The moment Uchiha Yuan's gaze settled on Uchiha Tonghu, the entire hall fell deathly silent.
All eyes turned toward Tonghu.
Uchiha Ichigen and Uchiha Zhiyong were the most visibly anxious.
If Tonghu spoke out of turn again and offended Yuan, it would surely provoke the displeasure of the clan's higher-ups.
More importantly—
they couldn't stop Yuan's fists.
"Captain."
At that moment, Tonghu rose to his feet and spoke.
He seemed utterly unfazed by the countless gazes upon him, meeting Yuan's eyes calmly.
Yuan's expression did not change. His gaze swept past Tonghu as he asked indifferently,
"Are all squad members present?"
"Ichigen Squad—all members present."
"Zhiyong Squad—all members present."
Ichigen and Zhiyong answered at once, then both looked toward Tonghu.
Tonghu remained composed. He inclined his head respectfully.
"Tonghu Squad—all members present."
In that instant, the tension hanging over the hall quietly dissipated.
Konoha's Shopping District
Several streets interwove to form a bustling commercial area, packed with lively crowds.
Inside a street-facing shop, several women admired newly arrived fabrics as the shop owner enthusiastically displayed them.
A group of children ran past in laughter, nearly crashing into a young delivery runner.
Not far away, several middle-aged shinobi—reeking of alcohol—staggered out of a tavern, bottles in hand.
They swayed drunkenly down the center of the street and ended up blocking a cart transporting food supplies.
The cart driver called out repeatedly, urging them to move aside.
Suddenly, amid an angry shout, one of the drunken shinobi flashed forward and kicked the driver off the cart.
"Where did this bastard come from, daring to ruin my fun?!"
The drunk stepped on the driver's face and snarled viciously.
The cart driver trembled in terror.
"I—I'm sorry, Lord Shinobi! I was wrong! I won't dare again!"
"Hmph. A lowly civilian like you dares order us to make way? Who gave you the guts?"
Another drunk staggered over and kicked the driver again with a look of disdain.
Surrounded by the drunken shinobi, the driver cried out in fear, begging for mercy as blows rained down on him.
Before long, his pleas grew weak and hoarse.
"Stop!"
A cold, commanding shout rang out.
Two figures flashed onto the street.
They were Uchiha—members of the Police Force.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the police, the drunken shinobi finally stopped.
"Oh? So it's the Police Force," one of them sneered.
"Hmph. Others might fear you, but I sure don't."
The two police officers glanced at the driver writhing on the ground, then turned their icy gazes on the drunks.
"Drunken disorder. Public assault.
You'll sober up in Konoha Prison."
The drunks immediately tried to use Body Flicker to escape—
—but the next instant, two crimson lights flared in their vision.
Caught by Sharingan genjutsu, they froze in place, eyes vacant.
Whoosh—whoosh.
A breeze stirred.
In the blink of an eye, the two police officers vanished—taking the drunken shinobi with them.
At once, a wave of noisy discussion erupted from the surroundings.
A crowd had gathered without anyone noticing.
Many voices expressed satisfaction at the punishment of the drunks—
but soon, dissenting voices arose.
"Hmph. The Police Force is way too domineering. Just seeing them irritates me."
"Exactly. They didn't need to drag them to prison. Making them apologize would've been enough."
"My buddy got hauled in for interrogation for a whole day just because he glanced at a police officer a few days ago."
"That's just how the Uchiha are—arrogant and unreasonable, never treating others as equals."
"Two months ago, I argued with someone and got locked in Konoha Prison for two whole months!"
"Yeah. The Uchiha are a bunch of bastards."
Suddenly, the area went quiet.
The few shinobi voicing complaints noticed the surrounding crowd staring at them in fear—toward something behind them.
They hurriedly turned around—
—and saw a squad of Uchiha striding through the crowd, expressions cold and severe.
Among the onlookers were several members of the Hyūga clan, a three-year-old boy surrounded protectively in their midst.
It's Yuan.
Hyūga Kagami's expression shifted the moment he saw the man leading the Uchiha.
"Kagami, you know that Uchiha?" one Hyūga asked quietly.
Others—including the little boy—also looked toward Kagami.
Kagami replied softly,
"He's my classmate from the Academy. Uchiha Yuan."
The leading Hyūga, a man in his twenties, studied Yuan with a grave expression.
"So that's Uchiha Yuan… No wonder. The clan's been talking about him nonstop lately.
Both the main and branch family elders are paying close attention—collecting information on him."
"I've heard the rumors too," Kagami said calmly.
"I never imagined Yuan would become such a renowned figure in the shinobi world."
Uchiha Yuan's gaze swept over the shinobi who had been badmouthing the Police Force.
"What do you want?"
Under his stare, they felt as though a ferocious beast had locked onto them. Fear surged uncontrollably from the depths of their hearts.
"I heard everything you said," Yuan said coldly.
His eyes settled on one of them.
"You claimed your friend was detained just for glancing at a police officer.
The truth is—he was skulking around the Police Force headquarters, acting suspiciously. That's why he was interrogated."
His gaze shifted to another.
"And you—you said you were imprisoned merely for arguing with someone."
Yuan snorted.
"You fought over a ninja blade inside a weapons shop. You struck first, smashed half the store, and injured another customer."
The men's faces instantly turned ugly.
Whispers spread through the surrounding crowd, and the looks directed at them grew strange.
Yuan barked coldly,
"You are no innocents. The Police Force exists to maintain order and ensure peace.
We will not tolerate slander and lies."
"Men—arrest them. Send them to Konoha Prison for a few days of reflection."
Some people die… but they don't die completely.
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