There was a tense, awkward silence.
"My name is Takumi Hyuga, a chunin from the main family," Takumi said, pointing to his forehead to show that he bore no Caged Bird Seal.
"Okay... and how does that have anything to do with you interfering with my teaching?" Megumi asked flatly.
Takumi was stunned. You bastard, you were the one who asked for my name in the first place! he thought.
"I heard you speaking badly about shinobi and their dreams," Takumi said, trying to suppress his rising anger.
"And how exactly is that your business? Or are you another dreamer who wants to become Hokage too?" Megumi shot back, now more interested in Takumi than in Ayame, who always mocked him anyway.
Takumi frowned. He couldn't understand what was going on inside this boy's head, but he realized Megumi's attention was now fully on him.
"Being Hokage isn't about how strong you are," Takumi said firmly. "It's about earning people's trust and their acknowledgment. When we were on the frontier fighting for our families and the village, people like you were hiding in your mother's arms!"
The gathered crowd clapped at Takumi's words.
Megumi shook his head. "Why should I go to war when I don't even know what caused it? I'm one percent sure it was started by shinobi, not civilians."
Takumi's jaw clenched. A civilian child just five years old was out-arguing him. If he stayed quiet, he wouldn't just embarrass himself, but the Hyuga clan's honor would be mocked. Even his own beliefs as a shinobi felt at stake.
"What do you even want to gain from this? Don't you realize what you're doing will strain the relationship between civilians and shinobi in the village?" Takumi snapped. He had never met anyone bold enough to challenge the system itself.
"Who said I want to gain anything? I'm just debating what a shinobi really is," Megumi replied with a small laugh, covering his mouth as Takumi's composure began to crack.
"I see what this is," Takumi said, stepping closer. He loomed over Megumi like a giant over a child. "You're trying to gain sympathy from civilians and shinobi alike because you can't use ninjutsu."
The shinobi in the crowd nodded, relieved someone was defending their pride.
"Sympathy? From them?" Megumi asked, almost dumbfounded by Takumi's stupidity.
"Hah! You're jealous because you weren't born into a shinobi family. My grandfather is an elder in the Hyuga clan. Both my parents bled for the village, and now it's my turn to follow in their footsteps and make the Hyuga the strongest clan!" Takumi declared proudly, taunting Megumi with his background.
"Megumi..." Ayame whispered, trying to console him when she saw his head lower after Takumi's boast.
"You should apologize to every shinobi you've insulted," Takumi said with a smug smirk.
"Apologize? Why should I apologize for telling the truth?" Megumi replied, still not raising his head.
"Truth? What truth? All you're doing is tearing apart the bond between people and shinobi!" Takumi barked.
"He's not even a shinobi!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"The Uchiha should arrest him!" another voice joined.
"Yes, let the Hokage punish him!"
The mob grew restless, enraged that this small boy dared defy tradition.
"Hey, kid," Takumi sneered, "just because you're a nobody from nobody parents doesn't mean you should think others are nobodies too."
Megumi slowly lifted his head. "What did you just call me, white eyes?"
The words cut through the air like a blade. Everyone froze, shocked that Megumi had dared call a Hyuga that.
"You... you're a nobody, and you'll always remain a nobody!" Takumi roared, humiliated by a boy who wasn't even a genin.
Megumi's gaze hardened.
"I don't blame you," Takumi spat venomously. "I blame your useless mother and father for failing to teach you what you should and shouldn't say."
Now he was no longer speaking like a shinobi but like a bitter, arrogant man.