"Hahaha! This is amazing!"
In the next moment, Nobuhiko burst into hearty laughter.
"My son has the potential to become Hokage! Hahaha!"
Riku, Fugaku, and Kokomi all stared at Nobuhiko with speechless expressions.
"Dad, please don't say things like that! What does having the potential to become Hokage have to do with talent in training?"
"You might as well say I have the potential to be the next Madara!"
Riku rolled his eyes and complained.
"Eh?"
Before Nobuhiko could reply, Fugaku spoke up in protest. "Why doesn't it matter?"
"Isn't becoming Hokage all about having enough strength?"
"And Madara? Let's not even compare your talent to his—you're nowhere near him;"
"Even if you were, he was a traitor to the clan. Is it really appropriate to bring him up?"
Riku was speechless at that. He looked at Fugaku and sighed. "My foolish brother... what makes you think strength alone is enough to become Hokage?"
"You really don't understand the nuances of politics and alliances, do you?"
"Yes, if you had the strength to easily suppress the entire village, then you could force your way into becoming Hokage;"
"But that kind of Hokage would bring enormous risks!"
"The major clans might outwardly comply, but inwardly, they wouldn't accept it."
"Even someone as powerful as Madara didn't have absolute dominance over the village. What makes you think someone else could?"
The ninja world isn't just about fighting—it's about politics, relationships, and strategy.
"And besides, it's one thing for outsiders to say Madara betrayed the village or the Uchiha;"
"But for you, as an Uchiha, to say and believe such a thing?"
"That just means your brain's waterlogged."
At that, Riku shook his head and looked at Fugaku as if he were a complete idiot.
"You…"
Fugaku, stunned by Riku's disdainful gaze, immediately exploded. "How am I wrong?"
"Enough, Fugaku!"
This time, Nobuhiko cut off his eldest son without hesitation.
Fugaku froze, staring at his father in confusion. "Dad, you…"
Nobuhiko stared at him sternly and said in a deep voice, "Riku is right. No matter what, as members of the Uchiha clan, we must maintain reverence for Madara-sama."
"If not for him, we wouldn't have the Uchiha we have today."
"Back then, yes, he left Konoha—but that was because he had a conflict in ideals with the First Hokage. That doesn't count as betrayal."
"As for betraying the Uchiha? That's even more baseless!"
"If anything, the Uchiha betrayed him."
"When Konoha was first founded, after years of war, our people had grown used to peace. They didn't want to go back to the chaos of wandering life, so they didn't leave with Madara-sama."
"So by any measure, he didn't betray Konoha or the clan. Do you understand now?"
Fugaku fell silent, clearly stunned. These words deeply shook the foundations of what he had always believed.
"Sigh…"
Seeing this, Nobuhiko couldn't help but sigh and say earnestly, "Unknowingly, it seems I've neglected your education."
"For you to develop such misguided ideas, and for your younger brother—three years your junior—to be more mature than you… that's my failure."
"From now on, every night I'll spend an hour personally teaching you about these things. Understood?"
He didn't want to come down too hard—Fugaku was still young after all.
But what he said today truly disappointed him.
Up until now, he had considered Fugaku his successor, someone who would one day become the next clan head.
Now, he was starting to think—maybe Riku might actually be more suited?
Either way, he decided it was time to re-focus on Fugaku's education.
At the very least, make sure he could become Riku's right-hand man in the future.
"Yes…"
Fugaku nodded blankly, still not recovered from the emotional shock.
After breakfast, Nobuhiko immediately wrote up a pass to the clan's archive and handed it to Riku.
"If you come across any problems while studying this afternoon, tell me and I'll help explain!"
Nobuhiko smiled at his son.
But ten minutes later, he wanted to slap himself.
Because after just one afternoon of studying, Riku's understanding of chakra refining techniques and chakra itself had already reached an incredibly deep level.
Just a few questions from him left Nobuhiko completely speechless, and he had to flee Riku's room awkwardly and embarrassed.
In his heart, he secretly swore—unless absolutely necessary, he'd never again offer to help Riku with training questions.
Especially if it was about chakra.
It was pure humiliation.
Still, despite the sting to his pride, Nobuhiko's heart was filled with excitement: "With talent and comprehension like this, maybe Riku really could become a peerless powerhouse like Madara-sama one day…"
"If that day really comes, could it be… could the Uchiha finally have a Hokage of our own?"
Just thinking about it made Nobuhiko's heart burn with emotion.
The Uchiha had waited far too long for one of their own to become Hokage.
Watching his father retreat in defeat, Riku simply smiled, then refocused on refining his chakra, continuing to construct energy pathways and clear his meridians.
He kept going until 8PM, only stopping when his body and chakra pathways reached their limits. Then he went to sleep.
The next morning.
Riku woke up early, washed up, and began his basic taijutsu training.
He didn't immediately show off the martial arts training method he had developed. Instead, he followed the traditional Uchiha basic body training routine.
Because it wasn't the right time yet. He needed a proper excuse for introducing "martial arts."
Today's visit to the clan archive would be the perfect opportunity.
He could look into the clan's taijutsu information and later use that as a pretense for demonstrating martial arts.
Eventually, he even planned to pass on the martial arts method to his parents.
As for his big brother Fugaku?
He'd wait and see.
After his morning training, Riku had breakfast with his family. Then, accompanied by his father, he headed to the clan's archive.
Nobuhiko had a quick word with an elder guarding the archive, and Riku was granted access.
"I've spoken to Elder Zen. From now on, you're free to come here on your own to study relevant materials!"
"But for now, you're only allowed access to information related to chakra refining techniques and some historical records. Got it?"
Inside the archive, Nobuhiko reminded Riku.
"But—"
Riku immediately interrupted. "Father, aside from chakra refining techniques, I'd also like to study information about taijutsu, even if it's just the basics!"
"Also, are there any books here about medical ninjutsu and medical knowledge? I want to learn that too!"
"Oh! And I need books on meditation methods and anything about the Sharingan."
"I think my understanding of the human body isn't deep enough yet;"
"Learning more about it will help me develop better chakra refining techniques and even taijutsu;"
"As for meditation and the Sharingan, I want to see if I can improve or even create a new method of eye awakening. Is that okay?"
Clearly, chakra refining alone was no longer enough to satisfy Riku.
"This…"
Nobuhiko was momentarily stunned. "That's a lot… can you really handle it all?"
"And trying to create a new Sharingan awakening method? Isn't that a little too far-fetched?"
"Trust me, Father!"
Riku said seriously.
(End of Chapter)
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