The moment Fugaku heard his son's shout, he froze on the spot.
So did Sasuke—his entire body stiff, barely daring to breathe.
The Uchiha household had always been strictly disciplined. To Fugaku, whatever he said to his wife or children was no different from an order.
Even Itachi, a recognized genius, would be branded a "rebellious son" if he ever voiced disagreement with his father.
And yet—
Ryan had just shouted something like that straight at Fugaku's face.
Sasuke couldn't even imagine how they were supposed to live after this.
Fugaku's anger exploded from deep within his chest. The surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees instantly.
"You dare say that again—"
He growled in a low voice, on the verge of erupting. But at the very moment he shouted Ryan's name—
The boy vanished into thin air.
In his place, right in front of Fugaku, appeared a brown ninja dog—still frozen in the exact pose of lifting its hind leg.
"Woof…? Awwo?"
The dog's eyes were wide with confusion, no less stunned than Fugaku and Sasuke themselves.
The urge it had been building up for so long was instantly scared away by those murderous Sharingan eyes.
Unfortunately, once the arrow was on the string, it had to be released.
Even though its courage failed, the dog still ended up peeing—intermittently—on Fugaku's pant leg.
As for why it was intermittent…
That was purely because I was terrified.
Sasuke's first thought was that disaster had struck. He was sure that tonight he'd be dragged down with Ryan and beaten as collateral damage.
Just as he was about to step forward, something clicked.
Wait…
This is… a Beast Substitution Technique?!
Ryan disappearing and turning into a ninja dog—he'd only ever seen something like that from nii-san.
Itachi's technique involved turning into crows. The principle couldn't be that different.
Realization hit, and Sasuke nearly ground his molars to dust.
So that's it…
Ryan—this whole time, this was the "training" you talked about?!
And you lied to me, saying you were just training taijutsu?!
Fugaku looked down at his soaked pant leg. His fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his knuckles turning white.
Ryan's earlier words echoed endlessly in his ears.
If he hadn't restrained himself—
His Mangekyō might've opened on the spot.
But just as the flames of rage flared up, Fugaku suddenly frowned, thought for a moment, and then relaxed.
In the next instant, to Sasuke's utter shock, Fugaku threw his head back and burst into laughter.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Just as expected of my son!"
"Good… good… very good!"
He laughed heartily, praising him over and over. Sasuke, standing stiffly to the side, only felt more terrified the longer his father laughed.
"Whimper…"
Even the dog—having just finished peeing—carefully shuffled backward while glancing between the crazily laughing Fugaku and the trembling Sasuke.
If it stayed any longer…
This wouldn't be a case of peeing on the spot—it'd be bleeding on the spot.
The atmosphere in the courtyard grew increasingly bizarre under Fugaku's laughter.
Sasuke and the dog, without saying a word, seemed to have silently joined the same camp.
Both desperately wanted to escape.
Meanwhile, Fugaku—still basking in his excitement—replayed the scene in his mind several times and became utterly convinced:
What his son Uchiha Ryan had just used…
Was absolutely not some kind of Beast Substitution Technique.
It was—
A space–time ninjutsu!
My son, Uchiha Ryan…
Is a genius!!
The moment Fugaku imagined that his family housed a prodigy capable of creating his own space–time technique, all the frustration that had been weighing on him vanished.
"You're barking again!"
Ryan's voice rang out once more.
The dog that had just retreated three steps vanished yet again from where it stood.
Seeing Ryan use that technique a second time, Fugaku's face flushed red with excitement. His entire body trembled.
As for whether anyone was "barking" or not…
Fugaku quickly strode toward Ryan, reaching out to grab his shoulder and question him further.
Ryan had only used the ability twice so far. The rapid shifts in position left him dizzy, his head spinning.
Already uncomfortable and tense, his nerves were stretched tight.
So when he suddenly saw his father grinning broadly with a disturbingly excited expression, Ryan instantly thought he'd been caught in some kind of genjutsu.
Without hesitation, he threw a straight punch—right into Fugaku's stomach.
At full power.
"Ryan, quickly tell me—gh!"
Fugaku hadn't even finished speaking before a sharp pain exploded in his abdomen. His strength vanished, and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach.
He stared at Ryan, eyes filled with disbelief and confusion.
Ryan looked at his father kneeling on the ground after taking that punch, a question mark slowly popping up in his mind.
"Father… you went easy on me???"
After a few seconds of thought, Ryan arrived at what seemed like an absurd—yet strangely reasonable—conclusion.
After all…
His old man was suspected to have the Mangekyō Sharingan. There was no way he'd be taken down by a single punch without any defense, right?
He must've held back.
Definitely held back.
Sasuke, who had witnessed everything from the sidelines, felt his expression completely twist.
At his young age, he had already begun to wonder whether he was the one trapped in a genjutsu.
"Cough… cough… cough…"
Fugaku's emotions were indescribably complicated.
Kneeling on the ground, he coughed violently, as if he were about to hack out his lungs—whether to hide his embarrassment or because the hit genuinely hurt, even he didn't know.
After several seconds, his face flushed red. He forced himself upright, casually brushing dust off his clothes.
Then he turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and once more assumed the dignified air of a father.
"Your recent training has been… quite good."
"Hiss—"
"I didn't expect you to notice that I was holding back."
His words were flawless. Even the sharp intake of breath slipped past Ryan unnoticed.
"I still have matters to attend to. You and Sasuke go to rest."
"Hiss— we'll talk tonight."
With that, Fugaku didn't wait for a response. He hurried back inside in long strides.
He desperately wanted to question Ryan about that technique—
But in his current sorry state, he couldn't let his children see him like this. It would damage the towering image he held in their hearts.
"…Your dad's fine, right?"
Ryan pointed toward Fugaku's retreating figure, faintly feeling something was off.
"Isn't he your dad too?"
Sasuke shot back flatly. He even wanted to question Ryan about secretly learning a new technique behind his back—but swallowed the words at the last second.
"Ryan… that Beast Substitution Techniquething you just used…"
"…Is it strong?"
Hearing that, Ryan nearly stumbled flat on his face.
He'd considered naming the technique Dog Thunder God or Flying Thunder Dog.
But he never could've imagined that, in Sasuke's mouth, it would become—
And somehow, the more he thought about it, the more disturbingly appropriate it sounded.
Ryan's face instantly darkened. He turned and walked straight toward his room.
"Itachi taught me!"
"If you want to learn it, go ask him!"
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, his expression screaming just as I thought—but the next second, realization dawned.
"He's your brother too! Stop calling him 'Itachi this, Itachi that'!"
Ryan, who had just stepped into the room, suddenly poked his head back out, scanning Sasuke up and down before firing back—
"I'm your brother too."
"And I don't hear you calling me nii-san."
...
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