Now It Was One Uchiha Against Six!

"Go get to know your squad members first. We'll hold a captains' meeting this afternoon!"

"Dismissed!"

After delivering his final words, Uchiha Setsuna swept his gaze over the gathered crowd. Then everyone began leaving, one after another.

"Hui! Let's chat when we have time."

Uchiha Yakumi patted Uchiha Hui, signaled to his squad members, and led them outside.

Order was gradually returning to Konoha.

The Konoha Military Police Force now had work to do every day.

They had lost a little time just now, and it was time to get busy.

"Hui! Want to spar sometime?"

Uchiha Tekka gestured to Uchiha Hui. His voice was confident, but there was a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

"Sure!"

Uchiha Hui glanced at him.

--

Name: Uchiha Tekka

Identity: Uchiha Jonin of Konohagakure, Land of Fire; Captain of Team Four, Konoha Military Police Force

Reputation: 22,320 points

Relationship: Friendly

--

He was fairly strong even among Jonin.

Judging by reputation alone, he far surpassed an ordinary Jonin. But reputation could be misleading, so he might actually be considerably stronger than he appeared.

At the very least, Uchiha Hui was not completely confident he could defeat him.

But that was no reason not to spar.

Uchiha Tekka soon left as well.

After he departed, quite a few other captains went their separate ways.

In the end.

Only the three newly appointed captains and the twenty-odd members who had just joined their squads remained.

Uchiha Hui had thought Elder Uchiha Setsuna would say a few words to him at this point. Instead, aside from nodding in greeting when he first arrived, the elder simply vanished with the Body Flicker Technique once he had finished giving his instructions.

"Seventh Squad, follow me!"

"Eighth Squad, come with me!"

Uchiha Fu and Uchiha Yu each led their squad members away.

In the gathering area.

Uchiha Hui looked at his teammates.

He had heard quite a few familiar names during roll call.

There was Uchiha Temple, the first Chunin in the clan to spar with him, followed by his friend Uchiha Tiger. Then there were Uchiha Tianshui and, finally, Uchiha Ryuka.

Aside from those four.

There were two others, one named Arima and one named Yu. Neither looked particularly old; they were all generally between fifteen and twenty.

There were only so many Uchiha shinobi.

Most knew one another, so Uchiha Hui did not dwell on why his squad members happened to be people who had, for the most part, sparred with him.

He slowly walked up to the six of them, surveying each in turn.

As Uchiha Hui's gaze swept over them.

They all instinctively held their breath and stiffened slightly, looking somewhat uneasy.

In the past, when they met Uchiha Hui, they might have presumptuously called him "Hui," politely called him "senior," or even dismissively called him "that Chunin."

That was normal.

An Uchiha refusing to acknowledge anyone else was a law of the shinobi world!

But now.

Sorry!

They would have to call Uchiha Hui "Captain."

Use official titles at work.

Nothing wrong with that, right?!

"What should I say?"

Standing before them, Uchiha Hui scratched his head in mild frustration. In his previous life, the highest position he had ever held was group leader, responsible for collecting homework from the five classmates sitting around him.

But now.

Before him stood six Uchiha Chunin of considerable skill.

This really was a bit of a headache!

"All right, let's start with introductions. We'll be teammates from now on, so you need to get to know one another too, right?"

In the end, Uchiha Hui chose a conventional opening.

At his words.

The six exchanged glances.

Then they began introducing themselves, starting with the person on the far left.

They gave their names and shinobi ranks, then the year they had graduated, followed by their specialties...

Before long.

Everyone had finished introducing themselves.

From each person's tone and attitude, Uchiha Hui also gained a rough idea of most of their personalities.

Uchiha Ryuka, for instance, actually said he liked painting. His greatest dream was to become a painter, while his current dream was to revitalize the Uchiha...

"What about you, Captain?"

Uchiha Tianshui looked at Uchiha Hui and asked.

Uchiha Hui remembered this Chunin quite well: despite being an Uchiha, he specialized in Earth Release. So when he asked, Uchiha Hui smiled.

He took a stance as though preparing to speak.

And so.

Everyone, including Uchiha Ryuka, looked expectant.

"My name is Uchiha Hui. I'm an unremarkable shinobi who specializes in Fire Release and knows a little Taijutsu."

Uchiha Hui gave that brief introduction.

"That's it?"

Uchiha Tiger froze.

Uchiha Temple beside him did the same.

After all.

They had each spent two or three minutes introducing themselves.

It had been practically a job interview.

Yet when their captain's turn came, his introduction was that simple.

"Is there anything else to say?"

Uchiha Hui could not help scratching his forehead.

Then.

Seeing six pairs of faintly reproachful eyes, he cleared his throat softly and said, "My dream is to become a stronger shinobi, then get filthy rich and marry a few wives, I guess?"

"That's pretty detailed, right? Any more and it wouldn't be suitable for minors."

As someone in his twenties, Uchiha Hui glanced at the squad members who were only fifteen or sixteen. His face took on a suggestive look, his expression saying, "You're too young."

"That really was unexpected!"

Almost everyone felt that Uchiha Hui's introduction had been rather vague.

But for some reason.

They also felt that their captain seemed to be speaking from the heart.

But what was this about marrying several wives?!

Although the nobility still preserved the traditions of the Warring States era, shinobi had largely abandoned such outdated thinking. They were almost all monogamous, and hardly anyone had heard of someone taking several wives.

"All right, enough small talk."

Uchiha Hui waved a hand to bring the topic to a close. Then his expression gradually turned serious.

The change naturally startled the other six.

"We're all going to be a team from now on. Before that, we obviously need to get to know one another better, so I've decided to test your abilities."

Uchiha Hui swept an appraising gaze over them. "Although you've already been assigned to my squad, I place a lot of importance on strength. If anyone fails to meet the standard, I'll report it to Elder Setsuna or the clan head and have them replaced!"

"Captain, don't you already know how strong we are?"

Uchiha Temple was the first to jump out and protest.

As far as he was concerned, there could hardly be any Chunin present who had not "sparred" with Uchiha Hui.

Take him, for example.

As the first person to spar with Uchiha Hui.

He had been beaten senseless twice and lost a full thousand ryo.

"Now, now!"

Uchiha Hui cut Uchiha Temple off, amusement in his eyes. "That was all in the past. It's been so long—surely you've gotten stronger?"

There were six workhorses right in front of him—no, six squad members.

If he did not farm them for a round.

He would not deserve the name Uchiha Hui.

Besides, they had no way to refuse.

Why not?

After all, it was already hard for him to find a few Chunin-level sparring partners.

At least, that was the case within the Uchiha clan.

Upon hearing Uchiha Hui's words, Uchiha Temple, who had been ready to keep arguing, immediately shut his mouth.

If he said he had not improved much compared with a month ago, would that not invite others to look down on him?

Which of them had not once been called an Uchiha "genius"?

But.

Could their growth in strength really compare with Uchiha Hui's?

Uchiha Hui had been fighting constantly.

And he had just defeated a Special Jōnin!

"Now! One at a time! Every one of you must fight me once. That way, I can gain a better understanding of your abilities, while also fulfilling my responsibility toward everyone's work!"

Barely concealing his delight, Uchiha Hui looked at the Chunin named Uchiha Arima.

He looked somewhat thin and carried a Ninja Blade on his back.

With things spelled out that clearly.

Naturally, no one refused.

And so.

While the other squads found places to familiarize themselves with the Konoha Military Police Force's various duties.

The members of Team Nine began taking turns fighting Uchiha Hui.