The Military Police Force's Coup, Sosuke Faces the Uchiha Elite Alone

Boom!

The battered red-lacquered gates let out an overwhelmed groan as the two heavy wooden doors were kicked apart by violent chakra. Wood splinters mixed with years of dust, scattering wildly through the air above the courtyard.

Dozens of blazing torches swept into the ancient residence, which had lain silent for years, like a fire dragon crashing in with brute force. The flickering flames painted half the night sky crimson and illuminated the withered old tree at the center of the courtyard.

Uchiha Fugaku strode over the wreckage at the entrance. The high-collared uniform bearing the fan clan crest billowed sharply in the night wind, while the ninja blade at his waist had already been drawn halfway, its harsh metallic scrape especially piercing in the courtyard.

His gaze passed over the dead tree and nailed itself to the two people beneath the eaves like a sword.

The instant he saw the scene before him clearly, the three-tomoe Sharingan in Fugaku's eyes emerged uncontrollably, their scarlet light spinning madly in the darkness.

The Uchiha jewel he regarded as his private property, who should have been meekly waiting in the clan estate for their political marriage, was now dressed in plain casual clothes, sitting obediently on her knees beside Senju Sosuke. She even held a white porcelain teapot, gently pouring tea for that sickly invalid.

That submissive posture belonging only to a wife was like a red-hot branding iron searing viciously into Fugaku's optic nerves.

"Mikoto!" Fugaku's voice was terrifyingly hoarse, thick with bloodlust. "Get over here!"

Mikoto's hand holding the teapot paused slightly, and the tea nearly spilled over the rim. The instinctive fear built up over years within the clan made her want to rise reflexively, but before she could move, a slightly cool hand gently pressed down on the back of hers.

Sosuke did not look at the murderous Uchiha elite outside. He merely took the freshly poured cup of hot tea from Mikoto's hand, held the white porcelain cup between his slender fingers, and gently blew away the floating tea leaves.

"The tea is poured well. The heat was just a little too high." Sosuke took a shallow sip, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

That composure, as though the dozens of fully armed shinobi did not exist, completely ignited the fuse of Fugaku's reason.

"Senju Sosuke! You worthless trash, you've got some nerve!" Fugaku abruptly drew his ninja blade, its tip aimed directly at Sosuke's brow. Violent chakra roiled around him. "You dare use genjutsu to bewitch a member of my Uchiha clan! Even if I have to raze the Senju Clan Grounds to the ground today, I'll tear you, you despicable wretch, into pieces!"

The two Military Police Force squads behind him swiftly spread out, surrounding the entire eaves in a fan-shaped formation. Kunai and shuriken glinted with chilling light beneath the flames, and intense killing intent instantly locked down every blind spot around Sosuke.

Faced with this drawn-sword standoff, Sosuke finally set down his teacup.

The crisp sound of porcelain touching porcelain echoed through the silent courtyard.

He slowly raised his eyes. There was not a trace of warmth in those deep black pupils, only the scrutiny of one looking down from above. Though he wore a loose pale moon-white robe and appeared slender, as he sat there, he exuded an authority that made others unable to meet his gaze.

"Is Uchiha family discipline teaching you to kick down other people's doors in the middle of the night and bark like mad dogs?" Sosuke's voice was not loud, yet it carried tremendous force, striking clearly against everyone's eardrums.

Fugaku laughed in extreme anger, the muscles in his face twitching violently. "Still talking tough when death is at your doorstep! I am the captain of the Hidden Leaf Military Police Force! I have every reason to suspect that you have secretly colluded with foreign enemies, stolen Hidden Leaf secrets, and used despicable methods to control a core member of the Uchiha clan. The Military Police Force has the authority to take you away for questioning immediately!"

"Men! Take him down! Anyone who resists will be killed on the spot!"

Several Uchiha elites immediately tightened their grips on their weapons and prepared to leap onto the veranda.

"Hold it." Sosuke remained seated, but his tone suddenly turned cold.

He made no hand seals and released not the slightest trace of chakra, yet the aura of a powerful ruler long accustomed to command bore down on them almost tangibly, forcing those elites to stop in their tracks.

"When the Military Police Force arrests someone, it follows Hidden Leaf law." Sosuke lifted his chin slightly, his blade-like gaze scraping over Fugaku's face. "Fugaku, where is your search warrant? Where is the Hokage's written authorization?"

Fugaku snorted and clenched the hilt of his blade. "The Military Police Force has the privilege of acting first and reporting later when arresting an extremely dangerous suspect like you! No written authorization is needed!"

"Privilege?" Sosuke suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter filled with undisguised mockery.

He braced his hands on his knees and slowly rose to his feet. The night wind brushed past his robes as he looked down at the Uchiha in the courtyard, his eyes as if viewing a pack of clowns who did not know their place.

"Have you forgotten where this is?"

Sosuke took half a step forward, his voice ringing through the night sky like a great bell. "This is the Senju Clan Grounds! The main clan residence personally established by the First Hokage and Second Hokage! Article One of the Konoha Founding Charter states that without the Hokage's special approval, no armed force may trespass into the main residences of the Senju and Uchiha clans."

"You led the fully armed Military Police Force to crash through the Senju gates. Who gave you that authority?" Sosuke's gaze stabbed sharply toward Fugaku, every word cutting to the bone. "Was it at the Third Hokage's instruction, or have you, Uchiha Fugaku, decided that you can stand above Hidden Leaf law and rebel?!"

Rebellion.

The moment those two words were spoken, the air in the courtyard froze.

The expressions of the Military Police Force members who had been ready to act changed drastically, and they instinctively took a step back. They might have been arrogant, but they were not fools. The Uchiha clan was already under intense scrutiny from the higher-ups. If forcibly breaking into the Senju Clan Grounds today were deemed "disregarding the Charter and intending rebellion," then ANBU would have every justification to purge the entire Uchiha clan tomorrow.

Fugaku's face shifted between green and white, the veins on his forehead throbbing. He had never imagined that a sickly invalid incapable of even refining chakra could manipulate Hidden Leaf's political laws so masterfully, roasting him over the fire with just a few words.

"Stop slandering me!" Fugaku gritted his teeth, trying to forcefully salvage the situation. "I am carrying out official duties! It is a fact that you bewitched Mikoto!"

"Bewitched?" Sosuke turned his head and looked gently at Mikoto beside him. "Mikoto, tell this future Uchiha clan head: did I tie you up and bring you here, or did you walk through this door of your own will?"

Mikoto took a deep breath. Looking at Sosuke's back before her, not broad but standing before her like a mountain, the last trace of fear in her heart vanished.

She rose to her feet and walked to Sosuke's side. Meeting Fugaku's nearly cannibalistic gaze, she spoke in a clear, resolute voice. "I chose to stay here and care for Young Master Sosuke. Captain Fugaku, please do not use public authority for private ends and make trouble here without cause."

Those words became the final straw that crushed Fugaku's pride.

"Did you hear that?" The smile on Sosuke's face vanished completely, replaced by piercing coldness. "You couldn't even keep your own woman, so you brought the Military Police Force to run wild in my Senju Clan Grounds. You treat the law enforcement authority Hidden Leaf granted you as a tool for Uchiha Fugaku to vent his personal resentment."

Sosuke's gaze swept over the hesitant Military Police Force members before falling back on Fugaku. The corner of his mouth curved into the utmost contempt.

"With your narrow-minded, reckless, emotion-driven stupidity, you dare speak of Uchiha glory? Put the clan in the hands of someone like you, and the Uchiha clan won't be far from extinction."

Dead silence.

The entire courtyard fell into a silence so profound that a needle drop could be heard. Only the crackling of the torches echoed through the air.

The Military Police Force members exchanged glances, cold sweat already seeping into the palms gripping their blades. Their proud aura as Uchiha elites had been crushed to pieces before this young man, who showed no chakra fluctuations whatsoever.

Fugaku's chest heaved violently, and suppressed, beast-like panting escaped his throat. Humiliation, fury, and unwillingness intertwined, utterly burning away the final thread of reason in his mind.

Law, the higher-ups, consequences—he no longer cared about any of it! All he wanted now was to tear the man before him into pieces!

"I'll kill you!"

Fugaku roared, the red light of his three-tomoe Sharingan blazing brightly. He kicked off with both legs, cracking the bluestone beneath his feet instantly. His entire body became a dark blur as he swung his gleaming ninja blade down at Sosuke's head.

"Attack! Dead or alive!"

Facing this sudden assault, this fatal strike capable of splitting a man in two, Sosuke still did not retreat even half a step. He did not even assume a defensive stance.

He merely stood there quietly, his hands hanging naturally at his sides.

But deep within those abyssal black eyes, an utterly icy emerald light silently blossomed like thorns breaking through the earth.