Almost Won

Looking around, the familiar woods and the nearby stream greeted Uchiha Zhuang. He had returned. Walking slowly through the Uchiha clan grounds, he passed familiar streets and faces. Having been gone for a few months, no one paid him much mind; after all, in their eyes, a little brat (though taller than a normal child) disappearing for a few months was surely just off undergoing training or staying home to study as his parents demanded. While carrying a large tachi was rare, they assumed he had simply snuck off with his father's sword to show off. Strolling through the market and arriving at his doorstep, Uchiha Zhuang could hear Meiko's breathing inside, his perception pinpointing her exact location. Even though Meiko was inside the house, his perception allowed him to "see" her.

A gust of wind struck from behind. Uchiha Zhuang's body instinctively leaped sideways, turning mid-air to land in a half-crouch while drawing his wakizashi halfway. There was nothing but the flat road, a few trees, a utility pole, and a trash can—no one was there. Swish, swish, swish! The sound of air being pierced rang out. His eyes snapped open, his Sharingan tracking the direction of the incoming shuriken. A figure flashed by. Uchiha Zhuang deflected the incoming projectiles with a series of ding-ding-ding sounds before sprinting full speed into the woods. A figure in black, wearing sunglasses, stood in a clearing, seemingly waiting for his arrival. Uchiha Zhuang didn't waste words; he launched his wakizashi like a bolt. The man in black dodged to the side, unaware that Uchiha Zhuang's primary move was the lightning-fast Drag-Blade Slash. The Drag-Blade Slash was meant to be a lethal counter-attack, but by capitalizing on the moment the man dodged the wakizashi, Uchiha Zhuang's follow-up charge made the low-to-high slash impossible to evade. If the opponent had a weapon, they would be cut through along with it; if they had no weapon to block, it would be a clean kill. Hm!? The tactile feedback was wrong—it felt like a foam box. The blade passed through with almost no resistance. Bang! Smoke billowed up. "Substitution Technique! It's a ninja! I have to be careful!" Three exclamations echoed in his mind. He retreated to the entrance, quietly observing his surroundings. Although smoke filled the area, his two-tomoe Sharingan could still discern some details. Suddenly, a surge of heat descended from above. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A low shout followed. As Uchiha Zhuang tried to leap away, he felt his legs grabbed by a pair of large hands. "Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!" He was shocked; this guy was no amateur. He gripped his Streamer Red Dragon tachi in a reverse hold and slammed it into the ground. The blade sank halfway in, successfully interrupting the slow descent of the decapitation technique. Then, with a single hand gesture, he unleashed, "Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" Consuming a massive amount of chakra, a giant sphere of water surged upward to meet the fireball. The two massive elements collided, instantly releasing a cloud of steam. As the high-temperature vapor descended, Uchiha Zhuang cast a Water Prison Technique to envelop himself and avoid injury. When the steam cleared, four figures in black stood around him, long swords in hand. Unable to determine if they were clones or four real people, Uchiha Zhuang slowly maintained the water prison, not daring to dispel it.

Seeing this, the man in black pulled down his mask, revealing a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan staring right at Uchiha Zhuang. Holy crap. In an instant, Uchiha Zhuang understood. He had been beaten up by Uchiha Genki at his own doorstep, and Genki had even used his Sharingan. It looked like his basic stamina was nearly exhausted; if this dragged on any longer, he might actually win. "What kind of look is that? Are you looking down on my abilities? I don't know why you have so much chakra, but I can open the Eight Inner Gates, you know! Don't think you can beat me, brat!" Uchiha Zhuang, having dispelled his water prison, said, "Genki, you're too shameless, ambushing a five-year-old child!" Uchiha Genki, with black lines appearing on his forehead, retorted, "What kind of five-year-old is nearly 1.5 meters tall? Are you on steroids? You don't know how to pull your punches; if that had been me underground, you'd be carving a tombstone for me right now." This goofy Genki—when had he ever acted so erratic? "Are you really Genki? Or are you a puppet controlled by someone aiming to wipe out the Uchiha clan? Genki used to be a stern, straight-faced man; you don't look like him at all!" Uchiha Zhuang probed. While the two were still bickering, Meiko walked in. Looking at the mess, she said, "Genki, couldn't you have kept up the act for one more day? Your dignified fatherly image is completely gone! And ambushing your own son? He's still just a child! Don't you know how to go easy on him? What if you hurt him? Who's going to take care of you in your old age?" Uchiha Genki, face covered in black lines, was speechless. Fine, for the sake of him being a child, I give up. Uchiha Genki dispelled his shadow clones and walked away, saying, "Meiko, what have you been feeding him? He's as tall as his mother at five years old!" Thud! Genki let out a howl after receiving a punch to the head. "He hasn't been home for three months, how would I know what he's been eating! You were the one watching him grow up before! Who knows if you were secretly feeding him military rations or growth hormones!" "Hey! That's uncalled for! I'm still standing right here, and you're already bad-mouthing me! I came back after achieving great things during my training, don't pretend you don't see me, hey!" The two chatted away as they walked toward the house. Uchiha Zhuang watched them helplessly, but a warmth welled up deep inside. Having a home was nice—small, but cozy.

That night, in the dining room, the two of them were "gobbling and gulping" their food, leaving Meiko speechless. These are two pigs! She would have to go buy more rice tomorrow. After dinner, the father and son sat on the sofa. Genki picked his teeth with his legs propped up, while Uchiha Zhuang sipped his hot tea, blowing on it. "Meiko said you want to go to the Ninja Academy? Yeah, being a ninja is so interesting. The strongest people in the world are ninjas, right?" "Ah, if you mean the ones with the most destructive power, then yes. But 'Heavenly Retribution Face-to-Face'..." "What does that mean? I never went to school, can you speak human language!? If you do too many bad things, you get heavenly retribution!" "Then what's there to fear? If Heaven doesn't follow me, I shall defy Heaven!" Genki looked at Uchiha Zhuang and said gloomily, "You've seen the scenes of war, right? How do you feel?" Uchiha Zhuang said calmly, "Better than I imagined. I thought there wouldn't be any survivors in the villages during wartime, but I didn't expect there to be people left, just starving. I wiped out two groups of bandits, killed about a hundred people in total. I feel like killing is easier than doing anything else." Genki was shocked, his toothpick falling out. He killed a hundred people! When he was five, he was still running around the streets with snot bubbles on his nose! Finally calming down, Genki added, "You actually opened the two-tomoe Sharingan. You must have suffered some great pain! And your tachi, it looks like a legendary blade!" Uchiha Zhuang drew the Streamer Red Dragon tachi and said, "The mountain god gave this to me in Mount Okura. I killed a man-eating giant catfish and a Kappa in Baiye Town. I honored the Kappa's dying wish and returned it to Mount Okura. The mountain god gave me this tachi while I was sleeping. I saw the magnificent landscape of the mountains and rivers, and I was so moved that I shed tears, which is how I opened the two-tomoe eyes. I used to hear people say that hatred is the fuel for opening the eyes, but now I don't believe it."

Genki and Meiko, who had just walked over, both fell silent. This is too magical! Even in plays, they wouldn't dare act it out like this. "You really saw a Kappa?" "Yeah," Uchiha Zhuang said, picking his ear. Genki and Meiko whispered to each other while Uchiha Zhuang sat cross-legged to cultivate his chakra. By the time he was almost falling asleep, Genki looked into Uchiha Zhuang's eyes and said, "Dazhuang, you've seen so many things in these past few months, you must have had many realizations. I believe you understand that 'the victors are the righteous, the losers are the rebels,' and the weak are merely nutrients for the successful. We hope you remember that there is always someone better, so don't let pride blind you! You must always show a bit of weakness, especially in the village, because the village has always been suppressing the Uchiha clan. Your growth rate is extremely fast; you might surpass the current clan leader in the future, so you understand what I mean."