Just then, the door to his room opened.
An old white-haired man stepped in.
"Ryosuke, what are you doing? Why is there such a ruckus?"
Looking around the room, he saw everything in disarray — as if a fierce battle had taken place. What shocked him even more was the intense aura radiating from Ryosuke. Even he, a seasoned shinobi, was taken aback by the sheer pressure.
He already knew Ryosuke was training in the Eight Gates technique at home, but hadn't paid much attention. After all, he understood the difficulty of this jutsu — many trained their entire lives without ever successfully opening even a single gate.
But now… this aura. Was it even possible to generate this much force with just the Fifth Gate? Could it be that Ryosuke had already surpassed the Sixth Gate?
Was this boy really progressing so fast?
Seeing that his grandfather had entered, Ryosuke stopped refining his chakra. The five gates closed instantly, and the overwhelming pressure vanished.
"Grandpa, what brings you here?"
"Of course, I sensed all the noise and chakra fluctuation," said the old man — the Uchiha clan's Grand Elder.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong already. Just how many gates have you opened?"
Ryosuke saw no need to hide anything from his grandfather.
"The Fifth Gate," he replied casually.
The Grand Elder's eyes widened. Just the Fifth Gate could cause such terrifying chakra pressure? He had assumed it must be the Sixth. Though he wasn't an expert in Eight Gates, this power level was far above what he expected.
Could it be that Ryosuke had some kind of once-in-a-century — no, once-in-a-millennium — talent in taijutsu?
He recalled how, during a previous clan gathering, Ryosuke had beaten Uchiha Itachi with pure taijutsu alone. That wasn't a fluke.
Though Itachi was still young, his taijutsu already rivaled elite jōnin. To be overwhelmed physically — that said everything about Ryosuke's potential.
The elder looked at Ryosuke seriously.
"Promise me one thing: do not open the Eighth Gate."
There was pleading in his tone. Everyone knew what the Eighth Gate meant — certain death. He couldn't bear to outlive his grandson.
Ryosuke felt his grandfather's concern and nodded.
"Of course. I'm not suicidal. I have no intention of opening the Eighth Gate unless I absolutely have to."
He genuinely cherished his own life. Unless his body reached an absurd level of toughness that allowed for Eighth Gate activation without dying, he wouldn't risk it.
Still, he couldn't deny the allure.
Opening the Eight Gates Formation allowed mortals to rival gods. If one day his body was strong enough to survive the Eighth Gate, then perhaps he could achieve such power without death.
After all, future enemies might include the Ōtsutsuki clan. If he didn't get stronger, he might as well resign himself to being devoured.
No chance in hell.
In a life-or-death situation, he would absolutely open all Eight Gates.
With his ever-increasing base stats, full Eight Gates might even allow him to kill gods.
The Eighth Gate is located in the heart, the core of human vitality. Opening it forces the heart to pump beyond its limit — multiplying one's strength 100-fold, but destroying the body in the process.
No ordinary human can endure that.
But Ryosuke was not ordinary.
His chakra-enhanced physique meant even his heart grew stronger — something others couldn't train. One day, he might be the only one capable of opening the Eighth Gate and surviving.
The Grand Elder relaxed slightly after hearing Ryosuke's promise.
"Good. Then keep training."
He left the room, content. After all, the Uchiha compound was under constant surveillance by ANBU anyway — there was little need to worry.
The Next Day
Uchiha Fugaku began spreading the truth about the failed negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure.
The village erupted with chatter. Everyone was paying attention.
Word quickly spread: The Hyūga heiress, Hinata, had nearly been kidnapped by the Kumogakure envoy. In the process, Hiashi Hyūga killed the would-be kidnapper. Kumogakure shamelessly demanded compensation — asking Konoha to hand over the "murderer."
The Uchiha clan refused, standing firm and calling out the absurdity of Kumogakure's demands.
The Third Hokage, however, proposed offering a body double as a scapegoat to appease the Cloud Village and preserve peace.
This truth enraged the village.
Now that the truth was public, both villagers and shinobi were split.
Some still blamed the Uchiha, thinking their aggressiveness ruined the peace talks. They preferred sacrificing one person to avoid war — valuing peace over justice, even if the victim was innocent. After all, it wasn't their life at stake.
They believed that a ninja's duty was to protect the village, even if that meant becoming a martyr.
But a large portion of the population was furious.
The Cloud's envoy had clearly tried to steal the Byakugan by kidnapping the Hyūga heiress. How dare they now demand justice?
Many realized the truth — the Uchiha had spoken out righteously, and the culprit wasn't even one of them.
The Hyūga clan was one of the major powers in Konoha. Had Kumogakure succeeded in stealing their bloodline limit (Byakugan), they would've gained a massive edge.
That would put all of Konoha at risk.
To then shamelessly demand compensation from the very village they violated?
Outrageous.
And to think the Third Hokage nearly agreed to that plan?
Even if such a plan might bring peace, it would mean Konoha abandoning its honor.
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