Uchiha Tekka's retaliation came faster than expected.
No sooner had Sōkaku returned to his room than the front door was violently kicked open with a 'bang'.
Two adult Ninja, dressed in Uchiha Patrol Division uniforms and with arrogant expressions, walked in.
Their eyes, full of disdain, scanned the simply furnished room, as if even a glance was an insult to themselves.
"Are you Uchiha Sōkaku?"
The lead Ninja, with a square face, pointed his chin at Sōkaku, his tone filled with unquestionable authority.
His name was Uchiha Inabi, and he was Uchiha Tekka's father, a squad leader in the Patrol Division.
"That's me. What's the matter?"
Sōkaku was sitting at the table, leisurely peeling an apple, without even raising his head.
This utterly dismissive attitude instantly enraged Uchiha Inabi.
"What's the matter?" He sneered, "You injured my son, and you ask me what's the matter?"
"Come with me, kid. It seems your deceased parents failed to teach you respect for your elders. Today, our Patrol Division will give you a good 'education'!"
He deliberately emphasized the words "deceased parents" and "education."
The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point.
Hanako, hiding behind Sōkaku, was so scared her face turned pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
Sōkaku's apple-peeling motion stopped.
He slowly raised his head, his pale blue Rikugan / Six Eyes quietly observing Uchiha Inabi.
Under the gaze of those eyes, a strange chill inexplicably rose in Uchiha Inabi's heart, as if he had become a transparent person completely seen through.
But he quickly suppressed this unease; what threat could a ten-year-old good-for-nothing pose?
"Why should I listen to you?"
Sōkaku's voice was flat, betraying no emotion.
"What?" Uchiha Inabi suspected he had misheard.
"I said," Sōkaku put down the fruit knife in his hand, leaned lazily back in his chair, and a mocking curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, "what are you to presume to educate me?"
"Impudent!"
The other Patrol Division member was furious; he didn't have as much to say as Uchiha Inabi.
"Captain, why bother talking to this arrogant brat? Just grab him!"
He lunged forward, his large, fan-like hand reaching for Sōkaku's shoulder.
In his opinion, one hand was enough to deal with such a scrawny kid.
However, a strange scene occurred again.
His hand, just as it was about to touch Sōkaku's shoulder, suddenly froze in mid-air.
No matter how hard he tried, those few short centimeters felt like an insurmountable chasm.
"Hmm?"
The Patrol Division member's expression changed, his Chakra instantly surged, and he increased the force in his hand.
But the result was still the same.
His hand was as if fixed in the air, unable to move.
"What's going on?"
Uchiha Inabi also noticed something was wrong, his eyes narrowing.
"Do you like to get so hands-on?"
Sōkaku's voice, like a ghost, rang in the Patrol Division member's ear.
He didn't even see how Sōkaku moved.
Only a blur flashed, and his outstretched wrist was already gripped in reverse by a pale, slender hand.
That hand didn't look strong, but its force was astonishing, like an iron clamp!
"You... let go!"
The Patrol Division member was greatly alarmed and instinctively reached for the Kunai at his waist with his other hand.
"Too slow."
Sōkaku softly uttered three words.
His five fingers, gripping the opponent's wrist, exerted slight pressure.
A concentrated burst of Cursed Energy, like an electric current, instantly shot out.
"Crack!"
A crisp, teeth-grating sound of bone breaking echoed throughout the room!
"Ah ah ah ah—!"
A shrill scream erupted from the Patrol Division member's mouth.
His wrist was unnaturally twisted at a strange angle, and the stark white bone fragments had even pierced the skin, exposed to the air.
The intense pain instantly deprived him of the ability to resist. Clutching his broken hand, he knelt on the ground, drenched in sweat, wailing incessantly.
"!!"
Uchiha Inabi's pupils suddenly constricted, his face filled with shock and disbelief!
In one move!
His experienced Genin subordinate had his hand crippled by a ten-year-old child?
How was this possible!
He finally realized that the young man before him was not the defenseless good-for-nothing described in the intelligence!
He was a monster!
"You... what kind of sorcery did you use!"
Uchiha Inabi was both startled and enraged, quickly retreating two steps and forming hand signs with lightning speed!
Tiger - Horse - Dog - Rat - Rooster - Tiger!
As a squad leader of the Uchiha Patrol Division, his hand sign speed far exceeded that of ordinary Ninja.
"Daring to attack the Patrol Division, you are challenging the authority of the entire Uchiha!"
His chest suddenly swelled, and hot air spewed from his throat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Boom—!
A giant fireball, over three meters in diameter, carrying terrifying heat that could incinerate anything, erupted from his mouth, instantly filling the entire cramped room and violently surging towards Uchiha Sōkaku and Hanako behind him!
At such close range, in such a confined space, this attack was utterly unavoidable!
A twisted and cruel smile appeared on Uchiha Inabi's face.
Die, brat!
No matter what secrets you possess, before the Uchiha's proud Fire Release, you will be burned to ashes!
Hanako had already closed her eyes in fear, her small body trembling like a sieve.
However, the expected heat and pain did not arrive.
She only felt that her brother in front of her remained as steady as Mount Tai.
Sōkaku stood in place, without even changing his posture.
He merely raised his head and, with his pale blue eyes, quietly watched the massive fireball rushing towards him.
Then.
The Great Fireball, powerful enough to melt steel, stopped abruptly less than half a meter from his face.
It was as if it had struck an invisible, absolutely unshakeable wall.
The flames furiously rolled, burned, and roared, emitting loud 'whooshing' sounds, scorching the surrounding air into distortion.
But they simply could not get any closer to Sōkaku.
That half-meter distance became a shore the flames could never reach.
"This... this is impossible!"
Uchiha Inabi's smile froze on his face, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets!
His Great Fireball was blocked?
Blocked by what?
No hand signs, no Chakra fluctuations, nothing at all!
It just... stopped there out of thin air?
Sōkaku looked at the furiously burning but unmoving fireball before him, a slightly bored expression on his face.
He extended a finger and lightly tapped the flames in front of him.
"Your fire..."
"—isn't hot enough."