Call Me Dad

"Uchiha Shu!"

"Get out here! Uchiha Shu!!!"

Early the next morning, Shu hazily heard someone calling his name.

He rubbed his eyes, climbed out of bed, and yawned as he made his way to the entryway. The moment he opened the door, he saw Uchiha Sasuke glaring at him in fury, his face flushed red.

"Ah~ The young master is here!" Shu folded his arms and lazily leaned against the doorframe. "You're shouting so loudly. Got something bothering you?"

"How did my father get those injuries on his face? Did you have something to do with it?!"

The moment Sasuke saw Shu, his eyes reddened. He tried hard to stay calm, lest he fall into Shu's trap again.

"Your father's facial injuries... hmm, yes, I did that."

Shu tilted his head as if pondering, then pointed at the cracked stone step beneath Sasuke's feet. "The spot you're standing on was made when your dad smashed it with his face. Look at the pattern of those cracks—doesn't it resemble your dad?"

*I resemble your *****!

Sasuke clenched his fists, trembling with rage. "You bastard, why did you do that?"

"You've got it wrong. Your father came looking for trouble first. Just because I wouldn't obey his orders, he wanted to attack me by force."

Uchiha Shu's tone was full of innocence. "Come to think of it, you father and son are exactly alike~"

Sasuke immediately flared up. "Nonsense! I'm not like that, and neither is my father..."

"The neighbors around there all saw it, you know~"

Shu's voice was like a demon's whisper, drifting into Sasuke's ears and leaving all his words stuck in his throat.

How could this be possible?

Father...

Sasuke's mind was thrown into chaos.

His father was the person he admired most. Though he had almost never received his father's approval, he had always worked hard for it.

Now, learning that the father who constantly spoke of honor had done something so disgraceful made it hard for him to accept.

When he saw his father in that miserable state last night, Sasuke had been terrified.

Though Itachi quickly took him back to his room, he had still vaguely overheard that Uchiha Shu was involved. That was why he had come knocking first thing in the morning.

Seeing Sasuke lower his head in silence, his face bright red, Shu sighed helplessly. "Sigh, having a father like that must be rough. I can understand how you feel."

As he spoke, he patted Sasuke on the shoulder and made a sincere suggestion. "Why don't you become my son? How about I be your father?"

"Get lost!!!"

Sasuke's furious roar was Uchiha Shu's answer.

"Enough! I'm challenging you to a duel, Uchiha Shu!!"

Sasuke slapped Shu's hand away. Remembering the injuries on his father's face, a faint redness appeared in his eyes. For the moment, honor and everything else no longer mattered!

Hearing that, Shu raised an interested eyebrow. "Oh? What are the stakes this time?"

"Pick whatever you want, as long as I have it..."

"I want to be your dad."

"Go die!!!"

Sasuke snapped again and threw a punch straight at Shu's face.

Smack!

Shu casually caught Sasuke's fist, then kicked him in the stomach. Sasuke was instantly sent flying backward, crashing down onto the open ground outside.

The next second, he pushed himself up with both hands and quickly got to his feet.

But just as he raised himself, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen. With a thud, Sasuke dropped to his knees, bracing himself with his left hand while clutching his stomach tightly with his right.

"Damn it!"

This guy's strength... is terrifying!

Feeling the pain in his abdomen, Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared at Shu with hatred.

"Ah—yes! That look!"

Noticing Sasuke's gaze, Shu's previously sleepy eyes suddenly became perfectly clear.

He hurried forward and lunged in front of Sasuke. Crouching down, he tilted his head, a look of boundless delight on his face as his Sharingan stared unblinkingly at Sasuke.

"This is the expression I wanted to see! That look of hating my guts but being unable to do anything about me~ Hahahahahaha!"

Listening to Shu's grating laughter, Sasuke's anger grew even stronger.

Damn it!

Why?

Why, why, why?

We're about the same age, so why is there such a huge gap between our strength?!

The image of his injured father, along with the humiliation Shu had inflicted on him during their last fight, flashed through his mind one after another like slides.

Then, as though some blocked channel within him had suddenly opened, a cold stream of chakra surged into Sasuke's mind!

Sasuke felt the chakra within his body suddenly rise sharply. His eyes seemed to be veiled in blood, though it also felt like an illusion.

The only thing he knew for certain was that, at this very moment, the entire world in his eyes had become crystal clear!

The grain on the tree trunks by the roadside, the scattered grains of sand on the ground, even Uchiha Shu's hateful face—everything was so clear!

At that moment, the adrenaline completely overwhelmed the pain in his abdomen!

Could this be...

Guessing at a possibility, Sasuke suddenly punched at Shu, only for him to evade with an agile backflip.

Taking advantage of Shu's retreat, Sasuke quickly got to his feet and anxiously began searching for something that could serve as a mirror.

"No need to look. Your eyes have awakened~"

Shu clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked at Sasuke. "I hate hot-blooded manga protagonists like you the most. You yell about bonds and all that nonsense, then force yourself into a power-up. The moment you can't win, you suddenly explode with strength."

He had not expected Sasuke to get so angry that he awakened his eyes!

Compared to the original story, where Sasuke had awakened his One-Tomoe Sharingan in rage only after his entire clan was slaughtered, the price he paid this time was merely a kick from Shu.

"This chakra... it's so strong!"

Feeling the chakra rising inside him, Sasuke's lips curled into a defiant smile. "Hmph, even with only one tomoe, I'm not inferior to you anymore! As long as I've awakened my eyes..."

Before he could finish, his figure flashed as he charged straight at Uchiha Shu!

Smack!

Shu swung a backhanded slap. The force twisted Sasuke's neck, rolled his eyes white, and spun him around in place.

Shu stepped forward, grabbed Sasuke by the hair with his left hand, and drove a fist into his liver with his right!

His abdomen took another heavy blow. Sasuke instinctively tried to retch, only for Shu's uppercut to smash into his chin.

"Not knowing the gap in our strength, you dare challenge a Gold Saint? Receive my Lion's Fang! Hah!"

Shu released Sasuke's hair and drove a straight punch into his face!

Sasuke was sent flying backward, smashing heavily into the ground with a dull thud.

Watching him curl up like a wounded beast, yet stubbornly try to rise again, Shu finally unhurriedly straightened his sleepwear, which had become a little messy from the movement, and walked over to Sasuke once more.

Then he raised his foot and tapped Sasuke's head. "Call me Dad~"

"..."

Sasuke said nothing. He hung his head deeply, his right hand gripping Shu's ankle tightly as scorching tears slid down both sides of his face.

"Uchiha Shu... one day! I'll definitely kill you!"

"Mm-hmm, sure, sure~"

Shu ground his sole against him and flicked out a long blade. "We can talk about the future later. If you don't say it, you'll die right now. Think about your family. Don't you want to see them again?"

Sasuke's lips trembled, followed by a deathly silence.

After quite a while, Shu finally heard an almost imperceptible voice.

"Dad..."

Though it was as faint as a murmur, Shu heard it clearly. It was unmistakably the call of his grown son!

"Yeah—~"

Shu lazily stretched, turned, and walked back into the house. "What a wonderful morning!"