Arrogant at First, Respectful Later

(The long blade's ability has been revised: after hitting a target, it will not cause physical harm to the target's body, but it can designate and seize any concept belonging to the target, then bestow it upon another existence.

The previous wording, "harm the target," was inappropriate. It has been changed to "hit the target," and only applies to conceptual existences. Chapter 11 contains a detailed explanation; everyone can go back and take a look.)

"Cough, cough..."

He was, after all, an elite ninja who had survived countless battles.

Though Fugaku's head felt like it was splitting apart, he still forced himself up and dropped to one knee.

At that moment, the shock he felt toward Xiu's strength far outweighed his anger.

Fugaku struggled to open his eyes wide, trying to make out the figure before him. But the devastating impact just now had left his vision blurry, and he could only see a dark silhouette slowly approaching.

"Impossible! How could you possess this kind of strength?"

Fugaku's voice carried a faint, barely noticeable tremble. The power Xiu had displayed had far surpassed anything he could comprehend.

In that instant, he had felt as though a mountain were pressing down upon his head!

How could a six-year-old brat possess such strength?

"Heh, if I didn't use cheats when I had them, how would I ever become a grandmaster?"

Uchiha Shu muttered words Fugaku could not understand as he strolled up before him. "Duty? Honor? Responsibility? I really couldn't tell~ All I got from you was stupidity, hesitation, and stubbornness!"

"The clan meeting? What was the point of that thing? Did you want me to go listen to you complain about your grievances, or plot a rebellion? Did you take your old man here for a tree hollow?"

"How... did you know?"

Fugaku clutched his head as his blurred vision finally cleared somewhat.

But an even greater question arose. Why did Xiu, a child who had never attended a single clan meeting, know about these matters?

"Plans succeed through secrecy and fail through leaks. A bunch of idiots... You might as well have written 'I'm rebelling' across your faces."

Xiu gave a casual snort. "Holding clan meetings every few days... Though I don't think much of those old fossils in the upper ranks either, you couldn't exactly treat them like idiots, could you?"

After saying that, he swept his gaze around and let out a disdainful sneer.

By then, clan members who had been alarmed by the commotion had already rushed over. But upon witnessing this scene that defied all common sense, every one of them froze in shock.

They must have woken up too violently—they were seeing the clan head getting beaten up by a child!

"Not good, Captain!" (Within the Uchiha clan, Fugaku was called Captain. That showed just how strong their sense of honor was, right?)

After their brief shock, someone finally reacted. With a cry, they hurried forward to help Fugaku up.

"Captain, are you all right? Captain?"

Tekka supported Fugaku by the shoulder. Seeing the other man's unfocused eyes, his tone was full of urgency.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Fugaku steadied himself with Tekka's support, and the surrounding clan members finally came to their senses and gathered around him.

Suddenly, a figure appeared neatly in the middle of the scene.

"What happened?"

Shisui had only just arrived when Fugaku's blood-covered face gave him a fright. After taking in the situation, he immediately realized it had something to do with Xiu. "Xiu, did... you do this?"

"Why not? This idiot refused to sleep in the middle of the night and stood suspiciously outside my house, telling me to attend the clan meeting. After I refused, he even dared to attack me first..."

Xiu spread his little hands, looking utterly helpless. "I was just about to kill him and replace him with a clan head who could speak like a normal person. Say, Shisui, you'd be pretty good at it~"

You were really making things difficult for me!

Shisui immediately found himself caught between laughter and tears, but for the moment, he had no idea how to smooth things over.

He did not doubt whether Xiu had the ability to do it. Since their last conversation, he had no longer regarded Xiu as merely a child.

Based on what he knew of Xiu, the other party was not joking. If this group had not arrived in time, Xiu would absolutely have killed Fugaku.

After hearing Xiu's words, the surrounding clan members looked at one another, unsure what to say.

But if things had truly happened as Xiu described, then the clan head's actions had indeed been somewhat excessive.

"But even so, you shouldn't have struck so heavily. No matter what, we're all members of the same clan, aren't we?"

Tekka supported Fugaku. Looking at his old captain's bloodied face, he frowned deeply.

"If you dared to attack first, then you should have been prepared to get taken down. People had to take responsibility for their actions. If you didn't even understand that, what kind of ninja were you?"

Xiu glanced at him disdainfully. "And besides... who's part of the same clan as you? A bunch of people who couldn't even figure out how to rebel properly. Other than our Bloodline, what did you have in common with me? If you had nothing else to say, get out of my way. Otherwise, I'll deal with you too."

"This brat... He really had a nasty mouth."

"Exactly. Don't get too cocky, you little punk!"

"Why waste words on him? Just take him down!"

Xiu had once again fired indiscriminately at everyone, and unsurprisingly, he had once again provoked public outrage.

Especially Inabi, Yakumi, and the other trusted members of the clan head's faction, who were even more displeased with Xiu's attitude.

After hearing Xiu's explanation, they had initially felt that Fugaku had gone a little too far. But after personally experiencing Xiu's venomous little mouth, they suddenly felt that the clan head's decision to attack had not been entirely without reason.

"You bastard, what the hell are you saying?"

Tekka's expression darkened. Seeing that things were about to go wrong, Shisui quickly grabbed him and held him back.

"Wait, everyone calm down!"

Tekka was beside himself with anger. "Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? He beat the captain into this state..."

"If he could beat the captain into this state, then even if you charged in, the outcome would only be worse for you than it was for the captain!" Shisui said sternly.

"..."

Tekka opened his mouth, but for a moment, he did not know how to refute that.

He turned and looked at Fugaku as though asking for help. Fugaku looked back at him weakly and gave a slight shake of his head.

At that sight, Tekka's heart immediately sank.

For Fugaku, the head of an entire clan, to reveal such an expression, Xiu's strength was clearly not to be underestimated!

"My apologies. In this matter, I was indeed the one who acted improperly first."

Fugaku let out an almost imperceptible sigh. Recalling the crushing ocular power and chakra that had erupted from Xiu just now, he truly did not dare gamble on whether the people present had the strength to subdue him.

(In this story's setting, Fugaku had the Three Tomoe. The Mangekyō Sharingan was anime-original material. By all rights, the clan head should have at least had a Mangekyo, but for a father who knew the conditions for awakening it and could still celebrate after his son awakened it, I don't think he had emotions rich enough to awaken the Mangekyo.)

Moreover, he suspected that Xiu might already have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!

Though that sounded utterly shocking, Xiu's terrifying monstrous strength had already surpassed Fugaku's understanding once before.

For a monster that defied common sense like this, nothing that happened to him would surprise Fugaku!

Only someone who had truly faced Xiu could feel the violent savagery in his attacks.

And if his guess was correct, then once a conflict broke out, the consequences would absolutely be more than the current clan could bear!

At that thought, he gave Xiu a slight bow, without a trace of his earlier lofty bearing. "You're right. As the clan head, attacking a child only proves that I am narrow-minded. I am willing to pay the price for my mistake. You may take this life, but please do not involve anyone else."

"No!"

"You can't, Captain!"

The surrounding clan members immediately burst into an uproar. Tekka and the others stepped directly in front of Fugaku, their faces full of vigilance as they watched Xiu.

But vigilance was one thing; this time, no one was foolish enough to provoke Xiu again.

The Uchiha had always revered the strong. So long as you were strong enough, even an enemy could earn their respect. Someone like Xiu, who resorted to personal attacks the moment he opened his mouth, was the true oddity.

"Arrogant at first, respectful afterward. The very thought was laughable..."

Xiu watched the scene coldly, his heart filled with disdain.

If Fugaku used that same moral blackmail against the upper ranks, Xiu might even think a little more highly of him.

"Wasn't he your younger brother? Try persuading him."

Inabi nudged Shisui with his elbow. Shisui wore a helpless expression. If only I had that much influence!

But seeing that things would become impossible to resolve if this continued, he could only force out a dry laugh, step forward, and try to persuade Xiu nicely.

"Xiu, in this matter, the captain was indeed at fault first. But the captain has sincerely recognized his mistake. Could you... spare him this once? No matter what, everyone here is family by blood."

As his words fell, Shisui looked at Xiu cautiously, a trace of unease in his eyes. He feared that Xiu might suddenly lash out.

Yet Xiu's reaction was entirely beyond his expectations...

"Sure~"

Xiu suddenly raised a hand, and a black long blade appeared out of thin air in his grasp.