Wen Lan brought Hikari to the clan head's courtyard.
The moment they entered, they saw Itachi standing beneath a tree, repeatedly throwing shuriken. His movements were precise and disciplined.
Noticing someone approaching, Itachi immediately jogged over and bowed respectfully.
"Third Elder!"
Wen Lan rolled his eyes.
"Elder my ass."
Itachi looked at Wen Lan in confusion, but still nodded seriously.
"Ass Third Elder."
"F*ck—" Wen Lan's face darkened. He raised his hand as if to smack the back of Itachi's head, but midway, a mischievous thought crossed his mind. Instead, he extended two fingers and flicked Itachi's forehead.
"—!"
Itachi clutched his forehead and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Call me 'senpai' from now on. Stop calling me Third Elder," Wen Lan said casually.
"Is the clan head inside?"
"Yes, Father is inside."
"Good. Go back to training."
Wen Lan led Hikari into the room.
Fugaku was seated on the tatami, reading a scroll. When he saw Wen Lan enter, he raised his eyes.
"You finally came."
It was obvious that after Jaraiya had brought Hikari back, Fugaku had already been informed and had been waiting here.
Wen Lan sat down casually across from Fugaku. Hikari knelt obediently beside him.
"So this is Uchiha Hikari," Fugaku said, his gaze resting on her, eyes narrowing slightly.
Hikari, however, was staring longingly at the snacks on the table. She didn't dare reach out, just kept looking at them.
Having been sealed for so long, her appetite was practically bottomless. Wen Lan even felt like one day she could compete with future Hinata to see whose stomach was more like a bottomless pit.
Fugaku coughed lightly and pushed the snacks toward her.
"Go on. Eat."
Hikari hesitated and glanced at Wen Lan.
At heart, she was still just a child. After being treated as a weapon by the Uchiha and sealed away, all her natural instincts had been suppressed to the extreme.
Wen Lan smiled lightly.
"This will be your home from now on. Forget eating snacks—if you burned down the clan head's house, no one would blame you."
Hikari's eyes lit up. She immediately grabbed a piece and stuffed it into her mouth, cheeks puffed up like a hamster.
Fugaku's face darkened as he glared at Wen Lan.
"Watch what you say! And I've noticed—your personality is getting worse and worse."
Wen Lan snorted.
"Before, I didn't have strength, so acting humble made sense.
Now I've got strength—if I still act humble, wouldn't that just make me pathetic?"
As he spoke, he closed his eyes—then suddenly opened them.
His black pupils turned deep crimson, a black five-pointed star pattern emerging within them.
Mangekyō Sharingan · Straight Tomoe!
Mangekyō Sharingan were divided into two types:
Straight Tomoe, which focused on physical enhancement and self-augmentation—like Sasuke's.
Curved Tomoe, which focused on genjutsu amplification—like Itachi's and Shisui's.
Wen Lan's was the former.
Fugaku stared in shock.
"You awakened the Mangekyō?!"
"Yeah," Wen Lan said with a crooked smile, glancing at Hikari.
"She helped me awaken it."
Hikari, who had been happily eating, instantly looked displeased and shot Wen Lan a glare.
Strictly speaking, Wen Lan wasn't wrong. Under the intense pain and negative emotions caused by Hikari's Amaterasu, his Mangekyō had awakened.
"What abilities?" Fugaku asked gravely.
"Left eye: Amplify.
It temporarily boosts my chakra, strength, speed, and other base attributes by three times. Duration depends on my ocular power.
Right eye: Nullification.
Within a certain range, all ninjutsu and genjutsu become completely ineffective against me.
If someone wants to beat me— they can only use taijutsu."
And that was the terrifying part.
Wen Lan's taijutsu was already monstrous.
At first, Fugaku thought "Amplify" was manageable.
But the moment he heard "Nullification," his pupils shrank violently.
In the shinobi world, ninjutsu and genjutsu were the two main combat systems.
Taijutsu users were often looked down upon.
But once Wen Lan activated his right eye, it meant all ninjutsu and genjutsu were useless against him.
What remained was pure, physical combat.
And with Wen Lan's taijutsu…
Add Eight Gates.
Then stack Amplify on top of that—
Fugaku's mouth twitched. He didn't dare continue the thought.
"This pair of eyes…" Fugaku murmured hoarsely, "…is a monster born for the battlefield."
Wen Lan chuckled and let the Mangekyō fade, his eyes returning to black.
"It's not that bad. I'm not exactly a bloodthirsty person."
Fugaku's face darkened.
Not bloodthirsty?
The graves of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen hadn't even grown grass yet.
But instead of arguing, Fugaku changed the topic.
"Hikari's identity should be treated as that of an ordinary clansman.
Her true background… isn't suitable to be revealed."
Wen Lan nodded. He had planned the same. Then Fugaku's words reminded him of something.
"Right—how's the situation around the clan grounds lately?"
He was referring to the spies trying to investigate the Rinnegan.
"Occasionally one or two stragglers," Fugaku replied.
"They know they can't get in anymore, so they just loiter on the outskirts."
Wen Lan nodded. With both barriers and patrols, almost no one could infiltrate the inner area.
"But yesterday," Fugaku continued, "There was a stranger standing outside the barrier for a long time. He wore a mask—I couldn't see his face. When I chased him, he vanished instantly."
A name surfaced in Wen Lan's mind.
Uchiha Obito.
"It's fine. Ignore him," Wen Lan said calmly.
In the past, Obito might have been troublesome.
Now?
With Nullification, killing him would be like killing a chicken.
Wen Lan stood up.
"Alright, I'll take Hikari back."
Fugaku spoke faintly.
"Have you forgotten about training Itachi?"
Wen Lan froze.
He blinked.
To be honest—he really had forgotten.
But he quickly smiled.
"How could I? I've got to go to Kirigakure the day after tomorrow. I'll handle it when I'm back."
With that, he grabbed Hikari and bolted out the door.
On the way out, Hikari didn't forget to grab another handful of snacks.
Fugaku watched their backs and sighed helplessly.
He was absolutely certain—
Wen Lan had completely forgotten.
After sending Hikari home, Wen Lan headed straight to Granny Cat's place.
The old cat granny was smoking her pipe while petting cats.
She squinted at Wen Lan, and when she saw the Kusanagi sword without a scabbard, her smile widened.
"Oh my~ Master Wen Lan, you need a scabbard made, don't you?"
Wen Lan's mouth twitched. He sat down across from her and placed the Kusanagi sword on the table.
"You money-grubbing old hag—how much? I've got a mission the day after tomorrow. I need it by then."
Granny Cat laughed even harder, tapping her pipe.
"No rush~ The scabbard won't grow legs and run away. But since you want it by the day after tomorrow…"
She paused deliberately.
"…rush order. Material cost doubled."
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