A Gentle Person

"I can't believe it! He'd pull something like this over just a hundred thousand ryo? Is there something wrong with that shopkeeper?"

"Seriously? He ruined our reputation over such a small amount of money? He has no shame at all..."

"Business is already tough these days, and now he's gone and offended the Uchiha Clan. What a mess..."

Among the onlookers were plenty of local shopkeepers. They were all furious at the dango shop owner's words, already imagining how difficult it would be to do business from now on.

"Senior Liu, Senior Huohuo, threatening and coercing ordinary civilians, gathering a crowd to plot the slander of law enforcement officers, and provoking hostility between a major clan and the villagers."

Uchiha Kai rattled off one accusation after another, as though he were pouring beans from a sack. The expressions of the two beside him grew more and more interesting.

"How should we deal with him?" The boy's lips curled into a smirk, his eyes full of amusement.

"Ah..." Uchiha Liu hadn't caught on yet.

"Of course, we detain him first. Once we've interrogated him for details, we hand him over to Lord Hokage!" Uchiha Huohuo's eyes lit up, and he answered at once.

"Lies! We were just passing through. You're making false accusations! Everyone, look! The Uchiha Clan is abusing their power and bullying ordinary people! Don't be afraid of them. If we all stand together, they won't dare do anything!"

The middle-aged man's face had gone pale, and his words grew more frantic as he kept shouting at the crowd.

But the people around him didn't respond as he'd hoped. Instead, they all took two steps back in unison, putting distance between themselves and him. His desperate struggle looked downright pathetic.

"This isn't the time for you to make things up. Whether you're guilty or not, you're coming with us. I have reasonable grounds to suspect you're a spy planted by the Stone Ninja, intent on sowing discord within our village. Your crimes are heinous!"

Uchiha Huohuo spoke sternly, pointing at the two men.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen those two before."

"Yeah, I don't recognize them either."

"Could they... really be spies?"

The crowd thought it over, then realized to their horror that they couldn't recall ever seeing anyone who looked like the two men.

"You're talking nonsense! We..." The two tried to argue, but in the next instant, a pair of scarlet, hellish eyes blazed to life, fixing them in place with murderous intent.

"We ask that you cooperate with our investigation. Otherwise... I can't guarantee that my companion won't do something excessive to you." Uchiha Huohuo's voice was perfectly calm, like the dead, unfathomable depths of the sea.

As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Liu played along, glaring and stretching his arms like a husky pretending to be a wolf.

"I hate spies more than anything. You'd better hope I don't catch you." Uchiha Liu's lips curled into a grin.

"...You'll regret this!" After a moment of silence, the two men issued a sinister threat.

"Regret it? Oh, now you're threatening me? You've got guts, I'll give you that. Just you wait. I'll show you how Lightning Release can really charge someone up..." Uchiha Liu rolled up his sleeves and seized the middle-aged man who'd spoken, deliberately roughing him up.

"Kai, we have you to thank for this. If we'd let that idiot Liu keep talking nonsense, this could've turned a minor matter into a major one, and things might've gotten out of hand." Uchiha Huohuo stepped closer to Kai and spoke in a low voice.

"You're giving me too much credit. I just happen to have a little experience with things like this. It's only natural that Senior Liu would be a bit flustered—he hasn't dealt with anything like this before." Uchiha Kai scratched his head, sounding relaxed.

"Besides, being straightforward is a good thing. This world needs people like Senior Liu most of all—people who are full of passion and never fear schemes or trickery." The boy spoke earnestly, his eyes shining with admiration.

"...Kai, you're still as gentle as ever. If all the children in the clan were like you, the Uchiha would have nothing to worry about." Huohuo sighed, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"That day will come, Senior Huohuo. As long as we keep persevering and stay true to the ideals we believe in, the Uchiha will definitely see that day." The boy gazed ahead with conviction, the light in his eyes unwavering.

"For now, let's deal with these two... who are obviously members of Root," Uchiha Kai said gravely.

"Don't worry about that. Liu's the best at dealing with scum like them. I don't expect them to tell us anything, but making them suffer and getting under that old scoundrel Danzo's skin will be easy enough." Uchiha Huohuo snorted, making no effort to hide his anger.

"By the way, what do you think we should do with the shopkeeper?" Huohuo turned to the dango shop owner, who was trembling and too afraid to speak, and asked Kai for his opinion.

"I think we've already caught two big fish, so we should go easy on the shopkeeper and let him off without punishment. That would show the villagers that the Guard Unit enforces the law with compassion and leave them with a better impression of us. It would benefit the clan, too. There's no point in arresting him anyway, so we might as well do him a favor."

Uchiha Kai spoke softly.

"Mm, that makes sense. We'll do as you say." Huohuo thought it over and agreed that the boy had a point.

The next moment, he cleared his throat and spoke loudly.

"The ringleader has been taken into custody! By law, as an accomplice, you should come with us as well." Uchiha Huohuo glanced at him, and the dango shop owner immediately jolted and began to tremble.

"Please, sir, don't! I had no choice! Those two threatened me! I'm just an ordinary man—how could I stand up to them? Please see reason, sir!" The man wailed, pouring out his grievances.

Seeing this, Uchiha Huohuo nodded, then changed his tone.

"Don't be afraid. The Guard Unit has always enforced the law fairly. We never wrong an innocent person, and we never let a criminal go! Considering that you've realized your mistake and that you were coerced..."

"Most importantly, this young man pleaded on your behalf. Do you understand?" Uchiha Huohuo said in a teasing but serious tone.

At that, the shopkeeper hurried over to Uchiha Kai.

"Thank you, thank you, young man! Thank you, officers, for showing mercy!" The man nodded repeatedly, his gratitude sincere.

Seeing this, Uchiha Kai quickly stepped forward and caught the man before he could drop to his knees.

"Please don't do that, sir. We're only doing what we ought to. Punishing evildoers with ulterior motives and protecting Konoha's peace is the duty of the Guard Unit—and the responsibility of every member of the Uchiha Clan..."

The boy held the man's hand firmly and spoke with sincerity.

"And don't kneel again. As long as the Uchiha Clan is part of the Guard Unit, the villagers of Konoha won't have to kneel for fairness." The boy's gaze was resolute, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"I... I'm ashamed! I was so foolish that I did something so despicable! I'm truly ashamed!" The man choked up, tears streaming down his face as he turned away, unable to meet the boy's eyes.

"It's all right. Only those who know shame can find the courage to do better. True greatness isn't about avoiding mistakes; it's about having the courage to face your own shortcomings. We're all one family in the same village. There's no conflict we can't resolve."

As the boy spoke, his tone grew more solemn and his voice louder, carrying to every villager present.

"Waaah... That's so moving! I can't believe someone so young could be so magnanimous."

"The Uchiha Clan... They don't seem as arrogant as everyone says. They're actually so kind..."

"Handsome! Give me your number!"...

Voices like these rang out. Uchiha Liu and Uchiha Huohuo stared in stunned amazement, clearly not expecting things to turn out this way. They looked at Uchiha Kai with even greater admiration.