The longest night for the Uchiha had passed.
Throughout this night, most of the Uchiha combat personnel hadn't slept.
Starting from when Itachi was ambushed, then forcibly brainwashed by Rengoku, then went to snatch back Shisui's eyes, heavily injuring Danzo.
Rengoku ambushed Obito, then led the clansmen to confront Konoha.
The Great Elder threw mud at Danzo, forcefully retorted Konoha, then after returning to hold a meeting, laid out the strategic direction moving forward.
After laying down all these plans, dawn was already breaking.
Rengoku even specifically had a chat with Itachi.
Now, as he walked back home, there was a trace of fatigue on his face.
Opening the door, he saw his younger sister Ryuri sitting in a wheelchair in the courtyard waiting for him.
Behind Ryuri stood another person.
It was Rengoku's childhood friend, Uchiha Kaori.
"Big brother...", Ryuri saw Rengoku had returned, and her face bloomed with a smile.
"You're back, my respected Fo…Eld…Elder…sir!", Kaori asked Rengoku in a strange tone.
Ryuri beside her covered her mouth and giggled. Clearly, she had also found out.
Rengoku chuckled speechlessly. Although he had been a squad leader before, he was still far from being an elder.
During peacetime, the Uchiha generally did not increase the number of elders.
But Rengoku had somehow obtained this position.
Rengoku had silently given Kaori and Ryuri a big surprise.
Kaori lost her parents when she was very young and basically ate at Rengoku's house.
She was also a combatant with decent talent. During the Nine-Tails chaos, she had already awakened her Sharingan.
However, in the following years, because she had to take care of Ryuri, she basically didn't go on missions.
Kaori was tall. Except for her slightly youthful face, she didn't look like she was the same age as Rengoku.
Kaori had a cheerful and generous personality, but was very gentle and attentive toward Ryuri.
The three of them got along like a family.
Rengoku was the only pillar of the household. Apart from the household being a relatively large expense in the past, he was also preparing to save money in the future to regenerate Ryuri's limbs.
Although that seemed far away to him, he didn't want to miss the opportunity due to a lack of money.
Kaori sacrificed herself to take care of Ryuri, so Rengoku also had to consider Kaori.
That's why Rengoku had been desperately taking on missions.
But now, Rengoku was different. He knew more and had a broader vision.
As for Ryuri's physical problem, he already had a draft of a solution in mind.
Facing Kaori's joke, Rengoku responded with a smile, "I accidentally had a breakthrough, so I was promoted to elder out of rank."
"The stipend will increase a lot from now on, and our life will be much better."
Kaori waved her hand, "Who wants to listen to your nonsense? Go wash up, you stink."
Rengoku shook his head and, under his sister Ryuri's giggles, went to wash up first.
———
Rengoku exhaled a breath in the water. Soaking in a bath was indeed comfortable, it made his whole body feel much more relaxed.
His eyes were a bit excited, 'The fourth star, what exactly is it?'
After talking with Itachi for so long, their bond had reached four stars.
Rengoku clicked on the fourth star of Itachi on the template.
["Ding, Uchiha Itachi's level 4 bond has been unlocked."]
["Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Uchiha Itachi's pupil power."]
Immediately, a vast amount of pupil power surged into Rengoku's eyes, making his eyes feel a wave of coolness.
So much pupil power poured in directly, Rengoku's pupil power upper limit also skyrocketed.
"Hiss… Hoo…", Rengoku exhaled lightly.
Rengoku calculated slightly, 'This is probably all of Itachi's pupil power.'
Now Rengoku's pupil power was not only undiminished, but even more than double Itachi's.
The improvement was incredibly fast.
It was not in vain that he had worked so hard to save Itachi.
'The fourth star is all of the pupil power. For those who don't have pupil power, could it be chakra?'
'But come to think of it, it seems that except for those named characters from the original timeline—'
'Other people's bonds can't reach that many stars.'
'Is it a matter of strength, or a matter of the character?'
After making it through the Clan Extermination Night, Rengoku began thinking carefully, 'Aside from preserving the Uchiha clan and making Ryuri happy—'
'What level should I reach?'
'Although this world has Sasuke and Naruto to serve as the ultimate insurance, getting through one disaster after another wouldn't be a problem.'
'However,'
'I am here.'
A light called ambition flashed in Rengoku's eyes.
'To cross over and not make it big is a loss.'
'With such a strong clan as backing, Uchiha ruling this world is perfectly reasonable.'
Rengoku slowly exhaled. Tonight, he had basically figured out the bond template.
As the saying goes, bonds should be cultivated from an early age.
This world had no shortage of geniuses, and he wouldn't let a single one slip by.
Also, his Mangekyō Sharingan, the clone made by his left eye wasn't just a shadow clone that could shadow-slip.
It had to be combined with the ability of his right eye to be complete.
The ability of his right eye, Fate Command.
He could fill the clone with anything without limit.
Chakra, pupil power, flesh and blood, soul…
This was a seemingly simple skill, but it had an extremely low floor and an extremely high ceiling.
It all depended on how he used it.
The current situation of the Uchiha was still a bit dangerous.
But, the genius abduction plan also needed to proceed simultaneously.
———
After finishing up, Rengoku walked to the living room while drying his hair.
The breakfast was already set on the table.
"Why did your bath take so long? The food's gone cold," Kaori complained a bit.
Rengoku played it off, "Sorry, I was a bit tired and dozed off."
Kaori snorted, "Then… go sleep a bit after you eat."
Rengoku sat down at the table, "Where's Ryuri?"
Kaori gently shook her head, "She's feeding fish in the yard."
While eating, Rengoku said, "Kaori, Ryuri has now stabilized."
"I've now been promoted to elder, and the family expenses are covered."
"I can hire someone to take care of Ryuri, you can go be a ninja."
Kaori showed a hint of reluctance, then said casually, "Sigh, I'm no match for a genius like you. Missions are dangerous and tiring, better not."
Rengoku's mind flashed with many past memories, and he said softly, "These years, I've troubled you. Thank you, Kaori."
Rengoku's tone was sincere.
But Kaori didn't buy it. She waved her hand, "What's with the formal talk? We're family. Taking care of Ryuri makes me happy."
Rengoku also chuckled, "If that's the case, then you decide for yourself."
"If you want to be a ninja, I'll find someone to guide you."
"It just so happens that the clansmen can't go on missions lately. Now's a good time."
As the two were talking, a gaze passed through the window, looking at the two of them.
Ryuri, feeding fish in the courtyard, slowly scattered the feed into the small pond.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
'Big brother is back. Everything will be fine now.'
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