Itachi nodded and said, "He has already gone back."

  "Izumi, from now on, you'd better stay away from Uchiha Ryosuke. He's a dangerous individual. I don't want you to be influenced by him."

  Someone like Ryosuke is undoubtedly more extreme than even the radicals, as he even fantasizes about a war breaking out between the cn and Konoha's higher-ups.

  Izumi's face was full of confusion, not understanding Itachi's thoughts.

  "Why do I feel that Ryosuke-nii is a good person?"

  He was always aloof before, only taking care of her in a simple, straightforward way. But now he's much kinder to her, always carrying a genuine smile on his face.

  Apart from having unusual thoughts, she didn't dislike this version of Brother Ryosuke.

  If it weren't for Uchiha Itachi, she might have truly fallen for Ryosuke-nii. But someone as handsome as him wouldn't ck women anyway, so there was no need to worry about him.

  Itachi looked at Izumi and, after some hesitation, finally said, "Uchiha Ryosuke is too self-righteous, too centered around the cn."

  He recalled Ryosuke's earlier words, 'Without the Uchiha, is Konoha still Konoha?'

  What did this prove? It proved that in his heart, Uchiha should stand above the vilge.

  Itachi didn't want Izumi to be influenced by him.

  When Izumi heard this, her small face was full of confusion. 'Thinking about the cn, what's wrong with that?'

  It's precisely because Ryosuke-nii cares about the cn that he would care for her, a young girl from the cn. Otherwise, why would he care about her?

  If he didn't care about the cn, then Ryosuke-nii probably wouldn't care whether she lived or died. That would mean disaster for her and her mother.

  So, she couldn't find fault with Ryosuke in this regard.

  Itachi immediately realized Izumi's thoughts were different from his own. Had she already been influenced by Ryosuke?

  In a serious tone, he said, "As ninjas, we shouldn't focus too much on the cn. Instead, we should prioritize the vilge. Do you understand?"

  Izumi nodded, but in truth, she completely didn't understand. Prioritize the vilge? She wasn't blind. The people in the vilge, whether they were ninjas or civilians, showed no goodwill toward the Uchiha.

  She could even feel their malice.

  Not prioritizing the cn but instead the vilge? Izumi truly didn't understand Itachi's thinking.

  But since Itachi said so, she wasn't comfortable refuting him.

  Itachi saw Izumi nodding, her face full of confusion, and realized she hadn't grasped the meaning of his words at all.

  Feeling a bit regretful, he thought, 'Not many people can understand his ideals—everyone is too superficial.'

  Only Shisui could understand him.

  He sighed inwardly and didn't say more.

  The two of them resumed training, but it wasn't as lively as before. Izumi could sense that something had suddenly created a rift between them, and Itachi's thoughts were no longer on her.

  In truth, Itachi couldn't help but recall the words Ryosuke had said earlier.

  If the cn continued to show hostility toward Konoha's leadership, the retionship between the two sides might completely colpse, and internal strife could occur.

  At that point, he might lean toward assisting Konoha's leadership in quelling the rebellion.

  After all, the Uchiha cn was far too extreme, too radical, and too focused on their own interests.

  Since he was now part of the Anbu, protecting Konoha was his duty. He wasn't narrow-minded enough to stand with the cn.

  Though his thoughts were wandering wildly, such a scenario shouldn't happen.

  After all, the Third Hokage was a benevolent leader who would surely handle the retionship between the vilge and the Uchiha cn appropriately.

  ———

  In the following days, Ryosuke trained alone, sticking to the training regimen of One Punch Man.

  Each day, he gained 1 point in strength, 1 point in speed, and 1 point in endurance.

  He tried increasing the intensity of his training, but the results remained the same.

  The improvement couldn't match the gains from sparring and taking hits.

  Might Guy had gone out of the vilge on a mission and returned seven days ter. Once he was back, Ryosuke naturally sought him out for sparring and training.

  A month passed like this.

  One day, they met in a secluded forest in Konoha for training. Konoha was surrounded by woods, and this spot saw very little traffic. Training here wouldn't disturb others, nor would they be disturbed.

  Might Guy, Rock Lee, and Uchiha Ryosuke had agreed to train together here. Naturally, Ryosuke eagerly requested to spar with Might Guy.

  Might Guy looked at Ryosuke in surprise. He could clearly feel that during this period, Ryosuke's strength and speed had been increasing.

  Although he himself had also improved, it wasn't as pronounced in comparison. Ryosuke was now at a level where he had to take him seriously.

  Facing Ryosuke, who was already in position, Might Guy said firmly, "Come on."

  Ryosuke slowly activated his Sharingan. Activating the Sharingan not only allowed him to observe Guy's movements but also to copy his techniques. Not using the Sharingan would be a waste.

  Seeing Ryosuke ready, Might Guy decisively unched himself forward, throwing a punch.

  However, Ryosuke didn't dodge the fierce punch. Instead, he swung his fist to meet it directly. He was no longer the weakling he once was.

  The two fists collided. Unlike before, Ryosuke didn't even take half a step back.

  Might Guy wasn't surprised, as he had seen signs of this coming. From being blown away by a single punch to gradually being able to endure his attacks, Ryosuke had grown steadily stronger.

  He had gone from retreating dozens of steps after a direct hit to now standing his ground.

  Might Guy resumed his attacks. After all, one punch wasn't enough to judge anything.

  This time, Ryosuke slightly sidestepped and dodged his attack, finding an opening to strike back. He didn't hold back with his heavy strike—being beaten all the time had been frustrating for him.

  Though his stats had improved, that didn't mean he enjoyed being a punching bag.

  As Ryosuke's punch neared, Might Guy jumped back just in time, narrowly avoiding the blow. His eyes showed surprise. If not for his expertise in taijutsu and quick reflexes, he might have been hit.

  Realizing he needed to focus, Might Guy rushed at Ryosuke again, now fully alert to his movements.

  The two cshed intensely for over ten minutes, both sustaining minor injuries.

  Guy nded a few hits on Ryosuke, and Ryosuke returned the favor. Eventually, they separated to catch their breaths.

  This wasn't a life-or-death fight, so neither aimed for lethal blows.

  Now, Ryosuke was genuinely excited. Using his copying ability, he had mirrored Guy's taijutsu. Guy had nded three hits on him, but Ryosuke had managed to nd three hits in return, which thrilled him to no end. Taking hits was manageable, but being able to return them felt incredibly satisfying.

  For the first time, he had struck Guy three times.