Uchiha Itachi had graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven. Now, this kid had the strength Uchiha Itachi possessed at five, plus the training he'd done himself.
He was a little stronger than five-year-old Uchiha Itachi—about as strong as Itachi had been at six.
Still, he was weaker than six-year-old Itachi. These people had found becoming Genin a little too easy, hadn't they?
"Damn it!"
Uchiha Chonhua kept dodging, making them more and more agitated. At last, someone lost patience, drew a weapon, and threw a shuriken at him.
Once the others saw someone take the lead, they followed suit. In an instant, Kunai and shuriken came at Uchiha Chonhua from every direction.
"Pathetic tricks. With strength like this, you think you can show disrespect to Lord Hokage?"
Uchiha Chonhua's dark, jade-like eyes tracked the Kunai and shuriken. As the first shuriken reached him, he raised his right hand and caught it. Chakra shielded his hand as he stopped the spinning shuriken dead.
Then, to the onlookers' disbelief, Uchiha Chonhua's hands flashed back and forth, catching every Kunai and shuriken.
Seeing them frozen in place, Uchiha Chonhua's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Here. Take them back!"
A sharp whistle cut through the air. The Kunai and shuriken flew faster than the ones they'd thrown, skimming past their hair before thunking into the wall. They struck with such force that the stone cracked, webs of fissures spreading across its surface.
What had just happened?
The Uchiha Clan members swallowed hard, drenched in cold sweat.
He... He'd caught all their Kunai and shuriken, then... then thrown them back at them?
That sharp whistle just now... had it sounded right beside their ears? Had they really come that close?
Only then did they look behind them. The sight of the cracked stone wall left them stunned. What incredible force!
"You're not with the Military Police Force, are you?"
Uchiha Chonhua's voice made them jump.
"The Konoha Military Police Force is busy, yet you have time to come after me." Uchiha Chonhua spoke calmly. "It's rare for someone to associate with the Senju Clan, but plenty of people associate with Lord Hokage. You're waiting here to ambush me, so why don't you go after those important people instead? In the end, you just think I'm an easy target, don't you?"
Heh. They'd picked the wrong person.
Uchiha Chonhua sneered inwardly.
They said nothing. They'd realized that this kid's strength didn't match his age or appearance, and regret began to well up inside them. Still, they wouldn't back down.
"We're doing this for your own good. Spend less time with the Senju Clan. The adults probably feel the same way. With your abilities, you'll surely hold an important position in the clan one day. We're only here to guide you and keep you from going down the wrong path—"
Uchiha Chonhua cut him off. "You think you can speak for the adults? How about I go ask them myself and see if that's really what they think?"
"And are we really members of the same clan? Do you hate me so much that you even resorted to Fire Style?"
Snap.
Uchiha Chonhua had appeared beside one of the Uchiha Clan members without anyone noticing. He reached out with both hands and grabbed the man's wrist.
When did that happen?!
They'd blinked, and Uchiha Chonhua was suddenly right beside them. They exchanged glances, shocked. Had the kid been holding back this whole time?
That Body Flicker speed... It was too fast! Even faster than before!
Damn it. He hadn't even used his full strength against them. He'd been looking down on them!
Uchiha Chonhua smiled at the man. Coming back to his senses, the man hurriedly struggled.
Feeling him fight back, Uchiha Chonhua didn't hold back. He tightened his grip and twisted the man's arms outward.
"Aaaah!"
The man's pig-like shriek made the others' hearts sink, as if they'd fallen into an icy pit.
Uchiha Chonhua turned to them, his smile growing even kinder.
"You thought you were stronger than me, so you came after me. Now I'm stronger than you, so I'm going to come after you."
Uchiha Chonhua appeared beside another man. Under the man's horrified gaze, he reached for his wrist.
"I think I'll put a cast on this."
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Chapter 15: The First Steps, Making a Name for Himself
"Ugh... Aaaah..."
The six people who'd come after Uchiha Chonhua were all sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.
Uchiha Chonhua nudged the Uchiha Clan member who'd led the group with his foot.
"You said I was spending too much time at the Senju Compound and showing disrespect to Lord Hokage. You even said you were going to guide me so I wouldn't go down the wrong path?"
Uchiha Chonhua crouched down and looked at the man's contorted, pain-stricken face.
"Sounds noble, but all you did was pick on a child. I'm only five, you know."
"The adults might not visit the Senju Compound much, but they meet and talk with Lord Hokage far more often than I visit the compound. You don't dare go after the adults, but you dare go after a child."
"When did the Uchiha become like this?"
Uchiha Chonhua suddenly thought of something and questioned the Uchiha Clan member who'd come after him.
"Judging by your strength, you've got no chance of getting into the Konoha Military Police Force. So what do you do as a ninja? You can't just lounge around and wander all over the place, can you?"
Passing the Military Police Force's assessment meant being reported to the Konoha authorities and entered into their records. In other words, no matter how you became a ninja, once you wore Konoha's iconic Forehead Protector, you were a Konoha Ninja.
And as Konoha Ninja, they couldn't be allowed to do nothing. They had a monthly quota of missions to complete.
Uchiha Chonhua had looked into it. It wasn't difficult; the set quota only applied to the most basic D-rank missions.
They just needed to complete at least five D-rank missions a month.
So... following that logic, Uchiha Chonhua suddenly burst out laughing, as if he'd seen something ridiculous.
"You show disrespect to Lord Hokage, but every month you go to the mission desk under his jurisdiction to take on missions? Hahaha, I get it. You're just a bunch of scumbags."
You were all talk about despising him, but you were perfectly happy living under his rule. Bullies always picked on the weak.
"Konoha... belongs to our Uchiha Clan too. I... I take missions for Konoha, not for Sarutobi Hiruzen..."
He had to give the man credit for still managing to argue with a kid through the pain.
"Sure, sure. You're absolutely right."
Uchiha Chonhua had lost interest.
"If you really care about Konoha, then go become Hokage. All you do is brag. You're no use to anyone. And like I said, don't go around calling yourself an Uchiha after you leave here."
"But from the looks of it, you can't even beat a child like me. Becoming Hokage would be asking a lot of you. You'd better take off that Forehead Protector, too. What kind of ninja can't even beat a five-year-old?"
Uchiha Chonhua sighed, got to his feet, and walked away, leaving them with one last remark.
"The Uchiha's honor is being dragged through the mud by scum like you."
Not long after Uchiha Chonhua left, a man with a single-edged sword strapped to his back appeared.
The man crouched on the wall, glanced at the six still groaning in pain, then gazed thoughtfully in the direction Uchiha Chonhua had gone.
Miss Mikoto's classmate... He's not weak. A genius.
Those six were trash, but they were genuine Genin.
A child who could defeat six Genin at his age had talent worth watching. He needed to report this to Lutai right away!
As for those six pieces of trash...
The man, Uchiha Muze, thought it over, then left and found a trainee Uchiha Genin on patrol outside.
He had them all arrested and sent to Konoha Prison, behind the Konoha Military Police Force's headquarters.
Those scumbags really were bullies. Most of their crimes were bullying and extortion, which didn't count as serious offenses under the laws set by the Uchiha Clan.
The people they bullied were usually nobodies with no influential connections, people with simple backgrounds like Uchiha Chonhua.
Yes, simple backgrounds.
The Uchiha Clan members saw each other all the time. Everyone had relatives, which meant everyone had relatives. Most cared about their direct bloodline and how it was passed down; when it came to relatives from branch families, it all depended on how close they were.
If they were close, they helped one another. If their relationship was ordinary or bad, they merely nodded in passing.
Beyond that were the factions formed around differing beliefs, ideas, and needs.
The Uchiha Clan was one big family, made up of many smaller families. Differences in values and ways of doing things gave rise to factions with different aims.
Uchiha Chonhua's family background was one of the simpler ones. None of the relatives he knew were important figures, let alone members of any faction.
But Uchiha Chonhua himself was anything but simple. This time, the six had kicked an iron plate.
Those six had been sent to prison before, several times. Usually, they were locked up for a few weeks or months, then let out to return to their old ways.
They were so familiar with prison that it felt like home.
But this time... Uchiha Muze decided to increase their sentences and make sure they learned their lesson. He'd give them at least ten years.
After all, they'd gone after Miss Mikoto's friend.
Uchiha Muze came up with an excuse.
What if Miss Mikoto's friend wasn't actually a genius?
Then Uchiha Muze would have come up with a different idea. At the end of the day, capable people were always treated differently.
In the days that followed, Uchiha Chonhua's life was remarkably peaceful.
He never saw the six Uchiha Clan members who'd come after him again. At the same time, word never got out that he'd defeated six Genin.
That made Uchiha Chonhua realize there was more to the story.
Had someone covered it up? And where had those six gone?
Uchiha Chonhua glanced at his desk mate, Mikoto Uchiha. As it happened, Mikoto was staring intently at him.
When Mikoto saw Uchiha Chonhua's dark, jade-like eyes turn toward her, she jumped and quickly turned to look at the blackboard.
Uchiha Chonhua looked away and pretended to watch the blackboard, while keeping an eye on Mikoto from the corner of his eye.
Sure enough, once Uchiha Mikoto saw him look away, she breathed a sigh of relief, then started looking at him again.
Over the past few days, Mikoto had been looking at him much more often, her gaze full of curiosity and surprise.
Her gaze was so intense that Uchiha Chonhua couldn't help noticing.
This had started after he beat those six, Uchiha Chonhua thought.
Mikoto seemed to know what had happened. So, had one of the adults in her family covered it up?
Uchiha Lutai, the Uchiha Clan Head's right-hand man.
Still, it was only a matter of time before people started paying attention to him.
As he grew stronger and took part in more events, more and more people would watch him.
Some would try to recruit him. Others would want to get rid of him.
And some would invest in his future.
So, what kind of role did Uchiha Lutai play among them?
Chapter 16: Meeting My Future Father-in-Law Early?
"Hello. I'm Mikoto's father, Uchiha Lutai."
Uchiha Chonhua studied the man.
Uchiha Lutai looked young and handsome. If he stood beside Mikoto, no one would think he was her father. Most would assume he was her older brother.
"Hello, Lord Lutai. I'm Uchiha Chonhua—"
Before he could finish, Uchiha Lutai smiled and shook his head. "Let's skip the unnecessary formalities. You're Mikoto's classmate and her friend. We can be more familiar with each other."
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