It's You, Ichiraku!

In the dense forest, the security team had formed a cordon, isolating an area, forbidding anyone not part of the security team from approaching.

A faint scent of blood drifted on the wind, unpleasant, but the security team wasn't easily fazed; mere blood didn't startle them.

Each patrolled their assigned area, ready to fire signal flares into the night sky at any sign of abnormality.

By the time Yamashiro Ryuta arrived at the scene, the guard detail had already laid out three bodies.

"How is it?" Yamashiro Ryuta asked, pulling on white gloves as he spoke. He crouched before the corpses and lifted the shrouds.

The ninja in charge of the matter looked grim. "Not good. Three dead in total. One is a Konoha ninja, the other two..."

The first corpse Yamashiro Ryuta uncovered was indeed the Konoha ninja. A sharp weapon to the throat, a single fatal blow, leaving no chance for resistance. The uniform and headband identified him as being from Konoha.

"What about the other two?"

"The other two... their faces are unrecognizable. When we arrived, their clothes were already burned to ash, making it impossible to determine their identities."

Yamashiro Ryuta lifted the other two white cloths. Two naked bodies lay there, charred black all over, clearly having been burned.

He glanced at them, then quickly covered them again. His expression darkened. He stood up, removed his gloves, took a cigarette from a nearby ninja, and lit it.

"These two are most likely not from Konoha. Go back and investigate to confirm. As for the Konoha deceased, verify their information and arrange compensation for the family."

With that, he prepared to leave.

"Captain, and then what?" his subordinate quickly asked.

"And then?" Yamashiro Ryuta glanced at him and chuckled. "And then everyone goes home to their own mothers."

"The bodies are burned like this, clearly meant to prevent us from identifying which country they're from."

Then, as if struck by an idea, he added, "Send two people to search the surrounding area for any clues. We'll discuss things further once we find something. Oh, right, things have been unstable lately, so it's best not to go out alone."

Watching Yamashiro Ryuta leave, the remaining individuals exchanged glances, speechless.

The one who had asked the initial question grew annoyed.

"Isn't the Captain being too perfunctory?! What if this incident has major implications?"

The person next to him sighed and stepped forward, patting his shoulder. "You can't blame the Captain. During the Third Shinobi War, all sorts of demons and monsters show up. How many times has this happened this month? Five or six times, surely?"

"And someone even destroyed the evidence, clearly not wanting us to investigate. Even if we did, it would likely end in a dead end. It's more worthwhile to spend our time on other matters."

The man lowered his head, gritted his teeth, clenched his fists tightly, then reluctantly loosened them and silently departed.

The night deepened...

The next day, in Sora Uchiha's courtyard, the hot wind blowing in from outside ruffled the young man's hair, revealing his obsidian-like eyes.

Sora Uchiha yawned lightly, his gaze falling on the youth who was already full of spirit early in the morning.

The latter's eyes were firm, and his hands moved quickly through a series of hand seals, ending in a tiger pose.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Instantly, a fireball one meter in diameter slammed onto the open ground before him. The scorching heatwave washed over them, dispelling Sora Uchiha's last vestiges of grogginess.

"Clap, clap, clap—"

He applauded generously, praising the young man. "As expected of you, Haki-Shui. This Great Fireball Technique is no less inferior to mine."

Hearing his brother's praise, Shisui shyly scratched his head. Then, as if remembering something, he asked curiously, "Brother, what does Haki-Shui mean?"

"Hmm... it means I'm praising you," Sora Uchiha offered a plausible explanation.

"Hehe, then Brother is Haki-Sora." Shisui said with a grin.

Yeah, Haki-Sora. Sounds pretty good. Much better than that guy calling him a brat from Uchiha yesterday.

Inside the house, Momosuke pushed open the door and saw his two sons diligently training early in the morning. He nodded with satisfaction.

To have sons like these, what more could I ask for? Both are my pride. In fact, because of Sora Uchiha, my standing in the Uchiha clan has risen. I'm now second only to the clan head.

"Sora, show me the results of your recent training. Hmm... use the Great Fireball Technique."

Sora Uchiha's raised smile froze.

Results of training? I don't have any. My only training has been the basic fundamentals of shuriken and kunai.

"Yes," he replied sullenly.

Then, under the expectant gazes of Momosuke and Shisui, he formed hand seals.

"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique!"

In an instant, a fireball with a diameter of 1.5 meters spewed from his mouth.

Hmm, 1.5 meters, a full 0.5 meters larger than Shisui, who was six years younger than him.

Visibly, Momosuke's face turned completely dark.

Young Shisui didn't understand what this meant; he only knew that his brother's Great Fireball Technique was bigger than his own.

"Wow! Brother is so amazing, he truly is my brother..." As he spoke, his voice grew weaker and weaker, because he finally realized his father seemed... very displeased.

"Sora, how big is Shisui's Great Fireball Technique?" Momosuke asked expressionlessly.

"One meter in diameter," Sora replied, lowering his head, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"When did Shisui learn the Great Fireball Technique?"

"Yesterday," Sora's voice grew smaller and smaller.

"Three years ago, how big was your Great Fireball Technique?" Momosuke asked his final question.

"One point five meters in diameter..." Sora shrunk his neck, feeling unable to bear looking.

Three years, a full three years, and his Great Fireball Technique hadn't improved one bit. He was ashamed of his title as an Uchiha genius with such results.

Shisui's eyes widened, shocked that his most proud brother hadn't improved his Great Fireball Technique in three whole years.

At the same time, he felt a little smug, smug that he finally had something he could surpass his brother in.

The suffocating atmosphere didn't last long, because Uchiha Sora felt like he had nowhere to put his face. With a yelp, "Father, I suddenly remembered I have something to do today. I'm leaving now."

With that, he didn't look back and fled the house as if escaping.

Momosuke watched Uchiha Sora's retreating back as he fled in disarray and shook his head helplessly. Actually, he wasn't angry; he just found it strange.

His son's excellence was obvious, so why was he so poor at the family's ninjutsu? Instead, he focused on weird Summoning Techniques? No one in his lineage was good at Summoning Techniques either?

Leaving the house, Sora Uchiha's shame finally faded a lot. He kicked a soda can under his feet, looking at the deserted street, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

[System, are there any quests? []

[None.]

[What trash.]

[Please, Host, watch your words.]

He scoffed and ignored the system. Sora Uchiha thought about what to do.

He was hungry; he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

In that case...

"It's decided, Ichiraku!"