After three strikes of the baton, the villagers who had taken in the fleeing thugs immediately regretted the decision they had made just minutes earlier.
"Officer! Stop hitting me! Stop! I have nothing to do with this!"
"You have nothing to do with this? Then why are these thugs in your house?" The Military Police Force member swung his baton into the man's waist without another word. "I'd say you're their accomplice! Take him away!"
While the chaos unfolded, Naruto had been buying ramen at Ichiraku and picking up a portion for Kakashi on his way home. But the moment he stepped outside carrying the takeout container, he witnessed this no-holds-barred fighting tournament.
"Wh... what happened here?" The sight before him left Naruto utterly dumbfounded.
Although the person being knocked to the ground and given six bone-setting massages per second seemed to be one of the habitual offenders who had often cursed at him in the past, Naruto's kind heart still made him want to step forward and say a few words for the man.
But before he could speak, someone grabbed him by the collar.
When he turned around, he saw a Uchiha squad captain glaring at him with blood-red Sharingan eyes.
"Where did this kid come from? Haven't you heard that the village is under lockdown?"
Uchiha Taen's actions instantly put the Anbu assigned to protect Naruto on edge, and they hurriedly revealed themselves.
Before the Anbu who had appeared could say anything, however, Uchiha Taen tossed Naruto to them and said, "Good, you're here. Hurry up and take this kid home. Don't let him wander around outside!"
"Understood." The masked Anbu nodded and took Naruto from Uchiha Taen. After all, Naruto was the Jinchuriki. They had been scared half to death when Taen made his move just