Uchiha Kazuo saw his clansmen being bullied by Qianyu. He wanted to rush forward to teach him a lesson, but Orochimaru stopped him.
Uchiha Kazuo fumed, "Lord Orochimaru! Even if he is the team leader, he can't go this far, can he? This has gone beyond mere discipline!"
Orochimaru's voice was ice. "Do you forget where we are? This is the Land of Hot Water. This is a battlefield! When subordinates disobey their commander's orders, Qianyu could kill them on the spot, and no one could say a word! Uchiha Kazuo, this is my final warning to you. Do your own job. What happens to others is none of your concern. Overstep again, and you either crawl back to Konoha or face the consequences."
Kazuo trembled with rage.Back in Konoha, everyone gave face to the Uchiha clan. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi showed them respect. But here? Orochimaru didn't give a damn. Not only did he make Qianyu the leader over his clansmen, but he also let Qianyu humiliate them right in front of everyone. Kazuo had the wild impulse to grab Uchiha Ryohei and the others and just leave.
But he couldn't.Their clan head, Uchiha Masaki, had given a direct, unbreakable order. With war brewing, this was the Uchiha's chance for revival. No one was allowed to flee the front lines. Kazuo didn't understand. The Uchiha were Konoha's strongest clan. They controlled the Leaf Village Defense Force. They were at their peak. Why talk of 'revival'?
Meanwhile, Qianyu delivered his final ultimatum."I'll give you one last chance. Get up. Follow me. Otherwise…" He let the threat hang. "…don't bother walking at all."
The surrounding ninja looked at him with strange expressions. He'd already beaten five Uchiha to a pulp. Now he wanted them to follow him? That was pushing it.
Jiraiya sidled up to Orochimaru, his voice low. "Orochimaru… hasn't the authority-establishing gone far enough? This could get messy."
Orochimaru just crossed his arms, watching Qianyu and the five Uchiha with keen interest. "This is Qianyu's business. And it's the authority he was granted from the start. He's simply using it. Besides, the question isn't whether Qianyu can handle the mess. It's how they plan to get out of this one."
Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. He'd guessed Qianyu would take his anger out on these Uchiha, but this… this was brutal.
The five Uchiha—Ryohei, Jin, Keiichi, Nori, and Arata—were stubborn. They just lay there, silent.
Qianyu lifted his foot from Uchiha Jin's face. Then he brought it down—hard—on the man's knee.CRUNCH.
"AAAGH!"
Jin, whose wrist Qianyu had already snapped, couldn't hold back the scream as his leg bone gave way.
The ninja from the other clans stared, eyes wide with shock. They hadn't expected this. 'Don't bother walking' meant literally crippling them?
The ninja who had served under Qianyu before just watched, unflinching. This was the Qianyu they knew. Ruthless. Unreasonable.
Qianyu strolled to the next Uchiha—Nori.Nori, who still couldn't read the room, spat out a threat through gritted teeth. "Qianyu! The Uchiha clan will never let this go!"
Qianyu snorted. "The Uchiha clan? How impressive. Konoha doesn't belong to the Uchiha. I'm just exercising the authority granted to me. Disobedient subordinates need to be taught a lesson. Unless… is the Uchiha clan planning a rebellion? Planning to bypass the Hokage to get revenge on me? If that's the case…"
Nori wasn't a complete idiot. He saw the political trap being laid. "N-no! Don't twist my words! I didn't mean that!"
Qianyu didn't waste more breath. His foot came down again.CRACK.
Another scream. Uchiha Kazuo's face turned ashen. With Orochimaru watching, he couldn't intervene. He could only endure.
Qianyu moved to Uchiha Keiichi and raised his leg. Before it could fall, a panicked, raspy voice cried out."W-wait!"
Uchiha Keiichi struggled to push himself up. His throat, injured from Qianyu's earlier blow, made his voice rough. "I… I'll go with you!"
Qianyu smirked. "Should have been this sensible from the start."
Keiichi had finally seen the situation clearly. Here, the Uchiha name meant nothing. Orochimaru was blatantly shielding Qianyu. Kazuo couldn't help them. And because of the clan head's order, they couldn't just run back to Konoha—not without facing severe clan punishment. Compared to that punishment, being under Qianyu's command was preferable.
Qianyu walked to Uchiha Arata. Arata scrambled to his feet immediately. "I… I will obey your orders, Captain."
That left only Uchiha Ryohei. Qianyu didn't even have to step toward him. Ryohei spoke up first, his voice heavy with defeat. "…I obey."
Now, Keiichi, Arata, and Ryohei stood behind Qianyu.
Nearby, Uchiha Kazuo was seething. Where's your pride as Uchiha?! You just gave in?! In front of everyone! The shame!
The three Uchiha couldn't meet Kazuo's eyes. He's not the one who got beaten.
Qianyu glanced sideways at Uchiha Nori and Jin, who were still clutching their broken legs and whimpering. He addressed Orochimaru. "Lord Orochimaru. Since these two refuse to obey their captain's orders, send them back to Konoha. I don't need ninja who won't listen. Trash who can't see their own place and think this is still Konoha… they're worthless here."
Orochimaru nodded. "Agreed. So be it."
Nori and Jin panicked. Being sent back like this? They'd face the clan's punishment, sure. But worse—if word got out they went to the front lines, got beaten up by some kid, had their legs broken without even fighting, and were sent home in disgrace? They'd never be able to hold their heads high in the clan again.
"W-wait, Lord Orochimaru! We'll obey! We accept Captain Qianyu!"They scrambled to declare their loyalty.
Orochimaru looked at Qianyu, letting him decide.
Qianyu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "In that case… I'll give them a chance."Nori and Jin sighed in relief."Uchiha Jin stays," Qianyu continued, his tone casual. "Uchiha Nori… get lost."
Nori's eyes widened in desperation. "Why?!"
Qianyu looked down at him, his expression utterly cold. "Because you threatened me with the Uchiha clan earlier. I don't like you. Is that reason good enough?"
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