"Is everything you said true, Itachi?"
Fugaku still couldn't believe it. If the person telling him this weren't his own son, he would have already kicked him out!
It was completely impossible!
Though he had already realized yesterday that Zhou Cheng was no ordinary person, what had happened today only added to the mystery surrounding him.
"What? All that exciting stuff happened after I left? If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone back to school!"
At his words, Itachi's expression immediately changed. You skipped class and still had the nerve to say it so casually?
"Itachi, how can you skip class?"
"Don't do that again tomorrow!"
When Fugaku heard that Sasuke had skipped class, his temper flared.
The Ninja Academy only taught the basics, and you couldn't learn much useful there. But it was still a school, and if you attended, you had to follow its rules.
"Father, the rewards I've gotten over these past two days are worth months of hard training for anyone else!"
"And thanks to Big Brother Zhou Cheng, I even awakened the Sharingan!"
"I could never have come across any of this, no matter how many years I spent at school!"
Seeing the displeasure on his brother's and father's faces, Sasuke wasn't the least bit intimidated. Instead, he spoke with complete confidence.
But somehow, Itachi and Fugaku couldn't come up with anything to refute him!
Sasuke had been sent to school in the first place to comply with the village's wishes.
Otherwise, with Fugaku teaching him at home, his growth certainly wouldn't have been slow!
Just then, a servant hurried over and knocked on the door.
"Lord Fugaku, Iruka is here to see you!"
The three people in the living room were all surprised. Iruka?
What was he doing here?
Iruka was Sasuke's teacher at the Ninja Academy.
If he had come this late at night, it had to be something important!
"Show him in!"
Fugaku gave the order coolly. When the servant's footsteps faded into the distance, he looked at Sasuke.
"Go brew another pot of tea!"
Sasuke reluctantly replied, "Oh," and slowly walked away.
Itachi lightly flicked him on the forehead, making Sasuke grimace in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow! What was that for, Big Brother?"
"He's your teacher. You should respect your elders!"
"Go on!"
Sasuke made a face and carried the teapot out of the living room.
Itachi and Fugaku sat upright, quietly waiting for Iruka to arrive.
Before long, the servant led a young man inside.
A long scar crossed the bridge of his nose, but it did nothing to make him look more imposing.
"Clan Head Fugaku, Lord Itachi!"
"Sorry to trouble you so late at night. I came because of Sasuke!"
Itachi frowned slightly. What had the kid done at school this time?
Fugaku was also taken aback. Sasuke?
"What trouble has he gotten into at school?"
Iruka gathered his thoughts, then slowly began to explain.
"He's been challenging people left and right at school!"
"Normally, it's perfectly natural for children to roughhouse, but for some reason, Sasuke's strength has skyrocketed."
"He's beaten every one of his classmates black and blue!"
"In just two days, his chakra reserves have grown tremendously. That would be impossible even if he trained day and night."
"He's always muttering something about Big Brother Zhou Cheng."
"I'm worried someone might be deceiving him and secretly teaching him forbidden techniques, so I came here in the middle of the night!"
Itachi and Fugaku understood. So that was what this was about!
That brat had gotten a little stronger and started showing off everywhere.
"I see!"
Just then, Sasuke came in carrying a teapot with both hands.
Seeing the strange atmosphere between his brother, father, and teacher, he couldn't help shrinking his neck.
Had his teacher come to demand an explanation?
Nervously, he set the teapot on the tea table.
Fugaku gestured for him to continue. The boy was so thoughtless that he hadn't even poured his teacher a cup of tea.
"Why don't you pour your teacher some tea?"
Sasuke came to his senses and immediately stood up to pour Iruka a cup.
He wasn't afraid of Iruka. As the son of the Uchiha Clan's head, and someone who had awakened the Sharingan at seven, he had pride of his own.
Iruka wasn't someone who could make him feel intimidated.
The people he feared were Itachi and Fugaku.
Fugaku was his father, a man who rarely smiled.
Itachi was his big brother, whom Sasuke loved and respected!
"Sasuke, who exactly is Zhou Cheng?"
"Did he teach you a forbidden technique that can increase your chakra reserves in a short time?"
Iruka was only a Chunin, and his horizons weren't particularly broad.
In his mind, chakra reserves could only grow through steady accumulation. There was no way they could suddenly surge in such a short time.
Of course, Kekkei Genkai were an exception!
But Sasuke's Kekkei Genkai was only his eyes. The Sharingan couldn't do much to increase his chakra reserves.
Itachi looked at Iruka with warmth in his eyes. Sasuke was lucky to have such a responsible teacher!
A good teacher and a good friend were both indispensable in life!
At the mention of Zhou Cheng, Sasuke immediately perked up and rattled off the whole story. Iruka could only gape at him, frozen in place.
"Sasuke, lying is wrong!"
"How could there be someone like that in the world?"
When Iruka came back to his senses, his expression turned stern at once.
"I'm not lying. It's all true, and Big Brother knows Big Brother Zhou Cheng too."
Iruka looked at Itachi in surprise, confusion in his eyes.
Sasuke was still young. It wasn't strange if he'd been tricked.
But you're all grown up. You got tricked too?
Itachi nodded seriously, confirming that he knew Zhou Cheng as well.
"Sasuke isn't lying. Everything he said is true. Senior Zhou Cheng is someone worthy of our respect!"
"He wants to die, so he lets people attack him however they like, then gives out all kinds of rewards!"
"Sasuke's chakra reserves came from Senior Zhou Cheng's rewards."
"I've received those rewards myself. I'm certain they have no side effects!"
Iruka was completely dumbfounded. What kind of family was this? They'd been deceived and were still defending the other person.
"Clan Head Fugaku, aren't you going to stop them?"
"Forbidden techniques are dangerous. At best, they can cause serious injuries; at worst, they can cost someone their life!"
Before Fugaku could answer, Sasuke retorted.
"We didn't learn any ninjutsu or forbidden techniques!"
"It was just a fruit!"
"A Chakra Fruit. Eating it increases your chakra reserves!"
Iruka was dumbfounded again. A Chakra Fruit?
He'd never heard of such a thing!
No such fruit had ever appeared in the history of the Ninja World!
"How can you just eat something when you don't know where it came from? What if it's poisonous..."
Itachi smiled as he cut in. "You're worrying too much!"
"Don't worry. I've eaten one too, and it didn't have any side effects!"
"If you don't believe us, come to the Uchiha Clan's training ground tomorrow and see for yourself!"
"Senior Zhou Cheng holds an Arena there every day!"
Iruka looked at Fugaku and saw the same expression on his face.
Could it all be true? It was unbelievable!
No, he had to go see for himself tomorrow!
"By the way, Sasuke, you went too far today!"
"Especially with Naruto. If I hadn't noticed in time, you would've seriously injured him!"
On the surface, he said that, but deep down, he was worried.
If Sasuke kept hitting him, the Nine-Tails would come out!
Then things would get out of hand!
"Sasuke, you skipped class and got into fights at school!"
"Your punishment is that you're not allowed to go to the Arena tomorrow!"
Ah!
Sasuke was dumbfounded. Not letting him go to the Arena would feel worse than killing him!
"Hmph! Could the school make my chakra reserves grow this much in two days?"
"All it does is teach childish stuff. It's completely useless!"
"After eating two Chakra Fruits, I'm the strongest in my class!"
"As for Naruto, that guy never stops chattering. He's so annoying that I hit him a little harder!"
Iruka looked incredulous. Two Chakra Fruits could really have that kind of effect?
Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to check out that Arena.
Before you continue