Night fell.
At home, Ryun was studying a sealing scroll when he suddenly heard a metallic clinking sound at his front door.
He put down the scroll and walked outside, quickly spotting a conspicuous letter at the entrance.
"What is this..."
Ryun picked up the letter and carefully inspected it. After confirming it was safe, he opened the envelope.
It was a challenge letter from Uchiha Fugaku, who wanted to fight him openly the next morning within the Uchiha clan grounds...
The contents of the letter were extremely childish, as if challenging Ryun was some kind of honor.
Uchiha Fugaku had not only chosen the time but also decided the location himself...
Reading this, Ryun couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. He then crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it straight into the trash.
"A challenge letter expects me to obediently run over and accept it? Does he really think he's the Uchiha clan elder?"
He had indeed considered sparring with Uchiha Fugaku, but seeing how arrogant the guy was... he didn't mind making him wait.
After all, Ryun wasn't in a hurry or angry. What right did some little bastard have to boss him around?
Ryun wasn't going to indulge him. If he was going to indulge anyone, it would be his own little tomato, since tomatoes would eventually ripen for him to pick...
"Little Tomato didn't come to see me today. Was she practicing water-walking at home? Not seeing her for just one day makes me feel uncomfortable all over..."
Walking alone down a street, Ryun muttered to himself.
Today was the monthly payment day for his manuscript, so he planned to collect his earnings at Yamazaki Akira's bookstore and check on sales.
Meanwhile, in the Senju clan compound, Kushina was listening intently to Grandma Mito's explanation of Uzumaki sealing techniques. Her focus was ten times greater than when she was in school...
She had previously boasted to Ryun that she was the "sealing master," that no one understood sealing techniques better than her, not even the teachers at school...
If she didn't study more sealing techniques now, she might run out of things to teach Ryun in a few days and be exposed as a fraud...
The genius boy was much smarter than she had imagined, and his learning ability made her call him a monster. If she didn't push herself harder, she wouldn't even have the face to call herself his teacher anymore.
No way was she going to get humiliated too quickly!
...
After leaving Yamazaki Akira's bookstore, Ryun noticed many ninjas on the streets. They were all in a hurry, and their moods seemed heavy.
Konoha had been continuously sending reinforcements to the Land of Rain, and the situation was growing increasingly tense. Ryun felt that even if the Land of Rain officially declared war tomorrow, it wouldn't be surprising.
The number of hawks in Konoha's skies had noticeably increased these past few days. Even ordinary villagers could smell the scent of war, and everyone felt varying degrees of panic and unease.
"Fight, fight... I'm just an elementary school student anyway. You guys fight hard, and hopefully, the war with Rain will end within a year."
That way, even if he graduated from the Ninja Academy and was forced onto the battlefield as cannon fodder, he wouldn't have to face that deadly poison...
Hanzo of the Salamander from the Land of Rain had a real poison sac inside him. His toxic attacks had caused massive casualties for Konoha in the early stages. That thing was something anyone unlucky enough to encounter would regret...
In the early stages of the war, getting hit by his poison meant either death or losing several layers of skin... Even after Tsunade developed an antidote, it was more about reducing post-battle casualties...
If someone inhaled even a single breath of poison on the battlefield, even with the antidote, their combat effectiveness would still be affected.
In the early stages, the Sannin combined were no match for Hanzo of the Salamander. If not for the Land of Fire's deep reserves, and if the "Demigod" hadn't realized the futility and needed to conserve strength to repel the Land of Wind, the so-called "Konoha Sannin" could have easily been killed.
At this time, the "Demigod" was practically invincible in the ninja world's public eye. No one could confidently say they could defeat him.
Ryun didn't want to face the "Poison Man" after graduating as a ninja—the risk was far too high, and his chances of dying young were huge.
----------
The Next Morning.
In an open space within the Uchiha clan grounds, many teenagers had gathered.
News of Uchiha Fugaku's challenge to an overpowered elementary school student had leaked, and they all wanted to witness the battle firsthand.
That elementary school student already had an infamous reputation within the Uchiha clan. Almost no one between the ages of 8 and 15 didn't know of [Little Brat].
[Little Brat]'s "arrogant quotes" were widely circulated in the clan, even imitated by some brats...
In terms of popularity and fans, [Little Brat] definitely surpassed Uchiha Fugaku, especially among female fans...
In that verbal battle, [Little Brat] had completely crushed Fugaku. Some die-hard fans even labeled him as the "fearless tough guy who defies authority!"
The key was that this guy had humiliated Fugaku and still walked away unscathed, which was truly impressive.
Many secretly mocked Uchiha Fugaku's incompetence—getting humiliated and toyed with by an elementary school student, yet unable to do anything about it.
When these words reached Uchiha Fugaku's ears, his one-tomoe Sharingan nearly evolved on the spot...
For the sake of his reputation and pride, even if the clan incident was over a month ago, he had to find a time to thoroughly teach that foul-mouthed [Little Brat] a lesson.
Unfortunately, the people he sent were all useless. Seven genin couldn't beat one elementary school student. Thankfully, he had suppressed the news before it spread, or what little dignity he had left would have been completely gone...
Originally, this duel was supposed to be kept secret. After all, a chūnin challenging an elementary school student wasn't exactly glorious, even if that [Little Brat] had a verified record of defeating seven opponents...
But some loudmouth had leaked the news of his challenge, leaving him in an awkward position. Now, being surrounded by spectators made him feel especially humiliated...
'If I find out which bastard leaked this, I'll tear his damn mouth apart!'
Uchiha Fugaku cursed inwardly.
Only his close subordinates and trusted friends knew about his challenge to [Little Brat], and there were only a handful of them.
First, he ruled out his most "loyal" subordinate—Uchiha Kazuhiko...
"Kazuhiko, where's the promised 'beating the brat' show? Where's the duel of the century? It's almost noon, and nothing's happened yet. Are you messing with us? My skin's getting sunburned..."
A young man loudly complained to Uchiha Kazuhiko.
Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened. He never expected that his most trusted subordinate was the one who had betrayed him!
"No idea... Maybe he got scared. After all, my big bro is invincible. That damn brat probably chickened out..."
Uchiha Kazuhiko said with a grin, completely unaware of the severity of the situation or Uchiha Fugaku's darkening expression beside him.