Uchiha Setsuna

The next day.

"Brother, you're going to the clan meeting?"

Uchiha Yakumi stared wide-eyed at his older brother, Uchiha Enichi.

"Does that mean you're already a Jonin?"

Uchiha Enichi laughed heartily. "That's right! The clan leader must have recognized my potential. That's why he invited me to the meeting."

Uchiha Yakumi's eyes filled with admiration, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed. "You promised to train with me."

"Next time."

Uchiha Enichi replied offhandedly.

His thoughts had already turned to the upcoming clan meeting, and excitement welled up inside him.

Only those with great standing and prestige within the clan could attend an Uchiha clan meeting. Usually, they needed to be at least as strong as a Jonin.

Yet he had received a personal invitation from the clan leader at just nine years old.

At that thought, Uchiha Enichi nearly jumped with excitement.

Head held high, he strode toward the meeting place, full of confidence.

He imagined the clan leader personally welcoming him and telling the clan what a genius he was. He imagined Hanaye falling for him, and himself becoming the leader of the Uchiha Clan...

The mere thought quickened Uchiha Enichi's steps. He couldn't wait to bask in the cheers of his clansmen.

The moment he entered the spacious room, his dream shattered.

There were no cheers, only countless pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan turning toward him.

Uchiha Enichi's knees weakened. Under that immense pressure, he instinctively lowered his head, afraid to meet those three-tomoe eyes.

He instinctively glanced ahead and saw Elder Setsuna, who was usually stern and unsmiling, give him a gentle smile.

He was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

Then he noticed a young man sitting beside Elder Setsuna, his gaze extraordinarily fierce.

The instant their eyes met, a chill ran through him, and he hurriedly looked away.

"All right, let's move on to the next matter."

Uchiha Setsuna said, "I've received word that Tsunade has taken a new apprentice named Moonlight Ruyun."

"What?"

Uchiha Enichi cried out.

Moonlight Ruyun? Why does that sound so familiar?

Fugaku's expression remained calm, as though the matter didn't concern him.

Uchiha Setsuna nodded inwardly. This was the junior he held in such high regard: calm and intelligent.

Barring anything unexpected, he would become the leader of the Uchiha Clan in the future.

With Setsuna's support, the Uchiha Clan would surely be great again!

He looked at a girl sitting beside Fugaku.

"Mikoto, did you ever hear of this person while you were at the Ninja Academy?"

Uchiha Mikoto thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lord Setsuna. I've never heard of him."

Uchiha Setsuna waved a hand, unconcerned.

At that moment, Uchiha Enichi stepped forward. "Lord Setsuna, I... I think I've heard of him."

"Oh?" Uchiha Setsuna gave a meaningful smile. "Let's hear it."

Everyone's eyes focused on him. Uchiha Enichi flushed and hurriedly said, "I know someone named Hayato. Moonlight Ruyun beat him so badly he ended up in the hospital."

"Interesting. So something like that happened." Uchiha Setsuna nodded. "Is Moonlight Ruyun very strong?"

Uchiha Enichi explained, "No, he isn't. Hayato said Moonlight Ruyun only won because he got lucky. Hayato lost because his technique failed to activate. Oh, he also said Moonlight Ruyun knows the Great Fireball Technique and asked me to go make trouble for him."

At that, Uchiha Setsuna snorted disdainfully. "His technique failed to activate? Useless."

Uchiha Enichi nodded in wholehearted agreement.

He thought so too.

The other Uchiha clansmen burst into laughter.

In their eyes, Moonlight Ruyun, who had beaten his opponent through luck, was nothing special.

Besides, when it came to Fire Release Ninjutsu, the Uchiha were the strongest.

Someone even called out, "If she takes in a 'genius' like that, Tsunade clearly doesn't have much of an eye for choosing apprentices."

The atmosphere grew even merrier.

Uchiha Setsuna ignored them, his gaze fixed squarely on Uchiha Enichi.

Out of nowhere, he asked, "Do you dare challenge Moonlight Ruyun?"

At those words, Fugaku couldn't help frowning.

So that's it. Only now did he understand why Elder Setsuna had invited a nine-year-old child to the clan meeting.

Yet his misgivings only deepened.

This move was far too risky.

What exactly is Elder Setsuna trying to do?

Assert his authority? Or test the Hokage faction's reaction?

He glanced at Uchiha Enichi. Whether Enichi could defeat Moonlight Ruyun was beside the point.

The very act of challenging Tsunade's apprentice was far too sensitive. It could easily be interpreted as dissatisfaction with the Hokage faction.

He truly couldn't understand why Uchiha Setsuna had arranged this.

Did prison rot his brain?

"Huh? Me?"

It took Uchiha Enichi a few seconds to react.

"You don't dare?"

Noticing disappointment in Elder Setsuna's eyes, Uchiha Enichi felt his blood surge and declared without hesitation, "I do! Beating a loser like Hayato is nothing for Moonlight Ruyun to be proud of. I'll definitely defeat him!"

"Good. That's the spirit."

Uchiha Setsuna smiled as he encouraged him.

At those words, Uchiha Enichi's face grew even redder. He felt as though he were floating.

Uchiha Setsuna instructed him, "Oh, and remember: you're challenging him to avenge that Hayato. No matter who asks, you must stick to that story."

Uchiha Enichi hadn't caught what he said. Lost in his excitement, he merely nodded instinctively.

Elsewhere.

Moonlight Ruyun arrived at the Hokage's Office with the scroll he had copied.

He knocked, then entered after receiving permission.

Hiruzen Sarutobi set aside his work and said with a smile, "Sit down and tell me. Is there something in the scroll you don't understand?"

He was in high spirits, remembering the days when he had taught Orochimaru and his two teammates.

Those days felt just like this moment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Tsunade's abilities well.

When it came to Medical Ninjutsu, Tsunade was unquestionably among Konoha's best.

But she knew almost nothing about Five-Element Fusion, let alone enough to teach Liu Yun.

Even Orochimaru, the student he had the highest hopes for, hadn't shown particularly outstanding ability in Five-Element Fusion.

For a time, that had left him rather melancholy.

Not one of his students could inherit the skill he took the most pride in.

Fortunately, he now had Liu Yun, whose talent for developing ninjutsu was astonishing. Perhaps there was hope that he could delve deeply into Five-Element Fusion.

At that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi grew even more eager.

Still, he worried that the difficulty of Five-Element Fusion might scare Liu Yun off. He said earnestly, "It's normal to find it difficult. Don't lose confidence. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask."

Liu Yun watched Hiruzen Sarutobi shift from excitement to worry, then to seriousness.

He was rather puzzled. What's he thinking about? Why so many expressions?

He pushed down his confusion and decided to get straight to the point.

"Lord Hokage, I've already learned everything in it. Do you have any other training scrolls?"