Hearing Uchiha Mikoto's words, Izumi lifted her head from Uchiha Yuan's arms and looked toward little Sasuke.
Seeing Sasuke happily leaning against his older brother, Izumi puffed her cheeks and said sourly,
"I've taken care of Sasuke for so long, but he's never smiled at me like that."
Saying so, she reached out and messed up Sasuke's hair into a fluffy nest. Sasuke's little face instantly turned red, and he began flailing and yelling in protest.
Mikoto only smiled gently.
"I've heard children's intuition is very accurate~ Sasuke probably thinks Izumi will steal Itachi away from him, so he's rejecting her out of instinct."
"Mikoto-auntie, you're teasing me again…"
Izumi lowered her head shyly, unable to meet Mikoto's playful gaze.
Yuan handed Sasuke back to Mikoto and said calmly,
"Madam, you're joking. Children only have pure, innocent friendships. They don't understand matters of love."
The moment the words left his mouth, Mikoto's eyes flickered. Her gentle smile didn't change, but there seemed to be dark mist curling behind her.
She had clearly heard the undertone—Yuan didn't want Izumi getting close to Itachi.
As a mother proud of her genius son, Uchiha Mikoto could not accept someone disliking—or rejecting—her Itachi.
Still smiling sweetly, she said,
"Oh my~ I've always thought of Izumi as my future daughter-in-law. I believe she'll make a wonderful wife. I truly look forward to seeing Itachi and Izumi get married someday."
"Madam, please stop joking."
Yuan met her gaze head-on without backing down.
"Itachi and Izumi are not suitable."
With that, he took Izumi with him and left directly.
Mikoto turned around and watched the siblings leave, her brows slightly furrowing as puzzlement filled her beautiful face.
"…Strange. Izumi's brother really doesn't seem to like Itachi."
In her arms, Sasuke stared longingly at Yuan's distant figure. His tiny hands reached out as he babbled in distress.
Mikoto kissed Sasuke on the cheek and chuckled.
"You little one really are strange… why are you so attached to Yuan?"
Back home
Yuan and Izumi returned home. Their mother, Uchiha Rei, practically ran to them, overwhelmed with relief, fussing over Yuan's wellbeing.
That evening, Yuan enjoyed a lavish home-cooked dinner and spent time chatting with his mother and sister about how much he had missed home.
Night deepened. Stars shimmered above as a crescent moon hung quietly in the sky.
A cool night wind stirred fallen leaves as Yuan stepped into the courtyard. After a glance upward, his figure flickered—and vanished.
Uchiha Clan's Secret Underground Training Hall
In a vast underground chamber, rhythmic shouts echoed as rows of Uchiha youths practiced their stances, punching forward with coordinated strength.
To one side, violent chakra fluctuations rumbled.
Fierce flames, slicing wind blades, rolling stones, surging water streams, and crackling lightning struck repeatedly against several humanoid stone targets.
These stone mannequins were formed from extremely dense, fully compressed Earth Release chakra—sturdy enough to withstand heavy ninjutsu bombardment with barely a scratch.
The liveliest place was the central arena—several sparring platforms were arranged there. On the largest one, two Uchiha youths were locked in a heated duel.
Sparks exploded. Metal clashed like thunder.
Their silhouettes weaved together in a furious back-and-forth exchange.
Suddenly—
a figure appeared between them, abruptly cutting into the center of the bout.
It was Uchiha Yuan, teleported via a directional anchoring technique.
The two dueling youths were at peak tension; startled, their kunai instantly thrust toward the figure that had appeared out of nowhere.
Yuan shifted his body slightly.
His right hand lifted—two fingers snapped out in quick succession.
Clink—clink!
Both kunai were flicked aside, and the two youths were pushed back several meters, landing in controlled skids.
Wide-eyed, they stared at Yuan.
In that brief instant, they had barely seen a single finger tapping each kunai before an overwhelming force sent them flying back.
Shock quickly turned to joy.
"Brother Yuan! You're back!"
The two were Uchiha Daishi and Uchiha Feng.
Yuan smiled.
"Not bad. You've both grown much stronger. Seems you didn't slack off while I was away."
He then looked toward the rest of the training hall.
Instantly, all the Uchiha youths stopped their drills, forming orderly lines and bowing in unison.
"Greetings, Clan Leader!"
Yuan gave a small nod.
Then his eyes flashed sharply—and a terrifying pressure burst from him like a crashing tide.
All the youths stiffened, faces paling, as if a mountain had been dropped onto their backs.
A few minutes later, the crushing aura vanished as abruptly as it came.
Everyone exhaled at once.
Yuan looked satisfied.
"Good. If you can withstand my pressure, your progress is real."
After listening to Daishi's reports and catching up on recent clan and village matters, one detail made Yuan raise an eyebrow—
Shisui's reputation as "Shisui of the Body Flicker" had exploded throughout the village.
After giving his guidance, Yuan activated his teleportation technique and disappeared from the training hall.
A visitor in the courtyard
Back in his courtyard, Yuan reappeared.
Just as he was about to return to his room, he paused and glanced toward a cherry blossom tree.
A moment later, a small white snake slithered down the trunk and approached him.
Yuan remained calm. He had already guessed who wanted to see him.
The snake opened its mouth and spat out a scroll.
Yuan unrolled it, scanned the contents, and said simply—
"I see."
The tiny snake's jaws suddenly expanded, transforming into a gaping maw that swallowed Yuan whole.
Poof!
The snake vanished in a reverse-summoning flash.
Orochimaru's Laboratory
In a dim, silent underground lab, Orochimaru stood before an experiment table, monitoring his instruments.
A faint sound broke the silence.
The small white snake appeared, opened its maw—and a drenched Uchiha Yuan stepped out of it.
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