Moving into Sasuke's Home

"This barbecue is way too expensive; it actually cost me a thousand bucks."

Ryosuke counted the money in his hand, the corners of his mouth twitching involuntarily.

He had originally intended to buy some ninja tools, but that was clearly out of the question now.

Besides, ninja tools were usually even more expensive, and since he was a ninjutsu-type ninja, they wouldn't be of much use while his taijutsu remained stagnant in the short term.

Furthermore, he already possessed a decent ninja blade.

Thinking of this, Ryosuke pulled the "gift" Shisui had given him from behind his back.

It was a short blade about a foot and a half long.

It didn't look particularly remarkable, but its greatest value lay in its conductivity for chakra.

Ryosuke currently only possessed fire-attribute chakra.

Ordinary ninja tools simply couldn't withstand the heat of his chakra.

By comparison, wind and lightning-attribute chakra were the most compatible with standard ninja tools.

But that only applied to ordinary ones.

A blade like the one in his hand, however, could withstand his fire-attribute chakra.

Ryosuke tried channeling his chakra into the blade.

Cling.

A layer of red flames actually appeared on the blade.

"It really is a good item. If that's the case..."

A thought suddenly flashed through Ryosuke's mind.

Could he achieve chakra shape transformation right now?

With that in mind, he continued to pour chakra into the blade.

However, the flaming longsword he had imagined didn't manifest.

Instead, the temperature of the hilt became so high that he nearly dropped it.

"It seems I was thinking too simply. I should ask Teacher Shisui for advice when I have the time."

In truth, the Fire Release that the Uchiha clan excelled at was the easiest to achieve shape transformation with.

From the Great Fireball to the Fire Dragon Technique and the Phoenix Sage Technique, they were all shape transformations in Ryosuke's eyes.

It was just that fire-style ninjutsu was too easily countered, so no one had developed it to the extreme in that regard.

Ryosuke thought to himself as he walked toward home.

When he reached the entrance of the Uchiha village, he suddenly noticed something wriggling by the side of the road.

"Pesquisa!"

Ryosuke immediately activated the ability.

"Little Sasuke?"

He couldn't help but speak out loud after seeing the shadow.

"Brother Ryosuke, you're back?"

Hearing his voice, Sasuke stood up and ran toward Ryosuke.

"It's so late, why are you here? Is there no one at home?"

Ryosuke ruffled his hair, feeling a pang of heartache.

He had almost forgotten what Sasuke looked like a few years down the line.

"No, Father told me to wait here for you to come home. If I couldn't wait for you, I wasn't allowed to go back."

Little Sasuke lowered his head as he spoke.

Is he using the relationship between me and Sasuke? Is this something a father should do?

Ryosuke felt a surge of anger.

"Alright, let's go back together. Have you eaten? I still have a bento here."

"Let's go back and eat together," little Sasuke said, pulling on Ryosuke's hand.

Ryosuke sighed inwardly; it seemed training for King Jin would be impossible tonight.

Soon, the two returned to Sasuke's home.

"Father, Mother, Brother Ryosuke and I are back," little Sasuke called out at the door.

The lights inside the house flickered on, and Fugaku was sitting on the sofa in the living room.

"My Lord Clan Leader," Ryosuke said immediately upon seeing Fugaku's stern expression.

"Ryosuke, I heard your performance on this mission was outstanding?"

Fugaku didn't even open his eyes as he spoke.

Ryosuke did not speak, but little Sasuke was overjoyed.

"Really? Ryosuke-niisan, you're amazing."

"If there's nothing else, I'd like to rest now."

Ryosuke did not want to dwell on this matter, nor did he care to know who had brought it up to Fugaku.

"Ryosuke-niisan, sleep in my room with me."

Upon hearing this, little Sasuke reached out to pull Ryosuke upstairs.

"Wait a moment, Ryosuke. Tomorrow night is the Uchiha clan gathering. You are to attend this time; the location is Ise Shrine."

Ryosuke was stunned for a moment, but he still nodded.

He currently lacked the power to oppose any of Fugaku's arrangements.

"Father, can I attend too?"

Little Sasuke asked Fugaku in a low voice.

"Wait until you graduate from the Ninja Academy first."

After saying this, Fugaku stood up and returned to his room.

Little Sasuke looked very disappointed.

Ryosuke had no choice but to comfort him, "You're so outstanding at school; I believe you'll be able to graduate soon."

"Mm!" Little Sasuke nodded earnestly.

At this moment, little Sasuke's mother, Uchiha Mikoto, walked out from the kitchen.

"Is that you, Ryosuke-kun? Have you two eaten? I saved some dinner for you."

Without waiting for an answer, she pulled the two of them into the kitchen and placed two servings of curry in front of them.

Ryosuke's mouth twitched; his stomach was already quite full.

However, seeing the expectant look on Uchiha Mikoto's face, he had no choice but to force himself to finish all the food on the plate.

Unlike Fugaku, Mikoto had a very kind personality.

She asked many questions about school and missions regarding little Sasuke and Ryosuke.

And little Sasuke talked on and on without stopping.

Half an hour later, the two were finally allowed to return to their room.

Ryosuke finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had grown accustomed to living alone over the past few years, so this situation felt rather unnatural to him.

Especially since Fugaku had other motives regarding him.

Ryosuke tutored little Sasuke with his schoolwork for a while, and then the two went to sleep.

The next morning was supposed to be Ryosuke's day off.

However, he still dropped little Sasuke off at school first before heading to the training ground outside the village.

Sanhe and Miyuki were not there, but Uchiha Shisui was sitting there reading a book.

"Icha Icha Paradise? Shisui-sensei, so you like reading this kind of book too."

Ryosuke looked at the book in Shisui's hands in surprise.

"Ah, no, this is just some material someone gave me. I'm just studying it while I have some free time. By the way, today is your day off, why are you here?"

Shisui hurriedly tucked the book into his ninja tool pouch.

Ryosuke's mouth twitched, but he did not dwell on the matter.

"Shisui-sensei, this last mission made me realize my shortcomings, so I want to take this time to train. Shisui-sensei, could I ask for your help?"

"Training? But with only seven days, the time is too short. However, since you have this initiative, I naturally won't refuse. What kind of training do you want to focus on?"

Shisui looked at Ryosuke with surprise, but just as Ryosuke had expected, he did not refuse.

"Taijutsu and ninjutsu form training."

This was something Ryosuke had already planned out.

"It seems you already have a plan. However, improving taijutsu isn't that simple. Of course, you can also use this to copy some powerful taijutsu techniques."

Shisui pointed to his own eyes; the Sharingan was the Uchiha clan's advantage, so there was naturally no reason not to use it.