Itachi Uchiha? I've Wanted to Beat You Up for a Long Time!

Sensing Uchiha Kiyoshi's Electric Wave appear behind him, Kaze said nothing and backhanded him with a slap.

Before Uchiha Kiyoshi could react, his cheek felt as though it had been seared by flames. The scorching heat forced his eyes shut.

His body rolled away uncontrollably, and he slammed headfirst into the wall of Naka Shrine.

His head spun, as if heaven and earth had been flipped upside down.

Even bracing himself against the wall, he failed to get back on his feet right away.

"Next."

Kaze did not even spare a glance for Kiyoshi, the man he had defeated. He faced the Uchiha elders and clansmen directly.

His tone held neither joy nor anger.

He waited for the next opponent to challenge him.

"Gasp..."

In an instant, every clansman who had witnessed Uchiha Kiyoshi get sent flying widened their eyes and sucked in a sharp breath.

Since the era of the Third Shinobi World War, Uchiha Kiyoshi had been a prodigy in their eyes.

He was one of the younger generation on whom they had placed great hopes.

Yet who could have imagined that such an Uchiha prodigy would...

Be slapped senseless by Kaze in a single blow!

The entire exchange had probably not even lasted three or four seconds!

Kaze had turned, struck, and turned back in one fluid motion.

Even among the Uchiha Clan, renowned for their ocular powers, few had been able to see his movements clearly.

"S-So fast..."

Itachi narrowed his eyes, stormy waves surging within his heart.

He had vaguely seen Kaze gather an electric current in his hand as he turned.

By exploiting the traits of Lightning Release, he had not only accelerated his strike but amplified its power several times over.

That was the only reason Uchiha Kiyoshi, that prodigy, could still stagger back to his feet.

Had it been any other clansman, they might have passed out on the spot.

"When did Kaze become this strong...?"

Itachi instinctively looked around and found that hardly anyone had noticed those details.

Quite a few people were discussing whether they had seen it wrong.

Kaze had sent Kiyoshi flying with just one slap!

Shisui, the only one who had ever fought Kaze, was not surprised by the outcome in the slightest.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was indeed talented.

Whether it was his combat instincts or actual battle experience, both were commendable.

But his greatest flaw was his excessive arrogance.

"If he had activated his Sharingan first and tested Kaze with Shuriken, he would not have suffered such a crushing defeat."

"Sigh..."

Shisui let out a helpless sigh. He felt that this was not merely Kiyoshi's problem, but a flaw shared by many clansmen.

They trusted too much in their own strength, to the point that they could no longer see the situation clearly.

They sought to launch a coup, yet their final outcome would be just like Uchiha Kiyoshi's.

They would not even understand how they had been defeated.

Seeing the larger picture through this small incident, Shisui could not help feeling a little sorrowful.

The entire Naka Shrine quickly fell silent.

Many Uchiha prodigies who had wanted to fight Kaze wilted like frostbitten eggplants.

The Uchiha elder who had previously opposed Fugaku now wore a subtle expression.

His gaze remained fixed on Kaze.

He was shocked by how formidable Kaze's Taijutsu was.

Yet he also regretted that Kaze had failed to awaken the Sharingan.

Otherwise...

Kaze's combat power would definitely have had a chance of catching up to Shisui and Itachi.

Fugaku took in the entire scene, and a trace of satisfaction rose in his heart.

Aside from not having awakened the Sharingan, Kaze's strength was truly astonishing.

It seems that with this little interlude, tonight's Clan Meeting should proceed much more smoothly.

Fugaku thought so.

However...

Just as Fugaku prepared to move on to the next item of the Clan Meeting, an all-too-familiar figure rose from his round mat.

He wore an Anbu uniform, carried a short sword on his back, and had his black hair tied in a ponytail.

It was none other than his precious son.

Itachi Uchiha!

"Itachi, what are you doing?" Fugaku's brow twitched unnaturally.

He had thought only the Hawk Faction would be dissatisfied with his promotion of Kaze.

He had not expected Itachi to have objections as well.

As Fugaku spoke in a questioning tone,

the Uchiha clansmen present all turned to look at Itachi.

Although a few people were dissatisfied with Itachi's decision to join the Anbu,

they recognized Itachi's strength from the bottom of their hearts.

No...

It was precisely because they acknowledged Itachi's strength that they could not understand why he had joined the Anbu.

Other than Shisui, Itachi was practically the man in the clan most likely to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Father, I do not believe it is right to appoint Brother Kaze as the Vice-Captain of the Security Force."

Itachi got straight to the point in front of Fugaku.

Of course, it was not because he believed Kaze was unqualified.

Rather, the Security Force had an extremely poor reputation.

Most of its members belonged to the Hawk Faction.

He feared that Kaze would be influenced by them through constant exposure.

That he would be brainwashed into becoming a Hawk Faction member who pursued power above all else!

That would not be a good thing for either the Uchiha Clan or Konoha.

Furthermore...

Kaze had treated him well when he was young.

If possible, he wanted to give Kaze a hand and keep him from taking the wrong path.

What Kaze should inherit was the Will of Fire.

Not some narrow-minded clan supremacism.

Kaze was somewhat surprised by Itachi's sudden intervention.

Still, in his memory, Itachi had yet to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan at this point. He only possessed an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

His Genjutsu was evenly matched with Shisui's.

"Brother Kaze, if you lose, I hope you will withdraw from the Security Force completely."

Ignoring Fugaku's reaction, Itachi spoke coldly.

Naturally, his words drew the Hawk Faction's displeasure.

"Itachi, what do you mean by that? Is the Security Force some disgraceful place in your eyes?"

"Do not forget, Itachi, you are also part of the Uchiha."

"Take back what you said. Otherwise, even if you are the Clan Head's son, I will not forgive you."

Several Uchiha clansmen spoke one after another, and a hint of hostility flashed through their eyes.

"No problem."

To keep the situation from spiraling out of control, Kaze hurriedly raised his voice and drowned out everyone else.

"Besides, I've wanted to beat you up for a long time."

As he spoke bluntly, Kaze loosened up his muscles.

Itachi: "???"

Instead, Itachi was left utterly confused. He did not seem to have provoked Kaze before.

He had even often taught him to view problems with the mindset of a Hokage.

He had passed the Will of Fire on to him.

Why did this guy want to beat him up?

"But, Itachi, if I leave the Security Force when I lose, what happens if you lose?"

Kaze asked casually.

Since it was a wager, it naturally had to be fair.

"I won't lose." Itachi answered without a moment's thought.

But his tone soon softened. "What does Brother Kaze want?"

"Do not worry, I will not make you leave the Anbu. After all, you are the spy we sent in there."

Kaze paused. "If you lose, you will do one thing for me."

"As long as it does not violate my principles, I agree." Itachi answered crisply.

He would not lose anyway, so there was no harm in agreeing to Kaze's condition.

Immediately afterward, Itachi Uchiha decisively activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

No matter what, Kaze's Nintaijutsu was no joke.

"However, every Ninjutsu has a weakness. Even Brother Kaze's Nintaijutsu must have one."