As Uchiha Fugaku passed through the Camphor Tree Forest on the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Compound, he heard footsteps behind him.
The whistle of a kunai cutting through the air followed close behind.
When the kunai came flying down, Uchiha Fugaku was just passing the Training Ground.
Fugaku used the recoil to turn, his left hand already reaching for his kunai.
The attacker wore a black cloak, black mask, and black gloves, covered from head to toe. They weren't tall, but they were surprisingly strong.
The two traded several moves among the camphor trees, their kunai clashing as rapidly as a woodpecker hammering a trunk.
Fugaku drove his opponent back with a backhand slash, then leaped backward to create some distance.
"Well, well. No wonder they call you Fierce Eyes. You're pretty good."
"Do you know what you've done wrong?!"
Uchiha Fugaku looked utterly confused. Fierce Eyes was just a nickname some of the younger clan members used.
And they used it to give him a hard time.
This wild stranger had come out of nowhere and attacked him without a word.
Were they nuts?
Still, out of politeness, Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.
He indicated that he had no idea what he'd done wrong.
"You don't know? You don't know... then have a taste of my fist first!"
The masked attacker charged again.
This time, they abandoned the kunai and went straight for punches.
A fist came hurtling toward his face, and Fugaku sidestepped it.
A second punch followed immediately.
These clearly weren't moves taught at the Ninja Academy. The academy's standard taijutsu consisted of straight punches and side kicks, not upward strikes aimed at the chin.
To put it bluntly, this was street fighting.
He released his kunai with his left hand, reached upward, hooked his fingers