"Reporting, Commander-dono, we captured two comrades from Jiraiya-sama's unit. They tried to force their way into a civilian house, and were knocked out and taken by the patrol led by Ryuichi."
Ryuji spoke quickly, but every key detail entered Kotarou's ears without fail.
"Oh? Where are they? Take me to them."
Hands clasped behind his back, Kotarou smiled, a glint in his eyes.
Ryuji hurried to lead the way.
Tsunade had also heard Ryuji's report. She rose to her feet and followed the two of them.
She wanted to see how Kotarou would handle this.
It didn't take long before the three of them arrived where Ryuichi was stationed.
Seeing Kotarou and the others, Ryuichi called out at once,
"Tsunade-sama, Kotarou-kun, you're here."
Tsunade and Kotarou exchanged a glance.
Kotarou stepped back half a pace, taking up position just behind Tsunade.
She immediately understood his intention and spoke up.
"Wake them up with water."
One of the men grinned.
If there was one thing the Land of Rain had, it was water.
He picked up a wooden bucket by the roadside, brimming with freshly collected rain.
He splashed the water over the two unconscious men.
The two Uchiha ninja jerked awake.
They were just about to start cursing when they caught sight of Tsunade's honey-blonde hair.
They immediately dropped into pleading.
"Tsunade-sama, we really don't know what we did wrong. This is the Land of Rain, not the Land of Fire. Why can't we… 'borrow' a little food?"
The two-tomoe Uchiha whined.
Tsunade's eyes turned cold.
"Is this how Jiraiya teaches you? Men, thirty slaps each."
"Yes!"
Ryuichi and Ryuji's eyes gleamed with excitement.
These were Uchiha.
As far as they were concerned, every Uchiha deserved a beating… except for Kotarou.
So, in front of the entire unit and all the villagers peeking from behind doors and windows, they publicly punished the two men.
The intense humiliation made their Sharingan change before everyone's eyes.
The two-tomoe Sharingan spun and blossomed into three tomoe, and the one-tomoe Sharingan… morphed into something like one-and-a-half tomoe.
When Kotarou judged the time to be right, he gave Tsunade a look.
She caught on at once, stepping back to let him step forward while she watched.
"Oi, Yamazaki, Ryudan… you still recognize me?"
Kotarou smiled faintly.
These two were called Uchiha Yamazaki and Uchiha Ryudan, little-known geniuses in the clan.
They were also the ones who had bullied Kotarou the most.
"So it's you, you filthy wretch, you piece of trash. No wonder these Senju didn't hesitate to attack us. You must have sold us out somehow.
Just you wait. Once we're back in the village, I'll have the Great Elder invoke clan law and give you the punishment you deserve, disgrace of the Uchiha!"
Yamazaki snapped arrogantly.
The other one, Ryudan, kept silent.
He looked at Tsunade, then at Kotarou, frowning slightly.
This guy…
Before Yamazaki could spit out another sentence, Kotarou's face went cold.
He signaled the others to step aside, then raised his right foot and slammed it down, smashing Yamazaki's head into the earth.
With a boom and a crack, the ground caved in from the sheer force, Yamazaki's skull driven deep into the dirt with it.
Ryudan's face went pale.
He stared at Kotarou and found that his expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
Kotarou's lips even curled up a touch, his gaze as calm and detached as if he were looking at an ant.
After the stomp, Kotarou crouched down, grabbed Yamazaki by the collar, and hauled him out of the hole, brushing the dirt off his clothes.
"What was that you were saying just now?
I didn't quite catch it.
Say it again."
His face was smiling.
A calm, gentle smile.
If he hadn't held back at the last moment, even as a jōnin, Uchiha Yamazaki would not have survived that kick.
All trace of Yamazaki's arrogance was gone.
Looking at Kotarou's expressionless smile, tears began to spill from his eyes.
Why was this guy so brutal?
They were from the same clan, after all.
They both bore the Uchiha name.
It was as if Kotarou read his mind.
"Heh. You're wondering why I'm being so cruel when we're from the same clan, right?"
Kotarou tilted his head and glanced at Ryudan.
"You tell him why."
He said this and then tossed Yamazaki toward Ryudan like a piece of trash.
Ryudan sucked in a breath.
"Yamazaki, have you forgotten how you used to bully Kotarou?
Everyone only followed along and insulted him because of your talent… and because your father is the Great Elder."
Yamazaki bristled with anger.
What did Ryudan mean by that?
He was washing his hands of everything.
Back then, he hadn't even heard of Kotarou.
It had been Ryudan and the others who told him there was a useless piece of trash who wouldn't fight back no matter what you did, and that was why he had joined in tormenting Kotarou.
Kotarou laughed, the sound a little eerie.
"Uchiha Ryudan, if I didn't know exactly what kind of person you are, even I'd almost believe what you just said."
"Tonight, you forced your way into a civilian's home and got caught by our unit.
Even if you were brought before Hokage-sama himself, you'd still have no excuse.
Are you shinobi, or bandits?
And this is a battlefield, not the Uchiha compound.
Watch your mouths.
Otherwise, who knows whether Rain ninja might launch a sneak attack… and you end up 'dying at their hands.'"
Kotarou smiled lightly.
Cold sweat broke out across Ryudan's back.
He looked around and saw that the Senju ninja were all watching, expressions bright with excitement, clearly delighted by Kotarou's words.
He was shocked.
Since when had Kotarou gotten along so well with these Senju?
Could it be just because he was Tsunade-sama's trusted aide?
No… that wasn't it.
He studied the Senju more closely.
Though not all of them were present, he noticed that almost none of the Senju ninja were injured.
Their condition was far better than his own unit's.
Was it because Tsunade-sama had commanded them well?
No. Impossible.
Of the three great figures, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, only Orochimaru-sama had the strategic mind to act as a true military advisor.
Even he couldn't keep a unit completely unscathed.
There was no way Tsunade could.
Unless…
Ryudan lifted his head and met Kotarou's gaze.
Kotarou's eyes were blood-red, two tomoe spinning in each.
Ryudan's pupils shrank.
Two-tomoe Sharingan.
Kotarou had awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan.
A pressure from the very depth of their shared bloodline washed over him, making it hard for Ryudan to breathe.
In truth, the moment Kotarou had stomped Yamazaki into the ground, the original host's lingering resentment had begun to dissipate.
As that obsession faded, his Sharingan had evolved into two tomoe.
Kotarou himself had not yet realized this.
Tsunade blinked in surprise, then said,
"Kotarou-kun, your eyes…"
Only then did Kotarou pull himself out of the brief, intoxicating haze of revenge.
A burning pain crept through his eyes.
He sucked in a breath and forced himself to bear it.
"Uchiha Ryudan, you're a smart man.
I don't know what you've guessed, but if you dare to run your mouth…
You'd better pray your family never sets foot outside the village again."
It was a threat.
A naked, undisguised threat.
But Ryudan was drenched in cold sweat.
He bobbed his head frantically.
"Kotarou-kun, I won't say a word. I swear."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]