Slapping You Is a Compliment! Say Thank You!

Uchiha Ibe, captain of the guards at Naka Shrine, was an Elite Jonin with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He was notorious throughout the clan for his explosive temper.

He blocked the way and glared at Yongye, his face twisted with rage, as though someone had smeared shit across it.

"Uchiha Yongye, where have you been? Why are you only getting here now?"

His voice boomed with barely contained anger and accusation.

Since early morning, clan head Uchiha Fugaku had repeatedly pressed him to send someone to bring Yongye to the meeting.

He had sent five groups. Every one returned saying, "Yongye says he'll be here soon." But they waited and waited. Everyone else arrived. The clan head and elders drank three full rounds of tea in the secret chamber before His Highness finally showed up.

The nerve of him!

Did this man have any respect for the clan head or his elders?

The more Uchiha Ibe thought about it, the angrier he became. He stepped forward and pointed a finger at Yongye's nose, nearly spraying spit in his face.

"Do you have any idea? Because you took your sweet time, the clan head and the elders have all—"

He never finished.

Yongye raised a hand and slapped him.

The strike came too suddenly, too fast!

Uchiha Ibe was caught completely off guard. He had no time to react!

All he felt was an overwhelming force crashing into his face, like a charging Rhinoceros had hit him head-on.

Smack!

The sharp, ringing slap exploded through the corridor.

The blow spun Uchiha Ibe in midair and sent him flying sideways. He slammed into the corridor's stone wall with a bang.

Bits of stone rained down. The back of his head struck the wall with a dull thud, two teeth flew out, and blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

The other guards reacted instantly.

Anyone assigned to guard Naka Shrine was a battle-hardened Uchiha, with combat instincts etched into their bones.

The instant Uchiha Ibe went flying, eight guards surged with Chakra. They blurred into position and surrounded Yongye in a fan-shaped formation.

Crimson Sharingan flared in unison, some with Two-Tomoe, others with Three-Tomoe. Kunai came free in a rapid succession of metallic whispers, and killing intent filled the narrow corridor.

Yongye stood where he was, his face full of disdain. He did not even lift an eyelid.

His hands still hung naturally at his sides. He looked as relaxed as if he were sunning himself in his own yard.

But his eyes—those crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan—lit up and swept slowly over every guard present.

He did not look like a man facing a squad of elite ninja poised to strike. He looked like a tiger staring down at sheep blocking its path.

A tiger surveying a flock of sheep!

The guards stopped in their tracks.

Their hands trembled around their kunai. What their Sharingan showed them sent a chill down their spines.

The man before them had no openings anywhere.

His stance, his breathing, every faint twitch of his muscles radiated a composure that made their hair stand on end.

Worse, every one of them knew this man had butchered Root ninja like lambs before their eyes last night, beaten Danzo bloody, and forced the Third Hokage to back down.

If they fought him head-on, they would be the ones to suffer!

The door to the secret chamber flew open with a boom.

Shisui Uchiha flashed out. He moved like a streak of green lightning, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan already active when he landed as he scanned the area.

Finding no enemy, he frowned and looked at Uchiha Ibe, who was struggling to his feet.

"What happened? Why did Chakra suddenly flare up? Is there an enemy?"

Shisui's question was gentle but urgent.

He had been listening to the elders' private discussion inside the chamber, already on edge. When he sensed Chakra erupt outside the door, he rushed out almost by reflex.

Uchiha Ibe covered his mouth. Blood seeped between his fingers and dripped onto the corridor's stone floor, blooming into dark red flowers.

His face was badly swollen, and air whistled through his words. Two teeth had been knocked out, and his lip was split. Every word tugged at the wound, making him grimace in pain.

"Yongye, you showed up late, then attacked me out of nowhere!"

His words were muffled, but his anger and humiliation came through perfectly clearly.

Yongye curled his lip in disdain. His airy tone made it plain to everyone how little he thought of Ibe.

"Why would I need a sneak attack to hit you?"

"You're just a doorman. Don't make yourself out to be more than that."

"Besides, getting slapped by me is a compliment! Say thank you!"

Uchiha Ibe's eyes... immediately reddened!

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun furiously. Every muscle in his body tightened, and his clenched fists creaked. He took a step forward... but Shisui reacted at once and grabbed his arm.

"Calm down!"

Shisui lowered his voice, but it carried an authority that brooked no argument.

The other guards were itching to act too.

They did not dare actually attack Yongye, but their comrade had been humiliated in public. If they did nothing at all, how could they hold their heads up at Naka Shrine afterward?

Several had already put their hands on their Ninja Tool Pouches. The tips of their kunai gleamed coldly between their fingers.

Yongye looked at them and suddenly burst out laughing.

"I never saw you act this brave against Danzo and Root!"

The words hit every guard like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.

Uchiha Ibe's pupils contracted sharply. The hands reaching for Ninja Tool Pouches froze halfway. The younger guards who had been about to step forward stopped dead.

Danzo. Root!

They were a disgrace the entire Uchiha Clan could never escape, a humiliation carved into every Uchiha's bones.

For years, Danzo and Root had walked all over them, and they had endured it. Root ninja had blocked their doors in the middle of the night to arrest people, and they had endured it. Clan members had been lured to their deaths, and still they had endured it.

They had never dared draw their blades like this... not in front of Danzo, at least.

Any Uchiha who had dared do that had grass at least two meters high on his grave by now!

But the man before them, the Uchiha they hated so much yet did not dare provoke—he was different.

He really had beaten Danzo. He really had killed Root Elite. He really had forced the Third Hokage to back down.

They could resent him, dislike him, even hate him. But they had no right to throw their weight around in front of him.

The guards lost their nerve. One by one, they lowered their eyes, no longer daring to meet his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Yongye did not press his advantage.

He frowned, seemingly preoccupied with something else, and the crushing pressure he had been giving off suddenly eased.

Yongye was puzzling over the Heart-Piercing System.

He had already noticed something strange. Ayame and her father had suffered plenty at his hands. Teuchi had witnessed the offense against his daughter, while Ayame had wanted to be Yongye's wife but ended up his maid instead. Both of them had to be utterly devastated.

Yet the system had not given him a single reward.

Nor had he heard a peep about Heart-Piercing points from the Root ninja he had killed.

He had originally thought they were too weak to trigger a reward.

But Uchiha Ibe was an Elite Jonin with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, a notable figure in the clan.

Yongye had just slapped him in front of everyone. His face was swollen, his teeth were gone, and he had been humiliated beyond belief. He had to be devastated, yet the system still had not reacted.

So strength was not the issue.

There had to be another reason. He would need to keep investigating.

He mulled it over as he walked toward the secret chamber.

Forget it. That can wait.

First, I'll tend to my finest crop of leeks!

The chamber door slowly closed behind him, and the light around him dimmed.

The secret chamber was not large, but it was exquisitely made.

The walls were covered with the Uchiha Clan's crest and ancient Sealing Jutsu formulas.

An ever-burning lamp stood in each corner. Flames burned quietly on their wicks, casting shifting light and shadow around the room.

A round stone table stood in the center, its surface carved with the Gunbai crest. Eight stone chairs were spaced evenly around it.