Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, someone had been cooped up at home for over a month.
At the training grounds within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, Fugaku watched the huge fireball Shin spat from his mouth and felt his teeth ache.
"So, Fugaku, wasn't my Great Fireball Technique stronger than Father's?" Shin bragged to Fugaku.
During this time, aside from occasionally checking on the shop, he had thoroughly studied several Fire Release ninjutsu recorded by the clan.
He had reached a startling conclusion: Chakra was fuel for ninjutsu, while converting Chakra into various ninjutsu required a password.
That password was the various hand seals that, in his eyes, were long, tedious, and utterly ridiculous.
Furthermore, through simulated calculations in his mind, Shin had successfully cracked the password symbols corresponding to each seal—the dazzlingly long string of hand seals.
He shortened the password somewhat and replaced it with a more efficient Chakra circulation path.
If Indra, the inventor of hand seals, had known about this, he would definitely have cried out in admiration.
Still, as an Uchiha descendant, if someone like Shin appeared among his offspring, he would most likely have thrown back his head and laughed endlessly.
(Indra: Hahaha... Asura, my descendants really do have better brains!)
(Asura: You still can't beat me!)
(Indra: *****!)
(Asura: Dad, Brother is cursing at me~)
And so, because of his excessively harsh language, Indra was kicked out of the livestream room by the Sage of Six Paths.
"It really is much more powerful. But are you sure such short hand seals and this kind of Chakra circulation path are safe? You aren't trying to use some weird idea to trick me again, are you?"
Fugaku had been shocked beyond words lately.
Now, even when he saw his younger brother activate the Sharingan, his expression remained completely blank.
"I swear! If I trick you again this time, may Father chase me for three days and three nights!"
That left Fugaku half-convinced and half-dubious.
With an uneasy heart, he began circulating Chakra through his body according to Shin's demonstration.
At the same time, his hands rapidly formed the seals Shin had optimized.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Fugaku opened his mouth and took a deep breath. After silently reciting the ninjutsu's name, he exhaled a fireball no smaller than the one Shin had just demonstrated.
"..."
Seeing himself unleash a Fire Release technique of such power, Fugaku froze on the spot.
He turned to look at his younger brother, whose "tail" seemed ready to stick straight into the sky.
He felt comforted. This little brother might be a bit mischievous normally, but when it comes to important matters like this, he was still serious...
Ever since Fugaku had dragged Shin to the training grounds one day and demonstrated the Great Fireball Technique, Shin had declared that he would "take care of" the ninjutsu within a month.
Fugaku did not understand what "take care of" meant, but he assumed it meant mastering it within a month.
No matter how he thought about it, he never could have imagined that "take care of" meant modifying the ninjutsu so that even a five-year-old could unleash power normally possessed only by adults.
"Fugaku, how about we..."
"No! Absolutely not! We can't do that!" Fugaku decisively rejected Shin.
In his mind, his younger brother had never had a single good suggestion.
Just a few days ago, this guy had tricked him into peeping on Mikoto while she bathed.
That incident was still fresh in his mind.
Heaven knew, Uchiha Fugaku was famous throughout the Uchiha clan for being honest and straightforward.
That day, Shin had run over and said something had happened while Mikoto was bathing, telling him to hurry over and save her.
Then the thick-browed, big-eyed Fugaku had been sent flying by a kick from Mikoto's fair little foot.
Only afterward did he realize it—how had this brat known that something had happened while she was bathing?
Wasn't that just bullying an honest man?!
From then on, he understood one truth: not even a single punctuation mark in anything Uchiha Shin said could be trusted.
If Shin had not sworn and made such a solemn vow this time, Fugaku truly would not have dared to try it.
"Tch, Fugaku, you're really timid. I told you last time was a misunderstanding. I passed by Mikoto's house that day and heard her scream, so I thought something had happened. Who knew she had just been frightened by a tiny cockroach?"
Shin insisted that day had truly been a misunderstanding.
But judging by how things looked, Fugaku probably would not believe it had all been a simple coincidence.
"Enough! Luckily, Mikoto is reasonable. She kept apologizing to me afterward. Otherwise, do you think you'd still be eating and drinking well every day?"
Fugaku felt that he had to bring out his "elder brother's dignity" and air it out. If he did not use it soon, it would expire.
Shin curled his lip, making it clear he did not believe him. "Tch! Fugaku, all you do is brag. Can you even catch me? Talk big after you've learned Lightning-nature Chakra transformation!"
"You brat!"
"I'm off, I'm off. Fugaku, I'll come find you again when I have time."
Fugaku watched Shin vanish amid a flash of white light and immediately felt exhausted.
Was this "elder brother's dignity" counterfeit? Or had Shin maxed out his resistance? Did he have a hundred percent immunity to negative effects?
After thinking carefully, Fugaku really felt that was the case.
The brat even dared to call their father an old man. Without some resistance, wouldn't he have been hung from the roof and left in the sun for three days and three nights?
That evening.
After dinner, the Uchiha Clan Head's family chatted leisurely together.
"Aoko, you've worked hard lately, helping handle the clan's affairs." Chiken wrapped an arm around Aoko as he thanked her.
"Dear, don't be like this. The children are here." Aoko rarely became shy.
"..." x2
The Uchiha brothers exchanged a glance, then both rolled their eyes.
"What are you afraid of? Fugaku is already ten—Shin, you little brat, why are you shaking?"
"I'm getting goosebumps, Father." As he spoke, Shin hugged his shoulders and shook even more vigorously.
"..." x3
The three bewildered people could not describe how they felt at that moment.
This drama queen was truly unbelievable!
Ever since Shin had stopped acting like a human, he had completely let himself go.
Over the past month or so, the other three had grown used to his fearless, lawless attitude.
We need to find a way to send this brat out to torment other people! x3
After exchanging looks, the trio reached a mutual understanding: they could not let someone continue being a shut-in at home.
"Why are you all staring at me?" Under their gazes, Shin genuinely got goosebumps this time.
Chiken pretended to be furious and slammed his hand heavily against the table.
That move startled Shin silly.
"You brat, I see you've been very free lately. You even have the mood to put on a performance at home!"
With three parts anger and seven parts determination, Chiken continued his improvised speech. "In my opinion, you should get the hell back to school tomorrow!"
Hearing that tone, Shin found it a little strange.
Why did looking too idle mean he had to go to school?
With wide eyes, he stared fixedly at his old man.
"Cough, cough..." Chiken began coughing awkwardly under that stare.
"Mm, my good son, just go to school..." Seeing that things were going badly, Aoko hurriedly came to his aid.
"Look at you. You won't even attend school, and you spend all day loafing around at home. Your mother, I..."
"Your mother's heart is breaking!" Aoko's grief-stricken voice continued echoing through the room.
Fugaku also joined in, chiming in, "Yes, yes, yes. Shin, if you keep this up, you'll truly become the Uchiha clan's spoiled second-generation heir."
"..." Shin was speechless.
What unforgivable thing had he done to require all three of them to join forces and put on an act?
He found the plot utterly terrible and gave it a thumbs-down.
"That's how it is, so hurry up and go to school, Shin. Sob..." Aoko cried with such heartbreaking delicacy.
"Seriously? Since when did Mother's crying scenes become this exaggerated? And Old Man, stop glaring at me. If you were really angry, this table would have been gone already..."
"Finally, Fugaku, do you even have such a thing as acting skills? It's only going to school..."
Shin exposed the trio's little scheme. "Do you think I don't want to go? It's Hokage Uncle who won't let me attend!"
Aoko wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Then it'll be fine as long as Lord Hokage agrees, right?"
After saying that, she excitedly stood up.
"You... you all..." How could Shin not realize that he had been tricked?
So this had all been a setup.
Could this family still be lived in properly?
Not long afterward.
Chiken returned home carrying a handwritten school enrollment approval letter from the Third Hokage.
Yet at that moment, all Shin wanted to know was whether some filthy backroom deal had taken place behind the scenes.
Before you continue