The Young Were Beaten, So the Old Came

Half a year ago, Masamune Hyuga had challenged Houka and been beaten so badly he'd wet himself on the spot. For the past six months, he'd endured countless jeers and taunts, especially from within the Hyuga Clan.

When word that Masamune Hyuga had awakened his Byakugan reached the Main House, its elders spent half a month arguing fiercely over the matter. In the end, they decided to seal his forehead with the Caged Bird Seal ahead of schedule. They claimed it was to prevent the Hyuga Clan's exceptional Byakugan from falling into the hands of enemy shinobi, but really, they were afraid his talent was too great and that he might become impossible to control.

Masamune Hyuga didn't understand all that. He was convinced that none of this would have happened if not for Houka.

So his hatred for Houka grew by the day.

Masamune Hyuga reached up to touch his forehead. His bangs hid it, but they couldn't hide the Caged Bird in his heart.

For the past six months, he'd gritted his teeth and trained like mad under the crushing weight of public opinion. He'd already mastered the Eight Palms of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist. Even his father, Hyuga Den, had been shocked when he heard. He'd said that if Masamune hadn't been born into the Branch House, he would surely have been groomed as the next head of the Hyuga House!

"Damn it!" Masamune Hyuga stared at Houka in the middle of the field, his fists clenched. He'd been confident he could beat Houka before, but now his confidence was crumbling.

In the center of the schoolyard, Uchiha Ronai's legs trembled, and his gaze wavered. His fighting spirit melted away like snow beneath the sun.

He forced me into this position without even using ninjutsu. Damn it, damn it!

Uchiha Ronai opened his mouth, but found it wouldn't quite obey him. He looked around and saw all his classmates watching. They weren't looking at him with the admiration reserved for a victor; their eyes held sympathy, disdain, mockery, or simply indifference.

Before, he'd wanted every student in the school to pay attention to him. Now, he only wanted everyone to forget he existed.

"Uchiha Houka, you, you..." He pointed at Houka, unable to think of anything to say that might help him regain the upper hand.

Houka kept his hands in his pockets and his head lowered. His tone was firm. "If you want to surrender, apologize to Uncle Might Duy. Otherwise, I'll see this fight through to the end!"

"You, don't push it!" Uchiha Ronai's face reddened as he argued loudly. "I'll never surrender to you. Dream on!"

"What a shame!" Houka pushed off with his toes and stopped wasting words. His figure blurred as he closed in at high speed. "Leaf Whirlwind!"

His Whirlwind Kick swept through the air with a shrill gust and slammed into Uchiha Ronai's waist.

Thud!

"Argh!"

Uchiha Ronai flew away like a broken sandbag. After rolling across the ground a dozen times, he opened and shut his eyes, then wisely decided to pretend to be unconscious.

His lackeys rushed in at once.

"Uchiha Houka, you're both Uchiha and classmates! How could you hit him so hard?"

"You don't deserve the Uchiha name!"

"Get him! Let's beat him up!"

This was just a case of the teacher getting beaten by a flurry of punches.

Houka hadn't expected Uchiha Ronai's lackeys to be so shameless. They were actually pulling this in the middle of a public duel.

While he was thinking, the little brats came charging at him, yelling. A moment later, they were flying away even faster.

"Ah!"

"Oh!"

"Ugh!"

"Eek!"

"Ugh!"

"Whoo!"

Whether by accident or on purpose, the six lackeys landed in a human pyramid on Uchiha Ronai's back.

The latter's face had turned the color of liver. The corners of his eyes twitched wildly, and he could barely hold back from cursing. But if he opened his eyes now, Houka and his friends would surely mock him, so he could only keep pretending to be unconscious. His chest was about to explode with rage!

"That's enough!"

A furious shout suddenly rang out from the school entrance. A tall figure appeared in the middle of the field in an instant. He casually waved a hand, and the children piled on Uchiha Ronai's back tumbled into a heap, groaning in pain.

"Uchiha Houka, treating your own clan member so harshly is heartless." The newcomer immediately slapped a heavy accusation on him, leaving no room for Houka to argue. "The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan is the strongest Kekkei Genkai in the Ninja World, yet you neglect your clan's strengths to train in Taijutsu. You even use that Taijutsu against your own people. Heh. You're insulting the Uchiha name!"

Houka narrowed his eyes at the sudden arrival. The man wore the Uchiha Clan's crest, and his defense of Uchiha Ronai was as blatant as it could be. Houka sneered. "The kid gets beaten, so now the old man shows up. You're Uchiha Ronai's father, aren't you? Like father, like son!"

"Impudent!" Uchiha Yeshing roared. In the next instant, his eyes changed strangely, revealing a blood-red gaze with two tomoe. He stared straight into Houka's eyes. "Do you want to die?"

The surrounding students screamed in fright the moment they saw those eyes and instinctively ran for the exits.

"Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Is he with the Konoha Military Police Force?" Asuma Sarutobi's expression darkened. "This is the Ninja Academy! The Military Police Force is sticking its nose way too far in!"

Asuma glanced around. He was angry and confused. The duel had been going on for quite a while, yet not one teacher had come out. Now a Uchiha from the Konoha Military Police Force had appeared, and the situation was clearly about to escalate—but the area around them remained strangely quiet.

Could there be some kind of plot? Asuma frowned.

"Asuma, what do we do now?" Kurenai Yuhi and Rin looked at him anxiously.

Asuma looked toward the field. Uchiha Yeshing wore a cold expression, while Houka looked grave as well.

"This is beyond what we can handle. We have to tell Teacher Shin Kiyono right away!" Asuma said decisively.

"I'll go!" Obito and Guy shouted at the same time.

"I train in Taijutsu, so I'm faster. I'll go!" Guy said, then immediately ran toward the classroom building.

"What a jerk!" Obito snorted in annoyance and tried to charge into the field.

Asuma grabbed him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help Houka!" Obito declared righteously.

"Obito, don't make things worse!" Rin shouted from beside them.

Obito looked displeased. With his skills, he could at least take one Great Fireball Technique for Houka!

Meanwhile, two middle-aged men stood on the top floor of the Ninja Academy's teaching building.

"Danzo, is this really a good idea?" Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi wore his Hokage Cloak and slowly puffed on his pipe.

Beside him stood none other than Shimura Danzō, the leader of Konoha's Root!

"Ever since the Uchiha's Military Police Force was established, its members have acted with increasing impunity. I can already see their resentment. A coup is only a matter of time!" Danzo said coldly. "Hiruzen, you need to pay more attention to this."

The Third Hokage breathed out a cloud of smoke. "The Uchiha have always been a problem, but they hold important positions in the Military Police Force and have reached the peak of their power and prestige. They're already Konoha's most powerful clan. Why would they need to conspire to stage a coup?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes and let out a disdainful snort. There were things he couldn't tell him, so he could only remain silent.

"What do you plan to do next?" the Third Hokage asked.

Danzo looked at the two in the schoolyard and smiled. "Uchiha Yeshing interfered in a fair duel at the Ninja Academy under the authority of his position in the Military Police Force. He must be punished. That will serve as a warning to the Uchiha Clan to curb their ambitions. And, heh, I've suddenly become quite interested in this Uchiha Houka."

The Third Hokage looked puzzled. For some reason, he suddenly felt he'd heard that name before.

Uchiha Houka...

Where had it been?