Sitting on the sofa, Naruto looked at the completely mortified Sasuke and tried very hard not to laugh out loud.
He had merely repeated what Sasuke said earlier, yet Sasuke now looked like he wanted to bury his entire head into the sofa cushions and never come out again.
Honestly, this was way more entertaining than beating Sasuke during sparring.
After all, the gap in strength between them was huge. Their "matches" were basically one-sided massacres.
If Sasuke wanted to catch up in a short time, he'd need to immediately awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan and then go kneel before Orochimaru—one of the Legendary Sannin—for private tutoring. Otherwise? Good luck.
Sasuke kept a cold expression on his face and sat stiffly on the sofa, fully shutting himself off from the world. In his heart, he already regretted inviting Naruto over.
At the same time, he couldn't help secretly hoping that Itachi would come home soon—so he could introduce Naruto to his brother and at least regain some dignity.
"Kids really do have endless energy…"
In the kitchen, Uchiha Mikoto, who was busy preparing dinner, glanced at the two boys in the living room while calculating how much food she needed to make.
As Kushina's close friend, she knew Kushina's tastes like the back of her hand—but Kushina's son was another matter entirely.
Should she go ask Naruto directly? Or just cook based on Kushina and Minato's preferences and pray it worked?
She hesitated.
Meanwhile, the one feeling even more conflicted was Uchiha Fugaku, who was hiding out in the study next door.
He honestly hadn't expected the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to actually accept Sasuke's invitation.
The moment he saw Naruto, countless dangerous thoughts popped into his head.
For example:
What if he united the clan's Jōnin and controlled the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki?
With the power of the Nine-Tails, they could force the village's higher-ups to submit and finally get the Security Force recognized as true high-level authority.
But after thinking it through, Fugaku's expression darkened.
What if this was a trap set by the Third Hokage?
On the surface, Naruto entering the Uchiha clan looked like an opportunity—but in reality, it might be bait.
Once the Uchiha made a move, the Hokage could rally other clans, apply pressure, and force even more concessions.
Worst case scenario?
ANBU—and possibly ROOT—were already gathered outside the clan, just waiting for a single order.
At that moment, Fugaku sensed movement over the wall.
He instantly flashed behind the rock garden and saw several radical Uchiha Jōnin.
When they saw Fugaku, their eyes lit up.
"Captain Fugaku! Have you finally decided to strike against the village?"
Fugaku frowned.
"What are you doing here? It's not time yet. Go back immediately and don't cause trouble."
"But Captain," one of them said, confused, "didn't you bring the Jinchūriki into the clan? Isn't that basically declaring war?"
Fugaku's expression stiffened. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Sasuke and Naruto became friends at school. This is just a normal visit. Nothing more. If there were an actual plan, I would've informed you beforehand."
The radical Jōnin fell silent.
They had been waiting for years… and this turned out to be a misunderstanding?
What a waste of emotional buildup.
Suddenly, one of them remembered something.
"Captain Fugaku, a young clan member just made contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. He… might do something stupid."
Fugaku's face instantly turned ugly.
"You all leave. I'll handle it."
With that, he used Body Flicker and vanished.
Inside the living room, Naruto was bored and casually scanning the decorations.
After finishing his inspection of the furniture, his gaze drifted toward the rock garden outside—
—and suddenly met a pair of single-tomoe Sharingan.
"Genjutsu · Sharingan!"
Naruto was already very familiar with the feeling of being stared at by Sharingan.
His chakra fluctuated slightly, and his five senses experienced mild distortion.
But to him, this level of genjutsu felt like a breeze brushing his face—he could feel it, sure, but it didn't really do shit.
So this was the power of a one-tomoe Sharingan?
Naruto couldn't help thinking:
The Uchiha are really impatient. Are they already planning to control me and go challenge the Third Hokage?
Instead of fear, Naruto felt… curious.
Just as he was about to study the illusion more closely, Kurama moved.
Inside the seal, the Nine-Tails unleashed his chakra without restraint, pouring pure malice outward like a flood and slamming it straight back at the attacker.
The backlash hit instantly.
The Uchiha who cast the genjutsu collapsed on the spot.
"At this level," Kurama said lazily, "I don't even need to act. Even if you stood still, he couldn't shake your chakra. The old man trained you well."
Naruto, however, was focused on something else.
"Big Fox, what happened to the guy who attacked me?"
Kurama snorted.
"I didn't kill him. I don't have the habit of staring people to death. His chakra's just completely messed up. He'll be unconscious for a few days. As for whether he can still use ninjutsu afterward—depends on his luck."
In other words, his ninja career was basically half cut off. Clean. Neat. Brutal.
Naruto sighed—not out of pity, but because he had a brand-new understanding of Kurama's power.
With the Sharingan's restraint, Kurama could still casually cripple a Jōnin-level Uchiha.
At that moment, Mikoto walked out of the kitchen with the dishes.
"Sasuke, Naruto, dinner's ready. Go wash your hands."
Naruto jumped up immediately and headed for the sink. He was genuinely curious about Sasuke's mom.
Meanwhile, Fugaku arrived in the front yard.
Seeing the unconscious clan member on the ground, he fell silent. After checking the man's pulse, Fugaku quickly confirmed it—genjutsu backlash.
Genjutsu backlash wasn't rare.
But an Uchiha suffering backlash from his own Sharingan?
That was extremely rare.
The real question was why.
Was it the Nine-Tails inside Naruto?
Or the sealing technique on his body?
Unable to reach a clear conclusion, Fugaku sighed softly.
The Jinchūriki delivered through "chance" was really not something the Uchiha could casually control. This was obviously a trap—and he had nearly fallen for it.
Handing the unconscious man to the radicals, Fugaku said coldly,
"This is a trap set by the higher-ups. Stay alert, but don't cause trouble."
Then he returned to the house, acting as if nothing had happened, and calmly sat at the dining table.
What Fugaku didn't know was that from the moment he left the study to the moment he sat down, Naruto had perceived everything—including his conversation with the radical Jōnin.
Before eating, Naruto suddenly looked at Mikoto and asked innocently,
"Aunt Mikoto, I just saw someone climbing over the wall. Are you recruiting thieves at home?"
Mikoto froze, bowl in hand.
"Eh? Really?"
Fugaku coughed lightly and smiled.
"Just a small thief. I already taught him a lesson and sent him to the Security Force building."
Naruto looked deeply suspicious.
"Uncle Fugaku, Sasuke said you're the captain of the Security Force. Thieves still dare to rob your house? Has village security gotten that bad?"
The corner of Fugaku's mouth twitched.
"…The law and order has been unstable lately. I'll deal with it tomorrow."
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