Naruto: The Shadow of Uchiha

The next morning, Ryosuke got up early.

With Kurenai now pregnant, they hadn't been intimate at all the night before.

As a result, all the energy surging through his enhanced body had nowhere to go. His increased physical stats were accompanied by an intensified physical drive.

Clearly, he needed another outlet—or possibly another woman.

Unfortunately, he hadn't yet found a suitable candidate.

For now, the only thing he could do was burn off the tension through intense morning training.

He made his way to the small forest beside the Uchiha compound—a place he often used for physical drills. There, he began his workout to raise his base physical stats.

After several minutes of running laps through the trees, a familiar figure stepped in front of him.

It was Uchiha Inaho, though he looked somewhat haggard.

Inaho waved him down, and Ryosuke came to a stop.

"Something wrong?" Ryosuke asked.

Inaho scratched his head awkwardly.

"Ryosuke… is there some kind of trick to training the Eight Gates? I've been working at it for days and still haven't even opened the First Gate."

He truly had been working hard—he'd even passed out from the pain several times.

But no matter how hard he pushed himself, progress was nonexistent.

Ryosuke gave him a look.

Did Inaho think the Eight Gates were that easy?

Even he, with his enhanced physique and cheat systems, had needed over three months to reach the Fifth Gate.

"The secret to the Eight Gates," Ryosuke said bluntly, "is not being afraid of pain, not being afraid of fatigue, and training with persistence. You'll improve, eventually."

Inaho understood what Ryosuke was implying—there were no shortcuts, just hard work.

But Ryosuke had grown so fast. Surely he had some trick?

"…Ryosuke," Inaho pressed, "is there… any shortcut? Something to speed up the training process?"

Ryosuke looked at him again. He understood what this was really about: envy.

Yes, he had grown quickly, but that was thanks to his system and his naturally powerful body. Of course, he couldn't just say that outright.

So instead, he replied:

"Well… if there's a shortcut, it's this—continuously refining your chakra and using it to impact the chakra limiters in your body."

"But be warned. Doing this is risky. At best, you'll pass out. At worst… you could suffer permanent brain damage."

Inaho's face paled slightly.

So that's what Ryosuke had been doing?

He'd definitely passed out before. But brain damage… that was too high a risk.

He made up his mind then and there to slow down his Eight Gates training. It was clear Ryosuke's rapid growth came at a price.

At the same time, he felt an even deeper respect for Ryosuke.

He really is the one who'll lead the radical faction of the Uchiha in the future.

Their current leader, the Eighth Elder, was excellent—but raw strength commanded respect.

Especially now—Ryosuke was already formidable with only taijutsu.

If he learns the clan's Sharingan-based genjutsu techniques… he'll be nearly unstoppable.

Inaho recalled how Ryosuke's visual prowess—his Sharingan—had surpassed his own long ago.

If Ryosuke used genjutsu, his illusions would likely be on par with even Shisui Uchiha, who was famed for his Kotoamatsukami.

Thinking of this, he encouraged Ryosuke:

"Ryosuke, your taijutsu is already incredible. If you also master the Uchiha clan's Sharingan genjutsu, you'll be even stronger."

After all, legendary geniuses like Itachi and Shisui specialized in genjutsu.

Ryosuke paused, thoughtful.

It was true—his hand-to-hand combat was unmatched. Even the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, could be suppressed in a close-range fight.

But taijutsu had an obvious weakness: range.

Sure, he knew Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, but even with his talent, it was hard to hit fast-moving enemies at a distance.

Genjutsu, however, was different.

As long as his eyes met the enemy's, and his visual prowess was strong enough, the illusion would take effect—effortlessly.

Yes, he thought. It's time I start learning genjutsu. It's a fundamental skill any elite ninja should master.

He turned to Inaho.

"You're right. I should start training in genjutsu seriously."

Inaho was delighted to hear it.

Ryosuke becoming stronger meant their radical faction would gain more influence.

There was now real hope for restoring the glory of the Uchiha clan.

"I'll head back, then," Inaho said. "I've still got work to do."

Unlike Ryosuke, he still had day-to-day responsibilities.

Ryosuke nodded.

He knew what to do next: get his hands on some genjutsu scrolls.

Luckily, that wouldn't be a problem—his grandfather was the Eighth Elder, one of the Uchiha clan's most respected figures. Surely he had access to all the clan's secret techniques.

There was nothing to worry about.

For now, Ryosuke returned to his physical training to raise his stats further.

…

Later that afternoon, Ryosuke made his way to the family estate to find his grandfather.

Though his grandfather was largely retired from clan affairs, he remained a wise and powerful elder.

Seeing his grandson approach, the old man smiled.

"What brings you here today?"

He had watched Ryosuke's growth with pride. At first, he'd worried Ryosuke's harsh training with Might Guy would injure him. But when nothing bad happened, and Ryosuke only grew stronger, he had been overjoyed.

He even felt a sense of gratitude toward Might Guy for helping his grandson grow.

Ryosuke came straight to the point.

"Grandpa, I want to learn the clan's Sharingan genjutsu techniques. You know them, right?"

The elder's brow furrowed.

Of course he knew them. But the clan's Sharingan-based illusions weren't something anyone could learn just because they had awakened the dōjutsu.

You ideally needed a three-tomoe Sharingan, and strong chakra control.

"I don't think it's necessary for you to learn those techniques right now," he said cautiously.

"You've only awakened one tomoe. Even if you learn them, the power will be weak—practically useless."

In response, Ryosuke simply activated his Sharingan.

His eyes turned blood red, and three tomoe spun around each pupil.

The elder was stunned.

Three tomoe?!

This had to be a mistake.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking it might be his aging vision.

But no—it was clear. Ryosuke's eyes were crimson, and the tomoe spun with intimidating intensity.

The color of the Sharingan was even deeper than usual—proof of powerful visual prowess.

No wonder his grandson wanted to study genjutsu.

Wasting such potent eyes would be a tragedy.

A wide grin spread across the old man's face.

"Excellent. Excellent! Wait right here—I'll get you the scrolls."

A short while later, the elder returned from deep within the compound holding a stack of genjutsu scrolls.

"Here you go," he said. "These are all the Uchiha clan's genjutsu techniques."

Ryosuke took them carefully, unrolling one after another to see what formidable illusions his clan had passed down.

He was eager to see what kind of elite techniques were hidden inside.

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