"Who are you?" Sasuke Uchiha frowned at the men blocking his way. Both wore standard-issue Konoha Chunin flak jackets. One had his Forehead Protector tied around his arm, while the other wore his crookedly around his neck.
"Hey, hey. We thought you were just some ordinary kid, but it turns out we ran into an Uchiha."
The burly, heavily furred Chunin grinned even wider when he saw Sasuke's face.
His companion was much thinner and shorter, with an even more vicious expression. He stared intently at Sasuke Uchiha's face like a hungry wolf, as if he wanted to tear a chunk of flesh from it.
The young master of the Uchiha Clan had never experienced anything like this. Before that incident, the people responsible for keeping the peace in Konoha had been members of the Uchiha Clan...
That was right. There was no clan anymore.
With the clan gone, scoundrels like these had started acting up.
Sasuke Uchiha instinctively reached for his waist, where he always kept a ninja tool pouch, but this time, his hand found nothing.
But—
That was right. The man had given him that pouch as a gift. It had already been thrown into the hospital trash, mixed in with bloodstained bandages and discarded needles.
Now he kept his shuriken and Kunai on the other side, opposite where he used to wear them.
"Look at that, look at that! Hahaha! The little brat from the Ninja Academy is actually trying to pull out a Kunai. Who does he think he is, Hatake Kakashi?" The burly ninja stroked his mustache and laughed, leaning on his companion's shoulder.
His companion grinned too, revealing a mouthful of crooked, yellow teeth.
As he laughed, Sasuke struck. His right hand swept through an arc, flashing coldly beneath the moon.
"Hahaha! Are you really a student at the Ninja Academy? You can't even throw a shuriken straight?"
The ninja laughed even harder. His first instinct was to raise his own shuriken to block, but the few Kunai and shuriken Sasuke Uchiha had thrown weren't aimed at him at all. They flew up into the night sky instead.
But after just two laughs, he heard the clanging of metal behind him. The whoosh of the projectiles, which had just faded, suddenly grew loud again.
"Hmph. You let your guard down. The Uchiha brats are best at throwing ninja tools." The skinny ninja pulled out his shuriken and knocked away the Kunai coming from behind them. Then he stepped forward, grinning even more viciously.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you attacked first. We were only defending ourselves. I doubt even the Security Force can do much about that," he continued.
Sasuke didn't care about any of that. He threw another shuriken, only for it to be knocked away with ease again.
He knew the Three Body Technique and a little Taijutsu, but against two Chunin, he was no better than a baby.
He had to risk it. Watching the ninja draw closer, he began forming Hand Seals.
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse...
The two ninjas watched Sasuke Uchiha form Hand Seals with amused smiles. At his age, being able to use the Three Body Technique already made him one of the top students in his class, let alone learning more complicated Ninjutsu.
They waited for Sasuke Uchiha to embarrass himself, ready to laugh at his overconfidence. They expected his Ninjutsu not only to fail but to hurt him as well.
Tiger!
But to their horror, the little Sasuke Uchiha finished the last seal, and his cheeks began to swell. Then they felt a wave of heat wash over them.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
At such close range, only the Body Flicker Technique could dodge a fireball that huge. Even an ordinary Jonin would struggle to use this technique well, let alone two mere Chunin.
But the instant the fireball took shape, both men dropped to the ground, unable to control themselves. The flames skimmed their scalps, setting the heavily furred ninja's hair alight.
Sasuke saw that his Ninjutsu had failed and was just as shocked. He tried to throw a couple more shuriken, but before his arm could swing, he dropped to the ground just like the two Chunin.
All three were in the exact same position, facing the same direction. He tried to struggle, but he couldn't even move a finger.
"Out late at night instead of sleeping, bullying a little ninja in an alley?" A tired voice rang out beneath the night sky.
"And you nearly got killed by that little ninja, too. Are you two really Chunin from the village?"
The voice drew closer. Turning his head, Sasuke could see the newcomer by the moonlight: a woman wearing a Chunin uniform, just like them. Three dark shadows extended from beneath her boots, connecting to him and the other two ninjas.
"Officer Lu Yu, this wasn't our fault," the burly ninja said hurriedly when he realized he could move his mouth.
"We were just walking along, and then we ran into this Uchiha brat. He blocked our way."
"Pfft..." Nara Shikaru couldn't hold back a laugh. "A little ninja who just got out of the hospital blocked the way of two Chunin?"
But she had clearly underestimated how shameless the two Chunin were.
"Officer Lu Yu, please hear us out! We were the ones getting beaten up. If you hadn't stepped in, we would've been burned to ashes by the Great Fireball Technique."
"Exactly! This Uchiha brat threw shuriken at us first, then launched a Great Fireball Technique without a word. How could we have known he was so vicious?"
"But he's from the Uchiha Clan. It's not strange at all that he's so vicious."
"That's right! I used to get bullied by the Security Force when it was run by the Uchiha. Now there's a new chief, and we have an officer like you, Officer Lu Yu. You'll definitely stand up for us."
"You!" Hearing how brazenly the two men spoke, Sasuke Uchiha was so angry he wanted to spit out another Great Fireball.
"You what, you shameless Uchiha brat? Why weren't you killed by Uchiha Itachi?"
"That's right! Uchiha Itachi was so great, so why did he become a rogue ninja? Was it because he—ow!"
Lu Yu had finally had enough. She kicked each of the two Chunin once.
"I know exactly what you two are like. Stop putting on an act."
Then she manipulated her shadows, transforming them into three tentacles that lifted the two Chunin and Sasuke Uchiha into the air. She headed toward the newly established Security Force.
She was walking in the same direction as Sasuke's home. The newly established Security Force hadn't moved offices, so there was no need to put up a new building or transfer all the files and records.
Hanging upside down, Sasuke looked at the familiar streets and shops. Their doors were shut, and the streets were deserted. Even at this hour, they used to be lively.
Farther ahead, there weren't even any lights. Only one lonely little building remained lit. It was the Security Force, past and present.
"Why is it you two again? And why did you bring a kid back with you?" Sarutobi Kou asked, looking at the three people Lu Yu had dragged back.