Cute, Pitiful, Hateful

Just as Darui was preparing to let the matter drop, several Anbu appeared.

Uchiha Yan looked at the Anbu and sensed their chakra.

He didn't recognize any of them.

But that was only natural. There were plenty of Anbu in Konoha.

It was normal that he hadn't met them before.

When the Konoha Anbu arrived, they saw the Kumogakure ninja covered in blood and the Konoha Military Police Force standing expressionless, ready to leave.

The Konoha Anbu leading them wore an eagle mask.

He glanced at the severed hand on the ground, then at Darui's gloomy expression, and finally fixed his gaze on Uchiha Yan.

His tone carried an air of lofty reproach:

"Uchiha Yan, do you know what kind of time this is? The Five Kage Summit is imminent, and the joint Chunin Ninja Exams are a peace celebration personally approved by Lord Hokage and the other Kage. As the captain of the Military Police Force, you led the way in brutalizing a foreign village's ninja in the middle of a busy district. Is this how the Uchiha Clan treats its guests?"

Before Uchiha Yan could reply, several Uchiha behind him had already lost their patience, their hands moving to the hilts of their Ninja Blades.

"Brutalizing them?" Uchiha Yan sneered. "You should say I was teaching those uncivilized beasts from Kumogakure some manners. Extorting Konoha's civilians on Konoha's own soil—is that what you call being a 'guest'? I think you've let certain ideas get into your head. Or is your mind so full of your own career that there's no room for the interests of Konoha's people?"

Anyone could sling accusations.

Hearing Uchiha Yan's words, the Eagle-Masked Anbu snapped, "Insolence! Do you know what will happen if this matter isn't handled properly? Lord Hokage has always stressed that Konoha must show the magnanimity of a great nation, along with harmony and friendship. Your actions will only saddle Konoha with a reputation for brutality!"

He turned around and actually bowed slightly to Darui, his tone turning gentle, even somewhat servile:

"Sir, we offer our sincerest apologies. The Military Police Force went too far. The Anbu will take full responsibility for handling the compensation."

Darui's expression instantly turned knowing.

He hadn't expected the conflict between Konoha's greatest clan and the village to be so openly displayed.

He didn't believe that a core member of the Uchiha Clan like Uchiha Yan could be unaware of the Konoha High Command's intentions.

What he hadn't expected was that Konoha's two major factions would openly undermine each other in front of outsiders.

Darui nodded and said sarcastically, "We won't continue the match, but I'll be asking your Konoha for an explanation about my student's hand."

The Eagle-Masked Anbu immediately grew anxious. Staring at Uchiha Yan, he said, "Uchiha Yan, hand over your weapon at once and come with us to the Anbu to explain what happened. Otherwise..."

The Konoha villagers who had been watching grew angry and disappointed when they heard the Anbu's spineless words.

When Uchiha Yan had stood up for them earlier, they had felt prouder than ever. But now, the Anbu's behavior was like a loud slap across the face of every Konoha villager.

Before the Eagle-Masked Anbu could finish, Zhijian, a Konoha hawk who had followed Uchiha Yan, revealed his Sharingan.

In their eyes, Konoha was the Shinobi World's number-one village, and the Uchiha were its greatest clan.

Ninja from other villages were making trouble on their turf.

They had already been furious about it.

As far as they were concerned, Uchiha Yan had been far too lenient.

He should have chopped those Kumogakure barbarians to pieces.

As the tension between the two sides mounted, several Konoha Anbu found themselves under the constant gaze of these "red-eyes."

They couldn't help feeling uneasy.

But by then, they were already committed.

As for the Kumogakure ninja whose wrist had been severed?

He had lost so much blood that he'd passed out.

And when Uchiha Yan had cut off his wrist, he had deliberately used wind nature transformation to destroy the tissue.

In other words, even if Tsunade came, all she could do was attach a hook to his arm. There was no way to reattach the hand.

Darui watched from the sidelines.

Just then, a lazy voice spoke up.

"Yan, what's going on?"

Hearing the familiar voice, the Eagle-Masked Anbu immediately felt relieved.

He turned to the newcomer and said, "Kakashi, Captain, you finally made it."

Then he explained what had happened from beginning to end.

After hearing the account, Kakashi already knew what was going on.

He said calmly, "All right. Go do what you're supposed to. Break it up."

The Eagle-Masked Anbu was about to respond, but Kakashi silenced him with a look.

Darui understood that the stronger side had the upper hand. He didn't dare make threats now.

All he could do was pick up the severed hand and leave with several of his students.

The Konoha villagers felt a rush of satisfaction and began applauding and cheering.

This was also what made them cute, hateful, and pitiful.

What made them hateful was that, based on unfounded rumors, they could despise and even curse Naruto, the child of a hero.

What made them pitiful was that they would blame Hatake Sakumo for sacrificing the village's interests to save his comrades.

Don't forget: if they, or their children, husbands, or wives, served as ninja, they would most likely have to choose between the village's interests and their own lives.

Hopefully, they could face it without complaint when other Konoha Ninja put their missions first.

Kakashi kept his hands in his pockets.

He looked at the ring of villagers who were spontaneously applauding, their faces flushed as they shouted, "Lord Uchiha is mighty!" and "Well done, Military Police Force!" A deeply complicated self-mockery flickered in his eyes.

Once upon a time, those same villagers had applauded his father, too.

That was what made these villagers "cute." They weren't capable of distinguishing right from wrong. In their worldview, whoever let them hold their heads high in front of their neighbors, whoever stopped foreign ninja from extorting them, was a hero.

"Lord Yan! If those Cloud Ninja try this again, you should chop off their other hands too!" The Mask Shop Owner who had earlier chased Naruto away waved his fist, his face brimming with a simple, fervent sense of justice.

"Exactly! Konoha is the strongest, so why should we apologize to them?" shouted a middle-aged woman who sold vegetables.

She was the same woman who had earlier cursed the Uchiha most viciously for enforcing the law so strictly.

Watching the jubilant villagers, one could see how simple they were. It was as though Uchiha Yan hadn't just sparked a diplomatic incident but had merely chased a petty thug off the street.

Their wholehearted support seemed genuinely adorable at that moment. As long as you firmly stood on their side, they would be the strongest support in the world.

But the prerequisite was that they had to know you were on their side.

They were like grass swaying in the wind, bending whichever way it blew.

Uchiha Yan waved them away. "Everyone, disperse. Don't block traffic."