Confrontation

Why had Sasuke come along? Because of a system mission.

That was right. The system that had been playing dead all this time finally showed some activity.

[Ding! Slap Hiashi Hyuga across the face, reward: 2 lottery chances!]

Although the reward was small—only two lottery chances—the mission itself was easy!

That was right. Slapping the Hyuga clan head across the face seemed like an incredibly simple task to Sasuke right now.

All he had to do was provoke Hiashi Hyuga into attacking him, then give the man a slap. That would settle it!

Simply perfect!

At the entrance to the Uchiha compound.

At that moment, a large group of Uchiha clan members blocked the entrance, every one of them glaring viciously.

The mere Hyuga clan actually dared to come looking for trouble with the Uchiha? They truly did not know their place!

Opposite them, the Hyuga clan members led by Hiashi Hyuga were equally furious. They looked at the Uchiha as if they were the other man who had cuckolded them.

The atmosphere between both sides was tense, as though a single wrong word would spark a fight!

"They're here! Clan Head Fugaku is finally here!"

"Clan Head, give the order, and we'll immediately let those white-eyed bastards over there know why flowers are so red!"

"That's right! We have to teach them a lesson! Coming to cause trouble in Uchiha territory comes at a price!"

The Uchiha clan members noticed Fugaku's arrival and immediately became excited.

The crowd automatically parted, opening a path for Fugaku to reach the front.

"Hiashi! Our clans are both great clans of Konoha, and we have always kept out of each other's way. What do you mean by bringing people to cause trouble in my clan!?"

"Today, you must give a reasonable explanation for your actions. Otherwise, the Uchiha clan will not let this go!"

The moment Fugaku arrived, he took the lead in demanding an explanation, seemingly wanting to vent all the dissatisfaction in his heart.

"Hmph! It has only been a few days, yet your skin has somehow grown even thicker, Fugaku!"

Hiashi Hyuga's tone was even more hostile.

"Your son, Uchiha Sasuke, publicly humiliated my Hyuga clan, and you still have the nerve to ask me for an explanation! What a joke!"

"How was that humiliation!? It was nothing more than a squabble between children, something completely normal. Hiashi, you're being far too petty. You don't have the bearing of a great clan at all!"

Fugaku frowned, feeling that Hiashi was simply making trouble out of nothing!

Of course, that was assuming this fake Sasuke was telling the truth.

"Normal? Heh heh!"

Veins suddenly bulged on Hiashi's face as he roared, "The dignity and image of my Hyuga clan have been utterly ruined, and you call that normal!?"

"Tch! I only gave those two brats from your clan a tiny lesson! Did you really have to make such a big deal out of it!? I seriously can't understand how you white-eyed freaks think!"

At that moment, Sasuke walked out with both hands in his pockets, looking utterly unconcerned.

The next instant, every member of the Hyuga clan turned their hateful gazes on him, all of them looking ready to kill.

"You're Fugaku's son, Uchiha Sasuke, aren't you! Good, I'll remember you. Later, I'll make sure you understand that the Hyuga clan is not something a brat like you can humiliate!"

Hiashi Hyuga glared at Sasuke bitterly, his eyes as sharp as blades.

If looks could kill, Sasuke would already have been cut into a thousand pieces!

This harmless-looking brat was the one who had made the Hyuga clan lose all face.

"Heh! Those two brats were the ones who came to provoke me first. I was merely acting in self-defense and gave them a little lesson. That's reasonable, isn't it!?"

"Someone can't bully me right in front of my face and expect me not to fight back, can they? That would be completely unreasonable!"

Sasuke spread his hands, wearing an innocent expression.

"That's right, Hiashi. Based on what Sasuke just said, it was ultimately just a fight between children. There's no need to blow this matter up!"

"If you lose a fight, then under a ninja's rules, you can only blame yourself for being weaker. There's no such thing as blaming your opponent for being too strong!"

Fugaku also spoke. He did not want to make things worse and only wanted to resolve this mess as quickly as possible.

Most importantly, souring the relationship between the two clans over such a trivial matter was simply not worth it.

By then, Fugaku had fully recovered his rationality after being angered by Sasuke. His tone was no longer as aggressive as when he had first arrived.

Having calmed down, Fugaku truly did not want to offend the Hyuga clan again, especially at a time like this.

With Konoha's higher-ups applying relentless pressure, offending the Hyuga clan as well would be an extremely unwise move.

Therefore, he absolutely could not allow the Hyuga clan to become an opposing force.

As a result, Fugaku's tone softened.

"Let it go, Hiashi. Even if Sasuke was in the wrong first and offended your Hyuga clan, I will solemnly apologize to you on his behalf. Is that enough?"

With that, Fugaku bent at the waist and gave the Hyuga clan opposite him a deep bow!

"Clan Head! Why should you apologize to them!? Our Uchiha clan isn't afraid of them!"

"That's right! Why should we apologize to them!?"

The Uchiha clan members all looked indignant at the sight!

The Uchiha were the greatest clan in the ninja world. How could they possibly apologize to a mere Hyuga clan?

"Enough! I have my reasons! You do not need to question them!"

Fugaku's face hardened as he forcefully suppressed his clansmen's dissatisfaction.

Then he raised his head and looked at Hiashi Hyuga with complete sincerity.

"Hiashi, is this enough now? I have bowed and apologized to you, giving you plenty of face. How about we let this matter end here!"

However, Hiashi Hyuga was not buying it. The anger in his eyes did not lessen as he sneered.

"Heh heh! Fugaku, it seems you truly have no idea what good deed that bastard son of yours has done! You think a painless apology is enough to settle this? What a joke!"

Fugaku frowned and asked, "Wasn't it just a fight between children? At worst, Sasuke might have hit a little too hard!"

"Heh heh! Then let me tell you exactly what that bastard son of yours did!"

Hiashi sneered twice, then suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

"That bastard son of yours used genjutsu to control one of my clansmen and made him, made him..."

Hiashi Hyuga simply could not bring himself to say the humiliating words that followed.

He then looked toward Hyuga Taiju, who had come with them, pointed at a tree not far away, and coldly ordered, "You! Go demonstrate what happened at the time!"

Hyuga Taiju's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"C-Clan Head, I... I..."

Making him do something like that while fully conscious—how was he supposed to ever hold his head up before his fellow clansmen again?

It was more unbearable than killing him!

At that moment, he regretted it beyond measure. He regretted listening to his idiot younger brother's nonsense and provoking Uchiha Sasuke, leading to this situation.

"Go! Do not make me repeat myself a third time!"

Hiashi's voice was cold, and his gaze was even colder!

Under the pressure of the clan head's tyranny and the pain inflicted by the Caged Bird, Hyuga Taiju slowly walked toward the tree nearby.

Then, before nearly a hundred ninjas, he wrapped his arms around the trunk and began with practiced familiarity.

At that moment, there was no light left in his eyes.

Only one thought remained in his mind: He hoped the ninja world would explode in the next second!