"So bold, daring to scheme against the Uchiha clan!""What's wrong—do you really think the Uchiha are yours to toy with? Shouldn't you leave behind some… compensation?"
The elder who spoke looked eerily similar to Uchiha Taito, only with an even darker, gloomier expression.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Tamayama pressed both palms against Jun'ei and Yūsuke's heads, probing carefully to see whether Natsume Yō had truly lifted the curse marks.
Yō only chuckled. "Heh. They were the ones who bullied me first. I simply struck back in kind.""What now—you Uchiha are allowed to set fires, but I, a mere villager, can't even light a lamp? I wasn't aware Konoha had such rules. Or is your clan claiming to stand above the law itself?"
His words were delivered with a smile, almost playful, yet the hall froze in an instant.Sharp words that cut to the bone—no less than a blade to the heart.
"You—!"The elder jabbed a finger at him, face twisted, but his tongue failed him. Empty bluster.
"No problem."
Tamayama finally withdrew his hands and nodded toward Fugaku. His face was composed, but his eyes betrayed a deep, shaken fear.
"Very well. Natsume Yō, you may leave."Fugaku glanced once at Yō, then shut his eyes as if the matter was already beneath him.
The act was flawless. Without Tamayama's declaration, Yō would never have been allowed to walk out of that hall alive.
"Then I'll take my leave."Yō bowed lightly, then turned and strode out without hesitation.
"Clan head! Are we really letting him just walk away?"The same elder glared at Fugaku, voice filled with frustration.
"Enough. This matter ends here. If anyone pursues it further…" Fugaku's eyes snapped open, sharp as blades, sweeping across the room. "…don't let me find out. Or I won't forgive it."
The command cut deep. Across the hall, Uchiha Kangaku lowered his gaze, a flicker of understanding flashing through his eyes. Fugaku's words, heavy as stone, would guide how the clan acted toward Yō from now on.
One week later.
Natsume Yō was in a foul mood.Why? Because he and Hoden Chiba had gotten into yet another fight—over the Uchiha, of course.
Chiba accused him of being reckless, arrogant, impossible to feel safe around. Yō fired back that he never went looking for trouble—trouble simply came looking for him. What was he supposed to do, roll over and let the Uchiha and Hyūga stomp him into the dirt?
Besides, hadn't he already smoothed things over with the Uchiha? The Hyūga mess had been handled by the Third Hokage himself. As long as Yō kept growing stronger, kept proving his usefulness, Hiruzen wouldn't allow anyone to touch him.
But every time Yō mentioned this "temporary peace," Chiba just snapped that he was becoming overconfident.Her constant doubt gnawed at him, and at last Yō's patience frayed. If she refused to believe in him, then fine—he'd stop trying to explain.
Deep within an unmarked corner of the Konoha forest—
Shua!Shua!Shua!
Natsume Yō's blade cut through the air, his Wind Sword Art scattering leaves like whispers in the night.Only in the solitude of training could he bury his frustration, losing himself in the sharp rhythm of steel and wind.