"Commander!" A Senju clan member called out urgently, then dropped to his knees. Uchiha Xiao, who had been deep in thought, lifted his head at the shout and looked toward the newcomer.
"Long Er, what's going on? What has you so worked up?" Uchiha Xiao rose with a slight smile and stepped forward.
"Reporting, Commander. We caught two men from Jiraiya's unit trying to break into a private home. Long Yi was on patrol and knocked them out before taking them in." Long Er spoke quickly, but every important detail reached Uchiha Xiao's ears.
"Oh? Where are they? Take me to see." Uchiha Xiao clasped his hands behind his back and smiled, amusement in his eyes. Long Er promptly led the way.
Tsunade had heard Long Er's report too. She rose and followed the two men, wanting to see how Uchiha Xiao would handle the situation.
Before long, the three of them arrived where Long Yi was. When he saw Uchiha Xiao and the others, he suddenly said, "Lady Tsunade, Xiao—Commander... Xiao, you're here."
Tsunade and Uchiha Xiao exchanged a glance. Uchiha Xiao stepped back to stand just behind her. Tsunade understood what he meant and said, "Throw water on them to wake them up!"
One of the men under her command grinned. The Land of Rain had little else, but it certainly had plenty of rainwater. He grabbed a wooden bucket by the roadside, full of freshly collected rainwater.
They dumped it over the two unconscious men, and the two Uchiha shinobi woke up. They were just about to start cursing when they saw Tsunade's yellow-blond hair.
The two hurriedly begged for mercy. "Lady Tsunade, we honestly don't know what we did wrong! This is the Land of Rain, not the Land of Fire. Why can't we 'borrow' some food?" the Two-Tomoe Uchiha wailed.
Tsunade's gaze turned cold. "Is this what Jiraiya taught you? Someone, give each of them thirty slaps!"
"Yes!" Long Yi and Long Er's eyes flashed with excitement. These were Uchiha! All Uchiha deserved a beating—except Xiao!
So, in front of all the unit's shinobi and the civilians peeking on, they publicly punished the two men. The sheer humiliation caused their Sharingan to change.
The Two-Tomoe Sharingan became a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, while the One-Tomoe Sharingan became a one-and-a-half-Tomoe Sharingan.
Seeing that the time was right, Uchiha Xiao gave Tsunade a look. She understood and motioned for him to step forward, while she stayed to watch.
"Oi, Yamazaki, Ryuichi, do you still recognize me?" Uchiha Xiao smiled. One of the men was Uchiha Yamazaki, the other Uchiha Ryuichi. Both were talented shinobi with some renown in the clan—and the two who had bullied Uchiha Xiao the worst.
"You damn bastard, you useless piece of trash! No wonder the Senju unit came after us without a word. You must've said something! Just wait. When we get back to the village, I'll have the clan elder enforce family discipline and teach you, the disgrace of the Uchiha, a lesson!" Uchiha Yamazaki said arrogantly.
Uchiha Ryuichi remained silent. He glanced at Tsunade, then at Uchiha Xiao, furrowing his brow. It seemed this guy...
Before Uchiha Yamazaki could say another word, Uchiha Xiao's expression turned cold. He motioned for everyone else to move aside, then raised his right foot and slammed it down on Uchiha Yamazaki's head.
With a thunderous crack, the ground collapsed under the tremendous force, and Uchiha Yamazaki's head was driven into the earth with it.
Uchiha Ryuichi went pale. He looked at Uchiha Xiao, but Xiao's expression hadn't changed. The corner of his mouth even curled up slightly as he looked down at Uchiha Yamazaki like an insect.
After stomping him, Uchiha Xiao crouched, grabbed Yamazaki by the collar, and hauled him up. He brushed the dirt off his clothes. "What was that you said just now? I didn't catch it. Say it again." He smiled.
Uchiha Xiao had already held back. Otherwise, even a jonin like Uchiha Yamazaki wouldn't have survived that kick!
All of Uchiha Yamazaki's arrogance had vanished. As he stared at Uchiha Xiao's calm, placid smile, tears began to fall uncontrollably. How could this guy be so brutal? They were clansmen, after all! They shared the Uchiha name!
Uchiha Xiao seemed to guess what he was thinking. "Heh. Are you wondering why I'm so cruel to you when we're from the same clan?"
Uchiha Xiao turned to Uchiha Ryuichi. "You tell him why." Then he tossed Uchiha Yamazaki in front of Uchiha Ryuichi like a piece of trash.
Uchiha Ryuichi sucked in a sharp breath. "Yamazaki, have you forgotten how you used to bully Uchiha Xiao? Everyone went along with you because of your talent and because your father was the clan elder. That's why they joined in insulting him."
Uchiha Yamazaki grew angry. What did Uchiha Ryuichi mean? He was trying to wash his hands of it completely. Back then, he hadn't even known Uchiha Xiao. It was Ryuichi and the others who had told him there was a useless loser who wouldn't fight back no matter how much they took their anger out on him. That was how he'd ended up joining in on bullying Xiao.
Uchiha Xiao smiled, but there was something unsettling about it. "Uchiha Ryuichi, if I didn't know what kind of person you were, I might've believed you."
"Today, you broke into a private home, and our unit caught you. Even if you take this to Lord Hokage, you have no case. Are you shinobi or bandits? Besides, this is a battlefield, not the Uchiha Clan Compound. Watch your mouths! Otherwise, I can't guarantee the Rain Ninja won't ambush you and leave you dead!" Uchiha Xiao said with a smile.
Uchiha Ryuichi went pale. He looked around and saw the Senju unit members watching with eager expressions, clearly interested in what Uchiha Xiao had said. He was shocked. How had Uchiha Xiao gotten so close to all these Senju clan members?
Was it simply because he was Lady Tsunade's trusted aide? No, that couldn't be it! Uchiha Ryuichi studied the Senju Clan shinobi. Not all of them were here, but almost every shinobi in the Senju unit was uninjured, and they looked far healthier than his own people.
Was it because Lady Tsunade was a good commander? No, that didn't make sense either. Among the three—Lady Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Lord Orochimaru—only Lord Orochimaru, as their strategist, could lead a unit that well. Even he couldn't keep everyone completely unharmed. Tsunade couldn't have managed it.
Unless... He raised his eyes and met Uchiha Xiao's gaze. Xiao's eyes were blood-red, with two tomoe in each.
Uchiha Ryuichi's pupils contracted. A Two-Tomoe Sharingan! Uchiha Xiao had awakened a Two-Tomoe Sharingan! The pressure of their shared bloodline bore down on him, making it hard to breathe.
In fact, when Uchiha Xiao had just stomped Uchiha Yamazaki into the ground, the lingering obsession of the original Xiao had begun to fade. As it vanished, his Sharingan evolved into a Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Uchiha Xiao himself hadn't even noticed yet.
Tsunade was briefly taken aback, then said, "Xiao, your eyes..."
Only then did Uchiha Xiao come back from the pleasure of revenge. He immediately felt a searing pain in his eyes and sucked in a breath, forcing himself to endure it.
"Uchiha Ryuichi, you're a smart man. I don't know what you've figured out, but if you dare spread it, you'd better pray your family never leaves the village." It was an outright threat, yet Uchiha Ryuichi broke into a cold sweat. He hurriedly said, "Xiao, I won't say a word," then kowtowed several times.
Uchiha Xiao snorted and left with Tsunade supporting him.
A complicated look flashed through Uchiha Ryuichi's eyes. That guy's talent...