Naruto: About the Fact That my Brother is Madara-Chapter 275: I Am Your Father

And it was only then that a deeper understanding dawned on him.

His father had never looked down on him. Not even once.

The relentless training, the constant teasing and challenges—when he looked back, he realized they had always been acts of faith. They were proof that his father had seen his potential and believed in his effort and determination.

Now that he had a daughter of his own, Haruto finally understood the weight and warmth of that trust.

And though he had come to this realization far too late, he couldn't help but feel that perhaps it was better this way. Some lessons, after all, were too profound to grasp until one stood in the shoes of a parent.

Still, a small part of him wished he could have remained blissfully ignorant, if it meant his father would still be there.

"What's the matter?" Kurama Jun asked from beside him, his voice laced with quiet concern.

Haruto was no ordinary shinobi. He was the one chosen to inherit the Will of Fire from their teacher, destined to become the Third Hokage.

Jun had once compared himself to Haruto. It was only natural. No one liked admitting they were weaker. He had wanted to stand as Haruto's equal, both in strength and in skill.

But somewhere along the way, that feeling had changed.

It was probably from the moment Haruto had decisively defeated Senju Tobirama, the genius of the Senju clan.

That battle had awakened Jun to the truth: he wasn't meant to compete with Haruto. He was meant to support him. To help him become the greatest Hokage in the history of the village.

Even if the path ahead was steep and uncertain, Jun had resolved to walk it. Though politics and diplomacy were never his forte, he had, under his father's guidance, begun to study and understand the workings of governance.

In short, Kurama Jun had made up his mind. He would become the right hand Haruto could always count on.

Others might not notice when Haruto was feeling off, but Jun could sense it immediately.

"It's nothing," Haruto replied with a slight shake of his head. He himself didn't quite understand why his heart had felt so restless lately.

"Maybe I'm just tired," he thought, brushing the feeling aside.

Their mission this time was to investigate a mystery linked to Hōzuki Castle.

Years ago, his father had fought a battle against a terrible monster here. That clash had completely reduced the prison to ruins. Even the fabled Box of Ultimate Bliss had been utterly destroyed.

Now, the town had been rebuilt. And yet, shockingly, someone had attempted to restore the box.

Even though its ability to grant wishes had long been exposed as a lie, that hadn't stopped the ambitious from clinging to the hope of harnessing its power.

For many, controlling such a terrifying beast was far too tempting to ignore.

Yayoi, however, had understood their motives. The Village Hidden in the Grass was small and largely unknown. In their desperation to grow stronger, it was only natural they would take such risks.

But what concerned her more deeply was the possibility that the Shinobi Sect might be involved. That was why she had dispatched none other than Uchiha Haruto, their "special-grade combat power," to handle the matter.

With the might of his powerful dōjutsu, it didn't matter whether or not the Shinobi Sect had a hand in this affair. Haruto alone was enough to resolve anything that lurked within Hōzuki Castle.

What? Konohagakure had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of Village Hidden in the Grass?

If collusion with the Shinobi Sect was proven, then Konoha had every legal right to send shinobi to investigate and gather evidence.

After all, Konoha had emerged as the sole victor of the First Great Ninja War. It had already become the undisputed overlord of the shinobi world.

And as for the Shinobi Sect? Years of carefully crafted "public guidance" had turned them into a universal enemy.

At least, that was the perception within the Land of Fire.

What other nations thought? Konoha's leadership didn't care. Their voices simply couldn't reach the ears of those in power.

And if someone dared to refuse Konoha's "friendly advice"...?

That was easy to deal with. Just ask the twenty thousand Konoha shinobi stationed nearby if they approved of your stubbornness.

Where there is might, there is no room for justice.

"Remember, try to keep your actions discreet." That was the advice Yayoi had given him before he left.

She was still the boss, and Haruto had accepted her words with genuine humility.

If he disobeyed, his mother might scold him gently. But Yayoi? She would not hesitate to beat some sense into him.

Even though Haruto now had the reputation of being the strongest shinobi in the village, in her presence, he was still just a kid who needed looking after.

A troublesome kind of happiness, but happiness nonetheless.

"According to the intel, the reconstructed Box of Ultimate Bliss is most likely hidden within the secret lab beneath the watchtower," Kurama Jun reminded him.

He had even prepared several contingency plans to handle any unexpected developments within the castle.

But just as he was about to capture a potential informant, a wave of overwhelming heat suddenly washed over him.

Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique!

From Haruto's mouth burst a blazing orb of molten rock, its temperature far surpassing that of most Fire Release techniques.

By meticulously studying the notes his father had left behind and training for years, Haruto had finally mastered Lava Release.

The destructive power of lava was overwhelming. With it, he no longer needed to rely on other lethal ninjutsu.

Jun, however, was baffled. Why would Haruto suddenly hurl a sphere of lava?

To this, Uchiha Haruto gave a perfectly reasonable answer.

"Since we're going to end up fighting anyway, we might as well strike first."

"...Makes sense."

What appeared to be a sturdy watchtower crumbled like paper in the face of Lava Release.

And the secret chamber?

Once the outer layers of camouflage had disintegrated, secrecy was no longer even a consideration.

With a loud crash, the heavily damaged Box of Ultimate Bliss tumbled to the ground before them, cracks running through its every surface.

Haruto's gaze sharpened. With measured calm, he slowly drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist.

"So it really exists... Those Grass shinobi are bolder than I expected."

Meanwhile, the guards of Hōzuki Castle, alerted by the explosion, surged toward their location like a flood.

Upon seeing this, Kurama Jun let out a resigned sigh and stepped forward. Wielding his blade like a paintbrush, he used the air as his canvas to compose a haunting masterpiece—a portrait of elegant slaughter.

When it came to dealing with weaklings, not even two Harutos working together could match Jun's efficiency.

With just a flick of his hand, any enemy who stepped within a kilometer radius fell instantly into an unbreakable illusion.

In the face of his power, sheer numbers meant nothing.

"Well, perhaps this works out in our favor," Jun mused. "A riot in Hōzuki Castle will instantly raise the mission's threat level. That should boost Haruto's reputation quite a bit."

As he sensed the souls trapped within his genjutsu struggling helplessly, Jun's gaze turned cold. In a low, emotionless murmur, he spoke to himself:

"As for the enemy... let half of them die. It will serve as a sufficient warning."

The moment the words left his lips, his blade cleaved downward with merciless force. In an instant, the lives of more than seventy guards within a kilometer were extinguished.

The genjutsu of the Kurama clan had long transcended ordinary illusion. It was an art capable of turning imagination into reality.

While others afflicted by genjutsu might suffer only mental trauma, in his case, the mind was not merely damaged. It was annihilated. Death arrived swiftly, without reprieve.

"Hōzuki Castle," he muttered, twirling his blade in a graceful arc before flicking his arm outward. "There's no longer any need for it to be rebuilt."

A beam of black light shot into the heavens, splitting the sky like a gash in the fabric of reality.

Meanwhile, Haruto, who had just melted the metal box into a pool of molten iron, turned around. His eyes landed on his companion's face, now twisted with murderous intent.

As he looked up at the sky, where dark clouds were beginning to gather, Haruto sensed what was to come. A dreadful storm was brewing. One so violent it would not merely destroy Hōzuki Castle, but might erase the entire island from existence.

This too was genjutsu, though of a different kind. Kurama Jun used his own body as a medium, drawing the forces of nature into his illusion and bending the world itself to his will.

The principle resembled the beguiling illusions of the kitsune, but the execution was far more refined. It surpassed them in both precision and scale.

Even Uchiha Kochou, a master of illusion herself, could not help but offer praise. She remarked that Kurama Jun's genjutsu was a true manifestation of "rule-type" power—one that rewrote the very laws of the world.

"Let's go." Kurama Jun, who only moments ago had intended to dissuade further violence, now bore a face filled with unrestrained malice. His ruthlessness was so extreme that even Haruto found himself momentarily stunned.

In a strange twist of emotion, it was Haruto, who had never shied away from bloodshed, who now felt a flicker of sympathy for the few guards who had somehow survived.

Perhaps those who had fallen swiftly under the illusion were the truly fortunate ones.

Not long after, the terrifying storm arrived, just as predicted.

Within the span of half a day, the once-inhabited island was erased from the map. Hōzuki Castle and all its legacy were reduced to ash, becoming nothing more than a footnote in the history of the shinobi world.

When word of the incident reached Kusagakure, their response was silence. Just as expected.

Even the great Shinobi Sect, which operated behind the scenes, made no move in retaliation. It was as though they had been struck with fear, cowed by the overwhelming dominance of Konohagakure.

From the looks of it, the shinobi world now belonged to Konoha alone.

"It seems... he's about to begin," said Yayoi, standing within the Hokage Tower. She held a cup of water in her hands, her eyes calm and unshaken, as if nothing in the world could stir her emotions.

"Pretentious," came the curt judgment from Uchiha Kochou, who stood at her side.

Yet despite her scornful words, she found herself agreeing with the sentiment.

The Shinobi Sect had enjoyed their moment in the sun for far too long. It was time to sweep away these meddlesome fleas once and for all.

Now that Lord Kyōsuke had returned, it signaled the beginning of a grand campaign to unify the fractured Shinobi Sect under one banner.

Within the daimyō's estate, more than three thousand skilled administrative officials had long been on standby, prepared to take over any territory seized during the war.

As long as the conquest succeeded, the newly occupied lands would be integrated without delay.

The shinobi world had to unite. Only through unity could they face the looming threat from beyond the stars.

The concept of a joint military alliance carried too much risk. A centralized system under Konoha's control was far more efficient, far more stable.

The Shinobi Sect had always been fond of shouting slogans.

Very well, then. This time, the operation would be given a name worthy of its ambition: "Project Dawn."

It would not be limited to warfare alone. Konoha would launch a full-scale confrontation against the enemy on all fronts—economic, political, social. Every sphere of life would become a battlefield.

The goal was to completely crush the forces of resistance. There would be no dragging this into a prolonged, aimless tug-of-war. That would only drain the strength of the entire shinobi world.

From this moment forward, Konoha would represent the entire realm of shinobi.

Any damage to the village's interests would equate to a loss for the world as a whole. And there was nothing wrong with saying so.

The following morning, Haruto and his squad began their journey home.

They moved slowly for a simple reason. Haruto needed to buy a gift for his daughter.

It had to be a toy unique to the Land of Grass. Anything else would simply not do. His chubby little princess would surely throw a tantrum if he failed to meet her expectations.

He winced slightly at the memory of her terrifying sound-based outbursts. Just thinking about them made his head throb.

Cradling a cute stuffed bear in his arms, he walked at a leisurely pace toward the rendezvous point, pondering his daughter's preferences along the way.

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed from the distance.

His expression tightened. "Damn it."

In a flash, he picked up speed.

The sound had come from the direction of the meeting point with his companions.

Kurama Jun was a monstrous force. Nearly all his enemies were obliterated in a matter of seconds. If someone managed to survive beyond that instant, it usually meant his companions were now in danger.

But what Haruto could not understand was how something could go wrong in such a short span of time.

From the moment he heard the clash to the time he arrived, no more than ten seconds had passed.

How could his allies have been so quickly and thoroughly defeated?

Before him stood a masked figure clad in black. Haruto's eyes turned cold, and he raised his blade, the tip aimed straight at the man's heart.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

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"I'm your father," the black-clad figure replied without hesitation.

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