Hearing Riku's words, the confusion and self-mockery in Katsuya's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a blazing fighting spirit!
"The taijutsu match isn't over! I won't lose to you!" Katsuya rushed at Riku, launching a flying kick to start a new round.
But no matter what moves Katsuya used, Riku always neutralized them with ease.
Riku, who was only defending, seemed calm and unbothered, while Katsuya, who had been on the aggressive, was breaking out in a cold sweat.
This stunned the underlings watching from the sidelines. They all knew that before their boss took the academy entrance exam, they were a notorious gang of pranksters known throughout the entire Uchiha clan.
They often made the adults in the clan furious. But ever since their boss took the entrance exam, everything had changed.
The boss began leading them in daily training, day in and day out. Many of their friends couldn't stand it.
But whenever someone thought of quitting, they would look at their boss. He always trained twice as hard as his underlings, which was the reason they had all persevered.
But now, their boss, who had always been incredibly tough in both strength and style, was showing a moment of powerlessness.
With a sudden jolt of his body, Riku sent Katsuya staggering back ten steps.
Riku said slowly, "Your fundamentals are very solid, and you work extremely hard. But you lack the accumulation of time. Your physical conditioning still needs improvement."
"It's fine. Just keep at it, and in time..."
"Cut the crap! Where am I going to find the time?!" Katsuya suddenly snapped, then, as if accepting it, spoke calmly.
"Uchiha Riku, I know you're strong. We don't need to compete in ninjutsu. You've already won."
"But I just want to know... just how strong are you? Can you show me what a true genius is like?"
Riku knew the boy before him was unwilling to accept his own failure. However, out of respect for his opponent, Riku decided to reveal his true strength.
"I'll show you my full strength in my normal state."
As he spoke, Riku's body shuddered. A silent shockwave erupted from him, and his training weights instantly dropped to the ground, smashing a small crater in the dirt.
"No way, those weights are insane!"
The surrounding underlings could clearly feel that the Riku of this moment was completely different from before. His aura was continuously rising.
Suddenly, Riku vanished from everyone's sight. The next moment, he appeared like a ghost in front of Katsuya, a sharp kunai pressed against his neck.
"You lose!"
Katsuya hung his head, utterly defeated. Seeing this, Riku asked, puzzled.
"Why are you trying so hard to surpass me?"
Completely disheartened, Katsuya finally confessed everything to Riku.
"Ever since I can remember, my father has been sighing. It's as if he was born to sigh."
"But whenever he faces me, he always acts like nothing is wrong."
"I overheard him talking with my uncle and learned that the situation within the Uchiha clan is far from optimistic."
"But I couldn't help at all. It wasn't until you defeated me the first time, and I wanted to ask my father to get revenge for me, that I realized I'd been living under his protection all along."
"Watching you train so desperately, I started to think... if I also trained desperately and became strong, maybe my father would stop sighing all day."
As he spoke, two streams of tears ran down Katsuya's face. He was still just a child, after all, not yet mentally strong. Riku patted his shoulder.
"The Uchiha clan is large and prosperous. Why would the situation be anything but optimistic?"
Katsuya looked up at Riku as if seeing this genius for the first time.
"I can't believe you know so little about the Uchiha clan. With the Hokage's suppression, the living space for the hawk faction, led by my father, is shrinking by the day."
"Meanwhile, the dove faction is growing stronger. But endless compromise and tolerance will only lead to us being slowly eaten away!"
Riku didn't believe that someone as young as Katsuya could have such thoughts. He must have gleaned them from overhearing his father's conversations. Still, he wasn't wrong; the tragic extermination of the Uchiha clan years later would prove his point.
Riku asked, "So what do you want to do?"
Katsuya stood there stunned, then said bitterly, "I don't know either."
But then his expression hardened with resolve.
"But I know one thing. In the Uchiha clan, strength is always what matters most."
"Since I've lost to you, it's only natural that I acknowledge you as my big brother!"
Riku was stunned. The underlings around them were equally shocked.
"Boss, don't abandon us!"
"Don't do it, Boss! We don't want you to go!"
Katsuya turned his head and scanned the crowd. At that moment, he truly looked like a boss.
"You all saw it. Uchiha Riku is really strong. And I've interacted with him--he's a good person. I trust him."
"From this day on, I acknowledge him as my big brother. If you trust me, then follow me."
Seeing how things were going, Riku was about to refuse, but Katsuya silenced him with a single sentence.
"With your abilities, you'll definitely be involved in the clan's affairs in the future. And we will be your unwavering support."
Seeing that some of the underlings were still hesitant, Katsuya shouted.
"We greet you, Big Brother Riku!"
With Katsuya taking the lead, the underlings followed suit and pledged their allegiance to Riku. Twenty or thirty Uchiha boys shouted in unison, "We greet you, Big Brother Riku!"
Riku never suffered from stage fright. Faced with such a scene, he remained perfectly calm.
"Thank you all for your trust. I will not let you down!"
In the days that followed, while continuing his training, Riku also began learning about his new underlings from Katsuya.
He was shocked by what he heard. Katsuya's followers made up nearly two-fifths of the Uchiha boys of their generation--a significant number.
The fact that Katsuya could manage such a large group in an orderly fashion was a testament to his leadership skills.
Adhering to the principle of "trust those you use, and don't use those you doubt," and also to free up more time for his own training, Riku entrusted the full management of the group to Katsuya.
He also drew upon his own training experience to compile a simple body conditioning method for the underlings.
"This body conditioning method might be simple, but it's suitable for their age. If they stick with it, their physical fitness will improve steadily."
Furthermore, drawing on his past life's experience, Riku wrote a book titled *Guidelines on How to Correctly Establish an Atmosphere of Unity, Friendliness, Mutual Aid, and Harmony within the Uchiha Clan* and gave it to Katsuya, intending to instill proper values in the Uchiha youth from a young age.
At first, the boys paid it no mind. Even Katsuya didn't understand Riku's intentions.
But when the boys genuinely helped their clansmen and received praise, they began to enjoy helping other Uchiha members tirelessly.
Day by day, time passed. In the blink of an eye, another half a month went by.
At the Katsuya residence.
"Father, I've finished my match with Riku."
"Little Katsuya, I already know."
"Father, why..."
"What could you possibly hide from your father? I've even read that... what was it... those guidelines."
"So, Father, what do you think..."
"I have to say, the writing style doesn't seem like something from a brat who just entered the Ninja Academy. It's more like political propaganda from an old fox like the Third Hokage."
"But I see no problem with the content. The core idea is mutual aid among clansmen. As long as it's beneficial to the Uchiha clan, I have no issue with it."
"Not only that, I even fanned the flames and helped the kid promote it."
"What? Father, you mean you recommended this book to others?"
"Heh, not just that. I also secretly printed copies and distributed them to the other Uchiha children."
"...Isn't that copyright infringement...?"
Uchiha Toru: (?_?; Mind your own business!)
"Father, I plan to invite Riku over in three days."
"So you remembered. Good. Your father will certainly give your friend a warm welcome."
Katsuya immediately relayed the news to Riku. Naturally, Riku couldn't refuse such a kind gesture, but he secretly wondered why Katsuya's father would invite him over at this particular time.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Konoha, inside the underground base of Root...
A cold-blooded Root member respectfully placed a book on the desk of their leader, Danzō.
"Lord Danzō, this is a book that has recently started circulating within the Uchiha clan."
"It's just a book. What's so important about it?"
"The publisher is an influential elder of the Uchiha hawk faction--Uchiha Toru."
"Oh?" Danzō's interest was piqued. He began to read it carefully.
*BANG!*
"Utter nonsense! Mutual aid within the clan? Where does that leave the village of Konoha! What a dangerous ideology!"
"Author... Uchiha Riku."
"Good, very good. Go investigate this Uchiha Riku. And remember, do not alert the target!"
With that, Danzō stormed out, book in hand, and headed for the Hokage's office.