Actors, Please Take Your Positions

Uchiha Hokushin said anxiously, "Do you know who they are..."

But Uchiha Iwa suddenly said to his uncle's three subordinates, "Take him outside. Don't interrupt my moment."

The three subordinates exchanged glances, then put their arms around Uchiha Hokushin and led him out of the room. As they did, they did not forget to say, "Hey, Hokushin, why are you in such a hurry to protect those two brats? Kids are just fooling around. It's not like they'll get hurt. At most, they'll get taught a lesson. It's fine."

"Exactly. Why offend Vice-Captain Yama over something like this? It's not worth it."

Just as Uchiha Hokushin was about to struggle free, he suddenly saw Hoshi wink at him. He froze. Was this kid... telling him not to stop Uchiha Iwa?

Come to think of it, that made sense. They could even deal with a Chunin, so why would they fear an Uchiha Iwa? If Uchiha Iwa was left alone in there with them, it was hard to say who would end up bullying whom.

With that thought, Uchiha Hokushin stopped struggling. He was incredibly curious to see what other miraculous stunt Hoshi could pull off.

Uchiha Hokushin followed Uchiha Yama's three subordinates out of the room. Once outside, the three asked him curiously, "Hokushin, what did those two kids do? And why are you speaking up for them?"

Uchiha Hokushin rolled his eyes at them. "Who told you they were brought in for causing trouble? They exposed and defeated a Spy from Iwagakure. I brought them back to take their statements."

Ah, this...

The three subordinates were dumbfounded by that. They had not caused trouble? They were here to give statements? They had defeated a Spy?

One of the three subordinates said unhappily, "Why didn't you say so earlier? This is a huge misunderstanding!"

Uchiha Hokushin said helplessly, "I said it twice. That Iwa interrupted me every single time. What was I supposed to do?"

Thinking back on it, the three realized that really had been the case. But this was not the time to worry about that. They hurriedly tried to open the door and stop Uchiha Iwa.

Before they could do anything, however, two Anbu silently appeared in front of them and raised their hands to block the three. Behind the two Anbu, Uchiha Yama's voice came closer and closer.

"Lady Mito, listen to me. There must be some misunderstanding here."

Three minutes earlier, inside the room, Uchiha Iwa shut the door and started up that King Iwa-style awkward laugh again. The moment Hoshi heard it, he surrendered. "Stop, stop, stop, stop. Can you just tell me what you want?"

Uchiha Iwa dropped his smile and gritted his teeth. "You humiliated me so badly at the Ninja Academy today, and you're asking what I want? Of course I'm going to repay your humiliation a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

This kid's chuunibyou was beyond saving anytime soon. Looking at the foolish child before him, Hoshi said seriously to Uchiha Iwa, "Believe me. If you dare lay a hand on me now, you won't like what happens next."

Uchiha Iwa dismissed Hoshi's warning with contempt. He had already clenched his fist and charged forward, aiming straight for Hoshi's stomach.

Sigh, if you insist, then don't blame me for going all in on the act. Today, I'll show you what a true master of staged injury looks like.

After that kick from Hoshi that afternoon, Uchiha Iwa still could not even walk properly. Hoshi could therefore track his movements with perfect precision.

The instant Uchiha Iwa's fist extended, Hoshi cooperatively fell backward. Then he sucked in a sharp breath, clutched his stomach, and rolled around on the floor.

With those gasps like he had lost his breath, the rolling around while clutching his stomach, and even two absurd dry heaves, anyone who did not know better would have thought Hoshi had been hit by a Super Strength Fist.

At that moment, not only Uchiha Iwa but even Sakumo at the side was stunned. You could do that? The other guy's fist had not even landed yet—how had he already fallen over?

Uchiha Iwa was dumbfounded as well. Was he really this powerful? Had his Chakra training already reached the level where he could hurt someone from a distance?

At the same time, the room's door was slammed open. Uchiha Yama rushed in with Uchiha Hokushin and the other three. After the five members of the Uchiha Clan entered, two Anbu and a well-proportioned woman entered as well.

The moment they came in, they saw Hayate Hoshi groaning in pain on the floor and Uchiha Iwa staring at his own fist.

Uchiha Yama immediately grabbed Uchiha Iwa by the ear, pointed at Hayate Hoshi on the floor, and shouted, "You little bastard, did you hit him?"

Uchiha Iwa had never seen his uncle this furious. Seeing the Anbu behind him, he panicked at once and said tearfully, "I didn't! I hadn't even hit him yet! Hayate Hoshi, stop pretending! I didn't hit you at all just now! I, Uchiha Iwa, am not an idiot!"

Uchiha Iwa tried to expose Hayate Hoshi's act, but Hoshi was still fully immersed in the performance. Trembling, he raised a finger and pointed weakly and angrily at Uchiha Iwa. "Uchiha Iwa, don't go too far. You clearly even used Chakra just now. You obviously wanted me dead, yet you're still saying something like that now. Do you think that's funny?"

Seeing the murderous look in his uncle's eyes and the funeral-like gazes of the three subordinates beside him, even someone as foolish as Uchiha Iwa realized what had happened. He had been played.

Uchiha Iwa's mind raced, and he finally thought of a way to prove his innocence. Pointing at Hayate Hoshi, he said, "Cut it out. If I really hit you just now, there would definitely be marks, right? Do you dare lift up your shirt and let me see whether there are any marks on your stomach?"

Hayate Hoshi refused to back down. "Fine. I'll lift it."

As he spoke, he lifted his shirt, revealing a stomach covered in red marks.

This left Uchiha Iwa completely dumbfounded. He stammered, "That's impossible. Impossible! Uncle, listen to me..."

But before he could explain, his uncle slapped him across the face. "Explain my ass! You disgraceful little shit, get home and reflect on your actions! I'll deal with you tonight, you little brat!"

As he spoke, Uchiha Yama turned around and, while Mito was not looking, hurriedly signaled for his subordinates to take Uchiha Iwa away. Only after Uchiha Iwa left in tears did he turn back to Mito.

"Lady Mito, it was all due to my poor discipline. I also failed to notice my nephew sneaking over here, allowing this young hero who resolved the Spy incident to suffer such injustice.

When I get home, I'll discipline him severely. I guarantee that brat won't be able to get out of bed for three days. As for this young hero's losses, I will cover every last bit of them. Is that acceptable?"

Uzumaki Mito did not answer. Instead, she stepped forward and helped Hayate Hoshi to his feet. "Do you think this is an acceptable way to handle it?"

Mito's action startled Uchiha Yama even more. What status did Uzumaki Mito have? Yet she had personally gone to help that boy up. Did he have some hidden background?

Or was his talent truly extraordinary enough to warrant this much attention?

With that thought, he could not help but take Hayate Hoshi even more seriously.

Hoshi naturally understood Mito's intentions. Going along with her lead, he gave Uchiha Yama a way out:

"Since this uncle wasn't aware of it, he can't be blamed either. As long as Uchiha Iwa doesn't come looking for trouble with me again, let's leave today's matter at that."

Uchiha Yama was deeply moved. What a wonderful child—so sensible and understanding. Why couldn't a child like this have been born an Uchiha?

I'm not particularly satisfied with this chapter. I feel that some readers may think the Uchiha Clan acted too timidly, so I'd like to explain a little here.

This was mainly Uchiha Iwa's personal action and did not represent the Uchiha Clan's stance. Furthermore, during this period, the Uchiha Clan and Konoha were still in their honeymoon phase. Under normal circumstances, they would not fall out with Mito over a junior.

On top of that, Uchiha Iwa's actions were inherently problematic, which was why Uchiha Yama took the initiative to lower his stance. (The logic is a little messy, but that's roughly what I mean. It's not that the author deliberately intended to make characters act stupid just to set up a slap-in-the-face scene. If you think there's a problem, just consider it Ye Zhi's writing skills not good enough. Please don't dwell on it too much.)