Chapter 37

A drop of chakra finally condensed inside him. "Imperial Arms: Susanoo!"

He gritted his teeth and sent that drop of chakra into the magatama.

A terrifying force exploded in an instant.

Susanoo appeared out of thin air before him. "User—"

"Cut the crap. I need food!"

Before Susanoo could finish, Sasuke squeezed out the words in a voice like he was about to breathe his last.

Susanoo heard him and, without another word, rushed to the kitchen.

On the way, he also passed the news that Sasuke was here to the cook, Buhin.

Susanoo handled the cooking, while Aunt Buhin brought the dishes to Sasuke.

With food in his stomach, Sasuke's cells absorbed energy like mad.

Before long, the cells that had already shriveled began to regain their vitality.

The moment the food entered his mouth, it was digested cleanly.

Because the instant Sasuke managed to scrape back a breath, he went right back to refining chakra with his life on the line.

Once he had a bit of chakra in hand, he activated Lightning God Mode without hesitation.

In Lightning God Mode, he frantically stimulated his cellular activity and tempered his cells over and over.

And Sasuke discovered that the weaker his body was when he tempered it, the gains were actually several times greater than usual.

The feeling of his cells coming back to life hurt like hell, but that rush was something nothing else could compare to.

He ate meal after meal, his mouth never stopping, all the way until the sky was faintly bright.

By then, Itachi, Fugaku, Mikoto, and Shisui had all returned home. "This situation... it's all right, isn't it?"

"Clan head, little Sasuke..."

Mikoto stood in the corridor, her eyes fixed hard on the door to Sasuke's room, her face deathly pale.

Her first thought had been to rush in and see whether her son was still alive. She had even already called over the entire medical team.

But Susanoo stopped her.

That man said Sasuke was extremely hungry right now and had to be allowed to fill his stomach first. "It should be fine."

"He suddenly came back. I suspect it has to do with that special bloodline of his."

"Since Mr. Susanoo says he needs food, then let's wait for now."

Fugaku's voice was very low.

That was what he said, but anyone with eyes could see he was just as anxious inside.

Still, Sasuke's vanishing act earlier, coupled with this inexplicable ability to return, made Fugaku figure something out—

Whatever was on Sasuke, it probably really could let him pull himself back together.

Around noon, the kitchen finally quieted down.

The auntie who had been cooking carried the last dish in and pushed the door open. Not long after, Sasuke walked out of the room.

From his appearance alone, he seemed to have recovered seventy or eighty percent. "Um... Dad, Mom, Brother..."

Sasuke had only just gotten the words to his lips when his eyes grew hot.

Then in the next second, Mikoto pulled him straight into her arms.

After that came the medical team's full examination.

Only after they confirmed nothing was wrong with Sasuke did the family sit together in the living room. "Don't all look at me like that..."

"I really don't know what happened."

"I crashed into that guy's weapon, and then somehow, I was back home."

"Good thing Mr. Susanoo found me first and got me food..."

Sasuke scratched the back of his head, speaking a little haltingly. "You..."

"Sasuke, do you know what you did..."

Itachi lowered his head, his face frighteningly dark, and walked toward Sasuke one step at a time.

Seeing his brother's face, Sasuke was genuinely afraid he would lose control and beat him up on the spot. "Brother, back then I was..."

"Brother, listen to me explain. Don't get worked up yet—"

Thud!

Before Sasuke could finish speaking, Itachi struck him hard on the forehead.

Immediately after, Itachi hugged him tightly.

"Brother, you..."

Sasuke had originally wanted to say something else, but his shoulder was damp, and Itachi's whole body was trembling.

Then he looked at his parents' eyes...

Sasuke shut his mouth.

This feeling of a family being connected together was pretty warm.

By evening, Mikoto was so exhausted she could not hold on and went to sleep first.

Sasuke, Itachi, and Fugaku stayed in Fugaku's study and did not come out. "Dad, did you call us here specifically to talk about Brother Shisui's matter?"

Sasuke spoke first. "Yes."

"Shisui's side has already confirmed it. Danzo and the Root Organization really did make a move on him."

"There were also ninja from outside the village involved at the scene."

"If the Uchiha Clan still stays silent at this point, those people will only grow more and more rampant."

"So what I mean is—we must pressure the Hokage and make Danzo and the Root Organization pay dearly."

Fugaku poured out everything on his mind in one breath. "Pressure them..."

"Dad, I actually think doing that isn't very suitable."

Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly, hesitation in his tone. "Itachi, you're just too softhearted." Uchiha Fugaku's voice sank. "Our clan—"

"No, Father. If we force it now, all the groundwork we laid before will be wasted."

"Then we just let the person who wants to move against us Uchiha keep living freely in the village?"

"Of course that's not what I mean. I think we should change our approach—"

The father and son each held their own view in the study, one wanting to get serious, the other advocating that they wait a little longer.

Sasuke stood off to the side, his head nearly exploding.

One radical, one conservative. These two could really argue forever.

If Uchiha Fugaku's temper had not eased up quite a lot recently, then with Uchiha Itachi's attitude, he probably would have been beaten already.

As soon as the words fell, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku looked over at the same time. "There's actually no need for anyone to take this matter too seriously." Sasuke spoke directly. "Dad, how many people did our family actually lose this time?"

"How many did we lose?" Uchiha Fugaku's brow twitched. "Two seriously injured, six lightly injured. Everyone else is fine."

"Huh?" Sasuke froze for a moment, his face full of disdain. "That's it?"

Uchiha Fugaku's chest clogged, and he almost choked.

Why were both his sons more abnormal than the last?

Who looked down on their own clansmen for suffering too few casualties?

Did they have to all fall outside before it counted as enough?!

"Dad, that's not what I mean." Seeing that his old man's expression was bad, Sasuke quickly added, "I mean, we don't need to go to the Third Hokage for any explanation at all, and we don't need to pressure him either."

"Everyone saw that fight. Everyone knows exactly who caused it."

"And since it involves those people up above, the Third Hokage must be more afraid than anyone of this blowing up."

"We can just go over and ask for some compensation. No problem, right?"

"Ask for more. While we're at it, cry about how miserable we are a few more times."

"As for the rest, the Third Hokage knows what to do. He won't disappoint us..."

Sasuke threw out his thoughts all in one breath.

The corner of Uchiha Fugaku's mouth twitched.

This son was only six years old. Where did all these twists and turns in his belly come from?

"Sasuke is right." Uchiha Itachi picked up the thread. "We don't need to clash head-on. We only need to lay out how miserable we are."

"We can get the compensation we deserve, and also let the Third Hokage know what we went through."

"As for how much compensation we take, this time, it may be up to us."

"We'll make ourselves stronger while making the higher-ups feel the pain."

"Dad, do you think the Third Hokage will make a move against Danzo this time?"

Itachi's mind spun very quickly. He had already completely understood those few words Sasuke had just said.

This plan was simply perfect. "Fine, I understand." Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath. "You two be careful recently. Itachi, no one can mention the matter of your eyes."

"You'll be responsible for Sasuke's safety."

"I'll go find the Hokage first. The sooner this kind of thing is settled, the sooner we can sleep soundly."

After Uchiha Fugaku said this, he turned and left the study.

Itachi and Sasuke exchanged a glance, then each returned to their rooms.

The Hokage's office was quite lively right now.

On a sheet of paper, names, positions, and injuries were written densely across it.

Uchiha Fugaku had even brought several people lying on stretchers with him.

With those injuries, there was no need to investigate. One look was enough to know they were not faked. "Mm."

"Lord Hokage, on this trip, not only did rogue ninja from the village attack us, a mysterious group also appeared."

"Clearly, those rogue ninja have an unusual relationship with this organization called 'Akatsuki.'"

"If we hadn't trusted the village's people too much, how would we have ended up in this state?"

"The policing side of things was originally carried by us Uchiha. Now we've suffered heavy losses. The old and young in their families—what are they supposed to do from now on..."

As Uchiha Fugaku spoke, his eyes turned red, and his voice even took on a sobbing tone.

The Uchiha clansmen standing beside him stared with their mouths agape.

They had never imagined that their clan head could actually make up this kind of nonsense without changing expression.

Of course, they could only force out a few grieving expressions and stand there with him. "I understand."

"The compensation will be paid according to the highest standard, and the village will add another occupational compensation payment."

"Let everyone rest well first. Once their injuries are healed, they can continue protecting the village."

"Leave the rest to me."

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a little pained inside, his whole body was incredibly at ease.

He had guessed wrong before!

The current Uchiha finally had some sense of responsibility, and also some awareness of the village.

Uchiha Fugaku's performance left Hiruzen Sarutobi quite satisfied.

So when it came to paying out money, he was especially straightforward. "Thank you, Third Hokage!"

"Then I'll take them back first."

Uchiha Fugaku thanked him, then led the others around and left.

The moment Uchiha Fugaku left, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face immediately darkened. "Hmph!"

"That fellow Danzo..."

"Where is he now?!"

The bellyful of anger Hiruzen Sarutobi had been holding in exploded in an instant. "Lord Danzo has already returned to the village. He isn't staying at the Root Organization. He's at his own home."

An Anbu flashed in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi and reported the situation. "His home?"

"Perfect. I'm not approving any documents today. I'm going to find him!"

"Go notify Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Have them come over as well."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and walked straight in the direction of Danzo Shimura's house.

The Anbu went to call the other two higher-ups.

Tonight, this group of higher-ups probably should not even think about closing their eyes.

And at this moment, Sasuke was sitting on his bed with a face full of excitement.

Because he had previously turned off the system notification sound, he had not noticed the reminder that the mission was complete at all.

[Uchiha Defense Mission: Beginning · The Death of Shisui Uchiha] [Completed]

[Host, please complete the mission to protect Shisui Uchiha. Reward: 50% increase in ocular power, random genjutsu gift box, random reward package] [Sent]

[Reward: Extractable]

Looking at the information on the mission panel, the corners of Sasuke's mouth lifted.

Then he stretched out his hand and extracted the reward.

A huge surge of energy violently rushed into Sasuke's eyes.

His ocular power rose, and even his eyesight improved quite a lot. "System, open the genjutsu gift box and the random reward package."

[Ding, opening genjutsu gift box: obtained A-rank genjutsu—Endless Void]

[Endless Void: After release, it can drag the opponent into a bottomless abyss. The duration is calculated based on chakra and ocular power consumption. Within the abyss, the opponent's consciousness can be freely controlled]

[Ding, opening random reward package: obtained Armament Haki]

[Armament Haki, from the One Piece World, is a type of...]

Looking at the genjutsu and the newly obtained ability—Haki, Sasuke stood up at once. "Buzz!"

Sasuke raised his hand and instantly released Armament Haki.

He only felt a force gather onto his palm. "Is it only beginner level?!"

The surface of his fist had not turned black, but that force was truly, solidly held in his hand.

A new thought emerged in Sasuke's mind.

For the people of the Shinobi World, their bodies had always been a weak point.

If they could learn Armament Haki, their ability to stay alive would be on a whole different level.

Next, he only had to add Armament training into his daily schedule.

As someone who had transmigrated here, he knew exactly how to train Armament.

The next day.

Sasuke returned to his usual school routine.

But unlike before, there were clearly more people following behind him.

Besides Itachi, there were also several members of the Police Force.

As for a sense of security, it was maxed out to the brim. "Sasuke!"

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke!"

When he reached the main road, a group of classmates was already waiting there.

Ever since they had acted together last time, everyone's relationships had clearly grown much closer.

Even Naruto had been accepted by the others because of that incident.

When they entered the school. "A parent-teacher meeting?"