Chapter 69: This Wave Is a Failed Attempt at Acting Cool Only to Get Slapped
"...Calm down. If Hinata and Hanabi hear all this noise and come over, they'll think we're fighting in the study."
The dark room was a total mess—papers and scrolls scattered everywhere, shards of broken glass from light tubes littering the floor. That was all that remained of a desk lamp, which had been violently kicked aside.
It was rare to see Hiashi Hyuga this agitated. He stood there, breathing heavily, visibly trying to suppress his anger. Ryosuke, arms raised slightly in a calming gesture, tried to defuse the tension with words rather than more chaos.
Using his Byakugan, Ryosuke could see that Hinata, who was playing with Hanabi on the other side of the main house, had already noticed the commotion. Fortunately, she didn't come over, just looked around confusedly.
"You threw yourself into danger the very first time you left the village. How am I supposed to stay calm after that? You think I can ever let you leave the village again after this?" Hiashi panted, his years of stoic self-control seemingly tossed out the window.
Still, he held back from smashing more things—probably because he realized the girls might hear and get upset.
Truthfully, it had been years since he'd gotten this angry. But even now, he couldn't bring himself to raise a hand against Ryosuke.
After a moment of hesitation, Ryosuke spoke again, trying to reason with him.
"Father, with my current strength, no ordinary ninja can stop me."
"Still so damn arrogant!"
Hiashi shot him a fierce glare, ready to keep scolding—but then paused, remembering the terrifying strength Ryosuke displayed during his last transformation.
"...Don't worry, Father. I think carefully before doing anything."
Hiashi opened his mouth but couldn't find the words. Ryosuke seized the chance and continued, his tone softening.
"If it's not something critical, I can handle it myself. I don't want to bother you with every little thing. I need to grow—Hinata and Hanabi do too. Eventually, we all have to stand on our own."
"...So you're saying I should stop caring? That you're sick of having a father now?"
Hiashi let out a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
"So what then? If you didn't need me to help find those clansmen, you were just gonna keep all this a secret? Pretend nothing ever happened?"
Ryosuke scratched his head awkwardly, smiling wryly. "I just figured… there was no need to trouble you."
Saying that made him feel oddly conflicted.
Not just Hinata, but even he had changed since becoming part of this family. Normally, he'd never speak in such a soft, thoughtful tone. But now…
"Tch."
Hiashi snorted and looked down at him. Ryosuke was only half a head shorter, but the air was heavy with tension.
"Tell me clearly—what are you going to do with the bodies of those three Uchiha? You know damn well how sensitive that name still is in the village. If anyone finds out, it'll be a disaster."
"I know," Ryosuke nodded. "That's why I picked a few trustworthy clansmen. But… it wouldn't be right for me to call them directly."
He stopped there, choosing not to say more.
Silence followed. Neither of them spoke.
Hiashi looked at him for a long time. Though Ryosuke never answered directly about what he planned to do with the Uchiha corpses, Hiashi didn't press further.
"You're not going anywhere for now," he said coldly. "You're staying in the village—at least until you two graduate."
That made Ryosuke panic a little.
"No, come on—you know my strength's already at least on par with a jonin. You really don't have to worry about me so much…"
This was what he feared most: that Hiashi would lock him down after finding out the truth.
If this had happened right after he arrived in this world, he probably wouldn't care what Hiashi thought. He would've just left the village if he needed to.
But now… things were different. He couldn't just ignore his father's opinion.
"There's no room for negotiation."
Hiashi cut him off sharply.
"I can't control you when you're outside the village. But here, you listen to me. Even if you're as strong as a jonin, what happens if you run into someone stronger—an elite jonin or beyond?"
His voice turned stern, final.
"Unless you can defeat me and prove I can't control you, you're not leaving this village. I won't allow you to take any more dangerous risks."
Ryosuke blinked in disbelief, then smiled bitterly.
"…Alright."
He hesitated, then added, "But… really? There's no room for discussion at all?"
"No discussion."
Hiashi clenched his fists.
"If you came to me just for this, then leave. Oh—and find Aliang for me. Tell her to send a few people to clean up this mess."
"…Got it."
Ryosuke replied helplessly and walked out of the study.
He kept a poker face until he reached the courtyard. Then he couldn't help but chuckle.
"You totally believe in my ability, so why be so stubborn about it…"
Hiashi's attitude was obvious.
Smiling to himself, he headed toward the other side of the house, where Aliang was playing with Hinata and Hanabi. Time to pass on the message.
Back in the dark study, silence returned after Ryosuke left.
After a long pause, Hiashi sighed quietly in the darkness.
"It's not that I don't want to give him freedom… it's that I no longer have the power to stop him…"
---
The Next Day
When Ryosuke and the others arrived at the Academy the next morning, they were immediately greeted by a whirlwind of chatter—almost everyone was talking about Naruto applying for early graduation.
In the elite class, most students had seen Naruto in action during the combat assessment. They were convinced of his strength, so news of his early graduation wasn't all that surprising.
But the regular class was a different story.
They hadn't seen Naruto fight at all—and to them, he was still the "dead-last" loser. So instead of admiration, most of them just mocked him.
After all, from their perspective, this was just another cliché—some nobody suddenly making a comeback. The kind of typical male protagonist who goes from zero to hero in one dramatic twist.
Basically, they were treating him like a joke before the punchline hit.
What they didn't know was that the "punchline" was coming fast—Naruto was going to pass the graduation exam and completely shut them up.
That would've been the perfect "face slap" moment… except something unexpected happened.
Another bombshell dropped.
"Did you hear? Uchiha Sasuke came back to school and acknowledged Naruto's strength. He admitted Naruto's now number one in the grade. And get this—he's applying for early graduation too. He said once he becomes an official ninja, he's going to challenge Naruto head-on."
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