Uchiha Fugaku

After slicing off the bear's four paws, Qingyun cheerfully sent Minato Namikaze off to find honey, then began preparing the paws with Kushina and Nawaki.

Back at the river, Qingyun washed the skinned bear paws and seasoned them to marinate. Once everything was done, he took Kushina, Nawaki, and Minato Namikaze, who had found honey and rejoined them, off to romp around Konoha!

Just as the four were enjoying themselves, an unwelcome visitor appeared before them.

The newcomer wore Uchiha clan attire. Two deep creases beside his nose made him look unusually mature, while his stern face and indifferent eyes made him intimidating.

"Uchiha Fugaku, what are you doing here?"

When Nawaki saw who it was, he stared at Uchiha Fugaku with obvious displeasure.

Uchiha Fugaku was the Uchiha clansman Nawaki had previously told Qingyun about—the classmate who always outshone him. Eleven years old, he had already awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan and was the son of the Uchiha Clan's current grand elder.

Hearing Nawaki's words, Uchiha Fugaku glanced at him. Naturally, he knew Nawaki well. They were classmates, and Nawaki had been picking fights with him ever since they entered the Ninja Academy. Had Nawaki been strong, that would have been one thing, but Fugaku beat him senseless every time. Yet Nawaki kept finding excuses to come after him, which irritated him immensely.

Ignoring Nawaki, who was not the reason he had come today, Uchiha Fugaku stared straight at Qingyun. "Uchiha Qingyun, the clan elders want to see you. Come with me."

Qingyun's pupils had contracted the moment he heard Nawaki identify the newcomer. Uchiha Fugaku was the father of Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.

Although the original story never mentioned it, many Naruto fans believed Uchiha Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyo, and a rare time-based Mangekyo at that, possessing the reality-defying ability to see the future.

Yet precisely because Uchiha Fugaku could see the future, he had witnessed the Uchiha Clan's eventual fate. That was why he allowed Itachi to massacre the clan himself, preserving Uchiha Sasuke's life. In the end, when Itachi reached him, he even slit his own throat alongside his wife.

Uchiha Fugaku's condescending words irritated Qingyun. He looked at him impassively. "First, my name isn't Uchiha Qingyun. Second, I don't like your attitude. Apologize."

Uchiha Fugaku might have been a famous name, but that did not stop Qingyun from despising him as a coward. So what if he knew how the future would unfold? As a man and a clan leader, he could protect neither his clansmen nor his own wife.

When his son came to kill him, he took his wife with him in suicide, disregarding whether his Clan Members lived or died. Such cowardice filled Qingyun with deep contempt.

Moreover, Uchiha Fugaku's superior tone deeply annoyed Qingyun. His current strength was no less than Fugaku's, Hiruzen Sarutobi was gradually coming to trust him, and he had even become Tsunade's disciple. Fugaku far surpassed him in neither strength nor standing, so what gave him the right to act superior?

Anger rose in Uchiha Fugaku's heart at Qingyun's words. As someone who held profound faith in the Uchiha Clan, how could he not be furious when a traitor who had abandoned the Uchiha surname spoke to him so brazenly?

"I'll say it again. Come with me to see the clan elders, or don't blame me for getting rough."

Recalling his father's instructions, Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath and spoke to Qingyun in a flat voice.

Before Qingyun's rise, Uchiha Fugaku had never even heard of him. Only after Tsunade took Qingyun as her disciple did they pay him a little attention. However, they did not know he belonged to the Uchiha Clan, so they gave him little further thought.

Recently, however, more and more rumors about Qingyun had surfaced: his outstanding medical ninjutsu, his various unique taijutsu techniques, and, just yesterday, his treatment of a gravely wounded ninja suffering from potent poison. Such talent prompted the Uchiha Clan to investigate his past.

The results stunned the Uchiha leadership. Qingyun was actually a member of the Uchiha Clan. They could scarcely believe it.

But with all the evidence laid before them, they had no choice. They dealt with Uchiha Ichigo, who had expelled Qingyun from the clan on his own authority, while sending Uchiha Fugaku, the most gifted member of their generation, to invite Qingyun back. They could not allow a genius of his caliber to remain outside the clan.

The Dove Faction believed that since Qingyun had become Tsunade's disciple, he belonged to the Hokage's camp and could help maintain relations between the village and the clan.

The Hawk Faction, meanwhile, believed that since Qingyun had gained Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust enough for his disciple to take him in, he would eventually become a sharp blade against the Hokage's faction. At the same time, he could gather intelligence on Hiruzen Sarutobi for them, preparing the way for their future bid for the Hokage position.

Qingyun knew nothing of the Uchiha leadership's many schemes. Had he known, he would certainly have sneered and mocked them for being out of their minds.

"I'll say it again, too. I'm not an Uchiha clansman. What the hell do I care if the Uchiha leadership wants to see me? Besides, the Uchiha were the ones who expelled me in the first place. Whether their leaders knew about it or not doesn't change the fact that I'm no longer a member of the Uchiha Clan."

Qingyun looked at Uchiha Fugaku with an indifferent expression.

Kushina and Minato Namikaze stood behind Qingyun without speaking, but their expressions had clearly grown tense!

The Uchiha Clan was Konoha's foremost great clan. Was it really wise for Qingyun to oppose them like this?

Still, seeing Qingyun's expression grow colder, they did not try to dissuade him. Instead, they stood firmly behind him in support.

Nawaki wanted to speak up for Qingyun, but Minato Namikaze clamped a hand over his mouth, afraid that anything he said would escalate the situation.

At Qingyun's words, Uchiha Fugaku could no longer contain his anger. His hands rapidly formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The instant Uchiha Fugaku began forming hand seals, Qingyun unleashed his internal force, pushing Minato Namikaze, Nawaki, and Kushina away from behind him. The Azure Edge Sword flashed from its sheath. Channeling his internal force, he used Quanzhen Swordsmanship to slash at the great fireball hurtling toward him, then slid forward, closing rapidly on Uchiha Fugaku with Lingbo Micro-Step.

Seeing Qingyun cut apart his great fireball and charge toward him with those uncanny steps, Uchiha Fugaku's pupils contracted. He immediately activated his Sharingan.

Qingyun was not at all surprised to see Uchiha Fugaku activate his Sharingan. Nawaki had already told him that an Uchiha prodigy in his class had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Qingyun had not known who it was then, but Nawaki's reaction upon seeing Uchiha Fugaku had made it clear that he was that prodigy.

After activating his Sharingan, Uchiha Fugaku swiftly formed hand seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Two Uchiha Fugakus appeared before Qingyun, charging at him with shuriken in hand.

Seeing the two Uchiha Fugakus, Qingyun wielded Quanzhen Swordsmanship with his right hand while forming hand seals with his left. "Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"

A streak of electricity shot toward the Uchiha Fugaku on the left, while Qingyun slashed at the one on the right with Quanzhen Swordsmanship.

Clang! Bzzzt!

With his Sharingan's heightened perception of movement, the Uchiha Fugaku on the left retreated in time. But Qingyun had unleashed his ninjutsu too quickly for him to evade Earth Flow completely, and the electric shock numbed both his feet.

As for the Uchiha Fugaku on the right, his shuriken was sliced apart the instant it met the razor-sharp Azure Edge Sword. Seeing how sharp Qingyun's weapon was, he immediately performed several backward somersaults to get away, then swiftly reached into the ninja tool pouch at his waist. He grabbed several kunai and hurled them at Qingyun while rapidly forming hand seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

After unleashing his Fire Release, Uchiha Fugaku rapidly twitched all ten fingers. A steel wire almost invisible to the naked eye linked the airborne kunai, arranging them into a formation that bore down on Qingyun.

Faced with such a fierce attack, Qingyun let out an admiring exclamation but showed no fear. His left hand formed hand seals, countering Uchiha Fugaku's Fire Release with the same Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Then his feet moved in rapid succession as he pushed Lingbo Micro-Step to its limit. A string of Qingyuns instantly appeared across the field, making it impossible to tell which one was real.

Clang, clang, clang...

A succession of metallic clashes rang out in every direction. Using Lingbo Micro-Step, Qingyun charged straight into the Kunai Formation, wielding Quanzhen Swordsmanship at blinding speed to cut every kunai apart.