thinking—anyone who awakens the Sharingan inherits the Uchiha name. No matter their original surname, the world sees them as Uchiha, bound to carry the clan's glory. Right?"
Sasuke nodded firmly. That was exactly it—he wanted Rubik to take up the Uchiha mantle!
Humiliating as it was, Sasuke admitted his current strength was far from enough to kill *that man*. If he fell along the way or was slain... the Uchiha lineage would end! He couldn't allow that.
Rubik's existence was a ray of hope. If Rubik lived on, even if Sasuke failed and died, the Uchiha blood and glory could continue through "Uchiha Rubik." As long as the bloodline endured, the clan had a chance to revive.
Rubik inwardly cringed at Sasuke's expectant gaze, pondering how to deflect.
Finally, he spoke:
"Sasuke, want to hear my story?"
Sasuke straightened instantly, ready to listen.
"Next up... the tale of 'Uzumaki's Hidden Tears'..."
Rubik cleared his throat and began spinning an "artistically enhanced" family secret.
He vaguely cast his deadbeat dad Uchiha Obito (as Tobi) as an unnamed "Uchiha B" on a secret mission in the Land of Water. In the story, this B tricked Rubik's naive, worldly-inexperienced mother for mission intel, then coldly abandoned her pregnant after the mission was over.
Heartbroken, she searched tirelessly for the sperm-donor but found no trace. She gave birth to Rubik in a remote, impoverished village and passed away when he was seven...
Rubik told it vividly, tear-jerkingly—even he almost believed it.
Sasuke's face darkened with the tale: pale to flushed to iron-gray. When Rubik finished, Sasuke clenched his fists, veins bulging, Sharingan activating as he growled through gritted teeth:
"That bastard! A disgrace like him doesn't deserve the Uchiha name! The shame of the entire clan! Good thing the scum's dead! If he were alive... I'd drag that family blot to your mother's grave and make him disembowel himself in atonement!"
***