As the boys surrounded me, I stood calmly, slowly looking at their faces, putting names to them in my mind, one by one. Besides their foolish little leader, there was Rei Inuzuka and his puppy, sitting on the top of his head. Next to him stood Koji Tanaka, who... honestly speaking, never really talked to or looked at before. I only remembered his name because I memorized every classmate that I had on the first day... The same was true for the other boy, Kenta Suda... No idea who he may be besides that... As for the last and biggest one of them, his clan at least had a proper name to it, as he was Taro Akimichi. I just wondered... will he be like Chōji? Don't think so... as he wasn't even eating right now.
Seeing me stand there without fear, even smiling a little, I could tell some of them became unsure about whether this was indeed a good idea or not. Arai was, of course, at the front, making sure nobody else got second thoughts about this, feeling confident. I don't think he realized that their numbers don't mean much in this situation.
"You really like to piss me off, Renjiro, don't you?" Arai finally spoke up. "Didn't you know that going for another's girlfriend is a nasty thing to do?"
"Girlfriend?" I scratched the back of my neck, chuckling. "I heard otherwise... directly from her. Anyway, look," I shrugged, glancing at the others, "Just leave. I am not in the mood to get into trouble, and I have no grudges against either of you. This includes you, Arai. Just... grow up? Please? You all go that way, I go this way, and we forget about it, hm?"
"Hah! Afraid?" The Inuzuka kid barked a laugh with his doggie in sync, but to my ears it sounded like a puppy yapping at my heels. "The bigshot, advanced-class-taker still knows what fear means?"
"I don't think you understand what you are saying," I shot back, raising a brow. "I know for a fact you don't. Well... Maybe I can teach you about it... If you keep pushing my buttons."
"Moving from begging to threats?" That got Koji to step forward, a kunai spinning nervously in his hand, glancing back and forth between me and Arai, constantly checking how far he could or should go. "You've been looking down on everyone since you left, don't you? Acting like you're too good for us, hm?"
"Look..." I tried, wanting to explain myself that it didn't even cross my mind, but... Then I decided against it. Fuck it. I have no time for nonsense like this. Time is narrow already as it is; I don't have the patience and mind to deal with childish nonsense! With that, deciding on it, my face turned cold at once, looking into his eyes. "Yeah... I am," I said simply, "You are a nobody. I only know your name because you started in the same class as me. Which is true for all of you."
"...!" Arai's jaw tightened at once, sneering, "You've got a mouth on you, huh? Let's see if your fists can match it!"
"Five on one?" I asked, tilting my head just slightly, my eyes slowly changing, my Sharingan appearing, making them flinch. "That's cute... But stupid."
As if finally provoked beyond reason, Rei lunged at me first. He was so predictable. As my gaze wandered over to his body, scanning his moves, predicting what he would do, the world felt like it all slowed down. I could see every twitch of muscle he and his dog made before they executed it; the tension in his shoulder was already a telling sign before his punch even began, gathering force behind it. I simply stepped aside, redirected the strike with my palm, and used his own momentum to dump him straight into the dirt while stomping into his thighs, hearing a loud crack, breaking his femur, causing him to be unable to stand up again. As for his dog? A look was enough to send the little twerp into a whining tumble, hiding behind his now painfully howling owner.
"Next," I groaned, rolling my shoulders, looking at the other four. "Come on, I still have homework to do."
Koji shouted about formation or something and threw his kunai at me. I saw it fly through the air, and I caught it almost reflexively, threading my finger through the hole at the back of it, spinning it a few times, and just tossing it back at him. Another loud wail joined Rei's voice as it lodged itself into his shoulder, sending him stumbling and falling, holding his own weapon stuck in his flesh, bleeding on the ground. Next to him, Kenta, visibly panicked, swung a weighted rope at me that whipped through the air... Slow. Too slow! I simply ducked, stepping forward, closing the distance as I arrived before him, grabbed his shin, still crouching, and elbowed his knee with full force, hearing another loud crack, dislocating it, and disarming the third idiot.
"Weak." I spat, standing, and looking at the last two.
"Renjiro!" Arai's eyes flicked between me and the remaining Akamichi, fear and fury visible in both of their eyes. "Taro, now!"
The Akimichi boy clearly hesitated but charged at me anyway, the ground shaking slightly under his steps. Big kid... Maybe he even has a good heart, simply befriending the wrong guy... What a terrible decision. Sorry about what I'm about to do. Knowing he was probably physically stronger than I was, I didn't meet him head-on; I turned with his momentum, guided his body, spinning around him effortlessly before landing a fully powered kick at his back, sending him headfirst into the wall, probably breaking his nose and teeth, as he just grunted, sliding face-first down, unmoving afterwards besides a few growns and twitches.
"Stay down, all of you," I told them, before turning towards Arai. "You wanted this. Anything else?"
"You think this is over?!" Arai yelled, pulling out two kunai and holding them in his hands. "Let's see if your Sharingan keeps up with this!"
He came at me in a flurry, and I had to admit that, amongst the group, he had proper taijutsu training by now. It wasn't anything like when we first sparred... I guess he took his loss seriously, and maybe after his abysmal defeat, his father trained him in something... better. Even then, he didn't have the advantage back at our first spar, and he for sure doesn't have it now. I could feel my tomoe spin faster, completing a full revolution in my eye, and suddenly it all made sense. I could read his stance, the angle of each strike, the way his weight leaned on his right. Yeah, this was... an unfamiliar taijutsu technique, using kunai to fight. Still, it kind of reminded me of how Asuma was brawling in the show, but... less refined.
Deciding on what to do before he reached me, my body was already moving. His first slash, I simply stepped inside it, while I deflected the second with my forearm. As for the third, it never had a chance to land, as my knee met his stomach first. A perfect counter... And I barely managed to step to the side, grab onto his black hair, janking his head back and watching him vomit up his dinner as I kicked everything out of his stomach.
"Ew." I snorted, sending him tumbling into his own mess, headfirst. "You should just stay down and be happy I held back."
"Shut up!" he roared in rage, lunging at me again as his kunai grazed my sleeve.
Okay... that was enough... Want a lesson? Good. No holding back, then!
The next moment felt like a blur, really. I made a pivot against his strike, then grabbed his arms and clothes for a throw, swiping out his legs and lifting his body like it weighed nothing, landing the idiot on the top of his head. When the impact came, hearing a very short whimper, feeling his body go limp, knowing that this time he was not getting up, I just let him fall over. Knowing it was done and over, I stood there, breathing evenly, my Sharingan glowing red in the dark as I looked over their groaning, moaning bodies, watching and scanning, making sure that even the idiotic Arai was still breathing.
"Next time, don't pick a fight when you don't know who you're going against," I told them, and as they looked at me, while I formed the hand signs, gathering my breath.
"Please no! We are sorry!" The Akamichi kid cried out, realizing that they were the signs for a fireball, but I already raised the Tiger-sign to my lips and spewed a fireball... up to the sky, letting it explode above us. When it popped, I just looked back down at him, forming a smile that probably scared him even more.
"We are from the same village," I told him, already hearing the rushing wind and knowing people were arriving while my Sharingan deactivated, "I am not angry... Just disappointed. Choose better friends in the future."
The next moment, figures flickered between the rooftops like shadows emerging from nowhere, landing in the street around me one by one. The air changed instantly, growing heavier as their presence became tangible, pressing down on all of us. Knowing better than to be hasty, I didn't move; I just looked around, glancing at their vests and their faces, which didn't ring any bells.
"Over here!" one of them called, "Five down, one standing!"
"Yeah," I muttered under my breath, "thanks for the recap." I shrugged and saw more of them arrive, and from them... I knew two...
Of course, the first of them would be unmistakable, his expression a mixture of shock and a type of forced professionalism, trying to keep his cool after noticing me... Sorry Dad. I couldn't help myself. As for the second person, well... He was a bit... troublsome. He looked younger than I remembered from the shows and the manga... but his features were unmistakable. Tsk... It was Fugaku. Great... Of all people to show up... I was expecting my Dad, but the future head of the clan? Really? Haaaah... this may be an opportunity or a curse, we will see.
I watched as the older officers fanned out immediately, checking pulses, injuries. As for my father's gaze, it swept the scene once before landing on me, and stayed there for a long second, asking me wordlessly what the hell happened here. I didn't even try to explain; I simply smiled a little and lifted both hands slowly, palms out.
"Self-defense," I said calmly, making sure everyone heard me. "They jumped me."
"..." Dad didn't answer right away... Well, he almost did as his mouth worked once, then closed again, gulping, unsure what to say. I could tell he was angry, as for why, because of me or them, I couldn't tell, but... He was keeping himself together well, considering I was probably about to get questioned or even thrown into jail. "Nobody's accusing you yet. Just… stay put."
"I'm not going anywhere." I nodded obediently, holding back from calling him Dad. The situation was severe enough not to throw out foolish jokes right now.
That was when Fugaku finally stepped forward, coming out from his observation, probably already having an idea of what to do next. He looked calm, his eyes locked onto me, measuring me without saying much for about ten seconds. When he blinked, he finally turned towards my Dad.
"This is your son, Daizen?" His tone was quiet, but it wasn't really a question. Everyone knew it... Dad made sure everyone knew me after awakening my Sharingan. It was just... it was my first time meeting with him.
"Yes, sir." Dad straightened reflexively. "I'll take care of—"
"No." Fugaku cut him off smoothly, waving a hand. "I'll handle it."
"Sir—" My Dad's voice hardened, audibly worried, but Fugaku was already walking past him, heading straight for me.
"Five injured Academy students, seriously at that... With one... uninjured Uchiha standing in the middle." His tone was factual, but his eyes never left mine, and I was unsure what to really do. Hopefully Dad won't get hit by the stick because of my recklessness... "This was not a schoolyard brawl." He continued, "This will need a full investigation and a proper report that we can present to the Inuzuka and Akimichi clans, too. For now, I'll take him in and get the statements myself. You all, tend to the injured, get them to the hospital, and place them under the protection of the Police Force until they are questioned! Don't let them speak to each other or anyone else... Not until we get to the bottom of this." Before Dad could answer, Fugaku's hand was already on my shoulder, firm enough to make the point that there was no way his decision would be overthrown. "Let's go."
I hesitated only long enough to glance at my father, and our eyes met for a second before I was swept up by Fugaku's chakra and whisked away. Still, I managed to give him a slight nod, telling him that I was fine. While the world was blurring around me, I could tell he had nodded back, telling me not to worry and that he would fix this.