"You have to be confident in yourself."
"Uchiha Madara didn't awaken his Sharingan until he was fifteen, did he?"
"But in the end, he became a peerless powerhouse."
"Accumulating strength and then unleashing it—that's the principle."
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
"As my, Uchiha Fugaku's, younger brother, you shouldn't belittle yourself."
Uchiha Fugaku smiled slightly, reaching out to pat Uchiha Fuyu's head.
"I understand, big brother."
"I will definitely succeed, and then I'll help you support this family."
Uchiha Fuyu nodded, clenching his fists.
The Uchiha Clan would ultimately be annihilated; without strength, he couldn't stop it.
He had to become a peerless powerhouse as quickly as possible, otherwise, the Uchiha Clan's destruction would only be a matter of time.
"Hahahaha...!"
Uchiha Fugaku put his arm around Uchiha Fuyu's shoulder and laughed heartily.
"Alright, let's head back!"
"Someone's coming because of the commotion from our fight just now."
"Let's go."
Uchiha Fugaku's brows furrowed as he sensed someone approaching. He took Uchiha Fuyu and disappeared from the spot.
"Who was that just now?"
"The Chakra signature of Fire Release, they must have been training."
"There are also Chakra signatures of Earth Release and Water Release."
"These Chakra signatures, they must belong to the Uchiha Clan."
Not long after, several Anbu members arrived at the Hokage Rock. One of them had a dog, which sniffed around.
"After a day of missions and another fight with your big brother, you must be exhausted, right?"
"Get some sleep."
Uchiha Fugaku carried Uchiha Fuyu on his back, walking towards home.
"Big brother."
Uchiha Fuyu indeed felt somewhat fatigued. After a day of missions outside, then being in a bad mood and fighting Uchiha Fugaku, he was mentally and physically exhausted. His eyelids grew heavy, and he fell asleep... "Fuyu, time to wake up!"
Early in the morning, a sweet voice entered Uchiha Fuyu's mind.
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Fuyu suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.
"Got it, Mom."
Rubbing his eyes, Uchiha Fuyu called out towards the door.
Afterward, Uchiha Fuyu washed up and came out to eat breakfast.
"Mom, where's big brother?"
Uchiha Fuyu arrived at the dining room, looked around, and didn't see Uchiha Fugaku or his father. He looked at his mother, Uchiha Shisei, with some confusion.
Normally, they should all be here for breakfast at this time.
"Fugaku and your father went out for something important."
"Today, we'll have breakfast by ourselves."
"Wash your hands, and eat quickly!"
Uchiha Shisei smiled sweetly.
She had long black hair that reached her waist, and her dark pupils held a happy smile. Her delicate face and the smile on her lips always conveyed her love and care for Uchiha Fuyu.
"Is that so?"
"They went out?"
"Is it because of the Second Great Ninja War, they've gone back to the battlefield?"
Uchiha Fuyu paused slightly, lowering his head and muttering to himself.
"I understand, Mother."
Then he looked at Uchiha Shisei, chuckled softly, went to the kitchen to absorb, and then sat down to enjoy his mother's delicious breakfast.
"Mom's breakfast is the best."
Biting into a rice ball, Uchiha Fuyu praised Uchiha Shisei.
"If it's good, eat more."
"Eat more, and you'll grow quickly."
Uchiha Shisei said softly.
After breakfast, Uchiha Fuyu put on his samurai sword and left home.
"Look, it's that dead last."
"How embarrassing, as a direct descendant, he hasn't awakened his Sharingan at sixteen."
"Exactly, even I awakened mine at eleven. He's such a good-for-nothing."
"Lord Fugaku awakened his Sharingan at eight, and by sixteen, he already had the Three Tomoe. Now he's an Elite Jonin. Having such a good-for-nothing younger brother is truly shameful."
"Who says it isn't? A dead last, truly a good-for-nothing."
As he walked, Uchiha Fuyu heard the disdain and insults from his clan members, who considered him a disgrace to the Uchiha Clan. As a direct member of the Uchiha Clan, not having awakened his Sharingan at sixteen was, to them, a symbol of worthlessness.
Uchiha Fuyu seemed long accustomed to it, walking past them with an expressionless face.
"The Second Great Ninja War is far from over."
"It's Konoha Year 33 now, there are still several years left."
"I must gain strength as soon as possible."
"Otherwise, there's no way I'll survive the Second Great Ninja War."
"The last time I was on the battlefield, if Orochimaru hadn't appeared in time, I probably would have died in battle."
Uchiha Fuyu clenched his hands, his eyes filled with anger as he recalled almost dying on the battlefield that day.
In such a dangerous world, he had to possess powerful strength.
After the war concluded, he was sent back to rest.
"Is it cherry blossom season again?"
"These cherry blossoms are truly beautiful!"
Walking forward, Uchiha Fuyu saw the cherry blossom forest in front of him and smiled slightly.
He often trained alone here because every April, this place would be covered in beautiful cherry blossoms.
Seeing these cherry blossoms always brightened his mood considerably.
"Is it you who keeps making my little brother cry?"
As he walked, Uchiha Fuyu heard three figures not far away.
Two boys and a girl with long red hair. It seemed the two boys wanted to bully the girl.
"He provoked me first."
"He brought this upon himself."
"A coward, he couldn't beat me himself, so he called you, his big brother."
The girl with long red hair pointed at a boy of similar age beside her and angrily retorted.
"Oh?"
"So you're saying you bullied my little brother."
"Look what I have here?"
"You haven't graduated from the Ninja Academy yet, but I'm already a Genin who has graduated."
"Genin are very strong, you know."
"Since you admit to bullying my little brother, then you'll get to experience being bullied."
"Hehehe...!"
A boy of about fourteen looked at the red-haired girl in front of him with a sneer, stretched his wrists, and charged forward.
"Oh no."
The red-haired girl was internally startled, retreating backward, quickly moving through the tree branches, trying to shake off the boy.
"Don't run, I've caught up to you."
"Whoosh...!"
The boy followed closely, throwing a kunai from his hand.
"Is that a real kunai?"
"Damn it, he wants to kill me?"
The red-haired girl was inwardly horrified, immediately dodging, a bead of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
She hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet and had never experienced a life-or-death battle. Hearing the sound of something cutting through the air, she immediately dodged, a hint of anger in her heart.
"Since you want to kill me, I won't hold back."
The red-haired girl was furious. She pushed off the tree with both feet, launching herself back, and punched the boy on the head.
"Bang...!"
"Substitution Jutsu?"
"Oh no?"
The red-haired girl landed gracefully, but found that her opponent was just a log, and she was inwardly horrified.
"Bang...!"
"Ah...!"
The boy appeared behind the red-haired girl, punching her directly to the ground, then kicking her away.
"Red hair?"
"Yellow clothes?"
"Uzumaki Kushina?"
Uchiha Fuyu's brows furrowed as he looked at the red-haired girl who had just been beaten up not far away, a little surprised inwardly.
"Ah...!"
Uzumaki Kushina scrambled up from the ground, only to have the fourteen-year-old boy grab her hair, yank her up, and she let out a scream.
"This is what a Genin is, something you, who haven't even graduated from the Ninja Academy, can't see through."
"Your strength is too weak. Without combat experience, you can't even see through the most basic Substitution Jutsu."
"You're truly just a little kid."
"Your hair really does look a bit like a tomato, and it's stiff. It just looks ugly."
The boy looked at Uzumaki Kushina and mocked her.
"Hehehe...!"
"Serves you right for bullying me before."
"Now you know what it feels like to be bullied, don't you?"
The boy's younger brother stepped forward and mocked.
"Wuwuwu...!"
Tears of grievance streamed down Uzumaki Kushina's eyes. She also hated her hair; being mocked by so many people, she felt her hair was truly ugly.
But there was nothing she could do; it grew on her head, what else could she do?
"Let her go, and then, get lost."
Just then, a voice appeared in Uzumaki Kushina's mind. She paused slightly, looked up, opened her eyes, and saw Uchiha Fuyu, carrying a samurai sword, walking towards her, her pupils contracting.
"You? Who are you?"
"From the Uchiha Clan?"
"I, I'll leave immediately, I'll leave immediately."
The fourteen-year-old boy saw Uchiha Fuyu approaching. Seeing the samurai sword he carried and the Konoha forehead protector tied to his wrist, he was inwardly horrified, quickly let go of Uzumaki Kushina, turned, and ran.
Minato Namikaze, who was standing on a tree branch, did not intervene because he believed Uzumaki Kushina could handle it herself, and that she was very strong and powerful.
After the boy released Uzumaki Kushina, he quickly fled.
Uzumaki Kushina almost fell to the ground, but she felt a warm presence.
"Hmm?"
Uzumaki Kushina looked at Uchiha Fuyu with some surprise. She hadn't expected someone to come and save her.
She had never felt such care and warmth before, and suddenly, she felt Uchiha Fuyu's embrace was so warm.
"Your red hair is very beautiful. Don't pay too much attention to what others think."
"All members of the Uzumaki Clan have red hair, and they are all very powerful Ninja."
"Even though the Uzumaki Clan has been annihilated, the legend of the Uzumaki Clan still circulates in the Ninja World."
"You have to be confident in yourself."
Uchiha Fuyu picked up Uzumaki Kushina and gently placed her under a tree, letting her lean against it, his eyes calm.
After speaking, he stood up, turned, and walked away.
"Tha-thank you."
"What, what's your name?"
Uzumaki Kushina looked at Uchiha Fuyu, stood up, and called out with courage, her face slightly flushed