Fugaku × Good Tea

It was Uchiha Fugaku, who seemed to have been observing Kakashi and the others' training at the grounds for some time.

"It seems Dan-kun's strength has grown to a realm I can no longer perceive."

Uchiha Fugaku offered a compliment from the sidelines, his face wearing a smile of genuine amazement.

"I could never handle Hatake-kun's offensive just now with such ease and grace."

"Not even if I activated my Sharingan."

Uchiha Fugaku was certainly not lying; given the speed and Kenjutsu Kakashi displayed, it was enough to pose a threat to any Jonin.

For a Jonin to deal with a tricky opponent like Kakashi, it would still require a fair amount of effort.

Even the practical combat theories Nara Dan had mentioned were profound and insightful, providing him with some personal gains as well.

More importantly.

He has truly retracted his aura completely.

He has even shrunk his physical frame.

Uchiha Fugaku was secretly shocked. Having sparred with Nara Dan often in the past, he naturally knew how fierce and oppressive Nara Dan's aura used to be.

But now.

Fugaku sized up the current Nara Dan; his muscles were merely well-defined, and while his stature remained tall, it was no longer imposing.

Most importantly, his temperament was as vast as the ocean and as deep as the sky, radiating waves of profound magnetic energy.

Just by standing there, a refreshing sensation washed over the air, even subconsciously making people feel a sense of goodwill toward him.

The sense of danger from before was completely gone.

It was precisely because of this that Uchiha Fugaku became even more vigilant.

Even I, with the Sharingan, am being influenced by his aura without even realizing it.

Perhaps only a ninja like the First would possess such capacity.

"Fugaku-kun is too kind."

Nara Dan was naturally not surprised by Uchiha Fugaku's arrival, as he had sensed him long ago.

But for some reason, Uchiha Fugaku had not come over to greet him, choosing instead to watch their training quietly.

Nara Dan had not minded, letting him observe as he pleased.

As for worrying about others stealing his techniques, the power of the Sharingan was far more potent than many imagined.

The Sharingan alone was enough for the Uchiha clan to study for a lifetime; anything else was merely icing on the cake for them.

"Fugaku-kun is a long-renowned Jonin."

"And the power of the Sharingan is something even I must be wary of."

"Isn't that right?"

Uchiha Fugaku felt a jolt of surprise. Facing Nara Dan's nonchalant gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if his greatest secret had been laid bare.

Could he see it?

That shouldn't be possible. Yin Release and his Taijutsu are in completely different realms.

Although he didn't reveal a single thing on the surface, Uchiha Fugaku's internal vigilance reached its peak.

"Haha. Nara-kun is still the one who holds the edge."

"I have also gained much from the practical combat theories just now."

"I hope Dan-kun doesn't mind me stealing your techniques."

Uchiha Fugaku laughed it off, moving past the topic to ease the atmosphere.

Nara Dan chuckled inwardly; God-Seeing Indestructibility had granted him high-precision intuition.

It naturally allowed him to sense the psychological changes in Uchiha Fugaku.

Knowing the plot, he also knew exactly what Fugaku was hiding.

Mangekyo Sharingan, is it?

Regarding such an extraordinary power, he still maintained a sense of curiosity.

The power of the Otsutsuki often pointed directly to the essence of Chakra, something Nara Dan could not escape either.

As long as he remained within the Chakra system.

"Alright, enough small talk."

Nara Dan smiled lightly and teased Uchiha Fugaku.

"The Uchiha clan head is a busy man; whenever I asked you to spar before, you always made excuses about having no time."

"How is it that you have time now to watch a Special Jonin complete a team mission?"

Uchiha Fugaku smiled somewhat awkwardly.

Nonsense, who would want to spar with a freak like you every day? That would just be asking for a beating.

Uchiha Fugaku remembered clearly that at the beginning, he could still keep up with the speed of Nara Dan, trading wins and losses back and forth.

But since half a year ago, the sparring experience had plummeted; not only had he not won a single time, but he would also end up with broken arms or legs at every turn—it was truly an experience of being pushed to the limit of suffering.

He couldn't exactly activate Susanoo just to fight him, could he?!

Fugaku touched his right arm with lingering fear, the sensation of it being broken back then still feeling vivid in his mind.

"I have come naturally to discuss something with Dan-kun."

"It just so happens that I have some good tea here."

"Why don't we move to our clan grounds and talk it over slowly?"

Nara Dan was tacitly aware of the reason; it was likely because he saw that his strength had fully matured, and the undisguised wooing from the Hyuga had brought about a series of political changes.

And the Uchiha Clan was clearly unable to sit still any longer.

Their status within Konoha was even more awkward than that of the Hyuga.

Although he wasn't particularly interested in political maneuvering, he did have some friendship with Uchiha Fugaku after all.

He couldn't just brush him off.

"Alright, that's it for training today."

Nara Dan said this to the three little ones.

"The two of you still have relatively poor foundations; first, you need to improve your physical fitness."

It wasn't that Nara Dan was unwilling to provide further guidance to Hyuga Nana and Ino Rinya.

Their efforts had not yet reached the point where they were pushing the limits of their talent.

Not to mention breaking through their bottlenecks.

As he spoke, Nara Dan waved one hand, and two scrolls flew out, landing respectively in the hands of Hyuga Nana and Ino Rinya.

"Take a good look at these scrolls."

After saying this, Nara Dan disappeared from the training ground alongside Uchiha Fugaku.

Immediately afterward, Hatake Kakashi also silently took his leave.

Only Hyuga Nana and Ino Rinya were left, looking at each other in dismay, feeling somewhat at a loss.

They had originally expected Nara Dan to guide them hand-in-hand just as he had guided Kakashi.

They hadn't expected Teacher Nara to feel their foundations were too poor, paying no attention to their training results at all.

However, they could understand it and weren't foolish enough to harbor resentment.

Hyuga Nana was doing alright; under the supervision of her clan, her training was considered diligent.

But her inherent talent was not as top-tier as Kakashi's, nor was she as hardworking as him.

It was only natural that she didn't catch Nara Dan's eye.

As for Ino Rinya, being a commoner, he lacked a heritage to draw upon, and his training was inconsistent, fishing for three days and drying nets for two.

Even after standing in a horse stance for three days, his physical fitness and ninja foundations were still far behind the other two.

Half an hour later, within the Uchiha compound, Nara Dan and Uchiha Fugaku sat opposite each other, a pot of hot tea placed before them.

The fragrance of the tea drifted along with the steam, spreading around the two of them.

Nara Dan raised the hot tea and, ignoring the scalding temperature, drank it straight down his throat, completely oblivious to the shocked expression on Uchiha Fugaku's face beside him.

"Hmm, it really is quite good."

Nara Dan nodded in appreciation.

"It should have been transported from the Land of Grass, right?"

"High-grade stuff."

"It's hard to come by even in the Nara Clan."

"If Dan-kun likes it, then..."

"Just take some more back with you later."

Uchiha Fugaku didn't care at all about the tea that was worth a thousand gold pieces.

For the Uchiha, who had a history even longer than the Nara Clan, they had no shortage of money.

Everyone, still begging for your support!

As long as you don't drop the book, everything is fine!

Being short is my fault, I admit it!