Uchiha Clan Compound.
After hearing that Uchiha Tunan had graduated early, the Great Elder paid him a visit.
Uchiha Tunan was sitting beneath the eaves, using a kunai to carve a piece of wood, stroke after stroke.
Wood shavings littered the ground, and before long, a lifelike wooden sculpture appeared.
The subject of the carving was Uchiha Mina.
Some people were dead, yet they still retained value for the living to consume.
The Great Elder pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate and immediately saw Uchiha Tunan beneath the eaves, carving a statue of Uchiha Tenyu.
"Great Elder, what brings you here?" Uchiha Tunan set down the wooden carving, placed both hands on his knees, and bowed.
The Great Elder smiled faintly, walked over to Uchiha Tunan, and looked him over.
His gaze swept over the furnishings inside the house and landed on several wooden carvings displayed on the partition.
They were Uchiha Tunan's parents and Uchiha Mina.
"We're family. No need to be so formal."
After saying that with a genial smile, the Great Elder sat beside Uchiha Tunan like a kindly old man next door.
Uchiha Tunan paused, rose to pour a cup of clear tea inside, and handed it to the Great Elder.
Then he sat down beside him.
"Tunan, you seem to like tea."
The Great Elder took a light sip, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Uchiha Tunan nodded calmly, stroking the unfinished wooden carving in his hands. "Yes. Reading and studying usually drain a lot of energy, so tea helps keep me alert."
The Great Elder glanced sideways at the carving in Uchiha Tunan's hands and sighed. "In the blink of an eye, you've already graduated. Time passes so quickly."
"Because time passes so quickly, we should cherish every minute and second. Don't wait until something is lost before regretting it."
As he spoke, Uchiha Tunan picked up his kunai and resumed carving the unfinished sculpture.
The Great Elder narrowed his eyes at a flock of white doves flying in the distance and said leisurely, "You're different from the other Uchiha. Or rather, you're the most unique person I've ever seen.
"I always thought I understood you best, but sometimes I feel I can't see through you at all.
"You left Tenyu for last. Do you feel guilty?"
Uchiha Tunan paused at those words, confusion appearing on his face. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Great Elder."
The Great Elder smiled faintly and met Uchiha Tunan's eyes. "You understand patience. You're highly rational, capable even of completely separating reason from emotion, and you act according to reason at critical moments."
Uchiha Tunan's heart skipped a beat. A desolate expression appeared on his face as he shook his head. "What you're describing has nothing to do with me.
"I've always acted on impulse. Last time, I even impulsively attacked a senior from the Interrogation Department."
Unhurriedly, the Great Elder finished the tea in his hand and set the cup aside.
He took a yellowed notebook from his robes and gently placed it between them. "This has been kept with me for a long time. Now, I'm returning it to you."
Uchiha Tunan's pupils contracted slightly as he picked up the notebook.
The two sat there in silence.
Winter was nearly here, and the chilly breeze made Uchiha Tunan's back feel faintly cold.
This was the notebook he had given Uchiha Tenyu back then. The venom on it had long since evaporated.
However, Uchiha Tunan discovered that the places coated with venom had undergone some unknown reaction with the paper.
Part of the paper had yellowed severely.
I miscalculated.
Sure enough, my methods back then were still too childish.
If I hadn't awakened the Sharingan and demonstrated value far beyond ordinary people, I might have been the one executed back then.
In an instant, countless thoughts ran through Uchiha Tunan's mind.
Silencing him was out of the question. He could bully people his own age and ordinary low- and mid-ranking shinobi, but that was all.
An old elite jonin like the Great Elder might look harmless with that smiling face, but he could probably crush him to death with one hand.
If he couldn't beat him, he would get close to him.
The next moment, Uchiha Tunan tossed the notebook into the air, opened his eyes wide, and activated his Sharingan.
"Whoosh—"
The kunai struck the notebook precisely, pinning it to a tree in the courtyard.
Then Uchiha Tunan leaped into the air, his hands becoming afterimages.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Red Technique."
A dense barrage of fireballs spewed from Uchiha Tunan's mouth and crashed into the tree.
Boom—
The entire tree was instantly engulfed in raging flames. As the cold wind blew past, sparks drifted on the breeze like stars.
Uchiha Tunan stood with his back to the Great Elder, silent for a long time.
The Great Elder looked at the burning tree with admiration before shifting his gaze to Uchiha Tunan's back.
He spoke two words. "A genius."
Then he slowly rose and headed toward the courtyard gate.
As he passed Uchiha Tunan, he reached out and gently patted his shoulder.
Just as the Great Elder was about to leave, Uchiha Tunan suddenly spoke.
"Great Elder, please believe me.
"I will always be a member of the Uchiha Clan.
"But for now, I can only be half of one."
The Great Elder abruptly stopped. Delight appeared on his face as he turned to meet Uchiha Tunan's eyes. "I have always believed in you. Come to the ancestral hall in a few days.
"I'll also take you somewhere to choose a new ninjutsu."
With that, he gave Uchiha Tunan an encouraging look before turning and leaving.
"Take care, Great Elder."
Uchiha Tunan placed both hands on his knees and bowed deeply.
"Ding. You have gained Uchiha Tenzo's approval."
When dealing with such a scheming old fox, he couldn't say too much.
Say thirty percent and let him fill in the remaining seventy percent himself.
After the Great Elder left, Uchiha Tunan straightened up and let out a soft breath, a trace of contemplation flashing in his eyes.
Suddenly, Uchiha Tunan's pupils shrank as he noticed two yellow handprints on his pants.
His expression immediately turned extremely ugly. He raised his hand to his nose and sniffed it.
Instead, he caught a faint, pleasant fragrance.
That scheming old fox actually baited me.
Uchiha Tunan took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.
His face returned to its calm, unruffled expression as he turned and walked toward the bedroom.
He pulled out the long-sealed Advanced Spy Disguise Techniques: Psychological Games from the cabinet.
Night.
Naka Shrine.
The Great Elder and Fugaku Uchiha sat facing each other on their knees.
"Great Elder, why did you call me here?"
"Tunan is a genius."
"Hm?"
A trace of fervor flashed in the Great Elder's eyes. "Do you know that he used the Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Red Technique in front of me today? His Chakra fluctuations are already infinitely close to jonin level."
Fugaku Uchiha's face filled with disbelief. "What?"
The Great Elder turned to look at the stone tablet stored within the shrine, his heart surging with emotion. "That isn't the most important part. The most important thing is that his heart has always been with the Uchiha."
Fugaku Uchiha calmed himself and rubbed his chin. "You mean everything he usually shows is fake?"
The Great Elder nodded heavily.
"Not only does he possess talent far beyond ordinary people, he also has a breadth of mind no one else in the Uchiha Clan can match.
"Everything he has shown was meant to lull Konoha's higher-ups into complacency."
Fugaku Uchiha's eyes immediately lit up, but then he frowned. "Then who poisoned Tenyu back then?"
"It was him. He must have done it to awaken the Sharingan."
"This..."
"He really was close to Tenyu, and he truly liked Mina.
"But his reason told him that if he wanted power, he had to do it."
Fugaku Uchiha suddenly understood and began filling in the blanks himself. "So that was why he personally destroyed his own bonds.
"No wonder he chose to personally end Mina's life at the very end.
"But hadn't he already awakened the Three Tomoe? Why would he still do that?"
"Perhaps he felt that he had already touched that level."
"Mangekyo..."
"He probably failed. After all, his age is what it is.
"But I believe that one day, he will definitely open the Mangekyo.
"He will possess the power of the legendary Asura of the shinobi world."
"What do you intend to do?"
"Only you and I need to know about this. Let that child grow.
"What we need to do is keep our distance from him in ordinary times.
"When Konoha's higher-ups are around, we should act as though we are doing everything possible to win him over.
"Also, I've decided to give that technique to him..."
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