Fugaku's Approval

In the blink of an eye, the dragon's body and tail emerged as well.

An eight-meter-long lightning dragon coiled before Mingyou, crackling with powerful arcs of electricity.

An eerie red glow shone from the dragon's eyes as it stared at the short, fat ninja.

"What?! Impossible! How could my ninjutsu...?"

The short, fat ninja was utterly bewildered. Mingyou had not used any Lightning Release ninjutsu before, yet now he had even copied his signature technique, the Lightning Dragon Technique.

He had even forgotten to run, merely standing there as he watched the lightning dragon, wreathed in powerful electrical arcs, charge toward him.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out. Vast stretches of trees in the forest suffered once more. Countless towering trees were sliced cleanly in half by the powerful lightning, while thick clouds of dust and soil rose into the sky.

Fortunately, the place where Mingyou had stopped was extremely secluded. Otherwise, with such a huge commotion, Konoha's patrols would have discovered it long ago. No one would have failed to arrive by now.

Mingyou did not bother checking whether the short, fat ninja was dead or alive. After taking such a powerful attack head-on, there was no way he could have survived.

"So they really were Danzo's Root men. That old bastard..."

When Mingyou approached the other tall, thin ninja's corpse and pried open his lips, he indeed found a black mark in the center of his tongue.

Although this was Mingyou's first time truly seeing such a mark, as a transmigrator who had read the original work, he was no stranger to it.

This was the curse mark Danzo planted in Root members in order to control them.

Once someone received this curse mark, they would be unable to escape Danzo's control for the rest of their life and could only obey Danzo's orders.

Otherwise, all Danzo needed was a thought to activate the curse mark, and they would die on the spot.

What was even more horrifying about this curse mark was that they could not reveal anything related to Danzo. Otherwise, the curse mark would activate automatically.

After understanding what had happened, Mingyou did not remain where he was and hurried toward the Uchiha Clan compound.

He had to tell his father about this. Even a minor figure like Mingyou was under surveillance, so the other Uchiha Clan members likely could not escape the same treatment.

More than ten minutes later, when Mingyou returned home, he found Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto kneeling on cushions inside the room.

"Dad, Mom, I was followed earlier."

Mingyou entered the room and sat down directly beside them.

"Oh? Who were they?"

Mikoto paused slightly and set down the needle and thread in her hands.

Fugaku, however, was not overly surprised. He merely raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at Mingyou.

"They were two Root ninjas. One specialized in swordsmanship, and the other in Lightning Release."

"But I killed them both."

Mingyou truthfully recounted everything that had happened earlier.

"Mingyou, didn't you just graduate from the academy? How could you possibly be a match for Root members?"

Uchiha Mikoto frowned slightly, clearly finding it difficult to believe what Mingyou had said.

She knew perfectly well what her son was capable of.

Those who could join Root might not all possess jonin-level strength, but they were at least special jonin with some kind of special ability.

"Mingyou, you need to keep your feet on the ground. I'd already be very happy if you could be half as outstanding as Itachi."

Fugaku lifted the tea on the table and took a small sip, shaking his head helplessly as he looked at Mingyou.

Fugaku had long known that the Uchiha Clan was being monitored.

But there was no way he could believe Mingyou's claim that he had killed Root members.

At that moment, he only thought Mingyou had fabricated a story to earn praise from his parents, and he was even somewhat disappointed in him.

Sharingan!

"Dad, Mom, do you believe me now?"

Mingyou did not explain further. He activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to prove his strength.

"What?! Mingyou, you really awakened the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai."

Joy appeared on Mikoto's face. She pulled Mingyou in front of her, cupping his cheeks as she examined his eyes from side to side.

She wanted to see whether all of this was truly real.

A flash of delight also passed through Fugaku's eyes, but he had always liked playing the role of a strict father, so he did not show much of it.

"Mingyou, were you deliberately hiding your strength before?"

Fugaku voiced the doubt in his heart. Mingyou had always been average before, without showing any particularly outstanding talent.

How had he suddenly awakened the Sharingan? And why had he manifested three tomoe at once?

"Yes, Father. My Sharingan ability is copying. It can copy all ninjutsu and abilities."

Mingyou nodded and gave the excuse he had prepared long ago.

The general idea was that after awakening his one-tomoe Sharingan, he had gained the ability to copy.

Relying on that ability of the one-tomoe Sharingan, he had continuously copied techniques in a short period of time, successfully activating the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and advancing to jonin.

"What? Mingyou, is that true?"

Even Fugaku could no longer remain calm. He grabbed Mingyou's shoulders with both hands, his eyes full of joy.

Among the Uchiha Clan members, there had never been a case where an ordinary Sharingan possessed a special ability.

But Mingyou's strength had grown so quickly that this seemed to be the only explanation.

"Of course it's true. Dad, Mom, I'll show you."

Mingyou stood up and demonstrated the Mind Body Switch Technique, the Lightning Dragon Technique, and various other ninjutsu, proving that he had not been lying.

"Haha, good. Very good."

"My son truly isn't a mediocrity."

Fugaku seemed to be in an excellent mood. He took Mingyou by the arm and led him back to their original seats.

Mikoto was equally happy for her son.

Over the years, she had seen all the cold remarks and ridicule Mingyou had endured.

In truth, to Mikoto, it made no difference whether Mingyou was mediocre or talented. She loved him all the same.

He was, after all, her own flesh and blood. What mother would treat her child with cold words simply because they did not perform well?

She raised a hand and stroked Mingyou's cheek, her face filled with indulgent affection.

"Mingyou, now that things have come to this, there are some matters I should tell you."

After continuing to question Mingyou about his abilities for a while, Fugaku's expression suddenly turned grave again.

It was as if a massive weight pressed upon his heart, preventing his tightly furrowed brows from relaxing.

"Dad, what is it? Just tell me."

Mingyou nodded and looked seriously at Fugaku, waiting for him to speak.

In truth, Mingyou could more or less guess that what Fugaku wanted to say was likely related to the Uchiha Clan's impending rebellion.