Fatherly Love, Filial Piety

The man was furious, raising his hand to strike.

However, a sudden gust of wind whistled past the back of his head.

Instinctively, the man dodged, only to see an iron rod smash into a nearby chair, shattering it into splinters as if it were made of dry biscuit.

He looked up to see that it was the brat.

Although Uchiha Cheng had followed Mika's instructions and returned to his room, he had actually been monitoring the situation outside the entire time.

Clutching the iron rod, he had kept the door cracked open, ready to charge out at any moment.

He had nearly rushed out when the man first slapped his mother, but seeing her insist on arguing, he had held back and stayed hidden.

Now, seeing the man about to strike again, he launched a sneak attack from behind.

The man's face turned beet red with rage, and he cursed, "You unfilial beast, how dare you raise a hand against your own father! Today, I'm going to beat you to death, you little wretch."

Uchiha Cheng sneered inwardly. He was a transmigrator, an adult in his previous life. To him, this man had provided neither the grace of birth nor the grace of upbringing, and instead held the blood debt of his murder. To have the gall to call himself a father? It was laughable and utterly shameless.

For a man like this, the fact that he hadn't turned into Lu Bu to hunt down his "adoptive father" was already showing him great mercy.

Without offering any explanation, Uchiha Cheng continued his assault.

The man took a long stride and kicked out viciously at Uchiha Cheng, hoping to repeat the same trick that had nearly cost the boy his life a month ago.

However, a month had passed, and Uchiha Cheng was a completely different person. With a flash of the Body Flicker Technique, he dodged the man's attack. Immediately, he swung the iron rod horizontally, aiming for the man's waist.

Seeing Uchiha Cheng use the Body Flicker Technique, Uchiha Kenji realized something was wrong. He hadn't expected the brat to have already refined chakra and gained the power of a ninja, enough to evade his attack.

Reacting quickly, he retreated, crossing his arms to shield his waist.

The iron rod slammed into the man's arms with a heavy thud, sending him flying backward until he crashed to the ground.

Damned little beast. The man's eyes were bloodshot. He had noticed the boy when he first rushed out of the room, but he hadn't taken him seriously, thinking the brat was weak and posed no threat.

He hadn't expected that a moment of carelessness would lead to him being injured.

Ninjas were known for high offense and low defense. Even though Uchiha Kenji was stronger, the blow from the iron rod left his arms numb, making it impossible for him to form hand seals and temporarily stripping him of his ability to use ninjutsu.

Seeing his strike land, Uchiha Cheng prepared to press his advantage. He rushed forward, raining blows down with the iron rod.

However, the man scrambled to his feet, dodging and weaving to evade Uchiha Cheng's attacks.

Uchiha Cheng felt a surge of frustration. Ultimately, his mastery of the staff was lacking; his attacks were disorganized, allowing the man to dodge them with ease.

After dodging a few times, the numbness in the man's arms began to fade. He flexed his hands, pulled a kunai from his pouch, and raised it to block the iron rod.

Clang—

Clang—

Clang—

Relying on his combat experience, the man easily parried Uchiha Cheng's offense, realizing the boy was unskilled with the weapon.

He raised his kunai to block a downward strike, guided the iron rod aside, and lunged forward, aiming a lethal stab at Uchiha Cheng's neck.

"Die, you rebellious little beast!"

Suddenly, a whistling sound cut through the air as a kunai flew straight at his face. If he continued his attack, he would be struck head-on.

Selfish by nature, he wasn't about to trade his life for the boy's, so he pulled back to parry. Uchiha Cheng took the opportunity to retreat.

The kunai had naturally been thrown by Mika.

"Uchiha Kenji, stop! I'll give you the money!" Mika shouted.

She hadn't expected this man to attempt to kill his own child over a mere ten percent of the money. Fearing for her son's safety, she was willing to sacrifice her entire salary just to end the conflict.

"Vile woman, you want to beg for mercy now? It's too late! You and that little beast are in cahoots, and you dared to raise a hand against me. Today, I'm going to kill you both!"

"Uchiha Kenji, have you gone mad? Do you think the village and the clan will let you get away with murder? A-Cheng is your own child and a member of the Uchiha Clan! Even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs; how can you be so ruthless?"

"Heh, a beast like that who defies his father deserves to die. Once I kill you both, I'll hide your bodies. With the clan covering for me, who could do anything to me? Who cares about a child with a single tomoe?"

Uchiha Kenji's expression was twisted with madness, his pupils gradually turning blood-red as a single tomoe emerged.

"No matter what, I will make you pay the price."

Seeing this, Mika realized the man truly intended to kill them.

"Mother, we have to go all out. I'll engage him in close combat; you use the kunai to provide cover."

Uchiha Cheng realized the gravity of the situation. Without fear or hesitation, he spoke calmly.

Mika wanted to stop him; she didn't want her child to take such risks.

Uchiha Cheng formed hand seals, and his arms began to turn black.

Mika instantly recognized the ninjutsu—it was the Earth Spear she had left for Uchiha Cheng.

The scroll had been left to her by her father; it was his signature technique, said to be capable of defending against all physical attacks except for those of the Lightning Release. She had never managed to learn it herself, and she hadn't expected her child to have mastered it.

In that moment of distraction, Uchiha Kenji launched his attack, closing the distance in a blink of an eye and stabbing his kunai toward Uchiha Cheng's neck.

Clang—

At the critical moment, Thousand Jun raised his iron rod to block the attack.

This caught Uchiha Kenji off guard; based on his previous experience, the brat should have been completely unable to react.

Thoughts raced through his mind, but his hands did not falter. He thrust his kunai repeatedly, aiming for every part of Uchiha Cheng's body.

Clang—clang—clang—clang—clang—clang—

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the room. Of the six strikes, Uchiha Cheng blocked five. He ignored the final blow that pierced his arm; with the defense of Earth Spear, he did not need to guard unless vital areas were targeted.

Beneath his sunglasses, his eyes turned a deep, blood-red.

The kinetic vision of the Sharingan granted him reaction speeds equal to his opponent, bridging the gap in combat experience.

Both possessed the Sharingan, both were one-tomoe; who was afraid of whom? Furthermore, he had Earth Spear as a fallback, compensating for his lack of natural defense.

Taking advantage of the sixth strike landing on his arm, he launched a counterattack, swinging his rod toward the man's crotch.

Having been a man in his past life, he naturally knew which area would have the greatest deterrent effect. Moreover, his short stature made attacking that spot incredibly convenient.

Uchiha Kenji turned pale with fright and hurriedly withdrew his kunai to parry.

Uchiha Cheng seized the chance to catch his breath, immediately switching to an offensive stance, raining blows toward the man's groin. With the aid of the Sharingan, there was no issue with reaction speed.

The man was exhausted from defending, and Mika seized the opportunity to throw a kunai to distract him. For a moment, the mother and son actually held the upper hand.

The man pulled back to retreat, and the mother and son ceased their assault. Neither Uchiha Cheng nor Mika wanted to take a life; they only hoped to drive the man away.

"Uchiha Kenji, leave now. You are no match for us."

Uchiha Cheng said.

"You little beast," Uchiha Kenji grew even more frantic. If he just left like this, what would the clan think of him? To be driven away in disgrace by his own woman and child—he would never be able to squeeze a cent out of them again, and his gambling buddies would look down on him.

He could not accept his dignity and face being trampled into the dirt by this cheap woman and the brat.

"Go to hell! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Uchiha Kenji's face twisted in a snarl. He wove hand seals, and a fireball one meter in diameter erupted from his mouth, surging toward the mother and son with scorching flames.

This madman! The two dodged to the side.

Uchiha Cheng wove hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

Uchiha Cheng spat out a massive torrent of water, forming a wall that blocked the raging flames.

The surging fire evaporated the water, releasing a vast amount of steam. The already chaotic room was filled with mist, obscuring all vision.

Uchiha Cheng realized that continuing to fight in this room would put them at a severe disadvantage. Activating his Sharingan, he grabbed his mother, who could not see the path, and rushed toward the entrance, preparing to flee the house.

Just then, a kunai carrying a sparking paper flew toward them.

Through his Sharingan, ignoring the interference of the mist, he clearly saw that it was an Explosive Tag.

This madman, using an Explosive Tag on his own kin!

Alarm bells rang in his heart. Although he could withstand the Explosive Tag, his mother could not, and his body was too small to shield her from the full force of the blast.

There was only one way.

He channeled Earth Spear to its limit, hardening his entire body, and lunged forward to pin the Explosive Tag down.

BOOM—

A violent explosion rocked the room, shattering half of the house instantly.

Uchiha Cheng was thrown back by the blast. The door had long since vanished, and the mother and son were blown out of the house by the shockwave, landing heavily on the ground.

"A-Cheng!"

Mika screamed, scooping up the soot-covered boy.

"I'm fine, Mom." He replied. Though he looked miserable, the protection of Earth Spear meant he was uninjured.

However, the man charged over once more, throwing another Explosive Tag.

Just as Uchiha Cheng prepared to block it again, a figure instantly appeared before them. The man caught the kunai and tossed it aside; it flew to an empty lot a dozen meters away, where a violent explosion erupted.

A fierce gust of wind blew, and he couldn't help but squint.

Amidst the flames of the explosion, Uchiha Cheng clearly saw the man's face.

It was Uchiha Shisui, whom he had met before.