Chapter 9: Clan Leader Is Cool
"You're late again!" someone exclaimed.
As Fugaku followed the map towards the training ground, he heard a kid's cold voice before he even arrived.
"Sorry, sorry, I was on my way over and I saw an old lady who needed help crossing the street," second kid said.
"Another excuse. You're always late because you have no sense of time," the voice replied.
"What are you talking about, Kakashi? You jerk with dead fish eyes!" second kid exclaimed.
"Can't you two stop fighting all the time?" another voice interjected.
"Kakashi?" Fugaku gasped and hurried to the training ground, where he found four individuals standing at a distance.
They were members of Namikaze Minato's team, and he was leading the squad: a white-haired man with a mask and lifeless eyes, a young girl with a gentle smile and greasepaint on her face, and a teenager with goggles.
All four of them were surprised by Fugaku's sudden appearance.
"Hello, Fugaku-sama!" Namikaze Minato was the first to react, greeting him with a friendly smile.
Fugaku nodded hastily; this time, he didn't grin but nodded politely.
"Don't mind me; you guys continue training," he said, feeling too embarrassed to admit that he was also there for training.
However, upon seeing these three youngsters just now, he couldn't help but take a second look at them.
He knew how remarkable these four individuals would become in the future.
One would rise to become the leader of Akatsuki and another become the Sixth Hokage.
The third's death would trigger the awakening of Mangekyo Sharingan eyes while also pushing a teenager to the brink of despair, leading him to massacre his own clan and nearly destroy the entire Shinobi world.
The magnitude of these destinies left Fugaku astonished. Was destiny truly such a strong force? minato would earn the title of the Yellow Flash of the Shinobi world, ultimately becoming the Fourth Hokage.
However, all four of them regarded Uchiha Fugaku with some curiosity, wondering why he was at the training ground.
This was the domain where instructors honed their students' skills, and those who had graduated and become genin rarely frequented the area, let alone Uchiha Fugaku, who held the prestigious positions of clan leader and jounin.
Today marked the graduation day for both Obito and Rin, and Kakashi had come over to familiar his teammates.
That was the reason for their gathering at the training ground.
Fortunately, the ground was spacious enough to accommodate them without any interference.
Minato smiled at Fugaku and led the trio to a different spot to resume his instruction.
Fugaku didn't pay much attention to them; truthfully, he hadn't intended to come here, but since the current Uchiha territory had not yet been separated from Konoha, there was no exclusive training ground for the Uchiha clan. Thus, he found himself here by necessity.
Following his memory, he retrieved four shuriken and held them between his fingers. Each shuriken struck its target dead center with impressive force.
Fugaku marveled at his accuracy. Then, on impulse, he activated his Sharingan. Instantly, his eyes turned crimson, adorned with three evenly distributed tomoes within his iris. He then held several kunai.
Expertly, he hurled the kunai, each one finding its mark with precision before hitting the surrounding targets.
Next, he began to weave hand signs, summoning forth his chakra. "Fire Release. Fireball Jutsu," he intoned.
The familiar hand signs, the precise chakra control, and the release of the fireball all came naturally to him, as if they were deeply ingrained within his being.
A massive fireball erupted forth, its scorching heat lifting a trail of dirt from the ground as it soared through the air.
Everything felt both strange and familiar simultaneously, an odd sensation coursing through him as his body instinctively reacted to the situation.
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"Wow… So awesome…"
On the sidelines, Obito was utterly taken aback by Fugaku's impressive and dazzling display.
Even Kakashi and Minato couldn't help but cast their gazes upon Uchiha Fugaku.
"Lord Fugaku's Fire Release is truly remarkable; he's certainly deserving of his position as clan leader," remarked Minato with a smile, though he couldn't shake the feeling that Fugaku might have been showing off.
"It's nothing special," Fugaku chuckled modestly, though internally he pondered whether this was truly the extent of his abilities or if he had untapped potential lying dormant within him.
While he possessed other Fire Release jutsus, he refrained from testing them out, swiftly gathering his kunai and exiting the training ground.
He had two reasons for his departure. Firstly, he found the attention from those around him discomforting. Secondly, he felt a heightened sense of unease after utilizing Ninjutsu to manipulate chakra just moments ago.
"Wow, Clan head-sama is so cool," Obito exclaimed in admiration.
"Yes, Obito. You can be just as impressive; the Sharingan isn't a prerequisite for mastering jutsu," Minato encouraged him with a gentle smile.
Kakashi remained expressionless as he watched Fugaku depart, lost in thought.
"The Sharingan?" Obito's eyes widened in surprise before excitement flooded his features, his fists clenching with determination. "Yeah, the Sharingan is nothing; I'm an Uchiha genius, and I'll awaken my Sharingan soon…"
"You're an idiot…" Kakashi sneered, inciting Obito's ire.
"What? Kakashi, you're asking for it!" Obito retorted heatedly.
"Hehe, Obito, you've got this," Rin chimed in, offering her support.
"Really? Rin, you mean it?" Obito's excitement soared, his antics becoming increasingly animated.
Minato smiled warmly at the trio. "Sensei believes in you, Obito. But for now, let's focus on our genin test, shall we?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone