Sasuke had no idea what Ethan was thinking. Exhausted, he gradually calmed down. Although he still wore a sullen expression, the murderous aura that made it seem like someone owed him a fortune had disappeared.

After a while, Sasuke seemed to return to normal.

"Can you make me stronger?"

"Yes."

Ethan withdrew his long whip. The emerald-green whip, which looked like a vine, slowly disappeared, making Sasuke glance at it several more times without realizing. He was curious. What kind of ninjutsu was that? Was it plant-based?

"Stronger than that person?"

"If you truly have the determination to become stronger, then there's nothing you can't achieve."

Sasuke was like a firecracker covered in fuses. Ethan's casual words, without knowing which fuse they touched, suddenly set him off again.

"Aren't you injured too? Why are you so confident?"

Ethan looked at Sasuke and suddenly understood. In Sasuke's heart, Uchiha Itachi was almost an invincible existence. That impression had been ingrained in him since childhood. Even though he had become the enemy Sasuke had to defeat, Itachi's powerful image hadn't diminished at all.

One could even say that Itachi's actions had cast an even deeper shadow in Sasuke's heart.

"Because Uchiha Itachi... didn't walk away unscathed either."

Originally, it was an unspoken understanding between the two, but strictly speaking, Ethan had indeed "injured" Itachi through skill, so it wasn't bragging.

To Sasuke, it was hard to accept that his dear, unbelievably powerful brother had actually been repelled. His first reaction was, "Did he not use that..."

"Mangekyo Sharingan? Kakashi-sensei was severely injured by it and will need time to recover. I was also injured by that technique."

Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted. He never imagined someone could withstand that move without being crippled. Having experienced its terror firsthand, Sasuke seriously doubted Ethan's words.

But according to Ethan, there were many Jonin from Konoha present. If he was lying, wouldn't it be easy to expose?

He turned to look at Asuma, who had been standing by the side, and received a definite confirmation from him: Ethan was telling the truth.

Although Sasuke didn't know what the Mangekyo Sharingan really was or what kind of technique Tsukuyomi was, maybe he should have a good talk with the old man.

"So... have you calmed down now?"

"Yeah."

"Do you still need me to guide your training?"

Sasuke didn't think for long and quickly nodded at Ethan.

"I might have to trouble you from now on."

"You're welcome. Just think of it as paying rent."

With just a few words, two things were settled: Ethan would guide Sasuke's training to help him grow stronger, and Ethan would temporarily move into the Uchiha compound.

As soon as it was decided, Ethan immediately got moving. Asuma, who hadn't found a good excuse to leave, was roped in by Ethan.

In reality, Ethan wasn't injured at all, but he had to maintain the image of being wounded to the outside world. It wouldn't look good if he was seen walking down the street dragging a bunch of luggage, so Sasuke and Asuma had to help carry his things.

"..."

This time, Asuma was smart. After helping Ethan move in and carry the things into the Uchiha compound, he left immediately.

Anyway, Ethan wasn't actually hurt, and the Uchiha compound was very quiet. There was no risk of exposing the truth. As for organizing personal items, Ethan could handle that himself.

Sasuke didn't know what was going on. He thought Asuma had urgent business to attend to. But when he turned around, Ethan, who had looked weak earlier, was now arranging things like nothing had happened.

"You..."

"Actually, I wasn't injured. That was all just an act."

"Not injured?"

Sasuke felt something was off, but Ethan had no intention of explaining. Even if he pressed further, Ethan would just say, "The details involve classified information, and I can't tell you... Also, you need to cover for me for now. As far as the outside world is concerned, I'm still injured."

"..."

Sasuke really wanted to say, what does this have to do with me? But Ethan had fought Itachi and come out completely unharmed? Then why pretend to be injured? Asuma seemed to know the truth too. What kind of secret was behind all this?

"Want to know?"

Sasuke didn't respond, but his eyes gave away his thoughts.

"Then work hard to get stronger. Only when your strength is enough will you be qualified to know more."

After hearing Ethan's words, Sasuke had no complaints. In his eyes, this was only natural. In fact, Ethan's words made him even more excited about the upcoming training.

"What should I do?"

"Let's finish tidying up first. We'll talk after that."

Ethan didn't bring many belongings. Most of what he was doing was organizing the guest room and airing out the bedding that had been stored for a long time, so they could be used at night.

These tasks didn't need to be done by them personally. The Uchiha compound was large, and a place of that size required a lot of staff for maintenance. Even though most of the Uchiha clan's businesses had become inactive, there were still enough servants to handle daily upkeep and cleaning.

These people also lived in the estate and provided daily services for Sasuke, such as cooking and laundry.

They just knew how to stay out of sight and would never appear in front of the master or guests unless necessary. That's why Ethan hadn't seen them during his previous visits.

It wasn't until he came to live here that he finally saw these servants.

"Corrupt landlord class!"

From this, it was clear that Asuma must have known Sasuke had people to do chores, which was why he left so decisively. After all, the Sarutobi clan was also a prestigious family in Konoha.

Sasuke didn't know that Ethan was mentally complaining about the rich. After sorting out the miscellaneous matters, he became eager to know how to get stronger.

"To become stronger, you must first figure out the path you should take, where your talent lies, and then focus on maximizing your strongest abilities while compensating for your weaknesses."

Since he had already moved in, Ethan wasn't planning to go back on his word.

If he personally guided Sasuke's training, Sasuke might not go to Orochimaru. The defection arc wouldn't happen. That would save Ethan a lot of trouble. Otherwise, he'd be assigned to track him down.

Besides, Ethan's decision to guide Sasuke was also influenced by the fact that there weren't any major events happening in the next two years.

He might as well do something interesting during his downtime. He wanted to see what kind of impact Sasuke, having taken a different path, would have on the future storyline.

Without Naruto Uzumaki's relentless pursuit of Sasuke, what would the story even look like?

"Pain's Invasion? The Fourth Great Ninja War?"

At this moment, Sasuke was thinking seriously about his own strengths and weaknesses.

He could list many strengths, but when it came to weaknesses, he couldn't think of any. He felt that his abilities were balanced without any obvious shortcomings.

Whether it was ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, all were above average. If anything, he wasn't that interested in genjutsu and could only maintain a basic level, but even that couldn't be considered a weakness, right?

That's what he thought, but after he expressed his thoughts, Ethan didn't hold back and mocked him directly.

"Your biggest weakness is that you're not clear-headed, and you're too arrogant."

Sasuke almost exploded at Ethan's words and looked like he was ready to fight to the death. But before he could move, he found himself restrained again.

This time it wasn't a whip, but vines that had emerged from the floor at some point and wrapped around him, making it hard to move.

"You lose control so easily with just a bit of provocation... And where does your confidence come from, thinking your ninjutsu and taijutsu are above average, and that genjutsu isn't holding you back?"

"Isn't it true?"

Sasuke didn't think his assessment was wrong. But Ethan's next sentence silenced him.

"Is your goal just to be a ninja of your age group? Do you only want to be the strongest in your class? Oh, sorry, you're not even the strongest in your class."

"..."

"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, you've reached the top in none of them. So where does your confidence as a 'genius' come from? Just because your last name is Uchiha?"

"..."

"Uchiha... What a prestigious name. Do you think that just because you have Uchiha blood, you're better than others? That as long as you're an Uchiha, you don't have to work hard and you can become strong with just a little training?"

"I didn't! I've always trained hard!"

"Hard?" Ethan shook his head. "If you just want to be a decent ninja, that level of effort is enough. But is that your only goal?"

Sasuke had indeed worked hard, but his efforts didn't stand out.

Lee and Neji trained past their limits every day. Even Naruto, who had numerous advantages, trained relentlessly. Compared to them, Sasuke's effort was far from enough.

"Your greatest pride is nothing but your Uchiha blood. But have you forgotten something? The person you're determined to surpass is also an Uchiha. How does your talent compare to Uchiha Itachi's?"

This sentence from Ethan truly made Sasuke reflect. Uchiha Itachi was not just an Uchiha, but one of the best. Compared to that, what were his little bits of talent and effort worth?

"..."

"In talent, you're not top-tier. In effort, you're not the most dedicated. In strength, you're not the best among your peers. So tell me, Uchiha Sasuke, what do you have to be proud of?"

(To be continued.)