Uchiha Yatsushiro's face showed clear disappointment.
He sighed and said,
"That guy is the true culprit behind the Nine-Tails' rampage—the one who framed our Uchiha Clan."
"It's a real shame he escaped."
"But Ryosuke, I never expected you to be hiding such strength. You should join the Uchiha's radical faction."
Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you say last time we had nothing to talk about?"
Yatsushiro looked embarrassed. He had, in fact, said exactly that.
"Well... I didn't know how strong you were back then," he muttered.
"Your ideas were too bold. I thought we needed to take things slow."
Ryosuke rolled his eyes.
Take things slow? The conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha's higher-ups was about to erupt any day now.
To Konoha's leadership, the Uchiha Clan had become a threat that couldn't be tolerated.
Unless the clan were willing to become lapdogs for the Hokage, conflict was inevitable. And even then, someone like Danzo would never let the Uchiha off the hook.
Besides, the Uchiha were the true founders of Konoha. The so-called Konoha "F4" were a bunch of deadweights who had dragged the village's combat strength into the gutter.
Ryosuke looked at Yatsushiro and replied coldly,
"Let's wait and see. Like you said—take it slow."
Right now, his top priority was still improving his strength.
He had only just developed the ability to respond to the threat of clan extermination.
His battle with Obito had been far too close for comfort.
If his strength had been higher, he could've ended it cleanly.
Yatsushiro quickly agreed.
"Of course."
Ryosuke's words made it clear that he was considering the clan's interests.
"Taking it slow" was fine by him.
Even though he deeply admired Ryosuke now, if Ryosuke suddenly insisted on starting a war with Konoha's leadership, it would give him a massive headache.
He also realized this needed to be reported to the clan head.
Elsewhere, ANBU operatives had already picked up signs of the battle. They rushed to the Hokage's office to report everything to the Third Hokage.
Upon hearing the news, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back heavily in his chair.
So… the masked man had fought Uchiha Ryosuke?
That all but confirmed it—Konoha had wrongly accused the Uchiha. They hadn't been the masterminds behind the Nine-Tails attack after all.
At the time, Danzo had spearheaded the accusations, and Hiruzen had tacitly allowed it.
The Uchiha were becoming too powerful. Talented individuals were rising rapidly, and there was talk of one of them becoming Hokage.
Blocking the Uchiha from ascending to Hokage wasn't just the advice of his teacher, the Second Hokage—it was Hiruzen's own conviction.
If the Uchiha took the seat of Hokage, where would that leave him? He had no intention of retiring.
He sighed deeply.
Now, another powerhouse had appeared among the Uchiha—Ryosuke again.
This was the same kid who had dared to defy him openly.
The clan's two current prodigies, Shisui and Itachi, were already under his ANBU command and progressing nicely in their indoctrination into the "Will of Fire."
Their loyalty to him was strong. If he could bring Ryosuke into ANBU as well…
He was confident he could brainwash the boy too.
Even if Ryosuke was a bit wild.
It was still worth a try.
That afternoon, Ryosuke paid a visit to the Uchiha Clan Leader's home. Fortunately, Fugaku was there.
Seeing Ryosuke arrive, Fugaku was clearly pleased.
"Ryosuke, Yatsushiro already told me. You're incredible. To injure that masked man… you've restored some pride to the Uchiha."
"I've already reported the matter to the Third Hokage. This should be enough to clear our clan's name."
He felt proud—Ryosuke had damaged the masked enemy and salvaged the Uchiha's reputation.
But Ryosuke frowned.
It seemed Fugaku still didn't understand the nature of the conflict between the clan and Konoha's leadership.
The Nine-Tails incident had just been a convenient excuse for suppression.
He said calmly,
"Clan Leader, I don't think that's a good idea."
"If we bring this up, the Konoha higher-ups might just use it as a reason to further accuse us of conspiring with the masked man."
"And use that excuse to suppress us again."
Fugaku frowned.
"Surely they're not that foolish?"
"If we were in league with that man, why would we strike him so fiercely?"
Ryosuke replied bluntly,
"It's precisely because they know we're not involved, that they'll twist the truth to suit their agenda."
"Our clan, even after being forced to the outskirts, is still the strongest in Konoha."
"That alone is enough to make the higher-ups feel threatened."
Fugaku's excitement faded.
As clan leader, he understood these things—but he had hoped the village leadership would realize the Uchiha were loyal to Konoha.
The Nine-Tails had ravaged the village. But the village was their home too—why would they ever betray it?
He looked at Ryosuke and said,
"You're very sharp. I'll reconsider how to handle this matter."
"So, what brings you here today?"
Ryosuke smiled.
"I came to ask you for a spar."
Fugaku blinked in surprise.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have bothered—there was too large a gap between him and the younger generation.
But this time was different.
"Ryosuke, if you could wound that masked man, you might even be stronger than me."
Ryosuke explained,
"Not necessarily. That masked man only seemed invincible because of his unique ability."
Fugaku asked,
"What kind of ability?"
The masked man had escaped, but if they could understand his technique, they might find a way to deal with him next time.
Ryosuke shared what he knew.
"His ability allows him to become intangible and avoid all attacks. He can also absorb people into a different dimension—but to do that, he has to become solid."
"If you strike him while he's materializing to absorb someone, you can hit him."
Fugaku was stunned.
Intangibility and spatial absorption—that was a space-time ninjutsu.
No wonder it was so hard to deal with. It was just like the Fourth Hokage and his Flying Thunder God—those with such techniques could rule the battlefield.
The fact that Ryosuke had defeated him only reinforced how powerful he truly was.
Now, Fugaku was truly curious about Ryosuke's strength.
"Alright then, Ryosuke. Let's have a proper spar."
"Gladly," Ryosuke replied.
The two made their way to an open training ground behind the clan estate.
The space was large and deserted—perfect for a real fight.
Fugaku had great confidence in his own strength. But the young man before him was clearly no ordinary opponent.
Only in actual combat could they see how deep his strength truly ran.