Early the next morning, at the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Uncle, you have to avenge me!"
Uchiha Gongzhu knelt on the Tatami, clinging to a man's leg and wailing loudly.
"I got bullied at school!"
He was crying as if his heart would break, though after all that squeezing, he hadn't managed to shed more than a few tears.
"Ow! Uncle, why are you pinching my face...?"
Just then, Gongzhu suddenly yelped. His swollen little face was stretched out long.
The man crouched down and stared at his nephew with amusement.
"Aren't you the king of the kids at your school?
What?
You ran into someone tough this time and got beaten up?"
"...Uh."
Gongzhu's eyes darted away as he scurried behind a beautiful woman in a Butterfly Pattern Green Kimono, who was shaking her head with a wry smile.
"Mom, look at him. All he does is complain about me.
The kid who hit me said he'd beat me up every time he saw me at school from now on. How am I supposed to survive at school... I mean, study!"
Though the beautiful woman knew her son was unruly, seeing his swollen face still made her heart ache. In the end, she looked at the man and spoke gently:
"Brother Qingyi Lang, could you go to the school with Gongzhu? I know he's a handful. If it wasn't anything serious, perhaps you could talk it over with the other child's parents. Then we could..."
"No need!"
Gongzhu suddenly cut in. "I already asked around. That kid's an orphan, and he often goes to a lake outside the village to practice Ninjutsu. Uncle, all you have to do is go to the school—no, wait outside the Ninja village—and beat him up. Heh, then I bet he'll never dare to..."
"You little brat!"
Qingyi Lang glared at him.
"You think your uncle's the Hokage, free to beat up anyone he wants?
I bet you picked on him because he's an orphan, and he beat you up for it. How many times have I told you not to hang around with those brats?
Feilin, you should talk to him too when you have the chance. If he keeps this up, he'll get himself into trouble sooner or later!"
As he spoke, Qingyi Lang turned to the helpless-looking woman beside him.
"I want to, too..."
Feilin lowered her beautiful eyes, looking on the verge of tears. "But his father died young, and I have to find work for the clan during the day to help make ends meet..."
"Ah..."
Hearing this, Qingyi Lang let out a long sigh. He knew his younger sister had it hard, so he said nothing more. At last, he murmured, "All right, then. I'll pick Gongzhu up after school today. If the other kid really was unreasonable, I'll report it to the school."
Feilin wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and bowed as she asked, "Then... I'm sorry for the trouble, Brother Qingyi Lang."
Gongzhu had gotten what he wanted. He was just about to grin, but when he saw the worry on his uncle and mother's faces, he couldn't make the smile lift at all...
Was what I did... right?
"Hello? Is Qingyi Lang there?"
Just as the mood in the house grew heavy, a cheeky voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
"If he is, tell him his beloved father has returned."
Hearing that familiar voice, the worry on Qingyi Lang's face vanished. He froze for a moment, then laughed and cursed as he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear outside.
Leaning against the doorway was none other than the dashing Uchiha Ao.
He had specially put on a handsome, high-collared Uchiha Clan Uniform that day, combed his hair into a mature style, and paired it all with his warm, charming smile. He looked utterly full of himself.
"You bastard! You really did make it back alive!"
Qingyi Lang didn't even look closely before slapping Uchiha Ao on the back.
"You have no idea. Those bastards in the clan even started a betting pool about you. Looks like some people are going to be crying."
"You son of a bitch, are you trying to kill your old man? That hurt!"
Uchiha Ao sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his shoulder for a long while. Then he waggled his eyebrows. "Well? You bet I'd make it back alive, didn't you?"
"Bullshit. You think I've got money to burn?"
Qingyi Lang rolled his eyes. "I bet a thousand ryo that you'd croak halfway there."
He knew exactly what his good-for-nothing friend was capable of.
He'd come back so soon, so he'd probably given up on the mission halfway through. But Qingyi Lang didn't say it aloud; he might as well let him save face.
"Bastard. Serves you right for losing!" Sou's mouth twitched as he cursed.
"Heh..."
Qingyi Lang chuckled. "A thousand ryo is nothing. Some people bet a full hundred thousand!"
"Whatever..."
Sou couldn't be bothered to ask who. After cursing under his breath, he invited him, "So, Qingyi Lang, does the gate guard squad leader have time to grab a drink tonight?"
Qingyi Lang readily agreed. "Sure. Let's meet tonight. Then I'll treat you to a second round. Heh..."
They slung their arms over each other's shoulders, breaking into cheeky grins now and then.
The clan had been tense for a while, and Qingyi Lang had been wanting to unwind.
"Brother Sou, you're here."
A timid voice came from the courtyard.
Turning toward it, he saw Feilin leading her younger son out of the courtyard.
"You are...?"
Uchiha Ao frowned as he looked at the beautiful woman. Then his memories came flooding back, and her name slipped out naturally.
"Feilin!"
"Giggle..."
Feilin bowed and smiled behind her hand. "I thought Brother Sou had forgotten all about me."
"How could I? I've been meaning to come by for the past two years. It's just that your brother's always guarding against me like a dog..."
Sou waved a hand with a smile, but a glimmer of admiration flashed in his eyes.
No wonder Qingyi Lang guarded against me like a thief. Feilin wasn't a great beauty, but that alluring charm of hers took her looks up a notch.
Her eyes were as lovely as autumn waters, and her red lips were like ripe cherries—vivid and lustrous. As she walked, her round, shapely bottom swayed gently...
"Ahem, ahem..."
Qingyi Lang coughed a few times and hurriedly stepped between them. "Who's guarding against you? I invited you over for dinner before, remember? You didn't come!"
Sou immediately seized the opening. "All right, big brother. It's a deal, then. I'll be sure to visit often!"
"Get lost! If you dare come over, I'll shove a hundred Kunai up your ass!"
Feilin blushed at their conversation and made an excuse to hurry back inside.
Her two round cheeks swayed with every step as she ran...
But the little rascal Gongzhu had quickly gotten over his earlier gloom and was now staring at Uchiha Ao with curiosity.
"Uncle Sou, did you just get back from a mission? You must be really strong, right? Could you help me teach some kid a lesson?"
"Go on, get out of here!"
Qingyi Lang glared at him and cut in. "What do you think this is, a gang fight? You need to bring in reinforcements?"
"It's fine."
Sou raised a hand to stop him. Looking at Gongzhu's swollen little face, he asked with interest, "I've got nothing better to do, anyway."
First, I'll help Feilin's kid and build a bond with him.
When the time comes... heh. Madam, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your child...
Ahem!
Qingyi Lang looked at Sou's lecherous grin and coughed a few times. He had a feeling the guy wasn't thinking about anything good.
But seeing that he couldn't keep it under wraps, he had no choice but to explain to Sou what had happened.
"The kid you mentioned..."
But Uchiha Ao was still pretty levelheaded. He cautiously asked, "His name isn't Tsunade, is it...?"
"No, no!"
Gongzhu shook his head like a rattle. "I'd never dare mess with Big Sis Tsunade."
As he spoke, his eyes darted around. "Don't worry, Uncle Sou. He's just from a minor clan."
This kid wasn't being honest...
Sou thought as he watched Gongzhu's eyes spin like a yo-yo.
Still, if the kid was from a minor clan, it should be fine. He was going to have dinner with Qingyi Lang that night anyway, so he might as well check it out while he was there.
If the kid really was being bullied, he'd help if he could.
If Gongzhu was lying... Qingyi Lang could beat him into a spinning top without Sou even lifting a finger.
The reason he was willing to hang out with this good-for-nothing was that Qingyi Lang's values seemed to align with his own, at least compared to those of the Uchiha extremists.
Qingyi Lang hadn't awakened the Sharingan, but that just proved he was a normal person.
Every Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan early was a damn fanatic, a lunatic!
After agreeing to help, Uchiha Ao was about to take his leave when Qingyi Lang suddenly spoke with a serious expression:
"Sou, have you thought about what you're going to tell the Clan Head?"
Since he'd abandoned the mission halfway through, even the Uchiha Clan's tendency to protect their own probably wouldn't spare him a punishment.
Uchiha Ao was baffled. "What do you mean? I just have to turn in the mission, don't I?"
"But..."
Qingyi Lang still didn't understand what Sou meant. His expression darkened as he said, "This mission was different. I heard it was assigned by the village. You gave up halfway through, and the clan probably won't be able to protect you.
I think you should talk it over with the Clan Head and ask for another mission, then stay outside the village for a while to lie low."
"Oh..."
Uchiha Ao realized what he meant. "That's what you're worried about? I completed the mission!"
"I know you invited me to dinner because you wanted to borrow some money to smooth things over with the Clan Head. I've got some spare cash on me, so I'll lend you ten thousand—
What?!"
Qingyi Lang had just started reaching for his wallet when he suddenly looked up, utterly incredulous.
"You said...
you completed it?!"
Before you continue