A Hyuga ninja

Defeating Uchiha Ryo had just netted him several reward drops.

Uchiha Hui had not even had time to check what they were.

But his opponent was a Jonin.

Even if he was only a Special Jōnin.

The things he dropped certainly would not be bad.

Besides.

This was also Uchiha Hui's first time defeating a ninja at the "Jonin" level.

His previous encounter with Uchiha Fugaku had only been an "exchange of blows."

And so, before lunch.

Uchiha Hui speedran all six of his teammates.

Looking at the plentiful haul in his temporary space, he felt that today was his lucky day. And, predictably, every day to come would be lucky too.

The reason was simple.

As the captain of Team Nine.

If he wanted to check how his teammates' strength had changed, could they really refuse?

This was much easier than going around looking for sparring partners.

"Seems there are differences even between Chunin!"

Uchiha Hui offered that final comment to wrap up Team Nine's first sparring session. Looking at his teammates, who were still in decent shape, he smiled and said, "Let's go get something to eat. As your captain, this one's on me!"

He had scored plenty of reward drops.

He was in a great mood.

At those words.

Everyone else smiled.

And so.

The seven of them headed out of the Konoha Military Police Force building.

As Konoha gradually began its post-disaster reconstruction, some areas had already resumed operations, such as the shopping street at the heart of the residential district.

Of course.

Many residential neighborhoods were still in the early stages of rebuilding, and workers could be seen busily working even from a distance.

Seven-Star Barbecue.

They arrived at the nearest barbecue restaurant.

Without further ado, Uchiha Hui led the way inside.

The owner was startled when six or seven Uchiha ninja walked straight in, thinking he had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Only after learning that Uchiha Hui and the others had come to eat did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Still.

From these ordinary people's attitudes.

Uchiha Hui could see a few things.

Previously, he had always gone out alone, so he had never felt it quite this directly.

But today.

He truly understood what many Uchiha ninja faced.

Were they really this unwelcome?

Uchiha Hui said nothing, though Uchiha Ryuka and the others privately showed hints of displeasure.

Soon.

The meat for the seven of them was brought out.

They had been seated in a private room, which was relatively quiet and secluded.

At first, Uchiha Hui thought it was a gesture of goodwill.

But after they had eaten a few rounds, more people arrived outside, and snatches of gossip reached his ears.

Only then did Uchiha Hui realize that the private room seemed intended to separate their group of Uchiha from the other customers, preventing any situation that might get out of hand.

"That bunch outside sure is noisy!"

Uchiha Ryuka muttered with a frown, a trace of indignation in his voice.

Just moments ago, someone had actually started discussing their clan, even bringing up that "rumor" from not long ago.

"Ignore them. Let's keep eating."

Uchiha Hui gestured for him to relax.

Although he was somewhat displeased too, feeling that people were saying ill-timed things while he was in a good mood, this was the situation the Uchiha currently faced. He could silence one person, but what about a hundred? A thousand?

This was not something that could be resolved in a day or two.

At least.

Without an opening at this stage, it was practically a dead end.

And so.

The seven chatted and laughed in the private room, soon tuning out the voices outside. As they grew more familiar with each other, the barriers between most of them gradually dissolved or eased.

Take Uchiha Ryuka, for example.

As a Chunin with a modest reputation, he had always come across as "gloomy." But after a few glasses of liquid bread, the others saw his more approachable side.

As a team.

Uchiha Hui knew he had to make sure everyone trusted one another.

That was the purpose of team building, too.

Unfortunately.

Things did not go as planned.

Just as they were nearly finished.

A commotion suddenly erupted outside, followed by crashing and smashing. It sounded as though someone had overturned a table, then smashed bottles and other things...

"Captain?"

Uchiha Tianshui looked at Uchiha Hui.

They could even faintly hear someone cursing the Uchiha, without the slightest restraint.

"Let's take a look."

Uchiha Hui had a temper too.

He chose restraint not because he enjoyed being a pushover, but because he felt some conflicts were utterly pointless.

But if someone took his willingness to back down for cowardice.

Then, sorry, but my fists can hit plenty hard too!

Uchiha Hui opened the door.

Before he could make out what was happening outside.

He sensed something flying straight at him.

This aggressive?!

They actually dared to attack?!

He had not expected that.

Whoosh!

Uchiha Hui raised his hand and easily caught the object hurled at him. It was a white sake bottle.

And the instant he opened the door and stepped out.

The main dining area fell silent.

Now, Uchiha Hui could finally see what had happened.

A middle-aged ninja stood in the center of the dining area. He had overturned a table, and an employee lay on the floor, blood running from his head as he let out faint groans.

The ninja was still muttering curses.

"That bastard!"

Uchiha Ryuka came out second. Seeing the bottle in Uchiha Hui's hand, he immediately understood what had happened and moved to teach the man a lesson.

But Uchiha Hui blocked him.

"Hey!!"

Unfortunately, someone seemed unwilling to let the matter die down.

The middle-aged ninja noticed Uchiha Hui and the others coming out and seemed to have found an outlet for his anger. He picked up another bottle and pointed it at Uchiha Hui. "You're Uchiha ninja, aren't you?!"

"He's a Hyuga."

Uchiha Arima noticed the clan emblem on the man's clothing and spoke quietly from behind.

Uchiha Hui noticed it too.

However.

As far as he remembered, there should not have been any major enmity between the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan. At most, they competed for the empty title of "Konoha's foremost clan."

"I'm talking to you! You bastards!!"

Seeing that the Uchiha ninja before him seemed to be ignoring him, Hyuga Shun shouted bitterly, "You're the ones who got Chizuru killed! You're the ones who should have died!!"

"Does anyone know this Chizuru he's talking about?"

Uchiha Hui was simply confused.

What on earth was this guy talking about?!

"Die, you bastard!!"

Then.

Before anyone behind him could answer.

Uchiha Hui saw the man charge at him, the bottle in his hand raised high.

His expression darkened at once.

Bam!

Everyone present saw only a blur. Only the Uchiha ninja behind him could make out Uchiha Hui's movements.

Then.

The Hyuga ninja who had charged at him flew backward even faster, slamming hard into the wall behind him.

"What should the Konoha Military Police Force do in a situation like this?"

Uchiha Hui glanced at the unconscious Hyuga ninja. Rather than immediately collecting the rewards he had dropped, he turned to look at his teammates.

"The Konoha Military Police Force generally only deals with civilians. When it comes to ninja, we usually just issue a warning, and the Anbu handle it afterward."

Uchiha Yu, who wore glasses and looked somewhat sickly, cleared up the captain's confusion.

"Tch!"

Uchiha Hui could not help snorting. Then his gaze sharpened. "Take him back. He attacked a fellow villager. I suspect he's a spy!"

"Huh?!"

The others cried out in surprise.

The other diners also widened their eyes, seemingly caught off guard by this Uchiha's decision.