Getting to Know Fugaku

After a busy day, Xuanhui's master finally returned home, utterly exhausted.

The moment he stepped inside, he collapsed onto the wooden floor of the entryway and let out a long, mournful groan.

"You're back? Hurry up and take a bath. Dinner will be ready soon."

Nara Yamanaka poked her head out to glance toward the entryway, where Xuanhui lay limply on the floor.

Wearing an apron and holding a spatula, she jogged over, ruffled her son's hair, then jogged back to continue cooking.

By the time dinner was served, Xuanhui felt like he was at his limit. The journey from the entryway to the bathroom, then to the table, felt as though he had crawled the whole way!

Learning at the beginning really was exhausting. Everything was hard at first, and he needed to keep making mistakes and starting over.

"Oh, right, son. Your grandpa said you should visit his place tomorrow. He found the person you were looking for."

"A person? Who..."

When had he...

"Oh! I remember now! I'll go tomorrow morning."

"That's too early. Your grandpa said you have to come after dinner."

"Huh? Fine!"

Why did it have to be on the most exhausting night of the day...

"I'm done eating. Take your time—I'm going to write your dad a letter."

Nara Yamanaka wiped her mouth and hurried over to the coffee table, where she began scribbling away.

Even her eating speed had gotten faster than before!

The following evening, Xuanhui sat in the small villa where his grandfather and grandmother lived.

He sat cross-legged with his arms folded, his posture stiff and proper, his face full of speechless helplessness.

Two people sat across from him. One was his grandfather, and the other was Fugaku Uchiha.

His grandfather—Uchiha Chikurin—was smiling broadly as he patted Fugaku's shoulder with one large hand.

Fugaku, meanwhile, trembled uneasily. His hands shook on his knees, and his eyes were filled with anxiety. He was one step away from activating his Sharingan!

The reason Xuanhui was speechless and Fugaku was terrified was all because of this man with such bizarre thought processes—Uchiha Chikurin!

A few days ago, Chikurin had learned that his grandson wanted him to help find someone.

Without another word, he immediately began asking around.

Intimidated by the reputation he had built in his younger years, the several elders he stopped all told him what they knew, allowing him to quickly locate Fugaku.

Seeing that Fugaku was just a half-grown kid as well, Uchiha Chikurin instinctively assumed it was some sort of grudge between children.

So, after calling Xuanhui over, he kidnapped Fugaku on the little path Fugaku often took after dinner.

And Fugaku happened to know Chikurin too!

He had once been fortunate enough to witness Uchiha Chikurin beating up several other clan members all by himself, while none of them dared fight back.

It left an indelible shadow on his young heart.

"Grandpa Chikurin... why did you call me here today?"

Fugaku racked his brains but still could not figure out how he had offended him. He did not even know the boy his own age standing before him!

"You messed with my grandson, kid. Prepare to be punished!"

Uchiha Chikurin slapped Xuanhui on the back.

"Go on, kid! Teach him a lesson!"

Xuanhui closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

He walked forward, stretched out his hands, and helped Fugaku to his feet.

Then he turned to look at his grandfather.

"I just wanted to be friends with him..."

Chikurin's smile froze. The wrinkles on his face twitched as he inwardly realized that things had gone badly!

"Grandma! Grandpa went out to see other old ladies again!"

"You old bastard!"

Uzumaki Kikuka had red hair and barely showed any signs of age on her face, save for two faint wrinkles.

She charged out from the doorway almost instantly, took one large step forward, and grabbed Uchiha Chikurin by the ear.

"Come on! Let's go outside and talk!"

"It hurts! It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"

Uzumaki Kikuka turned sideways and secretly gave Xuanhui a thumbs-up. Then she dragged Uchiha Chikurin out of the bedroom, leaving only the two boys in the room.

Xuanhui lowered his head and looked at the stunned Fugaku.

"My name is Xuanhui. You're Fugaku, right? I want to be friends with you."

"Huh? Ah, hello!"

Though it was rather strange, Fugaku still responded politely first.

Who made friends by kidnapping someone? Why could they not just run into each other on the road and say so?

He had been scared out of his wits. He thought someone had their eye on his eyes!

"Why do you want to be friends with me? I don't think we've met before."

"I just happened to hear about you! I want to learn the clan's ninja techniques, so I wanted to see whether you know any and have you teach me!"

After chatting like that, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

To ease Fugaku's unease, Xuanhui suggested they go for a walk together and that he could take Fugaku home along the way.

As the two strolled down the street, Xuanhui tilted his head toward Fugaku and asked, "Are you still in school?"

"Yeah. I won't graduate until the year after next."

"Then do you know Minato Namikaze?"

"Ah! You mean him!"

The moment Minato was mentioned, Fugaku Uchiha got fired up and began complaining about him nonstop.

"How can that guy be so handsome? And he talks so gently too! It has to be an act! All the girls love looking at him!"

"Um... you two are good friends, right?"

"That chuunibyou blond and I are not good friends! Whenever I stand next to him, no girls ever come over to talk to me..."

Would girls come talk to you if he were not standing next to you?

Of course, Xuanhui did not hit him with that. They had only just met, after all.

He could save the hurtful remarks for later.

"Is there also a transfer student in your class named Kushina Uzumaki?"

"How do you know everything? You haven't been stalking me, have you?"

"How long would I have to use my Sharingan before I went blind enough to do something like that?"

Unable to hold back, Xuanhui lightly kicked Fugaku.

"I just happened to see them before. One's blond and the other's red-haired—they stand out pretty clearly at school."

That was a lie. Xuanhui never left the classroom after school, so he had never seen any of them.

"Fine... but speaking of Kushina, she's pretty interesting. She's the girl they call Blood-Red Pepper!

Ever since she transferred in, Minato's eyes are always on her! He definitely likes her!"

Konoha really had a long-standing tradition when it came to teenage romance.

"Could it be that the girl you like often looks at Minato too?"

"I don't have a girl I like. When I grow up, I just want to see whether there's anyone suitable in the clan."

"What a shame..."

"What are you disappointed about?"

Fugaku raised his elbow and jabbed him repeatedly. Under the streetlights, the two burst into laughter.

"Do you have a girl you like? You're so handsome, so there should be plenty of girls who like you, right?"

Fugaku sized Xuanhui up. His looks were still exceptionally good, practically on par with Minato's.

"Really? I never paid attention to that while I was at school.

But I really don't have a girl I like. Though if I had to say...

I like beautiful women who are powerful and smart—the kind who go through darkness before being saved by me!"

"Pfft!"

Fugaku Uchiha let out a deeply disdainful scoff.

"You should save that kind of good fortune for wishing upon a star. How could something like that exist in real life?"