Conflict!

The next day.

"Open the door!"

A barrage of violent pounding and angry shouts rang out. Shinji could hear them clearly even from the second-floor window.

Reluctantly, he pushed himself up and yawned, about to head downstairs when he seemed to remember something. He hurriedly took an item out of his inventory.

Amid the relentless knocking and urging from outside, he finally sauntered over and opened the front door.

"You're so damn noisy. Stop rushing me."

After opening the door, Shinji narrowed his eyes. Four Uchiha clan members stood outside.

Inabi, Tekka, and two Police Force members whose faces he did not recognize.

All of them had been victims last night.

In particular, the huge bump on Inabi's head and the severely swollen eyes of the two men behind him made them look especially comical.

Shinji could not hold it in when he saw that. Covering his mouth, he let out a quiet laugh.

"Hehehe..."

Seeing Shinji looking like he had just woken up, clothes disheveled and secretly chuckling behind his hand, the faces of all four men immediately darkened.

Gritting his teeth, Inabi stepped forward. "We have some questions for you. Where were you last night, and what were you doing?"

"We're here under the elders' orders. This is a routine inquiry by the Police Force."

He deliberately added that last part, clearly trying to use the higher-ups to pressure him.

Shinji casually spread his hands. "I was resting at home all night. I don't know why there was suddenly such a commotion outside. After the disturbance died down, I saw an incredibly blinding flash of light."

"It took me a long time to fall asleep again."

Feigning confusion, he put on an innocent expression. "So what exactly happened yesterday?"

Frowning, Inabi briefly explained what had happened in the clan compound last night, then asked in a somewhat accusatory tone, "Why didn't you go help when the incident occurred?"

"I'm not with the Police Force. I took a look from afar and saw dozens of Police Force members there, so I thought you'd definitely be able to take the culprit down."

Shinji narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone casual. "Looks like you failed."

Tekka, who had been standing to the side, finally could not hold back any longer and angrily spoke up.

"Anyone who did not participate in the pursuit yesterday but activated their Sharingan is under serious suspicion."

His sharp gaze fell directly on Shinji.

"You are one of our primary suspects as well."

Tekka clenched his fists, his eyes filled with hostility.

He had only recently joined the Police Force and had thought he would finally get to make a name for himself. Then he heard that Shinji had been rising rapidly, and he had already found him unpleasant to look at.

On top of that, he and Inabi had been responsible for guarding Naka Shrine last night, yet someone had still infiltrated it. Elder Yashiro had harshly reprimanded them afterward and ordered them to make up for their failure by capturing the culprit.

With nowhere to vent the fury in his heart, he now poured it all onto Shinji.

"We're searching your room. Move aside!"

Tekka grabbed Shinji by the collar and prepared to shove him away by force.

Shinji was slightly taken aback. He had not expected the higher-ups to be so desperate this time that they would directly search a clan member's home.

Didn't they consider that I might have hidden the item outside long ago?

Or was this merely going through the motions, checking for anything suspicious?

He knew full well that since he had not shown himself in front of everyone last night and possessed the Sharingan, he was indeed highly suspicious.

Shinji looked toward Inabi and the other two, deliberately asking in a cold voice, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"This is my home. Everything inside is private."

Tekka tightened his grip even further. His Sharingan abruptly activated, and his voice was full of threat.

"If you won't let us search, then you're the one who infiltrated the shrine yesterday."

The others merely watched Shinji coldly. Their attitude made it clear: the search had to happen.

Shinji frowned slightly.

He really wanted to tell them directly: This time, you actually got the right man.

Seeing him fall silent, Tekka felt even more contempt, assuming that Shinji was afraid.

So much for the supposedly up-and-coming Uchiha Shinji. Just a spineless coward.

But the moment that thought surfaced, an intense pain violently invaded his mind. His entire body instantly stiffened, unable to move.

Genjutsu!?

The next second, his entire body flew backward like a cannonball and slammed heavily into the opposite wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Shinji appeared before Tekka in a flicker, seized him by the throat with one hand, and forcibly lifted him into the air.

Inabi reacted with astonishing speed, throwing a punch as he rushed in to save him.

But Shinji's figure flickered, and more than ten phantoms instantly spread out, surrounding the three of them.

"What are you doing?! Let Tekka go!"

"Are you trying to rebel?"

"You're provoking the Police Force?!"

With Phantom Body Flicker holding them back, the Police Force members simply could not catch Shinji's real body.

The atmosphere instantly became taut with tension.

The surrounding neighbors were alarmed by the commotion and hurried out of their homes. Seeing the standoff, they quickly retreated to the side to watch.

Shinji had never intended to make a big scene, so he stopped while he was ahead.

He merely wanted to make his stance clear and dampen their arrogance, so they would not dare act so overbearingly again. That way, he could appear to have a clear conscience and conveniently reduce suspicion against himself.

He glanced at Tekka, who was still struggling in his grasp, and casually tossed him to the ground as though throwing away trash.

"Tekka!" Inabi hurried forward and helped him up.

Tekka coughed violently, clutching his neck as he glared venomously at Shinji. "You!"

Shinji's tone was calm.

"Don't slander people without evidence."

He pointed toward his front door.

"If you want to search, then search. But don't mess up my home, or else..."

He did not finish the latter half of his sentence, merely sweeping his cold gaze over them. The threat was obvious.

He could not refuse the Police Force's search.

But that did not mean he had to swallow his anger.

It was like a gamble, except he was bluffing.

He was betting that the Police Force had no concrete evidence at the moment. Even if they were furious, they would not dare pressure him too far and create a situation they could not clean up.

Inabi gave Shinji a deep look, patted Tekka on the shoulder, and said gravely, "Complete the task the elder assigned first."

Unwilling to accept it, Tekka slammed his fist into the ground, unable to conceal his shock.

Just then, he had been completely suppressed in an instant, without even a chance to fight back.

Shinji had faced three opponents alone and still held the upper hand with ease. His strength far exceeded Tekka's expectations.

The group exchanged glances before entering Shinji's home together.

The neighbors immediately gathered around, asking questions over one another.

"Shinji, what happened?"

"Are you all right?"

"Is this related to yesterday's incident?"

Shinji quickly reassured everyone, saying only that it was a routine inspection.

Among the crowd, he also spotted Uncle Tree Jie.

Uncle Tree Jie quietly leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Nothing happened, right? Why is the Police Force here?"

Shinji shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing, just procedure."

He offered no further explanation. After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, he turned and entered the house.

For the next half hour, Shinji sat on the living room sofa, quietly reading through Chiyo's medical notes. Only occasionally did he look up and casually glance at the four people rummaging through everything around the house.

A few more minutes passed before they finally stopped and gathered in the middle of the living room. They exchanged looks, then all shook their heads lightly.

They had found nothing.

Tekka was filled with resentment. His gaze fell on the notes in Shinji's hands, and he immediately sneered mockingly. "Instead of practicing the Sharingan like a proper Uchiha, you're reading medical ninjutsu. You're a disgrace to the Uchiha."

Without even raising his head, Shinji casually waved them off as though chasing them away. "Instead of wasting your time here, you should think about how you're going to report back. Hurry up and leave. Don't ruin my good mood for the day."

Their expressions instantly turned ugly. Inabi stepped forward with a dark face. "We're leaving!"

Watching the four leave in anger, Shinji quietly let out a sigh of relief.