One Word, One Promise

"What do you mean, bullying me! Explain yourself clearly. We ate one skewer of dango and paid for it, and now you're slandering us out of thin air! What kind of business is this?" Uchiha Liu pointed at the vendor and shouted loudly.

"Ah! I understand now." A middle-aged man suddenly stepped out from the surrounding crowd, dressed neatly and cleanly.

"You ate two skewers of dango but only want to pay for one."

"You are from the Uchiha Clan, you are Konoha's special guard, but you can't bully us ordinary villagers just because you have official positions, can you?"

The middle-aged man's tone was sincere, and his expression seemed a little innocent.

"Everyone, am I right!"

"Yeah, yeah, what is this supposed to be." "I've heard before that the Uchiha Clan doesn't make sense, I didn't expect them to do something like this."

"No way... Isn't Uchiha one of the top clans? It's not like they'd do this for two skewers of dango."

"Tch, what do you know? It's precisely because of that they dare to do it. Do you think they'd dare to steal from the Hokage?"

Voices like these kept erupting from the crowd, each one sounding convincing, as if they had witnessed these events firsthand. As for whether they were true or not?

Who cared.

"What kind of bullshit is that! Fabricating lies to smear our Uchiha Clan, what are your intentions!" Uchiha Liu couldn't help but take two steps forward, raising his arm as if to strike.

The next second, he was stopped by Uchiha Huohuo, who was with him.

"Calm down, Liu. Can't you see? Something's fishy about this. That vendor didn't even look us in the eye the whole time, but he keeps glancing at this guy ever since he popped out."

Uchiha Huohuo whispered in Uchiha Liu's ear, his eyes constantly scanning the middle-aged man who had just appeared.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man became even more arrogant. Seeing that Uchiha Liu hesitated to make a move, he took a step back.

"Oh dear, oh dear! What are you trying to do! In broad daylight! Are you going to resort to violence when you can't win an argument? Uchiha is bullying people! Everyone, please judge!"

"I..." Uchiha Liu wanted to say more but stopped himself. He forcefully suppressed his temper. After all, he had served in the special guard for a long time, and he had been blinded by anger just now, not reacting in time.

Now, reminded by Uchiha Huohuo and having calmed down, he also noticed the strangeness of the situation.

It was too coincidental.

Uchiha Liu turned his gaze to the arrogant middle-aged man and immediately noticed something was off.

"Huohuo, did you see it?" Liu lowered his voice and spoke to Huohuo.

"See what?"

"That guy's hands. The webbing between his thumb and index finger is covered in calluses and abrasions. Even a villager who does dirty or heavy work wouldn't have hands like that."

Upon hearing this, Huohuo turned his head and took a closer look. He indeed found that the man's hands were exactly as Uchiha Liu described.

"Looking at his stance, it's also a bit unusual. He walks lightly and silently. He's most likely a ninja involved in infiltration and intelligence gathering," Huohuo said.

"No way... Could it be someone from Anbu?" Uchiha Liu's scalp tightened, and his mind began to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"No, it doesn't seem like it. Anbu members wouldn't be so flashy. Besides, the Third Generation isn't that kind of person. Not to mention the current situation, he wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for us. Even if he really wanted to suppress the Uchiha Clan, he wouldn't use this method," Uchiha Huohuo shook his head.

"Then it must be..."

"That's right... There's only one possibility."

The two exchanged a glance, and the answer was already in their minds.

"Root... Danzo!" The two gritted their teeth, their eyes filled with barely contained rage.

"What's wrong?! You two esteemed Uchiha special guards! What are you trying to do! You can't just refuse to pay and bully people without saying anything!" Seeing them whispering, the middle-aged man on the side became impatient and spoke up again.

"If you don't speak, what about us ordinary villagers!" The man's tone shifted, and his voice rose a few octaves.

"Aren't you bullying! Honest! People!" The man gestured wildly, spitting as he spoke.

"We, we are not!" Uchiha Liu retorted, puffing out his neck.

"Exactly! They are the famous Uchiha Clan, and elite members of the special guard. How could they possibly bully you! Are they short on money?"

A sudden voice cut in. A short-haired man emerged from the crowd, speaking with conviction.

"?" Seeing the stranger suddenly appear, the two looked confused, unsure of what was happening.

"What do you mean? Whose side are you on! Why are you speaking up for these public officials from a big clan!" the middle-aged man said sarcastically.

"Whose side? I don't have sides. I only stand on the side of fairness!" the short-haired man said. The two began to argue back and forth.

"Then tell me, what is fairness?" The middle-aged man tilted his head up.

"One is one, two is two. Never waver when you say one or two. That's fairness!" the short-haired man said, gesturing with his fingers.

"But that's not right! They ate two skewers of dango and only paid for one. That's not fair!" the middle-aged man said, counting on his fingers.

"What? Is that true?" The short-haired man suddenly turned and tugged at the vendor's collar, asking.

"Yes... Yes, they ate two skewers." The vendor, with his collar being pulled, his face pale and stiff, forced a smile and said softly.

"Oh no, this is terrible. How could you bully such a small vendor? It's indeed unfair if you don't pay!" The short-haired man's expression changed, as if he had heard something troubling.

"Liar! I only ate one skewer, and I still have the skewer stick! He took the money too!" Uchiha Liu panicked and tried to explain, but his voice carried a hint of nervousness.

"Oh, I see. You don't have money, do you?" The middle-aged man smirked.

"It's okay, I'll pay for you." Saying that, the man made a move as if to take out his wallet.

"You're spouting nonsense, I have money, how much..." Uchiha Liu was about to argue when he was interrupted by a sudden voice.

"Where's the proof?" The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone present.

"What proof? Who are you!"

"Who I am isn't important, but you keep talking about fairness yet offer no proof. Is that fairness? No, that's just being unreasonable and muddying the waters," Uchiha Kai said loudly from the crowd.

"Kai? What are you doing here?" Uchiha Liu and Uchiha Huohuo were taken aback and turned around.

"Leave the rest to me," Uchiha Kai gestured, signaling them to say no more.

"Huh? So you guys know each other? Then why were you talking to us like that! Where's your proof?" the middle-aged man retorted.

"What a joke. If you're questioning these two customers, shouldn't you be the ones providing proof that they skipped out on the bill? Why are you asking them for proof instead? Isn't that turning things upside down?"

"Isn't it common knowledge that whoever makes the accusation must provide proof? You claim to have been treated unfairly, yet you can't produce any evidence and are slandering a customer who was legitimately dining here with mere words."

The young man paused, his tone laced with mockery.

"Where in the world does such a principle exist? These two members of our guard, who work diligently and conscientiously, patrolling and maintaining the village's stability every day, only came to this gentleman's dango shop during their leisure time to spend some money, and now they're being falsely accused of this baseless crime. Does that make any sense?"

"No, it doesn't make sense at all! Is this something a shop owner should do? If even members of the guard are being slandered and framed like this, then what would happen to an ordinary person who patronized their shop? They'd probably be completely fleeced and lose their lives!"

The young man's voice rose passionately as he shouted to the surrounding villagers.