"Did he really say that?"
Uchiha Fugaku's expression remained calm, making it impossible to tell whether he was angry.But after something like this, there was no way a clan head could be in a good mood.
For a clansman to draw such a clear line between himself and the clan head—saying he refused to acknowledge Fugaku's authority—was already being polite. He was only one step away from openly declaring his departure from the clan.
If one were to seriously count what the clan had ever given Uchiha Yoichi, the truth was… almost nothing.
Yoichi's parents had both been ninja, and his mother had even been a Chunin. Their savings were considerable. Although his parents met with an accident when he was eight years old, by then Yoichi's ninja fundamentals had already been well taught.
The only things the clan had truly given him—aside from the name "Uchiha"—were the basic swordsmanship manuals Mabayashi provided and two Sharingan genjutsu. They had originally intended to use clan funds to forge him a ninja sword, but now he had even paid for that himself—and with money to spare.
Uchiha Mabayashi sighed and said,"Yes. From the way Uchiha Yoichi reacted, I'm afraid he simply can't understand your goodwill, Clan Head. He's been deeply influenced by others."
As for who those "others" were, Mabayashi suspected the radical faction within the clan.
After all, Uchiha Yoichi had become somewhat well-known. Within half a year, he had escaped death multiple times, and in his most recent mission, he had even killed an Iwa jonin. That alone made him a rare talent.
"Then leave him alone," Fugaku said calmly, suppressing the anger in his heart."Without the protection of the clan, his temperament won't last long. Let's go to the Naka Shrine, Mabayashi."
He was the clan head. There were more important matters waiting for him.
The next day.
Someone from the ninja tool shop came to inform Uchiha Yoichi that the weighted gear he had ordered was finished.
The efficiency was impressive—likely because he had paid a high price, and because logistics in safe regions of the ninja world were extremely fast.
When Yoichi arrived at the shop, the owner had already brought out the completed weighted ninja outfit.
"Yoichi-san, this is the gear crafted according to your requirements. Please take a look and see if you're satisfied."
As he spoke, the shop owner explained how to use it:
"Yoichi-san, this weighted ninja outfit allows you to adjust the load. Even without adding any weight plates, the outfit itself weighs forty jin. With all the weight plates attached, it reaches four hundred jin."
In addition to the outfit, there were wrist guards and leg bindings—each weighing around one hundred and fifty jin. Altogether, the full set added up to one thousand jin.
Half a ton.
Even for a taijutsu specialist, that was no small burden. Fortunately, the weight could be increased gradually. At the beginning, Yoichi only needed to carry one hundred jin.
"Boss, thank you. I'll come to you again if I need ninja tools in the future."
"You're always welcome, Yoichi-san!" the shop owner said with a grin.
If there weren't safety concerns, he would have loved to advertise that even Uchiha ninja bought their equipment from his shop.
After taking the weighted outfit, Uchiha Yoichi left the shop.
He then prepared to head back to his usual training ground. Kakashi would be accompanying him again today, and Yoichi was genuinely looking forward to seeing the White Fang's blade techniques.
Anyone who could become famous across the ninja world didn't do it through empty boasts.
"Hey! You there! You Uchiha brat!"
Just as Uchiha Yoichi was on his way back, he suddenly heard someone shouting loudly behind him.The moment he heard "Uchiha," he instinctively turned around—and his vision was instantly filled with a vast expanse of snowy white.
Blonde twin tails.Beautiful.Huge.
With just those features, Yoichi already knew who was calling him.
He just didn't know why Tsunade was calling for him.
Putting on a confused expression, he asked,"Lady Tsunade, why are you calling me?"
"Why?" Tsunade ground her teeth in irritation.
She had clearly ordered the ANBU to report to her the moment this Uchiha brat returned to the village. Instead, they had gone completely silent—as if they were all dead.
As for why she was looking for Uchiha Yoichi, she couldn't possibly explain it outright. Saying she had turned into a boar and nearly been killed by him sounded like pure insanity.
She had been investigating the matter recently, but with zero results, her anger only continued to grow.
Still, Tsunade's instincts told her this incident might be connected to Uchiha Yoichi. Last time, she had heard him muttering about "abilities" and the like. Yet according to ANBU investigations, Yoichi hadn't displayed any such "abilities" at all.
"Brat," Tsunade said coldly,"seeing me, do you have anything you want to say?"
"So white… and so big."
The moment the words left his mouth, Uchiha Yoichi was filled with regret.
He should have asked the ninja tool shop to make him a mask that could control his mouth. Even being mocked would be better than having a lethal tongue.
Tsunade froze for a moment.
Following Yoichi's gaze, she looked down at herself. Then she smiled—dangerously.
"Oh? Very big, you say."
"Indeed. Very big."
Crackle!
A faint rumble of thunder rang out.
Before Tsunade's foot could land, a figure wrapped in lightning leapt onto a rooftop in a flash, narrowly dodging that terrifying kick.
The moment Uchiha Yoichi had said "so white and so big," he had already formed the intent to retreat. Unfortunately, Tsunade's follow-up question caused him to answer again instinctively.
BOOM!
Under Tsunade's Heaven-Shattering Kick, the ground collapsed into a massive crater. The surrounding walls shattered and fell apart, as if a weight of dozens of tons had smashed down from the sky.
Uchiha Yoichi only glanced back once before vanishing with a Body Flicker, fleeing without hesitation.
At this point in time, the Legendary Sannin might not have been at their absolute peak—but they had all clashed with the pinnacle of the ninja world. Yoichi didn't know why Tsunade had come after him, but the words he had been forced to say had clearly enraged her.
"Second Grandpa was right," Tsunade fumed internally."Evil Uchiha brat!"
Her anger wasn't just because she had been verbally harassed by a kid.
She hadn't misseen it—lightning had been wrapped around that Uchiha brat's body. That was Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
There were plenty of Lightning Release users in Konoha. But beyond Lightning Release ninjutsu, at most they could only achieve cellular activation. The prime example was Hatake Sakumo.
By stimulating his cells with Lightning Release, Sakumo could move at speeds comparable to other ninja using Body Flicker. Combined with Wind Release–enhanced slashes, the speed and sharpness of his blade made it resemble terrifying white fangs.
That was why he was called the White Fang of Konoha.
But actually materializing Lightning Release chakra and wrapping it around the body to boost speed and defense—that was exclusive to Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, their secret taijutsu.
This Uchiha brat had exposed himself right in front of her.
That thought flashed through Tsunade's mind in an instant.
Chakra gathered beneath her feet, and she chased after Uchiha Yoichi along the same path he fled.
That Lightning Release Chakra Mode was fast—but still not faster than a Legendary Sannin.
Only after Tsunade left did nearby villagers cautiously emerge to inspect the scene. Everything had happened too quickly; they had no idea what had even occurred.
Soon after, two ANBU arrived and dispersed the crowd, beginning an inspection of the site.
The deep crater, along with the faint footprint at its center, made it immediately clear who was responsible.
The two ANBU exchanged a glance.
"I'll go report to the Hokage," one of them said."You go find Lady Tsunade."
"Understood."