A sharp digital chime sliced into Ayato's skull.
[Alert: Hostile Intent Detected][Quest Generated: Neutralize the Source of Malice]Reward: EXP +2 | Gold +10 | One-Time Mind Control Skill: "Soul Override"[Accept?]
Ayato blinked in confusion—then the world gave him the explanation.
The front door exploded inward with a splintering crash.
Dust flooded the room.A boy stood in the doorway, wearing the Uchiha fan on his back like a crown he didn't earn. His smirk was as ugly as the stomp of his sandal.
"Hey, Kirimine Ayato. Pay the protection fee."
He didn't wait for an answer.He kicked a stool aside, knocked down a shelf, tore through the already-broken home like he wanted to erase it from existence.
Then Ayato saw it—His puppy, crushed under the Uchiha's heel, blood soaking into the dirt.
And the small vegetable garden outside… ruined.Trampled like it meant nothing.
Ayato's breath caught, then sharpened.
"Uchiha Hayato—STOP."
The boy turned lazily, sneer deepening. "Yo… the trash crawls out."
He kept smashing things. Didn't even look at Ayato seriously.
"Stop? You? Talking to me?" Hayato laughed. "Know your place."
Ayato moved.
He wasn't the same powerless kid anymore.
Their legs collided with a thud—just two academy brats, but the impact still pushed both back a few steps. Hayato had some talent, sure. Enough to bully the weak.
But Ayato wasn't weak tonight.
"My silence wasn't fear," Ayato said, voice low. "You crossed the line too many times."
The System's Taijutsu upload pulsed in his muscles—Lion Combo.
Not perfect. Not full power. But enough.
"Lion Combo."
Hayato blinked—Ayato vanished from his sight for a heartbeat.
Then Ayato's fist smashed into his jaw.A kick followed, blasting the Uchiha boy backward into the wall.
He slid down, coughing, clutching his chest.
"Wh-what the… when did you—?"
Hayato staggered up and threw a wild punch.
Ayato's answer was cleaner, colder.
A straight hit to the gut.Blood sprayed from Hayato's mouth as he flew again.
Panic finally flickered in his eyes.
"When did he get this strong?! I'm— I'm losing! I need to run, get backup—!"
He tried to bolt.
Ayato stepped in front of the doorway like a shadow dropping from above.
"You think you can just call people and come back? Cute."
He grabbed Hayato by the collar—
—and slammed his fist down onto the bridge of the Uchiha boy's nose.
A sickening crack.Hayato's scream turned nasal, wet.
Ayato didn't stop.
"You thought I'd stay quiet forever?"Punch."You thought I'd stay weak?"Punch."You thought you could do whatever you wanted—?"Another punch sank into Hayato's cheek, swelling it purple.
Hayato's arrogance evaporated. His eyes brimmed with fear.
"S-stop—! Ayato, please! I won't do it again! I swear! I swear, okay?!"
Ayato's knuckles hovered mid-air, trembling—not from hesitation, but from the exhaustion of holding back an entire year of humiliation.
The System hummed coldly in his mind, waiting.
And Ayato realized something:
For the first time, the one begging wasn't him.