"Little Itachi, do you know these people?"
From what the man had just said, Uchiha Chen guessed they had come looking for Uchiha Itachi.
"Brother Chen, they're also with Konoha's Police Force, but... they're Fourth Elder's trusted men."
Uchiha Itachi glanced at Uchiha Chen, who had appeared beside him at some point, and spoke in a low voice.
He might have been only four years old, but he knew a lot of things.
For example, at clan meetings, Fourth Elder often disagreed with his father, Uchiha Fugaku.
After every meeting with his father, Uchiha Fugaku, Fourth Elder would leave with a dark look on his face...
Fourth Elder?
Uchiha Chen quickly searched his memories, but the only thing he found related to "Fourth Elder" was his name: Uchiha Sanhe. He held a high position in the Uchiha Clan, but beyond that, there was no other information.
"Uchiha Hikari, what do you want with me?"
A rare look of impatience crossed Uchiha Itachi's little face.
"Oh, Young Clan Leader Itachi, we're not here for you today."
The Uchiha member in front, named Uchiha Hikari, wore a mocking smile. He glanced at Uchiha Itachi, then turned his attention to Uchiha Chen.
After sizing Uchiha Chen up, the disdain on Uchiha Hikari's face grew even stronger.
Uchiha Hikari looked down at Uchiha Chen and spoke with a mocking half-smile.
"You're Uchiha Chen?"
"What do you want?"
Uchiha Chen frowned. These people had come to pick a fight with him? But he didn't even know them.
What was going on?
"Heh, of course we want something. The Fourth Elder wants to see you. Come with us."
Uchiha Hikari waved his hand impatiently.
Though he looked down on Uchiha Chen, the Fourth Elder had given an order, and Uchiha Hikari didn't dare cause him trouble just yet.
"Oh... I'm not going."
Uchiha Chen raised an eyebrow and refused without hesitation.
"Then let's get moving... Hm? What did you just say?"
Uchiha Hikari stared at Uchiha Chen in disbelief. It hadn't even occurred to him that Uchiha Chen would refuse. The Fourth Elder wanted to see him! As a member of the Uchiha Clan, he should have felt honored!
And yet Uchiha Chen had refused. How dare he?
"Can't hear me? I'll say it again: I'm busy!"
"If that so-called Fourth Elder wants to see me, he can come see me himself. And whether I meet him or not will depend on my mood."
Uchiha Chen spoke calmly.
Uchiha Itachi hadn't said much, but from Uchiha Hikari's attitude, Uchiha Chen could guess that the so-called Fourth Elder was at odds with Clan Leader Uchiha Fugaku.
In the original story, Uchiha Fugaku represented the Dove Faction. Anyone who opposed him must belong to the Hawk Faction.
These people were always plotting a rebellion. They could practically be called one of the main culprits behind the Uchiha Clan's destruction.
That was all the more reason not to show them any respect.
"Uchiha Chen, you've got some nerve!"
"I don't know what you did to earn the favor of Jiraiya and Tsunade, or even get summoned by the clan leader, but if you think that makes you somebody, you're dead wrong!"
Uchiha Hikari's face flushed with anger. Uchiha Chen dared to look down on the Fourth Elder, and since they were the Fourth Elder's trusted men, that meant he was looking down on them too!
"So what?"
Uchiha Chen tilted his head, utterly unconcerned.
"Uchiha Chen, you're nothing but a dead-last. If the Ninja World War hadn't led to an exception being made for your promotion, you'd still be a Genin. What do you have to be proud of?"
As it happened, just a few days earlier, Uchiha Chen had become a celebrity in Konoha because of the dispute over who would take him as a disciple.
The people of the Uchiha Clan in particular had dug into his background from top to bottom, only to find nothing special about him. He had even been promoted to Chunin as an exception.
As a result, many shinobi in Konoha, including members of the Uchiha Clan, thought Uchiha Chen was nothing but a clown seeking attention.
Uchiha Hikari was one of them.
"Oh? If I'm not mistaken, you're a Chunin too. So what gives you the right to say that?"
Uchiha Chen paid no mind to Uchiha Hikari's words. Even if the original owner had terrible talent, what did that have to do with the Uchiha Chen standing here now?
"Hmph, I became a Chunin at fourteen. How can you compare to me?"
Uchiha Hikari was quite satisfied with how quickly he had become a Chunin.
"You became a Chunin at fourteen? You look like you're over thirty, and you're still a Chunin after all these years. Looks like this is as far as you'll ever go. Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Uchiha Chen shook his head with an expression of regret.
"You!"
"You're lying! I'm clearly only eighteen!"
Uchiha Hikari felt a surge of blood rush to his head. He was so furious that all he wanted to do was slap Uchiha Chen to death.
"What? You're actually eighteen?!"
Uchiha Chen was stunned. He pointed at Uchiha Hikari's completely bald head in disbelief. He wasn't some computer programmer, so how could this be an achievement someone reached at eighteen?
"Damn it! You've gone too far!"
"Don't laugh!"
Uchiha Hikari glared viciously at the Uchiha Clan members behind him.
His baldness had been a persistent problem for years, the greatest burden he could bear at his age.
Now that Uchiha Chen was mocking him like this, the fury inside him was burning fiercely.
"Uchiha Chen, I'll give you one more chance. The Fourth Elder wants to see you. Are you coming or not?"
Uchiha Hikari forcibly suppressed his anger. He really wanted to teach Uchiha Chen a lesson right then.
But if he couldn't bring Uchiha Chen before the Fourth Elder, the punishment he'd face would be even worse.
"No!"
Uchiha Chen gave the same breezy answer.
"Damn it! You're coming with us today, whether you like it or not!"
Uchiha Hikari finished speaking and lunged forward, reaching for Uchiha Chen.
"Pfft!"
But in the blink of an eye, Uchiha Hikari was flying backward, spitting blood.
Uchiha Chen held his side-kicking pose, then calmly brushed off the nonexistent dust on his shoe.
"Squad Leader Hikari!"
The Uchiha members behind him hadn't even reacted before Uchiha Hikari hit the ground with a thud.
They hurried over and scrambled to help him up.
"Get away from me!"
Uchiha Hikari shoved aside the people helping him up. His face burned, and it visibly reddened before their eyes.