Chapter 5

"Whew… only one percent? Still too slow!"

"After I finish going through the clan's library tomorrow for more chakra refinement knowledge, I'll use a wish to enter a full epiphany state and create the perfect chakra refinement method suited for me."

"Let's accelerate this process."

Riku opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and thought to himself.

Only after he fully excavated his current chakra potential would it be time to shift toward increasing his chakra refinement speed.

And only then could he start ninjutsu training in earnest.

"Riku-chan, dinner's ready! Come out and eat!"

Just then, his mother Kokomi called out from outside.

"Coming!"

Riku responded loudly, got up, and stepped out of his room.

Before long, he arrived in the dining room.

At the table, Fugaku was already helping set the dishes.

"Yo, little bro! I heard you managed to refine chakra already? Not bad!"

"Want your big brother to teach you some ninjutsu?"

Seeing Riku, Fugaku grinned and raised his brows teasingly.

Looking at his smug face, Riku rolled his eyes. "Forget it! Are you better than Father?"

"I'll just learn from him."

"Even Mom's stronger than you."

"I could go to Sister Mikoto too, you know? Worry about yourself."

Though most Uchiha were naturally doting toward their younger siblings, for some reason, Riku had never gotten along with his big brother Fugaku.

After awakening his past life memories, Riku's opinion of Fugaku only worsened.

If it weren't for this guy, how could the Uchiha have ended up being wiped out by Itachi?

He was weak when he needed to be strong, and stubborn when he should have compromised.

He failed to raise his son and was far too naive.

To Riku, Fugaku was a terrible clan head.

In any case, now that Riku was here, he wasn't about to let Fugaku lead the clan in the future.

And even if he did, it would be under Riku's plan—on Riku's terms.

"You—!"

Fugaku's face darkened, and he glared at Riku, ready to fire back—

At that moment, Nobuhiko entered the room.

Seeing the brothers about to argue again, he sighed. "Can't you two go one day without bickering?"

"Fugaku, you're the elder brother. You need to give Riku some slack, understand?"

"Huh?"

Fugaku blinked, completely caught off guard. "Did I hear that right, Father? When have I not given in to this brat?"

"Besides, you never used to say that!"

Usually, his father would praise him and scold Riku.

After all, Fugaku had always shown greater talent than his little brother.

What was going on today?

Had the world flipped upside down?

"What do you mean 'used to' and 'today'?"

Nobuhiko's face darkened too. He shot a glance at Riku, saw that he remained calm, and then turned to glare at Fugaku.

"I've always treated you both equally."

"So what if I ask you to go easy on your brother?"

"Riku refined chakra today—he's officially started his shinobi path."

"You should help guide him when you can, understand?"

"In fact, his talent might even be a lot stronger than yours."

"Eh?"

Fugaku froze. He looked at Riku, then back at his father, disbelief written all over his face.

"Seriously? Him? More talented than me?"

"That's impossible!"

"We've done talent tests for years—unless he awakened his Sharingan today or something?"

Otherwise, how could Riku suddenly surpass him?

In the Uchiha clan, the earlier one awakened the Sharingan, the more talented they were considered.

"Sharingan?"

Nobuhiko shook his head. "Of course not. Your brother just had a breakthrough. After refining chakra, his spirit and comprehension skyrocketed. Don't overthink it."

Earlier in the day, Kokomi had already told him everything.

The two parents were delighted by Riku's explosive growth in talent.

But they'd also decided to hide the fact that he had awakened a special "bloodline limit." They would simply publicize him as a genius.

After all, it wasn't unusual for the Uchiha to produce geniuses.

"Huh?"

Fugaku looked even more confused. "Refining chakra gave him a breakthrough? Since when does chakra boost comprehension and spiritual power?"

He couldn't wrap his head around it.

Still, his parents had spoken. That meant it was real.

He couldn't help but study Riku carefully and shot him a questioning look.

Riku shrugged. "That's just how it is."

Nobuhiko and Kokomi both nodded.

"It defies logic…" Fugaku muttered, clearly annoyed and a little jealous.

"Why didn't I get that kind of lucky break?"

The two parents both chuckled.

Especially Nobuhiko—he'd suffered a huge blow earlier while teaching Riku.

"Alright, let's eat and chat!"

Kokomi called out, and the family sat down to eat.

"Heard you finished all the scrolls at home on chakra refinement and theory?"

Nobuhiko asked, side-eyeing Riku as he ate.

"Yup."

Riku nodded confidently as he scooped a bite of rice into his mouth.

"I've got photographic memory and insane comprehension, remember? Didn't take long."

"Dad, after dinner, can you give me a pass for the clan's library? I want to go through more material tomorrow."

"I'm aiming to create the most effective chakra refinement method that suits me best."

"Huh?"

All three froze, their hands pausing mid-meal, and stared at Riku.

Nobuhiko asked in disbelief, "For real? You can create something like that? Are you sure it won't mess you up?"

"You know, our clan's chakra refinement method has been perfected over thousands of years. It's already the best fit for the Uchiha."

"If you start altering that kind of thing, it could seriously harm you. Don't get reckless, alright?"

He was worried that his son, now with some talent, might start doing crazy stuff and get himself hurt.

"Relax!"

Riku calmly waved his chopsticks. "You really think I got this much chakra in just one afternoon by doing nothing?"

"I've basically mastered the Uchiha refinement technique."

"In fact, I've already started tweaking it using everything I studied this afternoon to better suit me."

"Chakra refinement isn't one-size-fits-all. Everyone's different. I won't be reckless."

If you're this shocked by a mere chakra refinement method, wait till I develop the Chakra Circulation System—your jaws are gonna hit the floor.

"What?"

Nobuhiko's heart pounded as he activated his Sharingan and placed a hand on Riku's shoulder to check.

Sure enough—his chakra levels had increased more than tenfold since midday.

He could also sense the massive growth in Riku's spiritual and life force.

Even though Kokomi had told him earlier, seeing it firsthand made his heart skip a beat.

His youngest son had truly become a super genius.

(End of Chapter)

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