"Because of a piece of intelligence that may or may not be true, two Chunin from the Hyuga Clan attacked a freshly graduated Genin in the village. As the Police Force responsible for maintaining public order, we have every right to go to the Hyuga Clan and demand an explanation."
A malicious smile spread across Uchiha Fugaku's face. Clearly, he'd already figured out how to trip up the Hyuga Clan.
They'd practically delivered the excuse right into his hands. Just imagining those annoying Hyuga Clan members looking like they'd swallowed shit made Uchiha Fugaku want to laugh out loud.
After all, Fugaku was only a little over twenty. He was still a young man.
If he had a chance to take a jab at an old rival and make them look bad, how could Uchiha Fugaku possibly refuse?
He was more than happy to do it.
As for that brat, Kawaki Aoba, his file said he had decent talent. But since he'd been unlucky enough to awaken the Byakugan, there wasn't much to be done.
Although he couldn't stand the Hyuga Clan, as the future heir to the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku knew how to keep his priorities straight.
He could occasionally cause the Hyuga Clan trouble out of pride, or make them look bad. But when it came to something that crossed their bottom line, he couldn't go too far unless absolutely necessary.
And the Byakugan falling into outsider hands had undoubtedly crossed the Hyuga Clan's bottom line.
Besides, what right did some brat have to use the Uchiha to keep the Hyuga in check?
In other words, what did that brat named Kawaki Aoba take the Uchiha for?
Fugaku had made up his mind.
He left his office and headed straight for the room where Kawaki Aoba was being held temporarily.
Creak!
The wooden door swung open from the outside. Kawaki Aoba looked up and, through his sunglasses, saw a man dressed in a distinctly Uchiha style.
Meeting his gaze through the dark lenses, Kawaki Aoba immediately noticed the hostility in the man's eyes.
Wicked Eye Fugaku!
The newcomer looked somewhat unfamiliar and differed considerably from the middle-aged man in Aoba's memories, but Kawaki Aoba recognized him at a glance.
"Captain Fugaku, I've already told you everything I know. When can I leave?" Before Fugaku could speak, Kawaki Aoba hurried to play the part of a little ninja who'd just finished a mission and wanted to go home and rest.
"Going home can wait. If you cooperate, you'll be able to leave soon enough." Uchiha Fugaku's words carried an implication, but he didn't seem particularly surprised that Aoba knew his name.
He was the greatest genius of his Uchiha generation and the captain of the Uchiha Police Force. Wasn't it only natural for a brat to know who he was?
"Uh, Captain Fugaku, what do you mean? I've already told you everything I know. What else do you want me to cooperate with? You don't expect me to find the spies hiding in Konoha, do you? That's asking too much of me. I'm not that capable."
Uchiha Fugaku: ...
Fugaku was speechless. He silently grumbled that the brat in front of him was really good at putting on an act.
Unfortunately, he had no interest in playing along any longer.
"Stop pretending, brat. Nothing can escape these eyes of mine."
As if to prove his point, Uchiha Fugaku activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, making himself look even more intimidating.
And there was no denying that Fugaku looked fiercer with his Sharingan activated. It was fortunate that Kawaki Aoba, who knew exactly what he was like, was the one facing him. Someone else might really have been scared.
"Captain Fugaku, I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm just an ordinary Genin from the village. I brought those two spies to the Uchiha Police Force today because I trusted you. But I don't understand why you're not interrogating them and are instead trying to scare a child like me."
Playing dumb—yes, this behavior, which could practically be called an insult to anyone's intelligence, was entirely deliberate on Kawaki Aoba's part.
Of course he knew he couldn't hide the truth from the Uchiha. So what? He only wanted to buy some time. By his reckoning, his backup should be arriving soon.
Meanwhile, Fugaku, standing by the door, grew even more sullen. He looked down on the brat even more for daring to use the Uchiha.
"Brats will be brats. So naive. You think denying it will make this go away?" As he spoke, Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward. He meant to remove Kawaki Aoba's sunglasses and make the brat give up for good.
Of course, he wasn't doing this to help the Hyuga Clan. He would never clean up the mess of an old rival.
Uchiha Fugaku simply wanted to teach Kawaki Aoba a lesson. He wanted the brat to remember that the Uchiha weren't just anyone for him to take advantage of.
Once the lesson was over, things could go back to normal. They'd let him go and leave the Hyuga Clan to deal with the headache.
But before Uchiha Fugaku could reach Kawaki Aoba, a commotion came from outside the door.
"Aoba, we're here to take you home."
"Aoba, I heard you were attacked by spies. Are you all right?"
Two voices sounded one after the other. Footsteps approached, quickly reaching the room where Kawaki Aoba was.
Sitting on the chair by the wall, Kawaki Aoba's lips curled slightly under Uchiha Fugaku's gaze. At last, the "reinforcements" he'd been waiting for had arrived.
"Aoba, you're amazing! I heard you defeated two Chunin spies all by yourself. Father's already gone to Lord Hokage to ask for a commendation for you." The speaker was a girl with a clear, slightly childish voice.
"Aoba, make sure you keep your sunglasses on. The Medical Ninja specifically warned you not to take them off for any reason over the next few days." Compared with the girl's voice, this boy's was much deeper and rougher. He sounded nothing like someone Aoba's age.
Uchiha Fugaku stopped in his tracks and looked back. A boy and a girl, both about Kawaki Aoba's age, stood in the doorway.
The girl had red hair and crimson eyes. Uchiha Fugaku recognized her: she was the daughter of Yuhi Shinku, a ninja whose skill in genjutsu rivaled that of the Uchiha.
As for the mature-looking boy, Fugaku knew him even better: Sarutobi Asuma, the youngest son of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
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