Who Says You Can't Make Things Miserable for Others?

"Ye Ning?"

Jiraiya furrowed his brow, his eyes full of innocent confusion.

Jiraiya had only just returned from the Land of Rain. Like some primitive who'd been cut off from the world, he knew nothing about what had recently happened in Konoha, and naturally couldn't understand why the Daimyo's Son was there.

"Why are you in Konoha?"

"Why can't I be in Konoha?"

Ye Ning's question in return left Jiraiya stumped.

Right. He was the son of the Land of Fire's Daimyo. With that status, couldn't he go wherever he wanted within the Land of Fire?

Realizing he'd asked a foolish question, Jiraiya rubbed the spot Ye Ning had just punched and grimaced.

Though he'd been beaten since childhood and had long since developed thick skin, that punch still hurt.

And after being scolded to his face by a kid like this—and losing any chance of peeping at the women's baths in the future—Jiraiya had no desire to keep talking. With a long face, he left.

Seeing Jiraiya flee without looking back, Uchiha Fugaku's heart tightened. He, too, planned to call off his men and make a run for it.

But...

"Captain Fugaku."

Ye Ning called Uchiha Fugaku to a halt, smiling faintly. "I'd like to speak with you alone."

Uchiha Fugaku's expression changed. For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.

In his eyes, Ye Ning had practically become a "god of slaughter."

Wherever he went, he killed.

Danzo and Jiraiya had both become souls beneath his blade.

Was he turning his sights on the Uchiha now?

Uchiha Fugaku cursed inwardly. He really wanted to ignore Ye Ning and leave, but after weighing it over, he turned back, choosing caution, and forced out a smile.

Since he was never one to smile, the expression looked stiff no matter how you looked at it.

"Captain Fugaku, you wouldn't mind treating me to a bowl of ramen, would you?"

As they passed Ichiraku Ramen, which had only recently opened, Ye Ning suddenly felt like trying the ramen shop that had stood in Konoha for decades and only grown more popular with time.

Uchiha Fugaku couldn't figure out what Ye Ning was after, so he simply replied,

"Of course not."

As the heir to the position of clan head and captain of a Police Force squad, Fugaku could certainly afford to treat someone to a bowl of ramen.

"Then thank you. One bowl of miso ramen, please."

Ye Ning smiled at the still-young Teuchi, then gestured for Uchiha Fugaku to sit with him.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Uchiha Fugaku finally asked,

"Your Highness, Ye Ning, what did you want to discuss with me?"

"The Uchiha Clan's position in Konoha isn't very good, is it?"

Ye Ning smiled as he snapped apart his chopsticks, looking as if he were simply making small talk.

But the moment he said that, Uchiha Fugaku's expression changed.

In the briefest instant, Ye Ning could see a whole pie chart in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.

Confusion, resentment, rejection, and even a hint of panic.

"I don't understand what Your Highness means."

"You don't need to rush to prove your loyalty. The Third Hokage probably doesn't have time to concern himself with you right now."

Ye Ning smiled. "As the Uchiha Clan's heir, you should be able to feel that the Uchiha Clan isn't welcome in Konoha. The villagers fear you, the other ninja clans avoid provoking you, and Konoha's leaders are wary of you."

"Have you really not noticed that the Uchiha Clan is gradually being pushed away from the center of power in Konoha?"

Uchiha Fugaku fell silent.

Of course he knew what Ye Ning was talking about.

Or rather, most of the clan elders could see it too.

They were just a little quick to anger and a little too rash. They weren't fools. How could they not sense the fear others felt toward them?

Even so, Uchiha Fugaku stubbornly replied, "My Uchiha Clan is powerful. What does it matter to us if others fear us?"

Ah, there it was!

That was the feeling.

When Uchiha Fugaku said those words, an air of pride crept into his expression. He didn't look as cautious as he had while speaking to Ye Ning earlier.

That cocky attitude was what Ye Ning recognized as typical of the Uchiha Clan.

Ye Ning ate his ramen as he said,

"That doesn't sound like something a clan heir would say."

Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath and furrowed his brow.

"If you cling forever to that scrap of pride, the villagers will only grow more afraid of you and hate you more. Apart from the Uchiha Clan, are there any other ninja clans the villagers fear?"

"Do you think a clan feared by the villagers has truly become part of Konoha?"

"What's more, have you really not realized that serving in the Police Force is a job that makes enemies?"

Ye Ning was curious. Had no one in the vast Uchiha Clan realized that serving in the Police Force wasn't a reward for the clan, but a subtle form of exclusion?

The villagers already feared the Uchiha Clan, and the clan had been given a job that made enemies. That would only make the villagers fear them more. And the villagers and ninja who'd been arrested by the Police Force would resent the Uchiha, creating a vicious cycle.

Perhaps someone in the Uchiha Clan had realized the problem. Or perhaps, given their nature, they simply didn't care.

But this was how the Uchiha Clan had been pushed aside and suppressed, step by step.

They kept making enemies, deepening everyone else's prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.

Just as Ye Ning had said, a clan that was shunned and feared couldn't become part of Konoha.

Uchiha Fugaku's face fell. Ye Ning's words had struck right at his weak spot.

He could see the harm the Police Force was doing.

But he was powerless to change it.

The Uchiha Clan had already lost all its influence among Konoha's leaders. It had no power left.

The short-sighted clan elders only knew to cling desperately to the Police Force, holding on to that last scrap of authority.

The Uchiha had already sunk into a mire, yet no one in the clan seemed to realize it.

That left Uchiha Fugaku feeling utterly helpless.

But he also realized that Ye Ning hadn't brought this up today for no reason.

Perhaps Ye Ning could help the Uchiha?

"Your Highness, Ye Ning, do you have a way to solve this?"

"I do. I just don't know if you can do it."

Ye Ning slowly finished the last strand of ramen and let out a satisfied burp.

"Anyone can make life miserable for others, can't they? If someone makes things miserable for you, just make things miserable for them in return."