The next morning, Hokage Building conference room.
"What the hell is Uchiha Chiken doing? Is he just going to keep us waiting like this?" one of Meitoku's attendants snapped.
"Quiet! We Hyuga are a great clan. We should at least have this much composure." Meitoku took a sip of tea, signaling his subordinates to stay calm.
"Alright, Chiken Clan Head has been busy with matters concerning the Shopping Street lately. Please be understanding, everyone." The Third Hokage stepped in and set the tone.
Still, his expression was not looking particularly pleasant at the moment.
Creak...
Just then, the conference room doors opened from outside.
Everyone's gazes in the room immediately focused on the entrance.
"My sincerest apologies, everyone. A building on the Shopping Street had substandard construction, so I personally tore it down."
As Chiken entered, he spoke while striding swiftly toward his seat, then sat down with an imposing air.
He wore a black coat, his hair meticulously combed into a slicked-back style, with the shoulders of his coat raised high.
His elbows rested against the chair back, his hands hanging casually at his sides.
He looked overwhelmingly imposing, exactly like a classic image from some transmigrator's previous life.
Meanwhile, his attendants all wore white shirts beneath tight, short black Uchiha-style coats.
The zippers of their coats were pulled down to their waists, with bright red ties hanging from their collars.
They all wore oversized sunglasses, standing alertly behind Chiken Clan Head with their hands behind their backs.
These outfits had been personally designed by the great designer Shin the previous night.
He had drawn inspiration from the image of a Suit Thug while appropriately incorporating Uchiha elements.
The coat draped over Chiken's shoulders had been designed after a Naval Coat from next door.
The look was utterly domineering, leaving everyone in the conference room staring in stunned silence.
The entire space was left with nothing but strange silence.
Seeing this, Chiken's urge to perform surged up uncontrollably.
He lifted his left hand from the chair back and gestured to his subordinates.
The Uchiha clansman on his left swiftly took a cigarette from a case in his pocket and held it to his lips.
Chiken parted his lips slightly and clamped the cigarette between them.
Then the clansman on his right, quick to read the situation, bent down and pulled out a lighter.
With a click, the flame appeared right at the cigarette's tip.
Chiken took a deep drag to light it. Once the attendants on either side had retreated, he exhaled a beautiful smoke ring. "⊙...◎...○...?"
The entire conference room was immediately filled with smoke.
The Hyuga side was seething and about to make a move when a table slam abruptly cut them off.
Bang!
After slamming the table, Chiken turned and impatiently lectured the clansmen behind him. "What did I tell you? Manners! Do you understand what manners are?
"Are you going to let everyone in the room watch me smoke?" He took another fierce drag before turning around. "Hurry up. Light one for everyone!"
The Third Hokage, seated at the head of the table, could only exclaim inwardly, Well, damn.
He had thought Chiken, with those thick brows and big eyes, would be easy to handle. Instead, Chiken had seized the initiative the moment he arrived and cleverly interrupted the Hyuga side's attack.
Now, Chiken had built up his momentum.
"No, I don't smoke..." The refined and mild-mannered Meitoku launched his counterattack. "Chiken Clan Head, you should smoke less as well. Too much of that is bad for your health."
Chiken remained unmoved by his words.
Only after slowly exhaling smoke did he respond, "What are you afraid of? A ninja's body isn't that fragile..."
"Could it be that Meitoku Clan Head finds my cigarettes too low-class?"
Impressive! This guy was an expert! the Third Hokage silently assessed.
He intended to sit back and enjoy the show.
He gave me a show of force as soon as he arrived, then provoked me again and again. Could he be here to declare war?
Meitoku weighed the matter in his mind. Just as he was about to speak, the other party struck first again.
"Sigh, it's only natural for Meitoku Clan Head to look down on my cigarettes..." As though changing faces, Chiken lowered his head and smiled bitterly. "How could we Uchiha possibly have as many good things as the Hyuga?"
"Tsk..."
Those words were like a knife stabbing straight into Meitoku's heart. Only one thought remained in his mind: Get him!
Yet as the clan head, he quickly calmed down and carefully considered his response. This Old Geezer must have something to rely on, or he wouldn't be this brazen...
"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as agreement..."
"I'm telling you, Meitoku Clan Head, we're both respectable people. If you have any grievances, say them to my face and settle them face-to-face. Why trouble the Third Hokage..."
Chiken curled his lip at Meitoku, then turned to face the Third Hokage directly. "My apologies, Third Hokage. Children don't know any better, so we elders have to come out and clean up their mess."
The Third Hokage felt that things were developing in a rather strange direction.
Still, he seriously took up Chiken's apology. "It's no trouble. They're children—who didn't get into some trouble when they were young? This is a good opportunity to renovate the school."
"Yes, yes, the Third Hokage is absolutely right. That brat of mine said the school had fallen into disrepair, that the doors would collapse with the slightest touch. I was furious when I heard that!"
Chiken declared righteously, "When the school was built, we Uchiha clearly inspected it properly."
"Then how did your son set the school on fire?" Meitoku seized on the flaw.
"Cough, cough..." Chiken coughed, his expression aggrieved. "My useless youngest son said the school was just..."
After opening his mouth several times, he finally gathered the courage to say, "It was just that shabby. He even said that any random Fire Release could set it ablaze..."
"I told him I didn't believe it, but I never expected he would nearly burn the whole school down."
The Third Hokage and the Hyuga side obviously did not believe his nonsense.
Meitoku was about to refute him, but once again, someone beat him to it.
Chiken braced both hands on the table, bent over, and lowered his head to admit his fault. "Third Hokage, I am guilty! It was my poor management of the Military Police Force that allowed the school to fall into such disrepair..."
"Ever since becoming Uchiha Clan Head, I have always been diligent and conscientious..."
He stretched out his neck, looking as if he were ready to be slaughtered. "The village entrusted our clan with such a sacred mission, yet I failed to carry it out properly..."
"I will accept whatever punishment you decide!"
The Third Hokage had long seen that Chiken intended to shamelessly deny responsibility to the very end.
But now that Chiken had lowered his head and admitted fault, would pursuing the matter further not make him seem petty?
"That isn't the case. Chiken Clan Head, you're overstating it. Let us end the matter of the school here."
"Thank you, Third Hokage. When I get back, I'll put that brat in confinement. He's becoming more and more lawless!"
"Don't do that, Chiken Clan Head. Children must be educated properly. If he develops resentment, it won't be good for his growth."
The Third Hokage believed it all stemmed from a child's desire for revenge.
He did not want this to happen again. This time, the boy had set the school on fire; next time, he might dare to set the Hokage Building ablaze.
Chiken was astonished. He had not expected the Third Hokage to let his brat off so easily.
That made him repeatedly apologize to and thank the man.
In this round, Meitoku was on the first floor, Chiken was on the second, the Third Hokage was on the fifth, while a certain troublemaker somehow shot straight into the stratosphere.
As Meitoku listened to the two of them drift further and further off-topic, somehow ending up discussing child-rearing, his anger flared.
He calmed himself slightly before speaking. "Chiken Clan Head, I heard that your youngest son has improper intentions toward my daughter?"
Here it comes. He really can keep his composure... Chiken sighed inwardly.
Then he spread his hands. "What improper intentions? Does holding hands mean children have ulterior motives?"
"Meitoku Clan Head, surely your views aren't that conservative? We Uchiha are quite open-minded. How did that saying go..."
He stubbed out his cigarette, then dealt true damage. "Freedom... yes, free love. It's about mutual consent. I didn't see your daughter resisting, either..."
"How about arranging a childhood betrothal? It would bear witness to the friendship between our two clans for generations to come!"
Chiken temporarily altered the lines he had rehearsed with Shin the night before.
It seemed that even he, with those thick brows and big eyes, had learned to be bad.
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