Chapter 448: Uchiha Fugaku's Acknowledgment
Fugaku's stern gaze swept over Sasuke, scrutinizing the boy from head to toe. The ambient noise of the bustling camp seemed to fade beneath the weight of the clan head's stare.
"The battlefield is no game," Fugaku stated, his voice a low, unforgiving rumble. "Although you performed well in the academy, this is not a sparring ring. Here, you will face the hardened elites of Kumogakure and Iwagakure. They will not hesitate to sever your head." He turned his broad back to his youngest son, the heavy fabric of his clan robes shifting. "Go back to the village. You are not ready yet."
Beneath his stoic exterior, Fugaku's heart tightened. He had already lost so much; he refused to let his youngest son perish in the mud of this war. Sasuke possessed immense potential, perhaps even rivaling Itachi, but potential meant nothing against a seasoned killer's blade. The boy was simply too green.
"Not ready?" Sasuke's voice cracked, rising several octaves as it shattered the tense silence. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles turning white. Raw unwillingness and burning anger bled into his tone. "Father, you are always like this!" The boy took a step forward, his breathing ragged. "You never look me in the eye. You never acknowledge me!"
Fugaku's footsteps halted. He did not turn around. "I said, go back."
Sasuke did not waste another breath on useless arguments. Instead, he let his chakra speak for him. The air around the young Uchiha suddenly dropped in temperature. A cold, oppressive ocular power erupted from his form, washing over the immediate vicinity.
Fugaku turned sharply, his eyes widening by a fraction of a millimeter.
Within Sasuke's crimson irises, three black tomoe spun into existence, rotating with a vicious, predatory speed before locking into place, connected end to end. The sheer density of the chakra radiating from those eyes was staggering. It was in no way inferior to the ocular prowess of the clan's veteran Jonin.
"Now..." Sasuke stared directly into his father's face, the corners of his mouth curving upward in a sharp, defiant smirk. "Am I qualified? Father."
The sudden flare of chakra had drawn attention. Throughout the camp, passing Uchiha clan members stopped in their tracks, casting astonished glances toward the clan head and his son.
"A fully matured Three-Tomoe Sharingan? At his age?"
"When did the young master develop his eyes to this extent?"
The hushed whispers drifted into Fugaku's ears, mingling with the crackle of the nearby campfires.
Fugaku stared at the spinning tomoe in his son's eyes. The muscles of his perpetually tense, unsmiling face twitched. He had calculated that Sasuke would require at least two more years of grueling training and life-or-death struggle to awaken the final tomoe. He had miscalculated. The boy's growth rate had utterly shattered his expectations.
"Is this the source of your confidence?" Fugaku asked. His voice remained steady, yet the icy aloofness that usually kept everyone at a distance had noticeably thawed.
Sasuke let out a soft snort, refusing to deactivate his Sharingan. Instead, he pushed more chakra into his optic nerves, causing the three tomoe to blur into a rapid spin. "Not only that."
He raised his left hand. Violent blue lightning instantly gathered around his palm, the air tearing apart with the deafening, high-pitched screech of a thousand chirping birds. The Chidori.
However, Fugaku's seasoned eyes immediately caught the anomaly. This was no ordinary Chidori. Deep within the chaotic sphere of lightning, a faint, volatile crimson glow pulsed. Sasuke was actively weaving Fire-natured chakra into the Lightning-natured jutsu. It was a crude, highly dangerous prototype of a composite ninjutsu, born from the boy's own relentless attempts to fuse nature transformations.
"I want to prove it to you," Sasuke declared, the harsh light of the jutsu illuminating his fierce expression. "I, Uchiha Sasuke, am no worse than anyone."
Fugaku looked at his stubborn youngest son. The chirping of the lightning blade echoed through the silent camp. After a long, heavy silence, Fugaku slowly closed his eyes.
When they snapped open, the atmosphere shattered.
A terrifying, suffocating pressure erupted from the clan head, crashing down upon Sasuke like a physical mountain. It was the pure, unadulterated killing intent of a man who had survived the Third Great Ninja War. Sasuke's face instantly drained of color. The Chidori in his hand flickered and died. His legs trembled violently under the crushing weight, but he locked his knees, gritting his teeth so hard he tasted copper. He refused to take even half a step back.
One second.
Two seconds.
Five excruciating seconds passed.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the suffocating pressure vanished. The air rushed back into Sasuke's burning lungs. Fugaku stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and raised his hand.
Sasuke flinched, his instincts screaming at him to dodge, fully expecting a harsh strike for his insubordination.
Instead, that broad, calloused hand landed squarely on his shoulder. Fugaku squeezed gently, patting the boy's shoulder twice.
"Not bad."
Two simple words. Yet, as they reached Sasuke's ears, they carried a weight heavier than a thousand grand speeches.
From his earliest memories until this very moment, this was the absolute first time his father had offered him such direct, unfiltered affirmation. It was not a dismissive 'you still need to work harder.'It was not a crushing'you are still far behind your brother.' It was an acknowledgment of his own strength.
"Since you are here, do not disgrace the Uchiha name," Fugaku commanded, retracting his hand as his usual stern demeanor settled back over his features. "You will be assigned to Shunichi's assault team. That is the most brutal, dangerous place on the entire front line. It is also the best forge to temper raw steel." Fugaku's eyes narrowed. "Are you afraid to die?"
Sasuke's expression sharpened into a feral, confident grin. "I could not ask for a better placement!"
"Very good." Fugaku gave a single, curt nod. He turned on his heel and strode toward the central command tent. "Go prepare your gear. The great war will soon ignite once more."
Sasuke stood rooted to the spot, watching his father's retreating back. He slowly lowered his hands, clenching his fists so tightly his nails dug into his palms. The lingering sting of the chakra in his eyes felt like a badge of honor. A low, genuine laugh escaped his lips.
"Just you wait," Sasuke whispered to the wind, his crimson eyes burning with ambition. "I will make the entire Ninja World fear the name Uchiha Sasuke."
Inside the dimly lit command tent, the heavy scent of ink and stale tea hung in the air. Jiraiya leaned against the central map table, a playful, knowing smirk plastered across his face as Fugaku pushed past the canvas flaps.
"What is this?" Jiraiya teased, crossing his arms. "The touching father-son reunion drama is already over?"
Fugaku shot the Toad Sage a cold, withering glare before taking his seat at the head of the table. "That was merely a test of his resolve. Nothing more."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Jiraiya shook his head in exaggerated disappointment. He snatched a nearby canteen from the table and took a long gulp of water. "You Uchiha are just completely incapable of being honest with yourselves. You are clearly bursting with pride on the inside, yet you insist on wearing that deadpan mask. If it were me, I would have already swept the boy into a massive hug and cried my eyes out."
Fugaku expertly ignored the Sannin's theatrics. He leaned forward, his finger pressing down on several clustered red dots marked across the sprawling topographical map. "Enough small talk. Now that our reinforcements have arrived from the village, we must shift our tactical approach. That hotheaded Raikage just suffered a humiliating loss. He is bound to become even more frenzied and reckless in his next push."
Fugaku's voice dropped an octave, taking on a grim edge. "also... the conventional forces of Kumogakure and Iwagakure are not our only concern." He shifted his gaze toward the far corner of the tent, where the pale, grotesque corpse of a White Zetsu lay sealed beneath a stasis barrier. "These parasitic monsters represent a massive hidden danger. Their ability to perfectly mimic chakra signatures is an absolute nightmare for our logistics. If Shikaku had not reacted in time to alter the patrol routes today, we would have suffered catastrophic casualties from the inside out."
Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh, the playful demeanor vanishing as a gloomy shadow fell over his eyes. "An Edo Tensei army composed of immortal, regenerating dead, combined with an endless swarm of biological weapons that can perfectly disguise themselves as our comrades. This war has far too many variables. It is a tactical nightmare."
Just as the words left his mouth, the heavy canvas flap of the tent was pushed aside. Nara Shikaku stepped inside, his movements brisk despite the deep, dark bags under his eyes. Konoha's greatest tactical mind wore his exhaustion plainly, though his gaze remained sharp.
"Lord Fugaku. Lord Jiraiya," Shikaku greeted with a brief nod. He stepped up to the table, sweeping aside a few scattered kunai to unroll a fresh intelligence scroll. "The latest front-line battle reports have been compiled and verified."
"Speak," Fugaku ordered, his tone entirely business.
"First, regarding the Edo Tensei troops deployed in the western sector," Shikaku began, his eyes scanning the dense lines of text. "Hanzo of the Salamander has been successfully defeated and sealed by Might Guy. The threat of his widespread poison has been neutralized."
He traced a finger down the parchment. "Pakura of Scorch Release and Gari of Explosion Release were intercepted and dealt with by Chojuro and Ao of Kirigakure. They managed to coordinate a successful sealing operation."
"As for Elder Chiyo of Suna..." Shikaku paused, lifting his gaze to meet Fugaku's eyes. "She was defeated by a Jonin of the Uchiha Clan, operating in tandem with members of the Sunagakure puppet brigade."
Shikaku rolled the scroll back up, letting it snap shut. "The current strategic situation is becoming clear. Although the enemy's Allied Forces boast overwhelming numbers, we currently hold an absolute advantage in high-end, destructive combat power."
Shikaku picked up a red ink brush and drew two sweeping lines across the map's eastern flank. "This is especially true following the arrival of Naruto and Gaara. The Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail, coupled with their masterful control over their respective Tailed Beast chakra, function as two highly mobile, self-sustaining war machines. They have completely stabilized the eastern front."
At this point, Shikaku's tone shifted, losing its optimistic edge. He brought the wooden end of his brush down hard on a blank, unmarked region of the map.
"However, the primary variable remains the Edo Tensei." Shikaku's expression darkened into a scowl. "We have no concrete intelligence on exactly how many reanimated cards Orochimaru and Obito still hold in reserve."
Shikaku did not need to finish the thought. The heavy silence that descended upon the tent proved that both Fugaku and Jiraiya perfectly understood the grim implication.
The history of the Ninja World was soaked in the blood of countless legendary figures. There were the past Kage of the Five Great Nations, legendary swordsmen, and ancient clan heads. And looming above them all was the ultimate nightmare—the Shura of the Ninja World himself, Uchiha Madara. If the enemy possessed his corpse, the scale of the war would instantly shatter.
"Do not worry too much about ghosts," Jiraiya suddenly spoke up, his voice cutting through the mounting tension.
The Sannin reached deep into the folds of his crimson haori and pulled out a heavy, uniquely forged kunai. The handle was wrapped in dark fabric, and complex sealing formulas were etched directly into the dark metal of the blade.
"Akira gave me specific instructions before we deployed," Jiraiya said, his thumb tracing the edge of the seal. "If an enemy appears on this battlefield that absolutely cannot be resisted... we are to activate this kunai."
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