Keep Kicking

"What are you people, and what are you trying to do?!" Obito finally realized he was in danger. The area around him was eerily quiet—not a soul in sight. Though this spot was somewhat secluded and perfect for spying, it wasn't far from the main street. Surely someone should have noticed him shouting so loudly. At the very least, the Military Police Force should have heard him. But there wasn't a sound.

A barrier? A genjutsu?

Who was Lord Danzo?

Were they spies?

A string of questions raced through his mind.

Thud!

Another dull impact sounded. Obito felt a sharp pain in his stomach, and the next moment, he lost consciousness.

One of the Root shinobi stepped forward and hoisted him over his shoulder. After glancing around and exchanging a look with the other two, he was just about to leave when everything went dark.

Darkness, endless darkness, poured out and swallowed every trace of light around them.

Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique

Thud, thud, thud...

Three muffled impacts sounded, and excruciating pain shot through their minds. The next moment came three more thuds, and all three men collapsed to the ground.

As the darkness faded, Suifeng and Rin appeared at the street corner.

"Obito! W-what happened?!"

"It looks like someone tried to kidnap Obito!" Suifeng said grimly. "They may be spies from another village!"

"Spies from another village?!"

"That's right. These people are exactly like the ones who pretended to be Anbu and attacked me during the Chunin Ninja Exams. Damn it, it looks like these spies have set their sights on the Uchiha Clan!"

"What do we do now?!"

"I've already alerted the Military Police Force. Hmph, this time we'll expose these spies for what they really are!" Suifeng said indignantly.

The Military Police Force arrived quickly. Their leader was a Uchiha jonin Suifeng recognized: Hideichi, Hideki's older brother.

When they saw the three unconscious Root shinobi on the ground, their expressions immediately darkened.

"What happened here?!"

"These three spies were trying to kidnap Obito. I happened to come across them!" Suifeng said.

"Obito was their target?!" Hideichi was taken aback at first, then understood. Obito wasn't someone he paid much attention to yet, but his awakening of the Sharingan with two tomoe had already made him somewhat famous in the clan. It wasn't surprising that Danzo had taken an interest in him. But to snatch someone in broad daylight, right on Konoha's main street—Danzo had shown the Uchiha Clan far too little respect.

Did he really think the Uchiha Clan was a pushover?

"Take them away!" Hideichi ordered coldly. "Let's see what Danzo has to say!"

"Yes, sir!" Three officers grabbed the Root shinobi off the ground, one slinging a man over each shoulder, and prepared to leave.

"Stop! Hand them over!"

Just then, several more figures rushed over from all directions and blocked them in the street corner.

"Seriously? Has the village been breached? Why are there so many spies? Have spies gotten so bold that they dare to block the Military Police Force on Konoha's main street?!"

Suifeng stared with his mouth agape, looking utterly incredulous.

"They're not spies. They're Root shinobi!"

"Root shinobi? What Root shinobi? I've never heard of them!" Suifeng's words sounded as though they'd sparked his curiosity. Though the Great Elder had told him about Root, he'd been vague, so Suifeng acted as if he'd never heard of it.

"W-what's going on?!" Obito finally came to. "Suifeng, Rin, Big Brother Hideichi, what are you all doing here? Huh? Why are there so many of them now?!"

"Suifeng, take Obito and the others and go. I'll—"

"No need, Big Brother Hideichi. Since they've come all this way, let's take all of them back to the Police Force!"

"What?!" Everyone was stunned. Then darkness descended.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...

The sound of repeated kicks rang in everyone's ears. A few seconds later, the darkness lifted. The Root shinobi lay scattered across the ground, all clutching their crotches in the same pose, unconscious.

Thinking of the sound of those kicks and looking at the men's poses, every man there, Hideichi included, couldn't help squeezing his legs together. Without thinking, they all shifted two steps away from Suifeng.

"I don't care whether they're Root or not. They tried to kidnap a student from the Ninja Academy on Konoha's main street—that's suspicious, so they have to be brought back to the Police Force for questioning. Right, Big Brother Hideichi? It's our duty!"

"Right. Exactly. It's the Police Force's duty!"

Looking at the Root shinobi strewn across the ground, Uchiha Hideichi's mouth twitched a few times. He waved a hand. "Take them all away!"

Things had gone too far for anyone to back down now. Root had tried to abduct a Uchiha clansman in the middle of the street. If they didn't hit back, Root would only get more brazen. Whatever. Suifeng was the one who'd beaten them, so even if the higher-ups put pressure on them, Hideichi wouldn't be the one to bear the brunt of it.

The Uchiha weren't afraid of Root now!

Bang, bang, bang...

At Root Base, one crash after another came from Danzo's office. The two Root shinobi standing guard outside remained motionless, as though they hadn't heard a thing.

"You've got some nerve! Some nerve! How dare you!" Danzo ground his teeth, Suifeng's face rising in his mind. "Uchiha Suifeng, you've got some nerve!"

He had always been hostile toward the Uchiha Clan, but even hostility had its limits. He'd conducted many operations in secret and had never clashed with the Uchiha Clan openly. Any conflicts that arose behind the scenes had been settled quietly. Nothing like this had ever happened before: ten Root shinobi, marched into the Uchiha Clan's Police Force on Konoha's main street, in full view of the public.

Those who didn't know the truth would think the Military Police Force had caught spies. Those who did know would surely laugh at him.

And yet he couldn't defend himself. He had started this conflict. Root had gone after Obito, a member of the Uchiha Clan. That had been proven beyond doubt!

Worse, the old Uchiha Haruki had not only informed the Third Hokage of what had happened right away, but had also notified every clan in Konoha, putting the Uchiha on the side of justice.

That announcement had made many of Konoha's clans adopt an ambiguous stance.

Whether or not they'd had a grudge against the Uchiha Clan before, this time they were all tacitly siding with the Uchiha.

There was no helping it. Over the years, Danzo had used all kinds of means to threaten, coerce, and tempt the children of many clans into joining Root. After they joined, most of them vanished without a trace. No one needed to guess what had happened to them. The clans had long been dissatisfied.

The Uchiha Clan held a tight grip on the Military Police Force and was the only clan that refused to give Danzo the time of day. The announcement had made the situation perfectly clear: the Uchiha would never be allowed to join Root. If Danzo could kidnap a Uchiha clansman on the street today to force him into Root, tomorrow he could come for the rest of their clans. If they let this set a precedent, the consequences would be endless.

With a single, simple move, the Uchiha had backed Danzo into a corner. How could he not be furious? How could he not hate them?!

What enraged and frightened him most was Suifeng. Six of the ten Root shinobi were jonin, and the other four were elite chunin, yet Suifeng had taken them all down in an instant. When had that boy become so strong? If things continued like this, how could Danzo ever bring him to heel?