"Good work, Uchiha boy."
As Uchiha Izumi and his companions were still talking, a one-eyed middle-aged ninja rose from a nearby table in the ramen shop and walked over. His single visible eye was filled with approval as he looked at Uchiha Izumi, a warm smile briefly flickering across his scarred face before he turned and left the shop.
Not long after, several ninjas in their thirties passed by outside. When they caught sight of Uchiha Izumi through the window, they muttered quietly among themselves, then nodded toward him in acknowledgment.
News of what had happened at the training ground spread quickly among the shinobi. Many couldn't help but feel secretly elated.
Though the incident involving Konoha's White Fang years ago had been suppressed by the village, White Fang's name still carried weight in the hearts of many.
To them, Konoha's White Fang had always been a hero of the village.
Seeing this, Uchiha Izumi smiled faintly.
"Justice lies in people's hearts. Seems there are still many in the village who remember Senior White Fang."
Senju Gen and Hatake Seikū both nodded in agreement.
Deep underground, within a vast and shadowy space—the base of Root.
A masked operative was kneeling on one knee before an elderly man whose body was mostly wrapped in bandages, reporting the incident of Yoshihara Yūdō's beating and the Hokage Office's response to it.
After a long silence, the old man suddenly opened his remaining eye, a cold, predatory gleam flashing within it.
"As expected of the Uchiha—a clan steeped in evil. A mere academy student dares to act so arrogantly, to strike his jōnin instructor… he clearly has no respect for the village whatsoever."
"Avenging Hatake Sakumo? Hmph. Hatake Sakumo endangered the village; taking his own life was the best outcome. What could a brat from the Uchiha possibly understand? This must be the Uchiha clan's way of expressing their dissatisfaction with the village."
"Hiruzen, you're far too soft. The Uchiha must be suppressed with strength, not appeased."
This elderly man was none other than Shimura Danzō, Hokage Advisor and leader of Root.
He had been the very one who orchestrated the smear campaign against Konoha's White Fang back then. Uchiha Izumi's actions today were nothing less than a slap across his face.
And the fact that Izumi was from the Uchiha clan made Danzō all the more furious.
After a brief pause, Danzō said coldly, "To defeat that useless Yoshihara with taijutsu alone… this Uchiha boy has some talent. Bring him to me tonight. I want to see him myself."
"Yes, sir."
The masked operative's figure blurred and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
After parting ways with Senju Gen and the others, Uchiha Izumi walked back toward the clan compound.
The impact of teaching Yoshihara Yūdō a lesson was greater than he'd expected. Along the way, several ninjas greeted him with friendly smiles.
It made him realize that White Fang's supporters still existed—they had merely kept their resentment buried since Sakumo's suicide.
They were a force that could be won over.
Whoosh!
A shadow appeared atop a wall by the roadside ahead—Kakashi.
He stood there silently, looking down at Uchiha Izumi without a word.
Izumi approached slowly. Though most of Kakashi's face was hidden beneath his mask, Izumi could still read the complicated emotions in his visible eye.
He stopped, looked up at him, and smiled.
"Senior Kakashi… it's been a while."
Kakashi gazed at the boy's young face for a moment before speaking softly.
"…Thank you."
Izumi opened his mouth to reply—but before he could, Kakashi's figure flickered and vanished in an instant.
As he neared the clan compound, Izumi began encountering more and more of his clansmen.
When he reached the main gate, he came across a patrol unit of the Konoha Military Police Force.
The leader was a tall, broad-shouldered man with short hair. He looked Izumi over and said, "You're the eldest son of the Ri branch, right?"
"Yes."
The man laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Good job, kid! Beating a special jōnin—you've really brought honor to the clan!"
The other patrol members chimed in one after another:
"Yeah, this'll make those civilians respect us even more. A Uchiha academy student defeating a special jōnin from the village—impressive!"
"Ha! Only the Uchiha produce geniuses like this."
"I knew the Ri family's eldest boy was fearless. Remember the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage? When those Root bastards tried to stop us, he had the guts to mock them right to their faces!"
Hearing their praise, Izumi smiled proudly.
"Well, what can I say? As a Uchiha, I can't stand having some despicable rat as my superior."
Then he asked curiously, "By the way, do you know what punishment the village decided for me?"
The tall man grinned. "Why? You scared?"
Izumi shook his head.
"If I dared to act, then I have no fear of punishment."
At that, the man's expression turned approving.
"Good. I like your spirit, boy. Relax—there's been no punishment. After all, we're the mighty Uchiha!"
"Hahahaha!"
The patrol members burst out laughing proudly.
Inside the compound, everyone Izumi passed offered words of praise.
Of course, there were also surprised looks—no one had expected the eldest son of an offshoot family like the Ri branch to have done something so bold.
A short distance from his home, Izumi encountered Uchiha Eiji and his group.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you, Izumi! But I didn't think you were that strong. That was a special jōnin—you took him down easily!" Eiji exclaimed excitedly, while Uchiha Jun and the others looked at Izumi with open awe.
"When I first heard you'd beaten your instructor, I thought it was a rumor."
Izumi said calmly, "I just wanted to vent some anger on behalf of Senior White Fang."
"Konoha's White Fang? You're using that as an excuse?" Eiji frowned.
Izumi's expression hardened. "Of course not. White Fang has always been someone I respect deeply. Otherwise, why would I trouble myself with a jōnin instructor?"
"I figured you just wanted to get famous," Eiji said, scratching his head.
Izumi shot him a glare. "Do you take me for you? I don't need to defeat some filthy coward to make a name for myself—that would be an insult."
He remembered all too well the Konoha White Fang Incident—how it began, how it ended, how ugly the village elders' schemes had been.
And now that Hatake Sakumo was his teacher, how could Uchiha Izumi possibly forgive those who had betrayed his master?
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