Fugaku Backs Down

"Damn, that old man actually made Lord Fugaku lower his head."

Obito, standing nearby, was also stunned by Fugaku's actions, his voice nearly impossible to suppress.

"Idiot, keep it down." Kakashi punched Obito on the head, signaling him to stop talking.

"Hey, you—" Obito clutched his head and glared angrily at Kakashi.

"That's right, Obito, keep it down." Kazashiro also threw a punch, hitting the part Obito was not covering.

"Hey, you too?!" Obito glared at Kazashiro, puffing up with anger.

"What do you mean, 'hey, hey, hey'? His name is Kakashi, and mine is Kazashiro. Remember that. We're your saviors, so you'll have to repay us like a loyal servant from now on." Kazashiro turned away, refusing to look at Obito's expression.

"Damn you two—" The gratitude he had felt for being saved by them vanished completely after the way they treated him. Right now, Obito only wanted to show them what an Uchiha was capable of.

Hmph, I'm not scared. Unless you put on a tiger mask.

Sneaking a glance at Obito's expression, Kazashiro nearly burst out laughing at the indignant look on his face.

Meanwhile, Fugaku and Danzo's "confrontation" was still ongoing.

Calling it a confrontation was generous. In truth, Fugaku was the only one backing down.

Fugaku knew perfectly well how his clansmen usually treated Obito.

But that was simply how the Uchiha were.

Uchiha clansmen only needed to act as they pleased, but the Clan Head had far more to consider.

Fugaku spent all his energy figuring out how to balance the Clan's relationship with the village, leaving him no spare time to deal with bullying among the children in the Clan.

"Since Clan Head Fugaku understands the situation, this old man need not overstep his bounds. It is merely children fooling around. There is no need for us parents to interfere." Danzo had originally intended only to teach the Uchiha a lesson, so he accepted Fugaku's concession. He was so agreeable that Fugaku almost felt as though he were thinking, Is this really that old bastard Danzo?

"Oh, that old man is a parent too? I wonder which unlucky fool is his child." Obito, who had grown up hearing stories about Danzo, gaped. Having completely forgotten that he had just been beaten by the other two, he gleefully elbowed Kazashiro without noticing his expression at all.

"You think you're funny?" Kazashiro looked at Obito with a dark expression.

"Uh..." Even someone as lacking in brains as Obito realized something was wrong, though he could not put his finger on what it was.

"Us parents..." Fugaku naturally noticed what Obito had noticed.

There were only three children present. Excluding Kakashi, whose identity was obvious, that left only...

So that was it. Danzo was actually Obito's biological father! Scratch that.

That black-haired child with the adorable face!

Fugaku broke out in a cold sweat at his discovery.

That Danzo—the Danzo whose shit stank, whose farts were loud, and who never did anything decent—actually had a child!

How shocking was this news to Fugaku? Put it this way: if someone told him one day that Danzo and the Third Hokage had gotten together, it would still not be as shocking as learning that Danzo had a child.

Damn it, no wonder such a trivial matter had alarmed that old bastard. He had surrendered so quickly because he had assumed this was a trap set by Danzo and Hatake Sakumo. Afraid of falling into it by accident, he had humbled himself so thoroughly.

This was bad. Yao Mei had actually intended to attack Danzo's child just now. The Uchiha Clan's relationship with the higher-ups was already strained, and now this had practically handed them a reason to punish the Clan.

When had Obito gotten mixed up with these two?

"And what is your honored son's name?" Fugaku forced out a smile.

"Kazashiro. Shimura Kazashiro." Danzo stated the name, placing particular emphasis on the pronunciation of Shimura.

As though he had discovered something incredible, Obito said to Kazashiro beside him, "Hey, did you hear that? That old man's son has the same name as you. Do you think this is some kind of—uh..."

All right, Obito finally understood what had felt wrong just now.

"You... him..." Obito looked helplessly at Kazashiro's delicate little face, then at Danzo's old face. He simply could not connect the two as father and son.

"What an idiot." Kakashi had had enough of the living treasure beside him. At that moment, he regretted greeting Kazashiro. No, he should never have gotten to know him in the first place.

"I think you should stop talking, Obito." Kazashiro gave Obito a pitying look and shook his head helplessly. This guy really did not take a jonin's hearing seriously. Root had probably written down every insult he had just hurled at Danzo in a little notebook.

It looked like their second Sage of Six Paths might die before his great undertaking was halfway done.

"What a fine name." Turning toward Kazashiro with an apologetic smile, Fugaku carried his politeness to the utmost. "I am deeply sorry for the trouble caused to you. Once we return, I will properly educate Yao Wan and the others."

Kazashiro nodded in response.

"Then please do as you wish, Captain Fugaku." Danzo waved a hand, signaling that Fugaku need not remain before him any longer, and walked over to Kazashiro.

He first glanced at the trembling Obito, then at Kakashi, who had turned away and remained silent, before finally resting his gaze on Kazashiro. "Go home early."

With that, Danzo left directly with the Root ninja under his command.

"Ahem, Clan Head..." Seeing Danzo leave, Obito let out a long breath, then looked fearfully toward Fugaku in the distance.

Seeing Obito look at him, Fugaku nodded. He glanced at Kazashiro and Kakashi beside him but said nothing more, merely telling Obito that once they returned to the Clan compound, he would send someone to ask him about the specifics of the matter.

Then he forcibly took Yao Mei and the others away.

"Captain, are we really just leaving like this?" Uchiha Yao Mei looked resentfully in Kazashiro's direction, gritting his teeth as he tried to struggle one last time.

"Enough. Investigate this matter thoroughly first. I know Obito. Though he is not particularly bright, he is not someone who would start trouble on his own." Fugaku cut him off directly, his voice icy.

"But—" Uchiha Yao Mei still wanted to argue.

"But what? Why didn't you say everything you wanted to say right in front of Danzo?" Seeing that his clansman was still stubbornly refusing to see reason, Fugaku's tone carried a hint of anger.

Only when Fugaku became angry did Uchiha Yao Mei shut his mouth, though his eyes remained filled with deep resentment.

"Do not concern yourself with this matter any longer. I will send someone else to investigate." Knowing that handing this matter to him would yield no results, Fugaku simply took it upon himself.