Uchiha Zuho (II)

Uchiha Zuho soon returned to the familiar Uchiha clan grounds. He walked silently to his front door, reaching out a hand to push it open.

But for some reason, he felt as if he had lost even the strength to open the door.

Uchiha Zuho finally took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open, just about to say, "I'm home."

Suddenly, a figure a head taller than Uchiha Zuho appeared before him without warning. Before he could react, Uchiha Zuho was slammed into hard by the figure, his body involuntarily falling backward until he landed on his backside on the ground.

After knocking Uchiha Zuho down, the figure didn't even offer an apology, instead muttering in a tone of disgust and annoyance.

"How unlucky! Why did I run into a stumbling block like you the moment I stepped out? Hey, watch where you're walking."

It was as if all of this were Uchiha Zuho's fault, yet Uchiha Zuho still spoke stiffly in reply.

"I'm sorry, brother, I'll be more careful next time."

The one who had knocked Uchiha Zuho down was none other than his own biological brother, Uchiha Fun.

"Tch, enough already! Listen well! Don't you ever call me brother in public again! I don't have a weak, useless younger brother like you! Every time, you make me the subject of others' ridicule and mockery! It's absolutely humiliating!

That's it! Get out of my way! Don't block my path! I have plans with my friends! If I'm late because you were in my way, I'm blaming it all on you!"

Uchiha Fun roared angrily and tried to kick Uchiha Zuho, who was still on the ground, but Uchiha Zuho rolled to the side and dodged the blow.

Seeing this, Uchiha Fun wore a look of disdain, letting out a contemptuous "tch" from his mouth.

He felt nothing but contempt for Uchiha Zuho's evasive behavior, viewing him as nothing more than a cowardly rat.

Afterward, Uchiha Fun turned and left without looking back, his footsteps hurried as if he didn't want to stay for even a second longer, quickly disappearing into the dark night. He left Uchiha Zuho lying alone on the ground.

Watching Uchiha Fun's receding back, Uchiha Zuho's heart was filled with complex emotions.

He slowly stood up from the ground, gently brushing the dust from his clothes and hands, his eyes gazing blankly at the open door ahead.

Inside, a dim corridor stretched into the depths, with a faint light spilling from the crack of a door at the end.

Uchiha Zuho knew clearly that someone was waiting for him there, so he straightened his disheveled clothes.

He took a step forward, walking toward that sliver of light, but every step felt like treading on cotton; his legs were weak and powerless.

Uchiha Zuho didn't understand why he felt so powerless in his own home, but he continued to move forward.

As the distance closed, that point of light became clearer.

When he reached the doorway of the room, he stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke softly.

"Grandfather, I'm home."

A low voice came from inside the room.

"Come in!"

Uchiha Zuho pushed the door open and entered the room to find three people sitting inside.

"Grandfather, Father, Mother, good evening."

Their gazes fell squarely on Uchiha Zuho. One of those gazes was like a sharp sword, piercing straight at him and making Uchiha Zuho feel an indescribable, heavy pressure.

He couldn't help but lower his head, as if that gaze held the weight of Thousand Jun, making it hard for him to bear.

The owner of that gaze was his grandfather, Uchiha Setsuna.

If any of the older generation in Konoha were to see him, they would recognize him; Uchiha Setsuna was active in Konoha during the reign of the Second Hokage, Tobirama.

As a typical hawk among the Uchiha, Uchiha Setsuna was dissatisfied with the policies Tobirama implemented against the Uchiha clan.

Inheriting the will of Uchiha Madara, a raging fire burned in his heart, and he longed to reclaim the power and status that belonged to the Uchiha from the Senju.

This intense ambition drove Uchiha Setsuna to constantly take action, attempting to change the status quo.

However, his plans did not escape the eyes of Tobirama. When he tried to incite the Uchiha clansmen to rebel, Tobirama quickly sensed the clues and decisively dispatched Anbu members to investigate.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, Uchiha Setsuna could not deny it. In the end, he was arrested by the Anbu under the direct orders of Tobirama and thrown into the heavily guarded Konoha Prison.

From then on, this ambitious man lost his freedom, spending his prime years at twenty-six living day after day in a cold cell.

Just when he thought he would spend the rest of his life in prison, in the twelfth year of his incarceration, Uchiha Setsuna was released; it was his son, Uchiha Shin, who had spent a fortune to bail him out.

The reason Uchiha Setsuna could be released after being locked up for so many years was that he had been arrested before he could put his plans into action, meaning it was at most an attempted disturbance.

He was released in the twenty-third year of Konoha, and Uchiha Setsuna also learned that Tobirama, the man who had kept him in prison for twelve years, had died in battle years ago, and that Sarutobi Hiruzen, his disciple and former member of the Hokage's personal guard, was now serving as the Third Hokage.

At that time, his daughter-in-law had just given birth to a grandson, which allowed Uchiha Setsuna to see a new hope for realizing his ambitions in this newborn, whom he named with deep significance: "Fun."

Uchiha Fun! A fire burning beneath the forest!

Yes, after being locked up for so many years, the torture of time had left Uchiha Setsuna's heart extremely twisted, and his ambition was no longer just about reclaiming the power and status of the Uchiha from the Senju.

Now, he craved control over the entire Konoha! Or perhaps, to destroy the entire Konoha!

From then on, Uchiha Setsuna began to cultivate his grandson, Uchiha Fun, with all his heart.

Those of his generation who knew him previously came to visit after learning of Uchiha Setsuna's release, and seeing him focused on caring for his grandson at home, they mistakenly believed he had turned over a new leaf.

They congratulated him with smiles, failing to notice that when Uchiha Setsuna looked at the babbling Uchiha Fun in his arms, his eyes were not filled with affection, but with an intertwining of ambition and desire.

The following days remained peaceful, and time flew by like a white horse passing a crack in a wall. In the blink of an eye, it was the twenty-fifth year of Konoha, and Uchiha Fun, now two years old, had reached the age where he could begin training.

Not long after, Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Kaori had another son, which led Uchiha Setsuna, who had witnessed Uchiha Fun's astonishing talent during this time, to harbor a terrifying thought.

This little grandson could become a source of support on the elder grandson's path of growth.

Thus, Uchiha Setsuna named this little grandson "Uchiha Zuho."

Uchiha Zuho, implying the intent to help his elder brother, Uchiha Fun, become a flame that burns ever more fiercely.

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