What Did You Say About the Konoha Military Police Force!?

(Obito's brain was right here, anyway.)

The new semester had just begun.

Teacher Oki already felt that his teaching career was facing a challenge.

Because on the very first day of school, there was a serious case of truancy!

A full five students had skipped class!

"Let's hear what happened with you two first."

At that moment, Teacher Oki sat behind his desk, fixing a stern gaze on the two brothers.

According to their student records:

The spiky-haired boy on the left was Obito Uchiha, the younger brother.

The boy on the right with a short buzz cut was Uchiha Ruohuo, the older brother.

"Your brother will go first. Why did you skip the first two classes today?"

"Teacher, we ran into a special situation," the boy with the buzz cut, Uchiha Ruohuo, said seriously.

"A special situation?" Teacher Oki frowned.

"We came across a few Hyuga students who'd been beaten up. They were in pretty bad shape, so the two of us did a good deed and took them to the hospital."

Students who'd been beaten up?

Did a good deed? Took them to the hospital?

Took them to the hospital!?

Teacher Oki narrowed his eyes and activated his skill: Teacher's Eye. He gave the two brothers a once-over.

The older brother looked fine. He was perfectly clean.

But the younger brother was a mess, with one eye already half-black...

Taking into account the other truant students and the Hyuga Clan affiliation listed in their records...

Teacher Oki rubbed his aching temples.

"Ruohuo, tell me the truth. Were you two the ones who beat up those Hyuga students?"

Teacher Oki placed heavy emphasis on the words "Hyuga students."

"Yes," Ruohuo answered without hesitation.

That solved the case.

The Uchiha and Hyuga, two great clans, had always been at odds with each other.

Students from the two clans were always competing at school, too.

A little friction was perfectly normal.

Just last year, students from the two clans had even arranged to fight shortly before graduation.

Guiding the children from both clans to compete fairly at school without resorting to private fights had always been a top priority for all the teachers at the Ninja Academy.

But Teacher Oki had never imagined...

That his new first-year class would cause such a serious incident on the very first day of school!

After dealing with the two brothers, Teacher Oki would have to hurry to the hospital.

"But the victim was Obito, Teacher."

Before Teacher Oki could say anything, Ruohuo pointed at Obito's black eye and torn clothes.

"They hit Obito first. I had no choice but to help him defend himself."

"But I didn't expect them to be so weak..."

"So Obito was the victim. I just sent the aggressors to the hospital, Teacher."

Ruohuo spread his hands and explained what had happened.

On their way to school that morning, halfway there, Ruohuo realized he'd forgotten his schoolbag, so he sent Obito back to get it.

But Obito didn't return for ages. Sensing something was wrong, Ruohuo went back to look for him.

Halfway there, he spotted several Hyuga students beating Obito up. They were being downright brutal!

How could he let that slide? He was Obito's big brother!

So Ruohuo roasted the Hyuga students with Fire Style, then took them straight to the hospital...

"..." Teacher Oki opened his mouth.

So this fight had actually happened because the older brother had stepped in to protect his younger brother?

And though he'd beaten his opponents, he'd also known to take them to the hospital. That was a good quality, in a way... No, it wasn't!

You beat them badly enough to land them in the hospital, and you're still insisting your little brother was the victim!?

"Phew..."

Teacher Oki took a deep breath, then immediately stood up and said sternly:

"I'm going to the hospital now. You two had better behave yourselves at school, understand?"

He was speaking entirely to Ruohuo.

Compared to his younger brother, who seemed a little dense, Ruohuo was clearly much more difficult to handle.

"Don't worry, Teacher. We Uchiha hate evil, and everyone in the village knows the Konoha Military Police Force has a good reputation."

"I'll make sure to keep order in class!"

Ruohuo said earnestly.

"My brother's right!"

Obito puffed out his chest, looking rather proud.

"..."

Teacher Oki felt a headache coming on.

"You don't have to do anything! Just sit tight and behave!" Teacher Oki finally couldn't hold back and snapped.

"This is the Ninja Academy. There aren't any great evildoers here, so don't bring the Konoha Military Police Force's methods into the school!"

The moment Teacher Oki finished speaking, he sensed something was wrong.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with what he'd said. He'd only wanted the two troublemakers to behave.

The main problem was Ruohuo's reaction...

"Teacher!"

"What did you say about the Konoha Military Police Force!?"

Ruohuo's expression turned cold. He took a big step forward and confronted Oki directly!

"Ever since Konoha was founded, the Konoha Military Police Force has devoted itself to keeping the village safe. For years, we haven't dared slack off for even a moment!"

"Does Teacher have a problem with the Konoha Military Police Force?"

"Or a problem with the Uchiha?"

Ruohuo's voice grew louder, and his gaze more dangerous.

The other teachers in the office all looked over, their expressions a little surprised.

Was this first-year student... scolding his homeroom teacher?

And on the very first day of school, no less!

It wasn't just the other teachers. Even Oki was completely dumbfounded!

"I..."

"I'll report this matter to the clan head."

Teacher Oki had barely gotten one word out before Ruohuo cut him off.

"I'll tell the clan head that Teacher Oki, who's responsible for teaching students at the Ninja Academy, is extremely biased against the Uchiha Clan!"

"Weren't the Ninja Academy's teachers personally selected by Lord Hokage?"

"So all the other teachers feel the same way? Then does that mean Lord Hokage is biased against the Uchiha..."

"Enough!"

Seeing Ruohuo go further and further off the rails, Oki immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and hurriedly covered Ruohuo's mouth.

Then he shot a meaningful glance at a few of the junior teachers in the office.

They got the hint and quickly left the office, closing the door behind them.

Only after making sure the door was shut did Oki turn back to Ruohuo.

The boy's gaze was calm and serious.

But Oki had spent more than a decade dealing with children at the Ninja Academy, and he could see the hint of slyness deep in the boy's eyes...

At that moment, Teacher Oki realized he'd been played.

Those alarmist words had probably just been meant to...

Cover up the seriousness of what they'd done by beating those students badly enough to send them to the hospital?

How could this kid be so cunning!?

"So... you beat them up pretty badly, didn't you?"

Oki finally let go of Ruohuo and asked with a troubled expression.

"Obito was the victim, Teacher," Ruohuo insisted.

"I know..." Oki rubbed his temples again. "You stepped in to help someone in need and protect your little brother. You did nothing wrong."

After what had just happened, how could Oki dare say something like, "No matter what, fighting is wrong"?

"Big brother's awesome! Big brother did nothing wrong!" Obito agreed.

Teacher Oki's headache got worse.

"Anyway, you two stay here at school and behave. As for what happens in the end... I'll report the facts to my superiors."

Oki put extra emphasis on the word "facts."

"Besides, there are a few other things I need Teacher Oki to help with," Ruohuo said, raising his hand.

"Hmm?" Teacher Oki raised an eyebrow. The way the kid raised his hand to speak actually made him look a little like a student now.

"Our lunches got spilled during the fight. Please be sure to inform their parents and ask them to pay compensation."

Ruohuo said earnestly, "On top of that, there's Obito's assault compensation, emotional distress compensation, my chakra expenditure, and the cost of taking them to the hospital..."

As he spoke, ignoring Oki's increasingly dark expression, Ruohuo held up two more fingers.

"Please count the emotional distress compensation twice. I don't need any for myself, but Grandmother will definitely feel bad when she sees Obito like this."

"Grandmother is the most important person to Obito and me. Even Clan Head Fugaku treats her with great respect."

"If you make her feel bad, it'll cost a lot..."