"This really is the Uchiha Clan's tragedy..."
Koizumi was instantly overcome with anger and was just about to lash out when Chiba stuffed a dumpling into her mouth.
"Don't get distracted. Eat your dumplings!"
Asuma continued to sneer, completely oblivious to the fact that Kurenai Yuhi's brow had furrowed too.
That was why she didn't want to deal with Asuma anymore.
Perhaps it was because he was the Hokage's son.
Asuma always did whatever he wanted and never considered other people's feelings.
Although she rarely interacted with members of the Uchiha Clan,
no matter what, the person he was mocking was right there beside him, and he still ran his mouth without restraint.
It was really beneath him.
Chiba didn't react, and Kurenai didn't respond either.
Seeing this, Asuma breathed a sigh of relief, apparently thinking he had avoided the awkwardness.
He absentmindedly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and began puffing clouds of smoke.
He was thinking about what approach to use to pursue Kurenai Yuhi.
He paid no attention at all to the "No Smoking" sign inside the shop.
The secondhand smoke filled the air, and Asuma didn't even notice that Kurenai Yuhi had started coughing softly.
Koizumi was happily eating dumplings when the sudden secondhand smoke made her choke. She looked quite uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Chiba handed her a tissue.
Koizumi quickly covered her mouth and coughed softly.
"Thanks, Chiba..."
Before she could finish speaking,
Koizumi saw Chiba get up and walk over to Asuma.
"What are you doing, you blind Uchiha?"
Asuma looked at Chiba scornfully, not taking him seriously at all.
Chapter 5
"What are you doing, you blind Uchiha?"
Asuma looked at Chiba scornfully, not taking him seriously at all.
His first thought was that the other boy was angry because of his mockery.
But so what?
He'd only said a few things. It wasn't as if he'd broken any laws.
Besides, as the Hokage's son, he'd always looked down on everyone.
And the other boy was that blind Uchiha he didn't care about in the slightest.
After the Senju Clan fell into decline, the Uchiha Clan had undoubtedly become Konoha's most powerful clan.
Most people might be afraid of the Uchiha, but Asuma Sarutobi certainly wasn't.
Being the Hokage's son gave him the right to look down on everyone.
When it came to connections, his backing was solid. When it came to strength, the other boy was just a five- or six-year-old Uchiha brat who couldn't even see.
Even though he'd been the one to mock Chiba first, he didn't think he'd done anything wrong.
But he'd misjudged the situation.
Chiba simply stood calmly in front of Asuma.
"Maybe I overestimated the Hokage's parenting. I never thought the Hokage's son would be so illiterate."
"And your breath stinks. Your secondhand smoke stinks even worse. You made her cough!"
The "her" he meant was, of course, Koizumi.
Mockery didn't matter. Chiba wasn't bored enough to argue with a clown.
He'd be better off using that time to complete more Daily Missions. Getting stronger was what mattered most.
But ever since he'd come to this world,
Koizumi was the person closest to him. She'd given him a home and warmth.
He wouldn't let her be treated unfairly.
"What did you say, you blind—"
Asuma was furious.
The Uchiha blind boy he hadn't taken seriously had actually insulted him to his face.
He'd even dragged the Hokage's parenting into it.
It didn't matter who was right or wrong.
From this moment on, he was right.
This wasn't just about saving face in front of the woman he liked. It was also about the Hokage's reputation.
Everyone knew smoking was forbidden here. But Chiba was the only one who'd spoken up about it.
If nobody brought it up, it wasn't a problem.
But once someone had raised the issue, failing to deal with it would become a problem.
Although Asuma didn't get along with the old man at home, he couldn't let some outsider insult him as he pleased.
But before Asuma could do anything,
he saw a flash of cold light before him.
He thought he saw Chiba's hand move, but then again, perhaps it hadn't.
And then—
The cigarette in Asuma's mouth was sliced cleanly in two, starting at the filter.
The cut was incredibly smooth.
Clearly, it had been done with a sharp weapon.
Asuma was horrified. He couldn't be certain, but he knew Chiba had done it. It could only have been him.
Along with the shock, he felt a lingering fear.
Asuma didn't know how Chiba had done it.
But if Chiba had cut even a centimeter farther, his lips and nose would have been sliced off.
"You damned blind Uchiha! You actually dared to attack me? You're just a brat, and you're picking a fight with a ninja? Have you got a death wish!?"
Driven by anger, and wanting to save face in front of Kurenai Yuhi, he failed to notice just how skillful Chiba's technique had been.
He chose the most humiliating way to handle it: facing Chiba head-on.
But for a Chunin who didn't even count as a unit of combat power to think he could stand against Fujitora Issho's stats was laughable.
Before Asuma could pull a kunai from his weapons pouch,
the blade inside Chiba's cane had already come down.
With a sharp whoosh,
the kunai was knocked away, and a flash of steel sent Asuma Sarutobi flying.
He crashed through two tables before finally landing on the floor.
The sudden commotion immediately drew everyone's attention.
Under the stares of the crowd, Asuma endured the pain in his chest and tried to get up.
But Chiba's blade was already pressed against his throat.
"I advise you not to get up so carelessly. This time, I used the back of the blade. Next time, I might not be so particular about which side I use."
Asuma was furious.
He wanted to get up. Even with a blade at his throat, he didn't believe Chiba had the guts to cut him.
He was the Hokage's son. Even without that title,
killing someone as a member of the Uchiha Clan was a serious crime.
He wouldn't dare.
He'd just been caught off guard. Once he got up, as a Chunin, he could—
Those thoughts vanished the instant Asuma looked up at Chiba.
He saw Chiba's face.
It was frighteningly calm.
Although Chiba's eyes were covered by a black strip of cloth,
for an instant, Asuma felt as if he were being watched.
That terrifying presence snuffed out Asuma's courage at its roots.
If he really stood up, Chiba really would cut him.
That presence left Asuma with no doubt.
He gritted his teeth.
He looked at Kurenai Yuhi, who was staring at everything in shock, then at Chiba.
After struggling for a while, he finally gave in.
"Just you wait!"
Asuma tried to leave, but Chiba once again pressed the tip of his blade against his throat.
A thin line of blood trickled down his skin.
This made twelve-year-old Asuma even more terrified.
"What else do you want?"
"You're paying for the damage!"
Asuma was about to explode with anger.
As the Hokage's son, he'd never been treated this way before.
Furious enough to nearly grind his teeth to pieces, Asuma left a money pouch behind and stormed off.
Everyone around them was stunned.
That was the Hokage's son.
He'd actually been beaten? And by that blind Uchiha?
Was Asuma just that weak, or were the Uchiha really that aggressive?
People around them whispered, but in the end, nobody stepped forward to say anything.
Even the owner of the Dumpling Shop was silent, and seemed reluctant to pick up the money pouch Asuma had left behind.
After all, he was the Hokage's son.
And yet he'd been beaten by an Uchiha right there in the owner's shop.
Nobody wanted to get dragged into something like this.
Chiba sheathed his blade, leaned on his cane, and felt his way back to his seat.