Correcting the Nephew's Personality (Physical)

"It's the person who dealt with the Amegakure spy on the street a while ago. You had ordered us to keep an eye on him."

The Root operative offered a timely reminder.

Oh, I remember now.

Lord Danzo narrowed his eyes, like a viper.

As the Hokage Assistant, he was effectively the second-in-command of Konohagakure. He reviewed almost every major and minor event in the Village, which was why he had seen the name Uchiha Dan in the reports.

This man.

He seemed to be a powerhouse hiding deep, yet his personality was usually eccentric and unruly.

Dan had successfully piqued Lord Danzo's interest.

"Bring Itachi to see me." He pondered for a few seconds before ordering the two Root operatives.

"Yes." The two retreated immediately.

When Itachi graduated from the Ninja Academy early, the Third Hokage and the rest of the Konoha high command had disagreed; it was Lord Danzo who saw Itachi's potential and insisted on approving it.

Later, that Itachi, as an Uchiha, was able to join the Anbu smoothly was also thanks to Lord Danzo's recommendation.

Of course, this was not free of charge.

A certain deal had been struck between Lord Danzo and Itachi.

"Ryoma, you follow them as well. At the appropriate time, bring that Uchiha Dan along too." After a moment of thought, Lord Danzo issued another order.

"Yes, Lord Danzo." A voice responded from the darkness.

"It is time to go out for a walk and soak up some sun."

Lord Danzo looked down at the Bandage on his right arm. Although the arm throbbed with pain after the surgery, it had also granted him even greater power.

Leaning on his Cane, he walked out of the dark, cold Root Base and returned to the sunlight.

Evening, at the Gym.

"Itachi, you're here again." Samui greeted Uchiha Itachi as he entered.

"Hello." Itachi bowed politely as usual, then followed Samui's guidance to the backyard of the Gym.

In the courtyard.

Dan was enjoying a rare moment of leisure, holding a watering can and watering the flowers in a slow, methodical manner.

Looking at Dan's tall back.

Itachi hesitated for a moment before speaking up:

"Uncle, I've caused you trouble these past two days. If you don't want to see me, I won't come again, but please... don't tell my father."

He knew that his Uncle had never liked him.

Even if it meant defying his father's wishes or failing the surveillance mission assigned by the Third Hokage, he did not want to keep lingering here shamelessly.

After speaking, Itachi bowed to Dan's back and turned to leave.

"Why would you think that?"

Dan's voice suddenly rang out.

He stopped watering the flowers, turned around to look at his Nephew, and said calmly:

"I promised your brother-in-law that I would take good care of you. So, starting today, you will follow me for fitness and training."

"...Yes."

Itachi looked stunned, but eventually agreed with hesitation; he truly could not fathom his Uncle's intentions.

Dan walked to the side, set down the watering can, and washed his hands.

He had developed some new perspectives on his Nephew, Itachi, recently.

Uchiha Itachi might indeed be a cold-blooded, psychopathic deviant by nature, but it could not be denied that his upbringing had also had a massive impact on his personality.

Just look at the people he had been exposed to since childhood.

Fugaku, a father who took his four-year-old son to the battlefield to kill and completely failed to understand his son's thoughts.

Shisui, a stubborn idealist who clung to the Will of Fire with single-minded, naive, and dogmatic persistence, yet somehow became Itachi's guide.

Lord Danzo, a calculating master of brainwashing who only wanted to use Itachi.

A young boy, served in turns by such a group of "crouching tigers and hidden dragons," caught as a double spy between his clan and the Village, bearing incomparable, immense pressure.

Under such circumstances, it would be difficult not to go astray.

But for now.

There were still more than two years left before Itachi would commit the heinous crime of wiping out his clan; perhaps there was still room for redemption.

Dan had not wanted to interfere with Itachi's affairs before because his own "physical modification" had not been completed, and he felt his abilities were insufficient.

Things were different now.

Uchiha Itachi was, after all, the son of his older sister, Mikoto.

If Itachi were truly to kill his mother in the future, then Dan would have no choice but to kill this nephew, even if Mikoto would be heartbroken from the loss of her child.

Mikoto was the only relative Dan cared about; he did not want to see his older sister weeping in the future.

Therefore.

From now on, Dan decided to carry out "personality correction" on Itachi.

"Then let's start immediately. Let me see your current strength. I'll say this upfront, I know nothing about Ninjutsu, I can only guide your Taijutsu and Genjutsu."

Dan got straight to the point, beckoning Itachi and signaling for his nephew to come at him.

Uncle knows Genjutsu too?

Itachi was surprised. He had always thought his uncle specialized purely in Taijutsu and had never seen his uncle use Genjutsu before.

But on second thought, it made sense. After all, which Uchiha doesn't know Genjutsu?

So.

"Please guide me."

Itachi bowed again. When he looked up, his eyes had already turned into a scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

In an instant, uncle and nephew's eyes met.

Swish.

Itachi's eyes unleashed a surge of Pupil Power, and without hesitation, he launched a surprise Genjutsu attack.

Huh?

Dan was caught off guard. He saw his nephew disappear into thin air, transforming into countless Crows that swooped down on him from all directions.

But the next second.

"Roar!"

A powerful roar erupted from Dan's throat, like thunder from a clear sky in the courtyard. The sound formed a mental shockwave that swept outwards.

"Caw caw!"

All the Crows flapped their wings, shattering under the energy amidst their shrill cries. Dan's vision cleared, and Itachi's figure reappeared, having already closed in on him.

Bang bang bang.

Fists and feet collided constantly, drawing streaks of afterimages. In a short period, they exchanged dozens of blows.

Itachi lived up to his genius reputation. Even facing Dan, who was far superior in size and strength, he could still hold his own for a while, fighting back and forth with his uncle.

In his scarlet eyes, the Three-Tomoe spun rapidly, using his powerful dynamic vision to capture Dan's every move, trying to find his uncle's weaknesses.

As a result, he quickly discovered... Dan's entire body was full of openings!

Opportunity knocks.

Itachi didn't have time to think and seized the chance to strike repeatedly, hitting Dan's thigh, chest, and back.

Then he understood.

Dan didn't have too many openings; he simply disdained defense, relying on his tough skin and thick flesh.

Itachi's punches and kicks landed on Dan, not only failing to break through his defense but feeling like hitting an iron plate, causing himself immense pain.

The difference in their physical strength was too great.

Just then.

Dan sucked in his stomach and puffed out his chest, then blew out a breath.

Whoosh.

This breath instantly formed a gale, accompanied by a piercing whistle, kicking up Flying Sand and Rolling Stones, hitting Itachi like cannonballs.

Furious and sharp.

This was not some Wind Release Ninjutsu, just simple air blown out by human lung capacity.

Itachi was caught off guard, blown backward, and lost his balance in mid-air.

But he showed no panic. Instead, he quickly formed a Tiger Hand Seal with both hands and spat out.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

Whoosh!

A scorching fireball descended from the sky, smashing down towards Dan.

Fire counters Wind.

The breath Dan blew out was instead utilized by Itachi, amplifying the power of the Great Fireball and making it burn even more fiercely.

Itachi lived up to his genius reputation; he had no weaknesses in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or Genjutsu.

Facing the Great Fireball.

Dan showed no intention of dodging. He met it directly with his body, slashing with a hand blade, splitting the fireball in half.

Great Fireball, Benevolent Technique.

It is difficult to pose a threat to strong enemies with it; more often than not, it is used as a feint to confuse the enemy's vision or distract their attention.

Itachi did exactly that.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The moment the Great Fireball was cleaved apart by Dan, a large number of Shuriken flew toward his face.

Clang, clang.

They collided in mid-air, changing trajectories one after another, until they finally surrounded Dan from every angle, aiming at every part of his body.

"Impressive."

Dan offered a word of praise; this delicate Shuriken-jutsu not only required years of arduous training but also involved quite a bit of physics and mathematics.

It was a technique that only a genius like Itachi, who possessed both intellect and martial prowess, could master.

Unlike Dan.

As his muscles grew stronger, he became less and less inclined to use his brain to solve problems. After all—

Anything could be solved with muscles.

Just like this aggressive Shuriken onslaught.

Dan stood motionless, simply tensing his muscles to instantly activate his Golden Bell Shield Body, blocking every single Shuriken.

He frowned and asked Itachi:

"Why did you hold back? Not aiming for my eyes, crotch, or other lethal spots—are you looking down on your uncle?"

Although Dan's body was as tough as steel, weak points like his eyes were still fragile and vulnerable to attack.

They were effectively the vital points of his Golden Bell Shield.

"I..."

Before Itachi could finish, Dan had already taken a step covering seven or eight meters, throwing a Fist toward his nephew.

Hum.

This punch looked plain and unadorned, yet it vibrated at an extremely high frequency, giving off an ethereal, elusive sensation.

In Itachi's eyes.

Everything in the world seemed to be rapidly receding until it vanished, leaving only a vast, white void, and—

Dan's Fist.

The fist grew larger and larger, eventually becoming as towering as a thousand-meter mountain, while Itachi himself felt as small as an ant, unable to move under the pressure of the mountain.

This is... Genjutsu!

Itachi snapped back to his senses, struggling with the Pupil Power of his Sharingan to break free from the illusion and return to reality.

But by then, Dan's fist had already arrived.

Smack!

At the last moment, Dan turned his fist into a palm and slapped Itachi across the face.

Itachi felt his vision go black, and he went flying as if he were soaring through the clouds, finally slamming into a corridor pillar with a "bang."

His head was buzzing, his vision blurred, and he couldn't tell north from south.

It took him a long time to crawl up from the ground.

"Itachi, are... are you okay?"

Samui hurried over to check on Itachi's injuries, only to find his mouth full of blood, with several teeth knocked out.

Half of his face was swollen.

It was a miserable sight.

This was Uchiha Dan's "Personality Correction Palm."

Like Uzumaki Naruto, he was clumsy with words and not good at preaching; since he couldn't change Itachi's mindset on a spiritual level, he had no choice but to change it on a physical level.

From today on.

Dan would officially educate his nephew in his capacity as an uncle, guiding Itachi back to the right path.

"Gym Director..."

Samui picked up Itachi's teeth and asked Dan with her eyes if he had been a bit too heavy-handed.

"It's fine, he's at the age where he's losing his teeth; those must have been baby teeth." Dan dismissed it nonchalantly.

Itachi: "..."

He really wanted to say that the teeth his uncle had slapped out were the ones that had just grown in.

But he was in too much pain to speak, so he could only swallow his grievances.