In a secluded corner of Konoha, on the far outskirts of the village, lay the district of the Uchiha Clan.
Because of the Second Hokage's policies and political stance, the Uchiha had, in effect, been quietly pushed out from the heart of the village.
Most of Konoha's other great clans are seldom associated with them. Combined with the Uchiha's own arrogance and domineering temper, this isolation gradually turned them into pariahs within their own home.
At this very moment, inside a brightly lit hall, members of the Konoha Police Force—almost all Uchiha—had gathered together. At the head sat the current clan leader, Uchiha Dunyama, his expression unreadable.
"Why hasn't Shiro returned yet? What time do you think it is?"
The speaker was a man in his thirties, with a dark, brooding face. His flak jacket marked him as a Konoha jonin.
His name was Uchiha Sanno, father of Uchiha Shiro.
"Don't worry, Sanno. You and I both know Shiro's strength. He's already an elite chūnin at such a young age—taking care of some brat from outside the village should be no trouble at all," said Clan Head Dunyama in reassurance.
"Exactly, Sanno. Your son is talented. You can rest easy," another captain of the Police Force added.
Several others echoed similar sentiments.
Hearing this, Uchiha Sanno said nothing, though the tension in his jaw showed he wasn't comforted in the least.
Time passed. One by one, the others drifted away, leaving only Sanno and Dunyama behind.
Both men were drowsing in their seats when—
"Bang!"
A shadow flickered into existence before them. An Uchiha scout knelt on one knee, face grim.
The sudden intrusion jolted both men fully awake.
"What's wrong?" Dunyama demanded.
Without speaking, the scout produced a scroll from his vest and spread it open on the floor. His fingers formed seals.
"Release!"
"Poof!"
A burst of white smoke filled the room. When it cleared, the scroll was gone—and in its place lay a corpse, still damp with the scent of earth.
"My son!"
Uchiha Sanno's scream tore through the silence. He recognized the lifeless body instantly.
A heart-wrenching wail rose from his throat, echoing through the entire Uchiha compound.
Dunyama's face darkened. He hadn't expected such a disastrous outcome.
Perhaps… the wind in Konoha was about to change.
Meanwhile, the very person at the center of this storm—Leo—remained indifferent to the turmoil brewing within the village.
Right now, his only focus is getting stronger.
Originally, his ninja aptitude had been merely average. But ever since awakening the Three Colors of Haki, the efficiency with which he refined chakra had improved dramatically.
By now, his chakra reserves were at the level of a full-fledged genin—already enough to place him among the more gifted students at the Ninja Academy.
And combined with his increasingly monstrous physique and the amplifying effects of Haki, he could already fight evenly with a chūnin—perhaps even suppress one.
Considering that it had been only half a year since he began training, his progress was nothing short of astonishing.
When Leo returned home late that night, he locked the door behind him, sat cross-legged on his bed, and retrieved something from his system space—
—a fruit that looked remarkably like a red dragon fruit.
Who would have thought that this strange fruit was actually a Devil Fruit—a mysterious power that could grant a person the abilities of a god?
He held it in his hand, staring at it intently. Even through his skin, he could feel the heat radiating from within the fruit.
It was burning—wild—like it could incinerate the world.
So this is the Flame-Flame Fruit…
Leo frowned. In the original story, Ace had wielded this power, yet had been defeated by Akainu's Magma Fruit.
How could magma overpower fire? In every way, the Flame-Flame Fruit should have greater potential.
Perhaps, he mused, it wasn't the fruit that was inferior—Ace had simply been too young, his mastery incomplete.
"Eat it or not? What if it makes me weak to water?"
The thought lasted no more than three seconds.
Then Leo sank his teeth into the fruit.
Crunch!
At first, it tasted like nothing. But the more he chewed, the worse it became—fermented, bitter, nauseating beyond belief.
"Ugh!"
He pinched his nose and forced himself to swallow.
Gulp.
His face twisted in disgust.
"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted—ugh!"
For a long while, he could do nothing but breathe deeply until the queasiness passed. Half the fruit still remained, but there was no way he was eating the rest.
"Never again."
He steadied himself.
"So… Do I have the power to control fire now?"
He raised his right hand, extended a single finger, and whispered:
"Fire… come."
Whoosh!
A flicker of flame burst to life on his fingertip, lighting up the dark room.
It danced gently above his skin, but he felt no heat from it—only a strange, comforting warmth.
He willed it stronger.
Whoosh!
The flame surged, swirling upward until it formed a sphere of fire the size of a football, hovering just above his palm.
Snap.
At his command, it vanished into thin air.
Judging by its power, Leo estimated the flame's destructive force to be on par with a D-rank ninjutsu—about genin level.
However, he quickly realized that while he could now generate fire, he could not yet turn his body into fire.
Even Devil Fruits didn't grant invincibility instantly—power needed to be trained, developed, and mastered.
Opening his status panel, Leo read the glowing text:
Host: Leo
Abilities:
– Conqueror's Haki Lv.2
– Observation Haki Lv.2
– Armament Haki Lv.2
– Tornado Secret Art Lv.2
→ Next Level Requires: 1000 EXP
Fruit Ability: Flame-Flame Fruit Lv.1
→ Next Level Requires: 100 EXP
Experience Points: 1200 / 1000
A new ability line had appeared—Flame-Flame Fruit—and it used the same EXP system.
"Upgrade."
He spent 100 EXP without hesitation. The Flame-Flame Fruit rose to Lv.2, leaving him with 1100 EXP remaining.
Immediately, he felt the fruit's power within him grow stronger, and he found he could partially transform portions of his body into flame.
Not bad…
But now came the hard part—deciding how to spend his remaining experience.
The Three Colors of Haki and the Flame-Flame Fruit all demanded growth, but his EXP was limited.
After some thought, Leo clenched his fists.
"Upgrade Armament Haki."
Boom!
His experience dropped to 100, but his Armament Haki rose to Lv.3.
A surge of raw strength filled him—his muscles thrummed with power, his defense hardened like steel.
Where before breaking through a C-rank ninjutsu barrier had been difficult, now he felt utterly confident.
"Now this… this is power."
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