Hearing his son's outburst, Fugaku froze in place, and even Sasuke stiffened, not daring to breathe.
Their family discipline had always been strict. Fugaku's words to his sons and wife were like commands.
Even Itachi, hailed as a genius, would be labeled a rebellious son if he disagreed with his father.
But now...
Kaito had actually shouted something like that right in front of their father. Sasuke couldn't imagine how they were going to survive the aftermath.
Fury surged from Fugaku's core, and the air around them turned icy.
"Kaito!"
"Do you dare say that ag—"
Whoosh—
Fugaku growled low, ready to unleash his anger, but the moment he called Kaito's name...
The boy vanished into thin air, replaced by a brown ninja dog in mid-leg-lift.
"Woof... awoo?"
The dog's eyes widened in confusion, its bewilderment no less than Fugaku's and Sasuke's.
The long-held urge to pee was instantly scared away by those murderous Sharingan eyes.
But what's drawn must be released. Even though the urge had retreated, the dog still managed to dribble onto Fugaku's pant leg.
The intermittent flow was purely out of fear.
At first, Sasuke thought disaster had struck—there was no way he'd escape a beating tonight because of this.
But just as he was about to step forward, he noticed something odd.
This was... a Dog Clone?!
Kaito had suddenly disappeared and turned into a ninja dog. Sasuke had only seen something like this with his brother.
His brother's Ninjutsu transformed him into crows, so the principle was probably similar.
Grinding his molars in frustration, Sasuke realized:
So...
This Dog Clone was what Kaito had been training all these days?!
Damn it!
He lied to me, saying he was just practicing taijutsu!Fugaku looked down at his soaked pant leg, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked, his knuckles turning white.
The words of that rebellious son kept echoing in his ears.
If not for his self-control...
His Kaleidoscope Sharingan had almost awakened.
But just as the flames of anger began to rise, Fugaku's brows suddenly furrowed. After a moment of contemplation, they relaxed again.
Then, to Sasuke's astonishment, Fugaku threw his head back and burst into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Truly worthy of being my son!"
"Good... good... excellent!"
Sasuke: ??
Fugaku laughed heartily while repeatedly praising, while Sasuke, standing dumbfounded nearby, could only feel terrified at his father's behavior.
"Whimper..."
Not only was Sasuke badly frightened, but the dog that had just finished urinating was also cautiously backing away while watching the hysterically laughing Fugaku.
If it stayed any longer...
Instead of just urine splattering the scene, there might be blood.
In the courtyard, the atmosphere grew increasingly bizarre under Fugaku's wild laughter. Sasuke and the dog seemed to have formed an alliance.
Both the boy and the dog just wanted to flee the scene as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Fugaku, still immersed in joy, had replayed the events in his mind multiple times and was now certain that his son Kaito Uchiha...
The ninjutsu he had just used was definitely not some Dog Clone!
But rather...
A space-time ninjutsu!
My son Kaito Uchiha... is a genius!!
The thought of having a son who could create his own space-time ninjutsu made Fugaku forget all his recent frustrations.
"What the hell are you barking about!"
Kaito's voice rang out again. The dog, which had barely taken three steps backward, disappeared from its spot once more.
Seeing his son use this technique again, Fugaku's face flushed with excitement, his entire body trembling with emotion.
As for what the dog was or wasn't barking about...
It didn't matter anymore!
Fugaku quickly strode over to Kaito, raising his hand to grab his shoulder and ask for details.
Kaito had only used this ability twice so far, and the constant shifting of his vision left him feeling somewhat dizzy.
Already feeling terrible and with his nerves stretched taut,
seeing his father grinning widely with an extremely bizarre expression made him think he was under some genjutsu. Instinctively, he threw a full-powered punch straight into Fugaku's stomach.
"Kaito, tell me quickly... ugh—"
Before Fugaku could finish speaking, a sharp pain in his stomach robbed him of the strength to even cry out.
Clutching his stomach, he collapsed to his knees, looking up at Kaito with utter shock and confusion.
"?"
Seeing his father go down from his punch, Kaito slowly formed a question mark above his head.
"Huh?"
"Father, were you going easy on me???"
After a few seconds of thought, Kaito arrived at a conclusion that seemed absurd yet somewhat plausible.
After all...
His old man supposedly possessed the Kaleidoscope Sharingan. There was no way he'd be caught off guard and taken down by a single punch, right?
He must have been holding back. Definitely holding back.
Sasuke, who had been watching the entire scene from the sidelines, twisted his expression at Kaito's words.
At his tender age, he was already beginning to wonder if he'd fallen victim to his father's genjutsu...
"Cough... cough..."
Fugaku's current mood was extremely complicated. Kneeling on the ground, he coughed violently as if trying to expel his lungs.
Whether he was using the coughing to hide his embarrassment or was genuinely in pain from the punch remained unclear.After a few seconds, Fugaku's face turned beet red. He feigned composure as he stood up, lightly brushing the dust off his clothes.
Then, he turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and once again assumed the dignified air of a father.
"Hmm."
"Your training has been progressing well."
"Tsk…"
"I didn't expect you to notice I was going easy on you."
His words betrayed no flaw—even the sharp intake of breath went unnoticed by Kaito behind him.
"Alright."
"I have matters to attend to. You and Sasuke should go rest."
"Tsk… I'll talk to you both tonight."
Without waiting for a response from the two brothers, Fugaku strode quickly toward the house, taking two steps at a time.
He desperately wanted to ask Kaito about that Ninjutsu earlier.
But right now, he looked rather disheveled. He couldn't let the kids see him in such a state—it would ruin his towering image in their eyes.
"Sasuke."
"Is your dad… okay?"
Kaito pointed at Fugaku, who was hastily retreating, faintly sensing something off about their old man.
"Isn't he your dad too?"
Sasuke retorted with a sidelong glance, even wanting to question Kaito about practicing new Ninjutsu behind his back. But the words died in his throat.
"Kaito… that Dog Clone of yours just now…"
"Was it strong?"
Kaito: ?
Hearing this, Kaito, who had been about to head back inside, nearly stumbled and fell.
He had considered naming his technique "Thunder Dog" or "Flying Thunder Hound"—both terrible names.
But he never expected Sasuke to call it…
Dog Clone.
And yet, there was a strange, eerie logic to it.
Kaito's face instantly darkened as he turned and walked straight into the house.
"Itachi taught me!"
"If you want to learn, go ask him!"
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, as if this confirmed his suspicions. But the next moment, he snapped back to reality.
"Kaito!!"
"He's your brother too! Stop calling him 'Itachi' all the time!"
Just as Kaito stepped inside, he suddenly poked his head back out, scanning Sasuke up and down before firing back.
"And I'm your brother too."
"Yet I never hear you call me 'Nii-san.'"
....