So...
Where is this place again?
Uzumaki Jun looked confusedly at the small lake in front of him. Such a big clan, yet he hadn't run into a single person?
What was going on?
Had the Uchiha clan all gone into seclusion to train?
And...
That little girl was really rude!
She just brought a guest into her home and then disappeared?
However, Uzumaki Jun didn't know that the girl was currently filled with regret!
She had forgotten...
To ask the little boy's name. Wait, no—the real problem was...
That little boy had gotten lost!
He was already so old, couldn't he have just followed her?
Uchiha Mikoto's face showed frustration. What would happen if the clan head found out she had carelessly brought someone in?
She would definitely be punished!
But...
Where had he gone?
...
"Who are you?"
Just as Uzumaki Jun was about to head back to the gate to ask the guards, a voice suddenly spoke up behind him. Uzumaki Jun felt a surge of emotion inside...
Finally, someone appeared!
He turned around and saw a boy who looked about seven years old, with a handsome face but a cold expression...
He just looked a bit emotionless!
"Oh, hello!" Uzumaki Jun quickly said. Since he was visiting someone else's home, it was best to be polite!
"Who exactly are you?" The Uchiha boy frowned and asked. A seven-year-old child? Had he wandered in here by accident?
What were the guards at the gate doing?
Hadn't they noticed him?
And...
That spiral crest...
Was there a clan like that in Konoha?
"Uh—" Uzumaki Jun thought for a moment and said, "Someone brought me in."
Someone?
Was he a friend of one of the clan's children?
But...
"Who?" The Uchiha boy asked with the same blank expression. How could someone bring a friend home and then disappear?
He didn't remember the Uchiha being so lacking in manners!
"Sigh!" Uzumaki Jun sighed helplessly and said, "That's not the point. The point is I..."
"Got lost!"
"..."
The Uchiha boy's forehead twitched. He could see that he was lost. The Uchiha compound was so big—of course someone unfamiliar with it would get lost. That's why he was asking who had brought him in, so he could take him back!
"Who let you in?" The Uchiha boy frowned impatiently.
"..."
Hearing this, Uzumaki Jun didn't dare to reveal Uchiha Mikoto's name. What if she got punished? No matter what, she had brought him in, so he owed her for that.
"What do you want?" Uzumaki Jun asked warily. Were the Uchiha really this unfriendly?
Did they not welcome outsiders?
"To take you back to them." The Uchiha boy said flatly.
"..."
Oh, so that's how it was!
It seemed he had misunderstood. Even though the Uchiha had cold, expressionless faces, they...
Were actually quite hospitable!
"That's not necessary." Uzumaki Jun smiled and said, "I'd like to see your clan head. Can you announce me?"
Since he had finally run into someone, now was the best time to ask for directions.
"Why do you want to see the clan head?" The Uchiha boy frowned. A random little boy suddenly appearing and asking to see the clan head...
Had someone from the clan flipped his parents' stall and arrested them, and now he was here to plead for mercy?
"What are your parents' names?"
"Huh??" Uzumaki Jun was completely baffled by the Uchiha boy's question. Did he need to introduce his parents just to see the Uchiha clan head?
This wasn't a matchmaking session!
"Never mind." The Uchiha boy sighed when he saw Uzumaki Jun's confusion. "Just tell me your name."
This kid was probably just a civilian, afraid to mention his parents' names...
This wasn't a parent-teacher meeting!
"..."
So what exactly was the meaning of this?
Uzumaki Jun looked at the expressionless Uchiha in confusion. First, he asked for his parents' names, and now his own?
"What about you?" Uzumaki Jun asked cautiously. Was this guy...
"..."
The Uchiha's forehead twitched as he looked at this annoying kid. Finally...
"Uchiha Fugaku!" The Uchiha said impatiently.
"..."
Uzumaki Jun froze. What had he just said??
"What did you say?"
"Uchiha Fugaku!" Seeing the kid's stunned expression, Uchiha Fugaku nodded in satisfaction. So this kid had heard of the name of the Uchiha heir!
The Uchiha name was indeed famous in Konoha!
Wait...
What kind of day was this??
Had he just run into Sasuke's parents?
"Brother!" Uzumaki Jun sighed and said, "In the future, make sure to care more for your children. Don't push them too hard in ninja training, and make sure to teach them about life."
"You need to cultivate their worldview, values, and outlook on life from a young age. Otherwise..."
"Once they hit their rebellious phase, things could get messy."
"..."
Uchiha Fugaku's forehead twitched as he stared at this kid who was spouting nonsense. He couldn't understand a single word of it. Annoyed, he said, "Just tell me your name!"
"Uzumaki Jun!" Uzumaki Jun said helplessly. "Don't ignore what I just said, or you might end up with a family tragedy!"
After all, the infamous "mother-imprisoning incident" that shocked the ninja world still hadn't been resolved!
"Uzumaki... A member of the Uzumaki Clan!!" Uchiha Fugaku immediately became wary, staring at the little boy. He wasn't wearing a Konoha headband, but on his clothes...
A spiral crest!
So he really was from the Uzumaki Clan. But...
"Why has the Uzumaki Clan come here?" Uchiha Fugaku stared at the seven-year-old boy cautiously, scanning the surroundings to confirm no one else was around before relaxing slightly. It seemed it was just this kid.
"I already said, I came to talk to your clan head—oh, right now, that's your father—about the future!" Uzumaki Jun said helplessly.
"But talking to you works too!"
After all, it wasn't like the Uchiha Clan would follow him back to Uzushiogakure now. And even if they dared, Uzumaki Jun wouldn't dare let them!
"Here, take this!" Uzumaki Jun pulled out a pre-written recruitment letter, tied it to a kunai, and tossed it over, saying, "You can read it yourself."
But...
When Uchiha Fugaku saw a kunai flying toward him, he immediately drew his own kunai and...
"Clang!!"
Uzumaki Jun's kunai was deflected and ended up...
Stuck in a rock by the lake.
Uchiha Fugaku took two steps back, staring intently at the little boy. He had actually thrown a kunai at an Uchiha??
Did he not know the Uchiha were unrivaled in kunai throwing?
Just as he was about to show him what real kunai throwing looked like...
Uzumaki Jun looked speechlessly at his deflected kunai. Did he really have to be so scared?? It seemed the Uchiha had grown so insecure under Konoha's long-term oppression. He sighed and said, "Just pull it out and read it yourself!"
"I'll be leaving now!"
Then...
"Space-Time Ninjutsu!!" Uchiha Fugaku's hand, which had been about to throw a kunai, froze. He stared in shock at the spot where Uzumaki Jun had just been...
"This kid..."
"Who is he??"