Leo and Obito followed Uchiha Fugaku into the quiet grandeur of the clan head's home.
The interior was refined, understated in elegance. In the living room, a gentle and graceful woman with long black hair waited with a warm smile.
She bowed politely and served them tea, her every movement calm and poised.
At that moment, even Fugaku's ever-serious expression softened visibly.
"This is my wife, Uchiha Mikoto," Fugaku introduced with a rare, gentle smile. "I almost forgot to introduce her."
Hearing this, Mikoto bowed respectfully to the two young boys.
"Leo-kun, Obito-kun, thank you for supporting Fugaku," she said kindly before excusing herself and leaving the room quietly, sliding the door shut behind her.
Leo, watching all this unfold, felt deeply moved.
> This... this is a true Yamato Nadeshiko.
Supportive, elegant, composed... the kind of woman who stands quietly behind great men.
But Fugaku quickly shifted back into his role as the clan head.
"No need for further pleasantries," he said, turning serious again. "Let's get to the main point. This is the gift I prepared for you both."
Efficient as ever when it came to important matters, he gestured toward a table where a thick scroll rested.
Leo and Obito instinctively stepped forward, their eyes drawn to it.
The scroll looked ancient, well-used but well-preserved. In Leo's eyes, it wasn't as massive as the Forbidden Scroll Naruto once stole in the original timeline, but it clearly held power.
> So this is part of Uchiha's collection...
Compared to the Senju clan, whose legacy includes the Sealed Book of Konoha—
The Uchiha, with the Sharingan's copying prowess, probably have an even more terrifying reserve of Ninjutsu.
"Patriarch... what's this?" Obito couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked.
Fugaku smiled slightly, appreciating the boy's enthusiasm.
"This is a curated selection of Ninjutsu techniques collected by the Uchiha clan over generations," he explained. "You may each choose two techniques from this scroll to learn."
He raised a finger as a warning.
"I'm not being stingy—should you prove yourselves through contributions to the clan or village, I'll allow you more access in the future."
"Awesome!" Obito cheered loudly. Then, grabbing Leo's arm, he beamed, "Leo-kun, let's pick together!"
Leo didn't bother with modesty. He nodded calmly and began scanning the scroll.
Unlike the basic fire techniques all Uchiha were expected to master—Great Fireball, Phoenix Fire, Fire Dragon Flame Bomb—this scroll had far more variety.
Rare, complex, forgotten.
Five styles, eight variations. Barrier ninjutsu, trap techniques, elemental fusions. Some pages were sealed with warning tags.
After a few minutes of silent browsing, Leo finalized his decision.
He didn't need to waste his two picks on more Fire Release techniques. The standard Uchiha arsenal already covered that.
> Besides, in this world… elemental balance matters. And my chakra nature is wind.
Indeed, his panel showed it clearly: [Wind Release (White)].
"I'll choose these two," Leo said, pointing confidently.
Fugaku's eyebrows rose.
"Oh?" he said with a hint of surprise. "Wind Pressure Technique I understand—that's compatible with your chakra nature."
"But... the Uchiha Flame Formation? That barrier jutsu is quite advanced. It requires knowledge of sealing arts."
Leo just grinned faintly.
"You're right, Lord Fugaku… But our team leader is Namikaze Minato, isn't he?"
Fugaku blinked.
"And his wife is from the Uzumaki clan."
Understanding dawned, and Fugaku laughed.
"You sly boy. I see what you're thinking. Fine, have it your way."
He placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"You both may come study here for the next few days. Learn what you can while you can."
---
Five Days Later
The sun hung high over a training ground far from the village center. The sound of water lapping against the lakeside was suddenly drowned by a high-pitched whistle.
Leo finished weaving the final hand seal.
Yin.
With chakra gathered in his lungs, he exhaled.
[Fire Style: Tou Keku]!
A condensed fireball shot from his mouth, screaming through the air and smashing into the lake's surface.
BOOM!
In an instant, the fireball burst outward, forming a sea of flames across the water.
But Leo wasn't done.
Even as the fire expanded, his hands moved again, faster than before.
[Wind Release: Press Damage]!
A compressed wind sphere, high-pressure and howling like a miniature storm, followed the fireball.
The moment it collided with the lake's surface—where the fire still raged—the two elements combined violently.
BOOM!
The lake exploded into a geyser of steam and flame, whipping heatwaves and shockwaves through the training ground.
Obito, clinging to the tree he was attempting to climb, gawked in amazement.
"S-so strong!" he gasped. "Leo-kun, that was insane!"
He wasn't the type to easily admire others, but at that moment, all he felt was awe.
They'd started training at the same time.
But while Leo was already fusing Fire and Wind Releases like a seasoned shinobi...
Obito was still struggling to walk up trees using chakra.
He had finally managed it today—barely.
Leo, panting lightly after the large chakra expenditure, smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, Obito. Once you awaken your Sharingan, this stuff will be second nature."
> Before Obito turns dark, he's actually a great guy to train with, Leo thought.
Obito's chosen jutsu was the Great Fire Dragon Technique—a powerful but chakra-hungry jutsu.
Leo hadn't seen it in the scroll earlier. That made sense.
Techniques like that belonged to Uchiha's true secret archive, not some clan-accessible collection.
As Itachi once said—
> "The power of a technique depends on the user more than the jutsu itself."
But even then, chakra efficiency mattered. The same jutsu in two different users' hands could yield wildly different results.
> One day, I'll need to learn those forbidden-level fire techniques too, Leo reminded himself.
Still, his growth in these five days had already been exceptional.
It all traced back to that one event—his battle with Inabi.
Inabi, though young, was a recognized genius in the clan. A combatant on par with Special Jōnin.
Leo had only won by using Naruto's classic feint trick—and if Inabi had seen through it, he might've lost.
But a win was a win.
The system had rewarded him for it.
In system terms, combat value was categorized as follows:
Genin: 1 point
Chūnin: 10 points
Jōnin: 100 points
Kage-level: 1000 points
Super Kage: 10,000 points
Six Paths Tier: 100,000 points
To upgrade entries:
White → Green: 10 points
Green → Blue: 100 points
Blue → Purple: 1,000 points
Purple → Red: 10,000 points
Red → ???: Unknown
From Inabi, the system awarded Leo 100 combat points—as though he had defeated a Jōnin.
He didn't waste them.
He upgraded his three basic entries:
[Fire Style (White)] → (Green)
[Wind Release (White)] → (Green)
[Uchiha Style (White)] → (Green)
But that wasn't all.
Once those three entries reached green…
Something happened.
With the synergy of [Genius (Gold)] and [Uchiha (Purple)], his training speed skyrocketed.
Hard work paid dividends.
Each day of practice saw exponential growth.
And within just five days...
All three green entries evolved again—now at Blue rank.
And so, Leo's current panel looked like this:
---
[Fire Style (Blue)]
[Wind Release (Blue)]
[Uchiha Style (Blue)]
[Genius (Gold)]
[Uchiha Bloodline (Purple)]
[Eyes of the Divine Realm (Red)] (Seen, not obtained)
---
Each entry stronger, more cohesive.
Leo was no longer just "a promising Uchiha."
He was becoming dangerous.
And Minato's team was only just beginning.