Uchiha Compound

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe, pushing open the door with a heavy heart, his face etched with an inescapable sorrow.

"The annihilation of the Uchiha clan is a dereliction of duty on my part as Hokage. If only I had sensed Itachi Uchiha's instability sooner, or discovered the anomalies within the Uchiha Compound earlier, these tragedies would never have occurred. I have failed you, Mufeng Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha."

His words were filled with such sincere emotion, even going on to recount the various contributions the Uchiha clan had made in the past. If I hadn't watched the anime, I might have been completely taken in by this Oscar-worthy performance.

"No, Lord Hokage, this is all Itachi Uchiha's fault! It is I who was too weak, forced to watch as they were slaughtered by him. If only I had been stronger, perhaps they could have survived."

Mufeng Uchiha played along with Hiruzen Sarutobi, clenching his fists and pounding the bed to vent his rage. It was then that Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke up.

"Mufeng, I know it is painful to recall the events of that night, but for the sake of capturing Itachi Uchiha, I must ask you to explain in detail exactly what happened."

The fox's tail is finally showing, isn't it? He wants to probe whether Itachi Uchiha revealed any secrets to the two of us survivors.

Mufeng Uchiha feigned extreme agony, clutching his chest and claiming that after being struck by Itachi Uchiha's genjutsu, he had blacked out and remembered nothing more.

With his goal achieved, Hiruzen Sarutobi offered a few perfunctory words of comfort before leaving. During their conversation, Mufeng Uchiha also learned that Sasuke Uchiha had already returned to the clan grounds.

Shortly after Hiruzen Sarutobi left the hospital room, Mufeng Uchiha slipped out quietly as well.

"Little one, your body hasn't recovered yet; you shouldn't be walking around."

"Let him go. After such a massive tragedy at home, he needs some time to cool off."

Following the path he had walked countless times before, Mufeng Uchiha rushed back to the clan grounds and headed straight for the attic where the Uchiha kept their ninjutsu and scrolls.

"As expected, these precious ninjutsu and records have all been taken. Anything they couldn't take was burned or destroyed. No, I have to keep looking."

The Uchiha had survived since the Warring States period; he refused to believe that nearly a thousand years of accumulation could be completely wiped clean by Root and Anbu.

"Only one copy of Uchiha Style Swordsmanship left behind by Izuna Uchiha remains, and it's burned beyond recognition. Forget it, something is better than nothing. I'll try to see if I can combine it with Water Breathing to create a new sword style."

He was no longer just one person, but thousands of Mufengs. With their collective, world-shaking wisdom, he was confident he could create a sword style surpassing the Uchiha Style in minutes.

"If the archives only have one sword manual left, the other places have likely been picked clean. However, my house was the final crime scene; the Third and Danzo shouldn't have had time to loot it yet. I need to get back as soon as possible."

The moment Mufeng Uchiha stepped into the courtyard, Second Pillar was punching and kicking a wooden post as if venting his rage, his hands and feet already bleeding from his self-destructive assault.

After all, they were brothers; he couldn't help but offer a reminder.

"Second Pillar, if you don't want to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair, stop immediately. Going after Itachi like this is just handing him your eyes on a silver platter."

"Don't you dare mention that man's name again! I will kill him and avenge the entire clan—no one can stop me!"

As they spoke, a crazed Sasuke Uchiha, having lost all reason, charged blindly at Mufeng Uchiha.

Second Pillar had completely lost his mind; it seemed a beating was unavoidable.

His wild, formless punches looked like a child throwing a tantrum in Mufeng Uchiha's eyes. With a single lift of his foot, he pinned Sasuke Uchiha firmly to the ground by his chest.

"Calm down, Second Pillar. If you keep this up, forget about revenge—just stay in the village and try to keep the Uchiha lineage alive."

Sasuke Uchiha's fragile grip on sanity shattered completely. He pulled out a shuriken and hurled it directly at Mufeng Uchiha's neck. Mufeng Uchiha tapped his toe against Sasuke Uchiha's chest and vaulted into the air.

Under the barrage of a dozen shuriken, only a small piece of Mufeng Uchiha's sleeve was torn.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Having completely lost his senses, Sasuke Uchiha performed the hand seals and spat out a fireball about ten centimeters in diameter.

Mufeng Uchiha instantly activated his Sharingan. In mid-air, he slammed his foot onto a spinning shuriken to use as a pivot, forcibly changing his trajectory to bypass the fireball and dive straight at Sasuke Uchiha.

"Alright! Second Pillar, attacking your own brother this ruthlessly? If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know who's the boss!"

Before Second Pillar could react, Mufeng Uchiha performed a "Crow Sits on the Plane," mounting Sasuke Uchiha and swinging his hands in wide arcs to slap him left and right. He didn't stop until he was exhausted, collapsing beside Sasuke Uchiha.

"Calm down now, Second Pillar."

"Ngh, don't get too cocky, I'll settle this."

"You can't even speak clearly, so stop being stubborn. Let's go inside and get you treated."

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke Uchiha sat inside with his face wrapped in bandages, leaving only his eyes and mouth exposed. The culprit, Mufeng Uchiha, sat opposite him, sighing repeatedly as he looked at the ninjutsu scrolls and money he had scavenged from the floor.

"They looted us dry. Even Father's secret stash was cleaned out. If it weren't for the emergency funds Mother hid away, we'd be completely destitute."

Aside from the 200,000 ryo left behind by Mikoto Uchiha, the only remaining ninjutsu in the house were the Shadow Clone Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, and Majestic Destroyer Flame.

"Hmph, I don't need those. I can kill that man all by myself."

"Hajipillar, try beating me first before you talk."

"That was just me being careless! And call me 'Brother,' you jerk Mufeng!"

In his agitation, Sasuke Uchiha tried to stand up to spar with Mufeng Uchiha, but Mufeng Uchiha pressed a hand on his shoulder and forced him back down.

"If you go after Itachi now, you're just going to your death. Train in Konoha until you're strong enough; then you can go seek your revenge if you want."

He had experienced Mufeng Uchiha's strength firsthand just now—could it be that he had undergone some secret special training?

Once he used Mufeng's training to improve his own strength, surely with his talent, surpassing Mufeng would be a breeze. He would definitely make Mufeng Uchiha call him "Brother" properly.

As for Mufeng Uchiha, his thoughts were simple: improve Sasuke Uchiha's strength. After all, once Itachi Uchiha was dealt with, there were still the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Otsutsuki invasion, and other crises to face.

He couldn't handle all of that alone, so he needed to accumulate power early to prepare for the future.

He would seek more power to fulfill the wishes of all the Mufengs and stand at the very pinnacle of the world!

"I will teach you a secret technique called Water Breathing. It not only drastically improves your physical fitness but is also an incredibly powerful sword style."

Mufeng Uchiha spoke, briefly explaining the breathing techniques of Demon Slayer Mufeng from his mind to Sasuke Uchiha.

In the small courtyard of their home, the two of them took out two swords, preparing to adapt to Water Breathing. Relying on the memories shared by Demon Slayer Mufeng, Mufeng Uchiha's body quickly entered the state of Total Concentration.

Beside him, Sasuke Uchiha practiced by mimicking his every move, though he remained skeptical about whether this was truly useful.

Could changing one's breathing really make someone stronger? Was Mufeng just messing with him?

"Water Breathing, Total Concentration!"

Mufeng Uchiha gripped his sword with both hands and slashed fiercely at a massive boulder in the courtyard, which was five meters in diameter. With a single stroke, the boulder was severed; the cut was so smooth that there wasn't even a ripple on the surface.

No, I, Sasuke Uchiha, am a genius. If Mufeng can do it, how could I possibly fail?

Having witnessed the power of Water Breathing, Sasuke Uchiha immediately abandoned his doubts and began practicing Water Breathing with renewed effort.

In the depths of the long night, the two youths trained tirelessly within the silent Uchiha Compound, while some of the Anbu and Root ninjas who had been observing from the shadows began to depart.

They now had to report the scene they had just witnessed to the Hokage or Danzo!