"You're saying it wasn't w for you?" Fugaku's eyes widened.

  When he first noticed Masashi, he had just bee leader.

  He heard of a boy in the who, uhers who hoheir mental energy through Yin Release, was instead vigorously developing his physical energy through Yang Release.

  "I want to explore Yang Release," the boy had decred.

  "But our strength lies in—" one elder began.

  "Let him try," Fugaku had interrupted.

  Driven by the philosophy of "talent must be cultivated without bias" and a family tradition of "diversifying iments instead of putting all eggs in one basket," he approved a stipend for the boy.

  At the time, he found the kid rather iing. Perhaps too iing for his own good.

  He assumed it assing phase of youthful curiosity, but Masashi turned out to be different. He wasn't rash, but he was incredibly stubborn.

  The boy trained for over a decade.

  And not without results—his taijutsu and ninjutsu became incredibly refined, and his genjutsu wasn't g either. During the Third Great Ninja War, he even achieved several critical strikes in battle.

  By then, Fugaku started to take him more seriously.

  Otherwise, when Minato visited the pound back then, the audacity of Masashi skipping the weling party wouldn't have gone unpunished—like dog his pay.

  The man was truly obsessed with money.

  But more importantly, at just ten years old, he'd already been frequenting those pces!

  Who taught him that? Fugaku was furious. He had given him a stipend, and the boy spent it on drinking tea in gambling dens?!

  To top it off, he awakened his Sharingan while there. Seriously? The first ever to awaken Sharingan in such a setting?

  Still, he believed deep down that if someoh Masashi's capacity to unlock physical potential focused oal energy instead, they'd achieve greatness much faster.

  Look, he even learned Sage Mode.

  Was regur training no lood enough? And what about the Mangekyō Sharingan?

  "Fugaku-sama, have you mastered Susanoo? If not, I have. Why not e and learn from me?"

  "Masashi, that's a rather arrogant statement." Fugaku smiled faintly in frustration. "You're fully aware that the three-tomoe Sharingan isn't its limit, yet you refuse to go further. Is it because you don't want to dirty your hands?"

  "No, I simply believe there's o walk that path," Masashi replied. "All roads lead to Konoha, after all."

  No way I'm going blind here, boss. I don't even have a brother.

  Of course, he couldn't say that aloud. It might give people the wrong idea—as if he'd cut down a brother if he had one.

  Besides, who in their right mind would assume both siblings could awaken the Mangekyō? Even if they could, wouldn't it make more seo exge powers directly?

  Twice the joy, none of the pain.

  "Naive. You might not even realize it yourself," Fugaku said, his gaze sharp as he tried to steer Masashi ba track. "Do you think no one has tried this path before? The aba for a reason. Your stubbornness only shows you're not as unique as you think."

  "That's why I'm practig Sage Mode." Masashi sighed. "I get what you're saying, Fugaku-sama. Pure Yang Release won't cut it; there's a limit."

  "Oh?" Fugaku's eyes gleamed. "So, you've already reached the limit? Your talent truly is remarkable. It's not too te to ge course. Your current persistence is merely a symptom of our 's innate arrogance."

  Arrogance—Fugaku's biggest observation since being leader.

  Uchiha members who awakehe Sharingan often became prideful, though they rarely realized it due to their semi-isoted enviro.

  Fugaku hadn't noticed this himself until he became leader and started iing with the Hokage's office more frequently. The ge in perspective was enlightening.

  To him, Masashi epitomized Uchiha arrogance—prideful to a fault, proo overthinking and stubbornness.

  "No, no, Fugaku-sama, you've misuood. I'm very down-to-earth," Masashi said, not wanting to waste time arguing. He just wao cim his stipend and leave. "Today, I've got something to prove!"

  "Prove what? If it's Sage Mode, there's no need." Fugaku sounded disappointed.

  He'd seen Sage Mode before and uood its limitations—it wouldn't fually enhahe Sharingan. Why turn your eyes into toad-like spectacles?

  "The Sage Mode you've seen is from Mount Myōboku. Ryūchi Cave's is different," Masashi expined.

  Theivated his Sage Mode.

  After leaving Ryūchi Cave, he had maintained a steady absorption of natural energy. The power flowed through him like a river finding its course.

  Fme-like patterns emerged on his face, pleting a wild and tribal look.

  It was impossible to call this mere 'eye shadow'; the markings covered his entire face.

  Fugaku was startled. This was indeed different from the Sage Mode he knew. And as a man reciated arts, he thought it had a certain untamed fir.

  But there was no way he'd praise Masashi for this—the boy's ego was infted enough.

  "So what? Is this the difference you were talking about?"

  Ign the sarcasm, Masashi activated his Sharingan. Uhe amplification of Sage Mode, his visual prowess surged, nearing a critical threshold.

  Watch closely. This is what innovation really means.

  Then, something ged.

  It began at his shoulders, spreading to his arms, and soon engulfed his entire body. A substance resembling white crystalline ied an armor-like c.

  The only fw? .

  "Another Ice Release teique? Masashi, this is—" Fugaku began impatiently, only to stop midway. This isn't Ice Release. It 't be…

  As if to answer his thoughts, Masashi ched his right hand. The white chakra densed into the shape of a katana through sheer willpower.

  "Susanoo…" Fugaku, for the first time, failed to maintain his posure.

  This had to be Susanoo.

  While its form was unventional—more like armor draped directly on the user tharaditional t warrior—the principles were undeniably the same.

  And that chakra bde? It was unmistakably a product of the Sharingan's evolved visual power.

  "I've even ," Masashi said.

  This teique was something he had perfected in Ryūchi Cave: Sage Art: Armament.

  By amplifying the Sharingan's visual power with Sage Mode and utilizing Ryūchi Cave's ueiques, he had created this hybrid marvel.

  Tailed beasts? No problem. He had plenty of chakra.

  His pn? Use Ice Release to build a mech, powered by Ryūchi Cave molding teiques, and armored with Sage Art: Armament. It even came with an axe and shield food measure.

  "What do you call this teique?" Fugaku stared intensely at Masashi's form.

  "Sage Art: Majestic Attire," Masashi replied as he dispelled the teique.

  The white chakra dissipated from his body like m mist, and the sage markings on his face faded quickly, leaving no trace of the tremendous power that had bee moments before.

  "This…" Fugaku struggled tanize his uanding. "It is certainly… unique."

  Majestic Attire? The name gave it away.

  Majestic Attire: Susanoo was a ninjutsu once used by Madara. The same Madara who had defined what it meant to be ae among the Uchiha.

  He had elevated the ocur teique, Susanoo, to new heights, overp everyo the time except for Hashirama.

  "You're telling me you haven't awakehe Mangekyō?" Fugaku questioned again.

  This didn't make sehis wasn't Uchiha-like at all.

  Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, even with the three-tomoe Sharingan, such a feat shouldn't be possible.

  And judging by Masashi's casual demeanor, he couldn't believe this was his limit.

  Did this mean he had misuood the nature of Sage Mode?

  "Sage Art achieve such results…" Fugaku suddenly felt a heavy burden on his heart. His voice grew heavier as he spoke, "We'll o reassess Jiraiya's abilities."

  Although he k wasn't appropriate, a sense of despondency crept into his heart. You shouldn't harm others, but you must guard against them.

  Konoha's Hokage fa kept produg strategical-level experts, yet their attitude toward the Uchiha remained... plicated.

  The path for the Uchiha to enter Konoha's inner circle was still long and arduous.

  The bitterness festered in his heart, making him feel quite unfortable.

  Then, Masashi spoke.

  "Fugaku-sama, I think you may have misuood. Jiraiya's Sage Mode is different from mine."

  Fugaku's eyes shot up. "What do you mean?"

  "Sage Arts do share some simirities, but the three great secrete realms have fually distinatures in their Sage Teiques." Masashi began drawing small circles in the air with his hand, as if mapping out the different types.

  "Each path offers different advantages, different ways of growth."

  Notig the leader's disheartened demeanor, he could guess his thoughts and decided to offer some sotion.

  "To put it simply, Mount Myōboku's Sage Teiques are more refined, but they don't directly enhane's raw strength using natural energy. So the family's assessment of Jiraiya-sama's abilities is accurate and doesn't need much adjustment."

  Fugaku pondered for a while and then shook his head. "Expin it more thhly."

  "Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode is perfect for bat but has a singur approach to utilizing natural energy," Masashi said, reting what the White Snake Sage had once expio him.

  Fugaku waved his hand, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

  That was uandable; Masashi himself had taken over a week to fully digest this information.

  "How does that mean we don't o reassess Jiraiya's strength?"

  "Mount Myōboku's Sage Teiques act as a powerful 'on'—while strong, they are retively static because they don't enhahe user's intrinsic power," Masashi said, choosing his words carefully.

  "Ryūchi Cave's Sage Teiques, however, use natural energy to unloe's physical potential and store it. The strohe body, the more energy be stored, which then be used to create senjutsu chakra during bat."

  "I think I uand a bit," Fugaku nodded. It was quite an eye-opeoday. His expression had shifted from to geerest.

  "So, Ryūchi Cave's teiques are superior?"

  "It's not about which is stronger," Masashi crified, shaking his head slightly. "Ryūchi Cave's Sage Teiques are growth-oriented in the long run. Their nature also allows for shape manipution. If I had studied Mount Myōboku's teiques, I wouldn't be able to do what I did just now."

  "I see. But we still o reassess." Fugaku felt enlightened. "The has always regarded Orochimaru as the stro of the Sannin and ranked Jiraiya below him. That clusion must be wrong."

  Exhaling deeply as if to expel all his frustrations, he felt much better.

  He sidered himself a capable leader with excellent prehension skills. From his perspective, Masashi's ability to achieve such feats with just the three-tomoe Sharingan was thanks to Ryūchi Cave's Sage Teiques.

  But fually, it was due to Masashi's strong ocur power. However, f him to abandon this path now didn't seem persuasive.

  Previously, it might have beeable. But now, he had demonstrated abilities that should have been impossible with just the three-tomoe Sharingan.

  He was so...damn stubborn!

  Then again, without such stubbornness, he likely wouldn't have achieved such miracles.

  F himself to remain calm, Fugaku reminded himself that this path might not be replicable for others. He still held to his belief that following the 's traditional methods was the safest approach.

  "The point is moot; I won't vince you otherwise," he said, resigning himself. He decided not to ask about Masashi's true limits—it was exhausting. Besides, there was an even more pressing matter.

  "There's something important you o know. The Fourth Hokage's wife is about to give birth. And she is the ails Jinchūriki."

  I know. Masashi kept his expressioral.

  This marked the true turning point for the Uchiha Konoha. It was the moment they were pushed into direct opposition.

  "However, our has been pletely excluded from involvement. The Hokage's office has refused all s uhe guise of secrecy."

  "Evehird Hokage and Danzō won't participate?" Masashi suddenly asked, watg Fugaku's rea carefully.

  When Konoha was first founded, freat s stood at its core: Senju, Uchiha, Sarutobi, and Shimura.

  But now, only Uchiha and Sarutobi remained.

  Danzō was a ruthless figure. He cared little for the Shimura d always viewed matters from Konoha's perspective.

  Unlike s like Uchiha or Hyūga, Shimura and Sarutobi were 'ordinary' ninja s, formed in the old era as family-based groups.

  They relied on their aral ties but cked special bloodlines or ueiques. Over time, s like Shimura transitioned into individual ninja families, losing cohesion as traditional s.

  pared to Danzō's selfless pragmatism, Hiruzen's favoritism toward his was much harder to overlook.