At that moment, eight members of the Police Force were patrolling the street outside the general store. Every one of them looked fierce enough to make anyone who saw them take a detour.
Of the eight, Uchiha Dan recognized only Uchiha En. The others were all strangers to him.
After all, Uchiha En's team members probably wouldn't have come along with him on a mission like this.
Namikaze Toneri and his wife were standing behind the general store's counter, looking at Uchiha Dan with worried expressions.
"Dan, go back first. They're just on a routine patrol. Your aunt and I are fine!" When Namikaze Toneri saw Dan arrive, he hurriedly called out to him.
He knew how filial the boy was, and how fiercely he protected his own. What if Dan thought they'd been mistreated and got into a fight with the Police Force?
Missing out on just one day of business wouldn't affect them much.
But Uchiha Dan acted as though he hadn't heard them at all and strode inside.
As he passed Uchiha En, he shot him a cold glance and said, "Get out of my way. This is my family's store. I'm going in!"
"How dare you!" Uchiha En was delighted inside, but pretended to be furious as he said, "Interfering with the Police Force's duties and assaulting an officer—you've got some nerve, Uchiha Dan. Looks like we'll have to take you to the Police Force and lock you up for a few days."
As he said the last part, Uchiha En gave Uchiha Dan a cruel smile, his threat plain as day.
You think you're so tough? I'll arrest you in front of your family and give you a good beating!
"What a fine accusation!" Uchiha Dan wasn't fazed in the least. Instead, he sneered, "You'd think you were the chief of the Police Force, Uchiha En!"
"No wonder the people of Konoha are growing more and more disgusted with the Uchiha Clan. It's because there are too many pieces of trash like you."
"What did you say?" Uchiha En clenched his fists, his expression turning utterly sinister.
"Oh, you like hearing that?" Uchiha Dan said, as if suddenly realizing something. He repeated himself, "I said you're trash. You're trash. You're trash. Got it this time?"
"Gah!" Uchiha En could no longer hold back. He roared and reached for Uchiha Dan's face, clearly aiming to cripple him.
But before his hand could reach Dan, Uchiha Dan vanished from his sight.
In the next instant, Uchiha Dan appeared at Uchiha En's side and swung his arm in a wide arc.
Smack!
A vicious slap landed squarely on Uchiha En's right cheek.
The entire street seemed to fall silent in an instant.
The passersby, the patrolling ninja, and even Namikaze Toneri and his wife—
Everyone stared at the scene in a daze, as if they'd been hit with a paralysis technique.
"You couldn't even dodge that? What a piece of trash!" Uchiha Dan said coldly, breaking the silence. "You think you deserve the Uchiha name?"
"You... You dared to hit me?" Uchiha En clutched his swollen cheek in disbelief, completely stunned, his mind a blank.
He'd never dreamed that he'd be slapped in the face in the middle of the street in his entire life.
That slap had ground every last shred of his pride into the dirt.
It took him a while to recover. Then Uchiha En erupted with rage and roared. Chakra burst from him as he punched toward Uchiha Dan's chest.
But Uchiha Dan once again vanished from where he stood, then appeared on the other side of Uchiha En.
He swung his arm in another wide arc and delivered the same sort of slap to Uchiha En's left cheek.
Smack!
Another deafening crack rang out.
"Ah! I'll kill you!" This time, Uchiha En wasn't stunned. He was so enraged that he'd completely lost his mind.
He whipped the short blade from his back. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, and he charged at Uchiha Dan.
He couldn't think about anything else now. There was only one thought in his mind: Uchiha Dan had to die.
Just as the short blade in his hand was about to pierce Uchiha Dan's chest, Uchiha Dan reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping his hand from advancing even a fraction farther.
At almost the same moment, Uchiha Dan's right hand once again landed warmly and forcefully against Uchiha En's right cheek.
Smack!
This slap was far heavier than the previous two, sending Uchiha En flying on the spot.
But he'd barely flown half a meter when Uchiha Dan yanked him back. He slapped him again with the back of his hand, leaving him suspended in the air once more.
"Uchiha En, aren't you supposed to be the Uchiha Clan's genius?" Uchiha Dan's voice was full of disdain. "That's it?"
"You can't even beat a good-for-nothing like me, who hasn't trained in over seven years. How pathetic. Looks like the Uchiha Clan really has fallen."
Uchiha En was going insane. He'd just used a genjutsu on Uchiha Dan.
But the genjutsu had no effect on him at all. What the hell was going on?
And how could this guy's strength and reaction speed be so terrifying?
"You... cough, cough, cough..."
Uchiha En tried to spit out another insult, but a right fist slammed into his stomach. The words died in his mouth, replaced by violent coughing as his whole body doubled over.
"Trash is trash!" Uchiha Dan's words kept coming, even as Uchiha En struggled to speak.
Then he unleashed one combo after another on Uchiha En.
He threw out everything that came to mind: Mountain of Wind, Heaven and Earth Reversal, Oil Spill, and You're Dead.
He went straight from one move to the next, with no plan or form whatsoever.
All the while, he kept dragging Uchiha En around to dodge attacks.
The other seven members of the Police Force had rushed in while he was attacking Uchiha En, launching attack after attack at him.
Uchiha Dan's fighting style looked completely chaotic, but his reactions and dodging were so fast that none of them could touch him.
When the combo ended, Uchiha Dan tossed Uchiha En aside like a dead dog. The other seven hadn't even managed to brush against him.
Since Uchiha En was so close to Uchiha Dan, the others only dared to attack with Taijutsu. They didn't dare use ninjutsu, which left them deeply frustrated.
As soon as Uchiha En landed on the ground, the seven moved again.
But one person was faster than them.
Uchiha Dan pushed off the ground with the strength of his body. A crater webbed with cracks appeared beneath his feet, and his body vanished in an instant as he charged into the middle of the seven.
The melee began!
Or rather, the one-sided beatdown began!
A minute later, all seven were sprawled on the ground, spitting blood and twitching all over.
All eight of these people were very young. Uchiha En was the oldest by a little, and his strength was decent—he'd reached the level of an elite jonin.
But Uchiha Dan had pounded him unconscious while keeping his feet off the ground the entire time, leaving him unable to brace himself or use any ninjutsu.
The rest were only at the Chunin or Genin level.
When they saw Uchiha Dan charge at them, they activated their Sharingan at once.
But Uchiha Dan activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan at almost the same time.
And then...
There was no "then"!
The commotion from the fight was enormous, and soon a large crowd had gathered.
They were all ninja from the Police Force—or, rather, they were all members of the Uchiha Clan.
Seeing the Uchiha ninja scattered across the ground and Uchiha Dan standing calmly in the middle of them, they all erupted with fury and murderous intent.
Before you continue