Extortion

Early the next morning, Rinto got up.

He first dressed Rie, who was still lazing in bed, then said goodbye to Uncle Ippongi and Aunt Kyoko before heading to school.

As for their son, Dan Katō, he was said to be the class monitor for the third years and left early every day.

By comparison, this lazy bum Rinto had it much easier.

After arriving at school, entering the classroom, and wandering over to sit in the corner, Rinto finally noticed what was strange about today.

Normally, while he was never late, he was always the last one to arrive in class. But today, Jiraiya, who usually came early, had not shown up yet.

Had that guy cried all night after what happened yesterday and ended up late for class today?

Rinto thought leisurely. To him, being late was no big deal!

If latecomers and students who failed their exams did not have to stay behind for remedial lessons, he would be late every day without fail.

"Dong!"

The bell rang. Jiraiya finally entered the classroom ahead of the teacher, his face bruised and swollen.

Covering his face and enduring the amused looks from his classmates, Jiraiya darted through the desks like the wind, rushed to the back, and lowered his head as he sat down.

The teacher followed Jiraiya into the classroom, staring at him with a strange expression.

After quite a while, this ninja teacher, whom Rinto was not familiar with, finally opened his book and began the lesson.

At the back of the classroom, Rinto tilted his head and stared curiously at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya, what happened to you?"

Hearing his friend's concern, Jiraiya hurriedly covered his face with his hands and repeatedly shook his head.

"N-Nothing. I tripped while walking this morning."

Jiraiya stammered. Seeing his shifty eyes, Rinto raised a brow.

"You managed to swell your eye from a fall? That's impressive."

At that, Jiraiya scratched his head and flashed a brilliant smile.

Rinto's mouth twitched slightly.

What the hell? I can actually see smugness in that guy's smile. Did I praise him at any point?!

And that guy had obviously been beaten up, hadn't he?

Still, since Jiraiya did not say anything, Rinto did not intend to ask. He merely kept sweeping his gaze across the classroom.

Before long, Rinto's eyes gradually narrowed.

Without Jiraiya cracking jokes and causing trouble, the quiet morning quickly passed.

After helping Jiraiya, who was too embarrassed to show his face, buy a loaf of bread, Rinto and Jiraiya sat in their seats and quietly chewed.

Just then, a mocking voice shattered the silence.

"Poor people really are poor. All you can do at noon is chew on bread."

Here we go!

Rinto was delighted inside. He then lazily lifted his head and looked at the newcomer.

Uchiha Ryota.

Uchiha Ryota rudely perched himself on a desk, shaking one leg as his disdainful gaze swept over Rinto and Jiraiya.

"Oh~ Jiraiya, did you get beaten up? Why are your eyes all swollen?!"

"Too ashamed to face anyone, so you're hiding in the corner and chewing bread?!"

Rinto said nothing. Beneath the desk, his hand held Jiraiya down.

"Shh. No rush. Let's play with him."

At that, Jiraiya snorted and stopped paying attention to the guy.

Jiraiya was clearly not his usual carefree self today. Instead, he was somewhat angry.

That was why Rinto was holding him back.

Seeing that Rinto remained silent, Uchiha Ryota snorted coldly.

"Trash is still trash. Acting mute again? Did you think you could scare me today?"

After saying that, he glanced at Jiraiya, whose brows were tightly furrowed.

"Trash should stay with trash, so you don't pollute the air."

The moment he finished speaking, Tsunade, seated in the front row, suddenly frowned.

Uchiha Ryota had gone too far!

Even though she wanted to beat up Jiraiya and Rinto to vent her anger, she had never considered using such vicious words against classmates.

Had the Uchiha Clan, who had formed a pact with Grandpa, really fallen so low?

Thinking of this, Tsunade actually felt a trace of sympathy for Rinto and Jiraiya.

She was the princess of the Senju Clan. Precisely because of that, she understood the strength and influence of these great clans even better.

Just as Tsunade was seething, sudden laughter interrupted her thoughts. What came next shocked her even more.

"Is this how Madara Uchiha taught you? No wonder the Uchiha Clan produces nothing but traitors~"

Rinto shook his head as he spoke, looking thoroughly regretful.

When it came to sharp tongues, he had never lost to anyone, especially when he knew the Uchiha Clan so well.

"You! Sakuta Rinto, you're courting death!"

Uchiha Ryota backed away as he glared viciously at Rinto.

"You bastard! Take that back! The Uchiha are not people commoners like you can insult!"

Rather than stopping, Rinto laughed even more merrily.

"Oh, oh, oh~ You're angry? You're angry already? When you betrayed Madara Uchiha, did you ever consider how he felt? You little backstabber!"

"Tell me, you evil little brat of the Uchiha Clan, are you really qualified to remain in Konoha?"

Rinto's words not only trampled the entire Uchiha Clan's dignity into the dirt, but also insulted Madara Uchiha, the clan head they had once revered beyond measure.

Every sentence cut like a knife, piercing deep into Uchiha Ryota's heart.

Back then, one of the reasons Madara Uchiha left Konoha was the betrayal of the Uchiha Clan.

Those pitiful fools had been corrupted by Konoha's peaceful life and ultimately chose to betray their clan head.

"Shut up!"

A hysterical roar rang out. Uchiha Ryota, standing not far away, had bloodshot eyes and looked like a beast ready to devour someone.

In an instant, quite a few students were so frightened by his savage appearance that they hurriedly backed away.

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger."

Consumed by rage, Uchiha Ryota began forming hand seals, his hateful eyes locked firmly on Rinto.

Seeing this, joy immediately spread across Rinto's face.

Damn, I thought this guy would just pull out a Kunai and come at me desperately. I never expected him to know the Great Fireball Technique. Perfect!

Uchiha Ryota's hand seals were not fast. That was enough time for Rinto to do something.

Yet other than grabbing Jiraiya and Tsunade by their collars and tossing them aside, Rinto did nothing else.

What a joke. He had said so many offensive things today precisely because he was waiting for this moment!

"Bastard, die!"

With that, Uchiha Ryota shot a blazing ball of fire from his mouth at Rinto.

The next second, the fireball came hurtling toward Rinto.

"Good! If I don't extort you until you can't even afford pants today, then I'll never get to eat four dishes in my life!!!"

The next second, Rinto clenched his right hand. The Weighted Gear fastened around his wrist naturally fell away with a thunderous "Boom!"

Facing the fireball, every muscle in Rinto's body tensed, his right fist drawn back at his waist.

"Fuck your grandma, Great Ancestor Long Fist!"

"Boom!"

Terrifying strength, carrying an incomparably fierce pressure of wind, shot violently toward the fireball.

The next second, an overwhelmingly brutal fist emerged from the flames. The smoking fist smashed the entire fireball into scattered fragments, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Tiny flames ignited across the books, desks, chairs, blackboard, and floor.

At that moment, the students who had not yet left the classroom were already dumbfounded.

From the very beginning, the entire incident had completely exceeded their expectations.

First, Uchiha Ryota had stupidly provoked Rinto.

Then Rinto had said something astonishing, claiming that the entire Uchiha Clan were traitors who had betrayed Madara Uchiha.

After that, Uchiha Ryota had actually used Fire Release inside the classroom.

Most terrifying of all, Rinto had dispersed the Fire Release with his bare hands.

At that moment, Rinto's pose with his fist clenched was deeply etched into every one of their minds.

Too terrifying. This guy was practically a monster!

Tsunade had fallen to the floor, and no expression remained on her young face except shock.

That sense of violence, that terrifying fist that had dispersed a fireball—every part of it left a deep mark in young Tsunade's heart.

As for the instigator of it all, Uchiha Ryota, when he saw Rinto's fist drawing closer and closer, terror twisted his face to the limit. He simply rolled his eyes back and fainted cleanly.

"Pretending to faint will do?" Rinto grabbed Uchiha Ryota by the collar.

"Pay up, now! You burned my clothes!"

Just then, Jiraiya weakly pointed at Rinto's shoes and said awkwardly, "Rinto, y-your shoes are burned too."

Rinto looked down, and two veins immediately bulged on his forehead.

Damn, my shoes are burned too!

"Two pairs, bastard! You owe me two pairs!"

Tsunade swept her gaze over the two clowns, rolled her eyes fiercely, and could not help swearing.

"You bastards, is this really the time to be thinking about shoes?!"

At that, Rinto turned toward Tsunade with an icy expression.

"You want to pay for his shoes? I'm telling you, two pairs! Without two pairs today, he's not going anywhere!

"Damn it, and my clothes too, two sets! Two sets!"

Tsunade was completely speechless. With a dark expression, she stopped talking.

Just then, the classroom door was kicked flying open. Nakaryu Taiku appeared at the doorway in an instant, Kunai in hand.

"Let go, Sakuta Rinto. Let go of Uchiha Ryota! I order you! Let him go!"