"You're insane!!"

Hikari wiped the blood from the corner of her eye, grabbed the idiot by the collar, and swiftly tossed him into the basement.

She had to act fast.

Lately, this brat's resistance to Tsukuyomi seemed to have increased—now, a single cast wouldn't even keep him unconscious for thirty seconds.

And without any adverse effects, it made Hikari wonder if she'd gone soft on him. Fortunately, seeing Uchiha Sasuke sleeping soundly restored some of her confidence.

Bang—

Hikari casually shut the basement door, only for Kaito's frantic banging on the metal door to start the next second.

"Ancestor, let's talk this out!!""Stop with the whole basement thing, it's creeping me out..."

When Tsukuyomi woke up, his mind was flooded with memories of past-life stories about 'yanderes,' 'basements,' and 'hatchets,' which only made him more anxious.

"Are you an idiot!?"

Hikari's veins bulged on her forehead, her fists clenched tightly, and her eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

Though she didn't understand what the kid meant by "yandere" or how it related to the basement, she vaguely sensed that the idiot might be insulting her.

Hikari planted one hand on her hip and pointed at the basement with the other, launching into a furious tirade.

"Since when could a basement hold you? Is your space-time Ninjutsu that swaps you with dogs just for show?!"

"Idiot!!"

"Oh... right. Never mind then."

Kaito shook his head, still recovering from the aftereffects of Tsukuyomi. His dazed state had made him momentarily forget his own abilities.

After responding, he found a spot in the basement to sit down, preparing to enter seclusion.

However, Sasuke's voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"Dogs? What Dog Clone???"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he bolted upright from the bed, scanning the room for anything dog-related, his young face filled with longing for the Dog Clone technique.

Hikari: "..."

Kaito: "..."

Hikari, who had just finished berating Kaito, paused mid-rant upon hearing the commotion inside. She fell completely silent as she watched Kaito's foolish younger brother.

Even Kaito in the basement was at a loss for words upon learning that Sasuke had snapped out of Tsukuyomi's influence just because of 'Dog Clone.'

Honestly.

He swore he'd never been this speechless in his entire life.

"Runtu! Get him out of here!!"

Hikari took a deep breath, struggling to suppress her murderous intent, then turned to glare menacingly at Runtu.

"Leave. Now."

Feeling the killing intent in that gaze, Runtu trembled and quickly grabbed Sasuke's pant leg with his mouth.

"Wait... Ancestor, I need to see Kaito!!"

Sasuke twisted his body, deftly dodging Runtu's lunge. Seizing the moment when Runtu missed, he even gave the dog a light kick, sending him flying into a pile of junk in the corner.

Runtu: "?"

Is this guy insane??

Completely bewildered by the sudden attack from the person he was supposed to protect, Runtu shook his head, unable to process what had just happened.

"No." Uchiha Hikari crossed her arms and coldly spat out the refusal, utterly merciless in rejecting Sasuke's request. She kept shooting glances at Runtu, urging the dog to hurry up and drag this idiot back to the village.

"I've locked Kaito in the basement."

"If you want to see him... come back when you're strong enough."

"For now, go back where you came from."

Hikari only bothered explaining because Sasuke was Kaito's brother. Otherwise, she would have blasted this noisy brat with Amaterasu on the spot.

Having just recovered from Tsukuyomi, Sasuke had been desperate to see his brother, wanting to say goodbye before returning to the village.

Of course, his main goal was to remind Kaito to regularly bring him out of the village, lest this annoying guy forget and leave him stranded in Konoha.

But...

When the Ancestor finished speaking, Sasuke's pupils dilated in shock, his small mouth hanging open.

"Ancestor... you... what are you going to do to Kaito?"

It wasn't unreasonable for Sasuke to jump to conclusions—Naruto had once shown him some questionable magazines featuring images of people being imprisoned in basements...

Though the subsequent plot was cut short when Iruka-sensei confiscated the book, it wasn't hard to guess what followed: interrogation, torture, and similar scenarios.

At this moment, Sasuke thought the Ancestor...Nine times out of ten, they were going to use that extremely cruel Genjutsu on Kaito.

The moment Sasuke recalled the torment he'd experienced in the illusory world, his face instantly paled.

Hikari's brows furrowed tightly again. "This has nothing to do with you."

Her killing intent had already erupted. Runtu, well aware of this old monster's nature, moved with lightning speed—flashing in front of Sasuke and whisking the boy away from the room in an instant.

He was terrified that even a second's delay would result in the old monster tearing him apart.

"Hah—"

Seeing Sasuke gone, Hikari suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over her. She exhaled deeply and slumped onto the sofa.

"Taking care of brats like this…"

"Is even more troublesome than fighting."

She muttered under her breath, but her gaze kept drifting toward the basement. After about ten minutes, she softly called Kaito's name a few times—yet received no response.

This worried her. Tiptoeing quietly, she crept down to the basement. Only when she saw Kaito seated in meditation under the dim light did she finally relax completely.

Then, rising onto her toes, she carefully closed the heavy iron basement door—making sure not to make a single sound. She even held her breath.

"Closed-door cultivation, huh…"

Hikari sat back on the sofa, murmuring softly. Her mind flashed back to Kaito's explanation that such cultivation could sometimes last for centuries. A sudden wave of irritation surged through her.

She roughly ruffled her own hair, glanced at the basement again, and nearly spoke up—but fearing she might disturb Kaito, she lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Won't something bad happen if he doesn't eat or drink at all…?"

Meanwhile, Sasuke, being escorted back to Konoha by Runtu, was seething with resentment.

"Damn it! Damn it!!"

"Runtu, I don't like you anymore!"

Realizing he was back home, Sasuke pointed at Runtu and launched into a tirade.

"Sword. Return it."

Runtu's words were brief and firm, instantly wiping the defiance off Sasuke's face. He fell silent, his expression shifting to wariness as he stared at the puppet dog. Then he took a step back, subtly adjusting his stance to hide the two ninja swords behind him.

But three seconds later, Sasuke's eyes suddenly lit up.

In the few minutes since arriving home, it dawned on him—Runtu had been the one to bring him back…

A Dog Clone!!

So Runtu could do it too!!

"Runtu…"

Sasuke's expression shifted several times before settling into a stiff smile. He then bowed deeply to Runtu.

"I was wrong earlier… I actually still like you."

Runtu: ?

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