In Konoha: Three Choices at the Start

"I'm leaving, Clan Chief! I hope you keep a closer eye on your son. Otherwise, next time... you'll never see him again!"

Liuyun turned and walked away, one step at a time.

Wherever he passed, the ice vanished, the ground thawed, and the frozen figures returned to human form.

By the time Liuyun disappeared from Fugaku's sight, everything around him looked as it had before, as though nothing had happened.

(Send flowers, and Rem will take care of you tonight. Send rating votes, and Tsunade will take care of you! Send both, and they'll both take care of you!)

Basic Sage Body!

When the Uchiha Bodyguards came to and saw Uchiha Fuchu's expression, their faces changed. "Clan Chief, are you all right?"

Uchiha Fuchu clutched his side and shook his head, a trace of dejection in his voice.

"I'm fine. Go back to your patrols."

"Yes, Clan Chief!"

The Uchiha Bodyguards murmured their assent. At a wave of his hand, they vanished from Uchiha Fuchu's sight.

They don't seem to have noticed a thing wrong. Uchiha Liuyun is terrifying!

"Clan Chief! What happened to me?" Uchiha Shentong asked after waking, his face full of confusion.

"We fell under Liuyun's Genjutsu as soon as we arrived. Everything you saw before was fake."

"What?" Uchiha Shentong looked stunned.

"You two are both awake now, right?" Uchiha Fuchu looked at Shentong and Jitu.

"We are, Clan Chief!"

"Don't tell anyone what happened just now. Understood?" Uchiha Fuchu instructed them.

"Understood!" The two nodded.

"Go home and rest tonight. You've both had quite a scare." Uchiha Fuchu waved them off.

"As for Uchiha Zhongtong, we'll deal with that tomorrow."

"Yes, Clan Chief!" they answered together.

Watching them leave, Uchiha Fuchu clutched his side and limped toward Uchiha Fugaku's room.

After witnessing Uchiha Liuyun's strength, he had abandoned any thought of making an enemy of him.

Liuyun had grown this powerful in just one year. What about two years from now? Three? Even ten?

Uchiha Liuyun was only ten years old.

He could live another thirty or forty years at least. If the Uchiha Clan had him...

The priority is to comfort my son. They're... no, we're not on the same level as him anymore.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, on completing option three. You have received the Basic Sage Body. Use it now?

The system's cold prompt appeared in Liuyun's mind when he returned home.

"Use it!"

Ding! Fusion in progress: 1%... 50%... 100%. Fusion successful!

A gentle warmth flowed through him again. Liuyun could clearly feel his body growing more vigorous and his mind more alert!

He felt as if he had boundless energy. A strange, cool power moved through his eyes, easing the aftereffects of his first use of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Chakra surged through his Dantian, swelling like a rolling snowball until it filled the whole space in the blink of an eye.

With a thought, Liuyun began compressing the vast amount of Chakra.

Why could the same ninjutsu produce completely different results in different hands?

How could one of Madara's C-rank Fire Release techniques rival an A-rank technique?

Changes in nature were one reason, but the key was Chakra quality!

What powerhouse didn't temper and refine their Chakra?

Of course, talk-no-jutsu and showing-off-no-jutsu didn't count! Those two were cheats; ordinary people couldn't compare.

Back to the matter at hand.

At Liuyun's command, the newly surging Chakra proved surprisingly obedient.

It began following his instructions on its own, almost as if it were alive.

Liuyun had expected a grueling struggle. Instead, the process became easy.

An hour later, he looked at the Chakra filling roughly half his Dantian.

Liuyun smiled in satisfaction. It occupied the same amount of space, but its quality had doubled. Add in today's enormous increase in Chakra...

He glanced at the 30.4 units of Chakra on his character panel and felt a wave of satisfaction.

It had risen from 6.5 units to 30.4—more than quadrupling!

His Chakra reserves had gone from poverty to riches overnight!

Everyone knew that, powerful as the Uchiha Clan was, it had one fatal weakness: too little Chakra!

Hadn't a single Sharingan drained Kakashi until he was utterly spent?

But with the Basic Sage Body, Liuyun no longer had to worry about running out of Chakra.

As he used his Mangekyō Sharingan, its two ocular techniques gradually surfaced in his mind.

One was Tsukuyomi: by combining his ocular power with his mind, he could construct a world that seemed real yet was illusory!

He could draw several people into that illusionary world and torment their souls.

Put simply, it was Tsukuyomi for multiple targets, though it could affect no more than five people at once!

His right eye's technique was a limited enhancement to Ice Release!

Whenever he used Ice Release, it could double its power in every respect, up to a maximum of tenfold!

For Liuyun, this technique was exactly what he needed!

It was far more useful to him than the Kamui or Amaterasu he had imagined!

With this ocular technique and his growing mastery of the Ice-Ice Fruit,

given enough time, he might even develop Mahapadma, the ultimate move of Esdeath, the sadistic queen from Akame ga Kill!

After all, it could freeze even time and space. Among all the anime abilities he had seen, it ranked near the top.

The thought filled Liuyun with excitement.

He immediately created fifty more Shadow Clones and sent them to their usual spot to develop the Ice-Ice Fruit's abilities.

Liuyun stretched, feeling a little sleepy, then flashed to a familiar place.

Seeing Uchiha Mikoto's little brows drawn tight, his heart ached.

Without another thought, he hurried to the tatami, lay down, and spoke softly.

"Mikoto, don't be afraid. I'm here."

Perhaps his voice reached her, for Uchiha Mikoto's knitted brows immediately relaxed.

Breathing in the sweet scent around him, Liuyun slowly closed his eyes.

Before long, the little lamb would be ready to eat!

(Send flowers, and Airi will take care of you tonight. Send rating votes, and Tsunade will take care of you! Send both, and they'll both take care of you!)

Uchiha Fuchu Comes to Apologize!

Early the next morning, bright sunlight streamed through the window onto his face.

"Liuyun! Liuyun, wake up!"

Uchiha Mikoto wore an apron around her waist and held a small spatula, her face full of worry.

"What is it?" Liuyun opened his eyes and frowned.

"The—the Clan Chief is here! He brought Young Clan Chief Fugaku with him! They're in the living room. Come and see!"

"Uchiha Fuchu and his son?" Liuyun frowned.

He still dares to come here? Was last night's lesson not enough?

He dressed in an instant and headed for the living room.

"Clan Chief Fuchu, what brings you here?"

As soon as he entered, he got straight to the point.

"Heh. I brought Fugaku here today to apologize to you both!"

"His youthful foolishness has caused you a great deal of trouble!"

As Uchiha Fuchu spoke, he unconsciously touched his side, then fixed Uchiha Fugaku with a stern glare.

Uchiha Fugaku hurriedly rose with the help of his crutch. He came before Liuyun and Mikoto, then bowed his head in sincere apology.

"I'm sorry! I deeply regret what happened last night!"

"It's all right! It's all right! I don't mind!"

Uchiha Mikoto waved her hands quickly, her milk-pale face full of confusion.

"Our Mikoto isn't that petty. Just don't pester her again."

Liuyun looked at Uchiha Fuchu nearby, his expression indifferent.

"Don't worry. If Fugaku dares bother Mikoto again, I'll cripple him myself!"

A smile appeared on Uchiha Fuchu's stern face.

He wasn't afraid of dying. He was afraid Fugaku would be mistreated after his death.

After all, Fugaku had already lost the use of one leg.

As long as Fuchu was around, he could at least ensure his son was provided for.

The other reason was Uchiha Liuyun's Genjutsu. Its strength was terrifying.

He hadn't slept a wink last night, spending the hours preparing Fugaku for this. At dawn, he had summoned the Uchiha guards nearby.

He had questioned them indirectly, asking whether anything unusual had happened the night before.

Every Uchiha on patrol gave the same answer: nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Even the neighbors around his house said the same.

If his side hadn't still been aching, Uchiha Fuchu would have believed them.

After dismissing everyone, he had hurried here with Fugaku to apologize to Liuyun.

He would have liked to rally the entire Uchiha Clan and kill Uchiha Liuyun!

Unfortunately, he didn't rule the Uchiha Clan alone. There were three elders, too.

If they learned how strong Uchiha Liuyun was, they would surely devote every resource to nurturing him.

If Fuchu couldn't eliminate this enemy, he could only do his best to reduce Liuyun's hostility toward them.

He had to repair Liuyun's impression of them and cut his losses while he still could.

That was the purpose of his visit.

"If there's nothing else, please leave, Clan Chief. Our place is small, so we won't invite you to breakfast!"

"We'll be going, then! I only wanted to tell you that the two houses near the center will always be reserved for you both!"

Even as he left, Uchiha Fuchu didn't forget to make one last attempt to win Liuyun over.

"Liuyun, was that really our Clan Chief?"

Uchiha Mikoto tilted her head, looking utterly puzzled.

"Who knows?"

Liuyun reached out and gently patted Uchiha Mikoto on the head.