Lord Yatsuhashi

"You're back?"

Uchiha Uruchi was wiping down the table. When she saw Yatsuhashi come in, she smiled warmly.

"Have your missions been going well these past few days?"

Knowing her son had joined the Anbu, Uruchi had long since grown used to his occasional disappearances.

In her mind, the Anbu Ninja were all elusive, and it was perfectly normal for them to come and go without a trace.

"Yeah, pretty well," Yatsuhashi replied vaguely. "I learned a few new things these past few days."

"You must be starving. Sit down and wait a bit. Mom'll make you something."

Uruchi turned back to the griddle and got busy again.

Yatsuhashi had just picked up his chopsticks when

Uruchi popped her head out, lowering her voice mysteriously.

"By the way, that girl named Anko has been asking about you these past few days."

Yatsuhashi paused with a piece of okonomiyaki in his chopsticks. "She...what did she ask you?"

"Nothing much." Uruchi shrugged, smiling knowingly.

"When she helps out, she often asks me, 'Auntie, is Yatsuhashi back yet?'"

Yatsuhashi's chopsticks hung in midair, trembling slightly.

After a pause, Uruchi added, "She also said that when you came back, you shouldn't forget to visit her at the Ninja Academy."

"...Got it."

Feeling guilty, Yatsuhashi shoveled a big mouthful of okonomiyaki into his mouth.

When he returned to his rented room and saw how spotless it was,

Yatsuhashi felt strangely out of place.

At least this time, he was the only one left in the room.

He sensed the faint fragrance still lingering in the air

and let out a helpless sigh.

Just as he was about to review the Sealing Technique he had learned that day,

a series of urgent knocks sounded outside the door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The urgent knocking continued.

Yatsuhashi's heart tightened. He thought Anko had come looking for him already.

"Open up! The clan head sent me to get you!"

Hearing Uchiha Tekka's impatient voice,

Yatsuhashi finally relaxed and opened the door.

Tekka unceremoniously tossed a neatly folded Konoha Military Police Force uniform into Yatsuhashi's arms.

"The clan head wants you to join the Military Police Force."

Yatsuhashi was just about to refuse.

Tekka cut him off. "It's an honorary position!"

His voice was full of barely concealed envy.

"You'll just be on the books. You don't have to show up at the Military Police Force, and it won't affect your status in the Anbu."

Tekka glared at Yatsuhashi, his eyes full of resentment.

Most members of the Uchiha Clan served in the Military Police Force. Only a handful had been chosen by the Hokage to join the Anbu.

Aside from Uchiha Shisui, the only other one so far was Yatsuhashi, whose luck was off the charts.

"So what if he awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan? What's so impressive about that?"

Tekka grew angrier the more he thought about it.

A few days earlier, he had also evolved from the Two-Tomoe Sharingan to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

He had thought he would finally get his moment to shine,

but he hadn't even received a summons from the Hokage, let alone an invitation to join the Anbu.

They both had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. What made Yatsuhashi so special that he got to join the Anbu?

The more Tekka looked at Yatsuhashi, the more he disliked him.

Consumed by rage, Tekka's eyes suddenly turned red.

He activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan,

ready to teach this arrogant brat a lesson.

But even when Tekka provoked him, Yatsuhashi didn't activate his Sharingan.

He simply smiled faintly and met Tekka's gaze with a calm look.

The next moment, their eyes met.

In that instant, Tekka felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

"Ugh..."

His body jolted. The Sharingan he had always been so proud of

began to tremble violently under Yatsuhashi's ink-black gaze,

as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

In a flash, it shrank back into his pupils, and his eyes returned to their ordinary black.

"W-what...what's going on?!"

Tekka was shocked. It had been one thing when Yatsuhashi suppressed his Two-Tomoe Sharingan last time,

but now his Three-Tomoe Sharingan had been forced back with just one look?!

Yatsuhashi stared coldly at Uchiha Tekka.

"Looks like you haven't learned your lesson."

He scoffed inwardly. How could the Three Tomoe possibly beat the Mangekyo?

What a joke. This guy was completely delusional.

Uchiha Tekka reminded him of Tenzō from before.

Maybe he needed a little discipline, too.

"You bastard! You must have used some kind of forbidden technique!"

Uchiha Tekka roared and prepared to use a jutsu.

He planned to subdue Yatsuhashi, then force him to reveal the secret behind suppressing the Sharingan.

But after Tekka provoked him again and again, Yatsuhashi stopped holding back.

He moved so fast that he left afterimages.

"Thud!"

Yatsuhashi's fist slammed into Tekka's stomach.

It was nothing more than the overwhelming strength Yatsuhashi had in his normal state.

Tekka's eyes rolled back, and he nearly passed out on the spot.

Clutching his stomach, he staggered backward, his face turning ashen.

"Yatsuhashi! You...you dare hit me?!"

"Thud!"

Before he could finish, Yatsuhashi stepped forward and punched him again, making Tekka's legs buckle.

"Call me Lord Yatsuhashi!"

Yatsuhashi said coldly.

"Yatsuhashi...you..."

Tekka was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, but still wanted to threaten him.

Yatsuhashi raised a hand as if to hit him again.

"Lord Yatsuhashi! Lord Yatsuhashi!"

Frightened, Tekka quickly changed how he addressed him. He pressed his back against the wall, afraid of taking another punch.

"That's more like it."

Yatsuhashi nodded with satisfaction and patted Tekka on the shoulder.

Even that light touch made Tekka shudder.

Uchiha Tekka had always relied on his Sharingan

to predict and read his opponents' movements ahead of time.

That had meant he had never been bested in a Taijutsu clash.

He had never imagined this day would come, when Yatsuhashi would completely overpower him in Taijutsu.

He could clearly see Yatsuhashi's movements, but his body simply couldn't keep up.

Was this the difference between them?

After taking a few punches, Uchiha Tekka had even forgotten how his Three-Tomoe Sharingan had mysteriously vanished.

At that moment, he was completely stunned by the difference in their Taijutsu.

Just as Yatsuhashi was about to shut the door, Tekka called out through the pain,

"Yatsuhashi, the clan head..."

"Hm?"

Yatsuhashi gave a firm "Hm."

Uchiha Tekka's face shifted between pale and flushed,

and only then did he force out, "Lord Yatsuhashi, the clan head wants to see you."

The corner of Yatsuhashi's mouth lifted slightly.

"That sounds much better."

Sure enough, a few punches could solve just about anything.

And if they couldn't, then a few more would do the trick.

He also found that the word "Lord" had a nice ring to it.

Yatsuhashi didn't know why Uchiha Fugaku wanted to see him again.

But as a member of the Uchiha Clan, he couldn't refuse to go.

So he left Uchiha Tekka behind and headed alone for the Ancestral Grounds.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi walked along the stone-paved road,

his brows furrowed.

Strange. At this time of day, he usually saw clan members on patrol,

but so far, he hadn't encountered a single Uchiha.

Yatsuhashi stopped before the gate and looked at the prominent Uchiwa Crest above it.

For some reason, an ominous feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

Just as he hesitated over whether to go in,

Uchiha Fugaku's cold voice came from within.

"Since you're already here, why are you still standing outside?"