Ryan opened his mouth and spat out a puff of black smoke, flashing a row of white teeth.
"Can you… let go of me first?"
"You're still… electrified…"
At this moment, his condition was no better than Sasuke's.
Both of them were charred black from head to toe, their hair standing straight up. Every breath they took carried the stench of something burned.
That sudden village-wide short circuit had completely exceeded Ryan's expectations. In that instant of flashing sparks, he and Sasuke had been electrocuted together.
As for Sasuke's excitement, Ryan honestly couldn't understand it at all.
What exactly was there to be happy about?
Ryan's original goal had been simple—build Sasuke's resistance, so he could better adapt to Lightning Release training in the future.
But this kid immediately started shouting "I think I know how Lightning Release works now!"…
You, me—between the two of us, our Lightning Release knowledge is basically zero. Everything relies on the scraps of electrical knowledge from Ryan's previous life.
Know what, exactly?!
Ryan really wanted to complain, but when he saw Sasuke jumping in place excitedly, shadowboxing in the air while yelling incoherent nonsense, the words reached his lips and then silently retreated.
…Forget it.
Let him vent some stress, at least.
"Ryan! I really get it now! The true essence of Lightning Release—"
"—is discharging electricity!"
"And that thing you told me about before, the thing that stores lightning… what was it called again?"
Ryan thought for a moment, then answered uncertainly,
"A capacitor?"
"Yes! Yes! That's it!"
Sasuke waved his fists wildly. "A capacitor! A capacitor!"
"I'm the capacitor!"
As he spoke, Sasuke suddenly planted his feet into a horse stance, elbows pulled back to his waist, striking a pose that looked like he was desperately holding in a bowel movement.
"Aaaaah——"
Seeing Sasuke like this, his jet-black hair still crackling upward, Ryan felt his mind go blank.
For a fleeting moment, he genuinely wondered if he'd somehow transmigrated into the world of Saiyans.
"Hngh—Hah—AAAH!"
Sasuke's voice roared like a V8 engine—raw, powerful, wild.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Ryan felt none of that "wild power" or "aesthetic beauty."
He only felt one thing:
My little brother looks unbelievably stupid.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Sensing danger, Ryan instinctively reached into his ninja pouch and drew a kunai—
And in the next second, he heard his father's voice…
And watched Sasuke get kicked into the air.
"What the hell are you screaming about in the middle of the night?!"
Fugaku, wearing sleepwear, slowly lowered his size-43 foot.
Sasuke flew backward without even letting out a scream, landing unconscious and instantly falling into peaceful sleep.
Fugaku looked quite satisfied.
He didn't even bother checking further, simply turning his gaze toward Ryan.
Then—
He saw it.
Ryan, standing there with charred sunflowers tied all over his body.
Exactly like Sasuke had been at home before.
Only—
Ryan's condition was clearly worse.
His face was darker, his brows constantly tightening and relaxing, as if his emotions were fluctuating wildly.
At this moment, no one but Fugaku himself could understand just how painful it was to see his two sons in this state.
"Now. Immediately."
"Get back home."
Fugaku glared at the blackened, hair-standing son, killing intent leaking out as he stood there.
Seeing his father's fury, Ryan instinctively shrank his neck. Just being in the same space made him careful even with his breathing.
Tonight's massive blackout across Konoha had genuinely caught him off guard.
Who would've thought—
That a run-down utility pole could knock out power for the entire village?!
Ryan knew he was at fault, though deep down he still couldn't help complaining about Konoha's municipal management.
Trash like that—
With such massive safety hazards—
Should've been replaced ages ago!
He hurried over to the roadside, lightly touched Sasuke's nose to make sure his father hadn't kicked him to death, then quickly hoisted him onto his back and followed behind Fugaku.
Fugaku said nothing, merely glanced back once before heading toward home.
But Ryan noticed—
When his father turned around, he let out a long, quiet breath.
It wasn't just anger.
There was worry in it.
The three of them walked in a straight line under the moonlight, their shadows stretching long across the road.
Fugaku's shadow was tall and elongated, bathed in moonlight—
The sons behind him were almost completely hidden from its glow.
Perhaps because of the atmosphere, Ryan suddenly felt that his father's figure looked taller than ever…
Yet at the same time, slightly hunched.
His nose stung faintly.
"I'm sorry, Father."
"I didn't mean to cause you trouble."
Even after he spoke, there was no further conversation between them.
Ryan lowered his head, silently following behind.
Sasuke slept soundly on his shoulder, even smacking his lips a few times.
"As long as you're safe."
"That's not really a problem."
Fugaku slowed his steps slightly, speaking calmly. His expression eased, no longer as twisted as before.
But the dark clouds between his brows had yet to disperse.
"And one more thing—"
"I'll handle Lightning Release techniques."
"Don't give your brother any more terrible ideas."
At the entrance of their home, Fugaku glanced at Ryan and tilted his chin, signaling for the boys to go inside.
He himself remained standing at the doorway, with no intention of entering.
"Father…"
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Ryan stopped at the door and looked at Fugaku seriously.
Hearing this, Fugaku suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
When the smile faded, his usual sternness returned—but his eyes shimmered faintly.
"Just don't destroy the shinobi world."
With that, Fugaku turned and walked toward the Hokage Tower.
Ryan stood at the doorway for a long time, watching his father's back disappear into the distance, before finally going inside.
But instead of dispelling Ryan's resolve—
Those words only strengthened it.
To save his family…
To save the Uchiha clan—
There was only one path.
Destroy the shinobi world.
Of course—
How to destroy it required careful planning.
Right now, both the village's hostility toward the Uchiha and the unrest within the clan itself existed for one simple reason—
Too much peace.
Everyone had eaten too well.
Ryan's idea was to create a powerful organization within the shinobi world and openly declare war on Konoha.
When villages were forced to focus on survival and external threats, they wouldn't have the luxury of targeting the Uchiha clan.
In short—
Walk the Akatsuki path.
Walk Obito's road.
And leave them with nowhere else to go.
Which led to the real problem—
How was he supposed to create a powerful organization…
And declare war on Konoha?
Just then—
A sudden electric crackle surged across his back, followed by a numbing jolt.
Ryan yelped and instinctively threw Sasuke off his back.
Sasuke's scream rang out as his explosive morning-after wake-up rage instantly ignited.
He flipped up from the ground, pointing at Ryan while cursing furiously.
"Uchiha Ryan! Are you sick in the head?!"
"I was sleeping just fine and you— huh?!"
As he finally noticed his surroundings, the yelling came to an abrupt halt.
"…Wait. Where am I?"
Ryan didn't answer.
He stared at Sasuke with deadly intensity.
"You…"
"What was that just now?"
"Why… are you releasing electricity?"
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/MythArcStudio