[Hatred Value from Uchiha Mikoto +10,000]
[Hatred Value from Uchiha Mikoto +20,000]
[Hatred Value from Uchiha Mikoto +50,000]
…
"As expected… women really hold a grudge."
After indulging his "hands-on" impulses to his heart's content, Evan finally left Fugaku's house in high spirits.
When it came to these elegant, top-tier kunoichi…
Evan understood perfectly the art of advance and retreat.
You couldn't push too hard all at once—
That was how scandals broke.
Not that he was afraid.
It would just dirty his "good citizen" reputation in Konoha.
Much better to slowly erode their defenses, bit by bit.
Until one day, they came to him on their own.
Now that was interesting.
Objectively speaking, Mikoto's flavor wasn't bad at all.
He couldn't help wondering—
When I stack Kushina and Mikoto together someday… will that feel even better?
Leaving the Uchiha compound, Evan headed home—
Only to be blocked.
Someone stepped straight into his path, deliberately positioning himself to bar the way.
"I'm Uchiha Kei," the man said coolly. "I think you know why I'm here."
"Even though the clan head ordered us not to cause trouble for you, I just want a little spar."
"Here or elsewhere—you choose."
Evan looked at the lean Uchiha with the cold stare.
His expression grew… strange.
Then a bit speechless.
Seriously… what is wrong with the Uchiha as a group?
After a brief pause, he said, "Come with me."
Kei didn't argue. He simply nodded and followed.
Evan led him to a quiet, secluded grove.
"What do you want to spar in?" he asked.
Kei was thrown off. He hadn't expected such a direct question.
After thinking a moment, he said:
"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu—any is fine. You choose."
Evan smiled.
A proper Uchiha indeed.
"You never heard my name on the battlefield?" he asked, genuinely curious.
He was curious.
Even if Danzo had worked hard to smear him, and Hiruzen had helped bury his reputation under "stability"—
The ninjas who'd fought in the war shouldn't be completely clueless.
Where did all this courage come from?
"I've heard some stories," Kei replied.
That actually surprised Evan. So this guy did know.
Kei's lip curled with disdain.
"All that nonsense—forcing Suna and Kiri to surrender single-handedly. The so-called number one swordsman of Konoha. Beating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen with one sword…"
He scoffed.
"You really think any of that sounds realistic?"
Evan, who had been nodding along, froze.
"How is it not realistic?"
"Claims that exaggerated are obviously made up after the fact," Kei said. "It's ridiculous."
Evan was silent for a beat.
"The others I won't argue," he said at last. "But the bit about beating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen? That one's actually recorded."
"Tch. One strike to defeat all seven? You think that's possible?"
"One strike wouldn't work," Evan admitted.
Kei's eyes lit with triumph.
"See? Even you admit—"
"I used two strikes," Evan said casually.
Kei: "…"
Evan ignored his stunned look and continued explaining calmly:
"Two of them tried to run. So I had to swing a second time."
"You're talking nonsense," Kei snapped.
If this guy was really that strong, he'd be some high-ranking big shot already.
Not… a glorified prison guard.
And at this age?
What, was he supposed to be on par with the First Hokage now?
Utterly laughable.
"Stop stalling. What are we sparring in?" Kei said impatiently.
"Kenjutsu it is," Evan replied.
Once settled, Kei slowly drew the long sword strapped to his back.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, catching on the blade's edge and scattering bright patterns across the small grove.
A breeze blew, loosening a few leaves.
They spun gently in midair and drifted down onto Kei's sword—
Only to silently split in half the moment they touched the edge.
Kei was quite satisfied with the display.
"My blade cuts iron like mud," he said, proud.
Then he frowned, realizing Evan had no visible weapon.
"Where's your sword?"
Evan shrugged.
He reached to the side, fiddled with a nearby branch, and casually tore off a twig—still bearing a few leaves.
He held the stick lightly between his fingers.
"If you hold the sword in your heart," he said, "everything can be a sword."
"Arrogant!" Kei exploded.
"You look down on me that much?!"
"I'm not Uchiha Kenta, that trash."
Using a tree branch?
If that wasn't an insult, what was?
"You're asking for it."
He surged forward in an instant, body blurring like a ghost.
The air screamed as he shot toward Evan, blade carving a vicious angle at his throat.
Evan, however, just stood there.
He lifted the branch slightly, pointing it toward Kei.
Kei felt a twisted amusement.
His treasured blade could slice hair in midair—
And this clown thought a stick would block it?
"You're the arrogant one," Kei muttered. "Don't blame me for being ruthless."
He poured more chakra into his swing.
A sharp wave of killing intent and sword pressure rushed toward Evan's face.
"Watch carefully," Evan murmured.
"This is how I did it back then."
He simply raised his arm—
And thrust.
Steel and branch met in a single point.
"Die," Kei muttered, lips curling.
He could already picture Evan collapsing to the ground.
Then—
Vum—
A strange sword-hum rippled through the air.
Kei's eyes widened.
That's… a sword hum? From a branch?
Then suddenly—
He felt resistance.
His sword wouldn't go any further.
Impossible.
It was just a stick.
No one was available to explain anything.
Evan smiled lightly and finished his sentence:
"With a sword like this… I killed them."
Kei's pupils contracted sharply.
What did he mean?
Kill who?
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
A terrifying force surged from the point of impact, and then—
Crack.
Kei stared, stunned.
His blade—
The weapon that cut iron and hair with ease—
Shattered into fragments along the edge.
"Impossible…"
He didn't even have time to mourn it.
A sharp, biting power burst from the broken sword into his arm.
His sleeve exploded into tatters.
Agonizing pain ripped up from wrist to shoulder.
Thud, thud, thud—
"Ahhh—!!"
Kei howled and collapsed, clutching his bleeding arm.
Evan's eyes narrowed slightly. His expression didn't change.
As if he hadn't done anything at all.
He lowered the branch.
"Lord Evan!"
A panicked shout cut through the grove.
A shadow flickered, and Jinichi Uchiha appeared before him, face pale.
"Please forgive Kei," Jinichi begged. "He's the grandson of a clan elder."
Evan's face stayed cold.
Jinichi felt his scalp go numb.
He had seen it with his own eyes on the battlefield—
This man, drenched in blood.
He knew better than anyone how ruthless Evan could be.
Couldn't Kei see? His arm was already ruined.
"These young ones are really trying to die, challenging him," Jinichi thought bitterly.
Evan's expression finally softened.
"Jinichi," he said, "tell Fugaku this is the last time—for Sister-in-law's sake."
He dropped the branch and patted Jinichi's shoulder.
Then turned and walked away.
Jinichi swallowed hard, throat bobbing.
Only after Evan's presence vanished did he dare move.
His back was soaked with cold sweat.
"Why do you kids keep picking fights with him…" Jinichi muttered.
He knocked the screaming Kei unconscious with a clean strike.
"But… 'for Sister-in-law's sake'? What does that mean?" he murmured, baffled.
He didn't get it.
But he slung Kei over his shoulder and left in a hurry.
He had to report this to the clan head.
Next time, Evan really would kill someone.
…
Uchiha Fugaku returned home with a grim face.
He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world.
The tension between the Uchiha and the village was growing worse.
That day, the Hokage's ANBU had actually gotten into a street brawl with the Police Force.
It had scared him.
This was not a good sign.
"Strange… Where's Mikoto?"
He frowned.
Normally, the moment he walked in the door, his wife would greet him, gently take his outer robe, pour him hot tea.
But today, there was no sign of her.
When he entered the bedroom, he finally saw his wife and younger son on the tatami.
Mikoto looked… exhausted.
Her eyes were puffy, as if she'd cried too much.
"Mikoto, what's wrong?" Fugaku hurried over, concerned.
She flinched at his voice and looked up into his worried gaze.
Guilt twisted in her chest like a knife.
"N-nothing," she said quickly. "Sasuke just… bit me. It hurt a little."
"Bit where? Does it still hurt? I'll blow on it."
"N-no need. It's… really fine now."
…
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