"Commander!" A member of the Senju clan hurriedly called out before kneeling on the ground. Uchiha Ryun, who had been deep in thought, raised his head upon hearing the call and looked at the newcomer.
"Ryūji, what is it? What has you so flustered?" Uchiha Ryun stood up with a faint smile and approached.
"Reporting to the commander, we captured two comrades from Jiraiya's unit. They tried to forcibly enter a civilian's home and were knocked out and apprehended by patrol leader Ryūichi." Ryūji spoke quickly, but every critical detail reached Uchiha Ryun's ears.
"Oh? Where are they? Take me to see them." With that, Uchiha Ryun clasped his hands behind his back and smiled, his eyes carrying amusement. Ryūji promptly led the way.
Tsunade also heard Ryūji's report and stood up, following behind the two. She wanted to see how Uchiha Ryun would handle this.
Before long, the three arrived at Ryūichi's location. Upon seeing Uchiha Ryun and the others, Ryūichi immediately said, "Lady Tsunade, Ryun... Commander, you've arrived."
Tsunade and Uchiha Ryun exchanged a glance. Uchiha Ryun took a step back, positioning himself slightly behind Tsunade. Understanding his intent, Tsunade ordered, "Wake them up with water!"
The subordinates grinned. Rain Country had no shortage of rainwater. They picked up a wooden bucket by the roadside, filled with freshly collected rainwater, and splashed it onto the two unconscious Uchiha shinobi.
The two Uchiha shinobi woke up, about to curse loudly, but then they saw Tsunade with her light yellow hair.
They immediately begged for mercy. "Lady Tsunade, we truly don't know what we did wrong! This is Rain Country, not the Land of Fire. Why can't we 'borrow' some food?" The two-tomoe Uchiha cried out pitifully.
Tsunade's gaze turned icy. "Is this how Jiraiya taught you? Guards, slap each of them thirty times!"
"Yes!" Ryūichi and Ryūji's eyes flashed with excitement. These were Uchiha! Other than Ryun, all Uchiha deserved a beating!
Thus, in front of all the unit's shinobi and the watching civilians, the two were publicly punished. The immense humiliation caused their Sharingan to evolve.
The two-tomoe became three-tomoe, while the one-tomoe evolved into one and a half tomoe.
Uchiha Ryun saw that the time was right and gave Tsunade a look. Understanding, she motioned for him to step forward while she observed.
"Oi, Yamazaki, Ryūichi, do you recognize me?" Uchiha Ryun smiled. These two—Uchiha Yamazaki and Uchiha Ryūichi—were minor geniuses in the clan and the ones who had bullied Uchiha Ryun the most.
"You damn bastard, you trash! No wonder the Senju unit attacked us without hesitation. You must have said something. Just wait—when we return to the village, I'll have the elder enforce clan discipline on you, the disgrace of the Uchiha!" Uchiha Yamazaki sneered.
Uchiha Ryūichi, however, remained silent. He glanced at Tsunade, then at Uchiha Ryun, frowning slightly. It seemed this guy...
Before Uchiha Yamazaki could say anything else, Uchiha Ryun's expression turned cold. He motioned for the others to step aside, then raised his right foot and stomped Uchiha Yamazaki's head into the ground.
Crash! The ground caved in from the sheer force, burying Uchiha Yamazaki's head in the dirt.
Uchiha Ryūichi paled. He looked at Uchiha Ryun, only to find his expression unchanged—even his lips curled slightly, his gaze one of looking down at an insect beneath his foot.
After the stomp, Uchiha Ryun crouched down, grabbed Yamazaki's collar, and pulled him up, dusting off his clothes. "What did you say earlier? I didn't hear you clearly. Say it again." His smile was serene.
Uchiha Ryun had held back. Otherwise, even as an elite jōnin, Uchiha Yamazaki wouldn't have survived that stomp.
Uchiha Yamazaki no longer dared to act arrogantly. Faced with Uchiha Ryun's calm smile, tears involuntarily streamed down his face. How could this guy be so brutal? They were clanmates—both bore the Uchiha name!
Uchiha Ryun seemed to guess his thoughts. "Hah, are you thinking, 'We're clanmates, so why treat me so cruelly?'"
He turned his head toward Uchiha Ryūichi. "You tell him why." With that, he tossed Uchiha Yamazaki like garbage in front of Uchiha Ryūichi.
Uchiha Ryūichi took a sharp breath. "Yamazaki, have you forgotten how you bullied Uchiha Ryun before? Everyone tolerated your insults only because of your talent and your father's position as the elder."
Uchiha Yamazaki grew furious. What was Ryūichi trying to do? Wash his hands of the matter? Back then, he hadn't even known Uchiha Ryun until Ryūichi and the others told him about a useless trash who wouldn't fight back no matter how he was provoked. That was how he became one of Ryun's tormentors.
Uchiha Ryun laughed, his laughter eerie. "Uchiha Ryūichi, if I didn't know what kind of person you are, I might have believed you too."
"Today, you forcibly entered a civilian's home. Our unit captured you. Even if this were brought before the Hokage, you'd have no justification. Are you shinobi or bandits? Besides, this is a battlefield, not the Uchiha compound. Watch your mouths! Otherwise, I can't guarantee Rain-nin won't ambush you, leaving you dead at their hands!" Uchiha Ryun smiled.
Uchiha Ryūichi's face turned ashen. He surveyed the surroundings and noticed the Senju unit members all looking excited, clearly interested in Uchiha Ryun's words. He was shocked. How had Uchiha Ryun gotten so close to these Senju?
Was it just because he was Tsunade's trusted subordinate? No, that couldn't be! Uchiha Ryūichi observed the Senju shinobi carefully. Though not all were present, he noticed that almost none of them were injured, and their morale was far better than his own unit's.
Was it because Tsunade was a skilled leader? No—among Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, only Orochimaru had the best strategic mind. Even he couldn't keep his unit unscathed. There was no way Tsunade could.
Unless... His eyes lifted, meeting Uchiha Ryun's gaze. Uchiha Ryun's eyes were now blood-red, each bearing two tomoe.
Uchiha Ryūichi's pupils shrank. Two-tomoe Sharingan! Uchiha Ryun had awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan! A bloodline suppression washed over him, making it hard to breathe.
In truth, the moment Uchiha Ryun stomped Uchiha Yamazaki into the ground, the lingering resentment of his former self began to fade. His Sharingan evolved to two tomoe as the resentment dissipated. Uchiha Ryun himself hadn't even noticed yet.
Tsunade blinked in surprise. "Ryun, your eyes..."
Only then did Uchiha Ryun snap out of the exhilaration of revenge. A searing pain suddenly flared in his eyes. He suppressed it, inhaling sharply.
"Uchiha Ryūichi, you're a smart man. I don't know what you've guessed, but if you dare spread rumors, you'd better pray your family never leaves the village." It was a blatant threat, yet Uchiha Ryūichi broke into a cold sweat and immediately kowtowed. "Commander Ryun, I won't say a word!"
Uchiha Ryun snorted coldly and, supported by Tsunade, left the scene.
Uchiha Ryūichi's eyes flickered with complexity. This guy's talent...