This sudden turn of events left Uchiha Mikoto completely shaken. Her hands trembled in panic, causing the tray she was holding to shake as well, tea spilling out and pooling across its surface.
Although she herself was a Jonin of the village who had experienced dangerous missions, seeing another boy standing completely naked in her own reception room was far beyond what a ninja's mental fortitude was meant to handle.
Uchiha Yoichi was just as shocked when he saw her reaction. However, after being tormented by so many bizarre abilities, his mental resilience was already quite strong. He knew very clearly that at a moment like this, he absolutely could not reveal any weakness on his end.
Right now, the only thing he could do was pretend that he knew nothing at all and remove himself from suspicion.
No matter how curious it was, he could not keep staring.
"Mikoto, what's wrong?"
Seeing Mikoto let out a strange sound, Uchiha Fugaku spoke up in a low voice. Normally, his wife was always composed and proper when receiving guests. Today, something was clearly off.
"H-He… Uchiha Yoichi, he—"
Uchiha Mikoto felt as if something was lodged in her throat. She wanted to ask why the boy in front of her was standing there naked, without even wearing clothes—but such a direct and humiliating question was impossible to say out loud.
"Clan Head, did I come at a bad time?""Should I come back another day instead?"
Uchiha Yoichi remained calm inside, while putting on a confused expression on his face as he spoke, indicating that he himself had no idea what was happening.
"Wait a moment, Yoichi-kun. We're almost done here. Please excuse me for a bit."
Uchiha Fugaku spoke in a low voice to Yoichi. He could tell that Mikoto was acting strangely—almost as if she harbored some hostility toward Yoichi.
But she hadn't acted like this when she first welcomed them in. How could her attitude change so suddenly?
He needed to ask.
"Mikoto, come outside with me for a moment."
Uchiha Fugaku stood up and spoke to Mikoto, then stepped out first. Seeing this, Mikoto quickly pulled her gaze away, lowered her head, and followed him outside.
When the two reached the courtyard in the corridor, Fugaku finally stopped and asked,
"Mikoto, what was that just now? Do you have some issue with Yoichi-kun?"
"No, Fugaku. How could he do something like that in someone else's home? And you didn't even stop him?"
"How… how could you allow something like that to happen?"
Uchiha Mikoto spoke emotionally. She had gone in with good intentions to deliver tea and snacks, only to suddenly see such a scene. What was even stranger was that her husband—and even Uchiha Mabayashi—seemed to have no reaction at all.
Were they pretending not to see it?
"What exactly are you talking about?""Yoichi-kun didn't do anything inappropriate just now. Mikoto, what are you saying?"
Uchiha Fugaku was completely confused. He thought back carefully—aside from being slightly displeased, Yoichi hadn't shown any disrespectful behavior at all. That displeasure was understandable, considering that the clan had compromised with the village at his expense.
That alone shouldn't have caused Mikoto to react this strongly, let alone point fingers at a guest in public.
"Mikoto quickly said, "Fugaku… Uchiha Yoichi's clothes—can you really understand something like that?"
"Clothes?" Fugaku frowned. "Mikoto, what are you talking about? Yoichi-kun's clothes are perfectly normal. He's wearing an ordinary ninja outfit. I'm not that rigid as clan head—we're not the Hyuga clan."
Hearing this, Uchiha Mikoto covered her mouth in shock.
"Ninja outfit? Fugaku… are you saying Uchiha Yoichi was wearing a ninja outfit just now?"
"Of course. Didn't you welcome Yoichi-kun and Mabayashi in yourself?" Fugaku said."Mikoto, what's wrong with you today? If you're not feeling well, you should go rest."
He spoke gently, but he genuinely felt that something was off with her.
"No, Fugaku, I'm fine. I just want to confirm—are you certain Uchiha Yoichi was wearing a ninja outfit, and not… something else?"
Or… nothing at all?
Uchiha Mikoto asked again. She couldn't have imagined it, and it was impossible for her to be under genjutsu—this was the Uchiha clan head's home, after all.
"He was wearing a ninja outfit, Mikoto."
At this point, a trace of impatience crept into Fugaku's heart. In his view, Mikoto was acting strangely today, and yet she refused to rest.
"Mikoto, go take a break. You don't need to handle anything else today."
"I… I understand.""Then I'll go collect the tea set first. I spilled some of it earlier."
Uchiha Mikoto swallowed and spoke softly. She believed Fugaku wouldn't lie to her. If everyone else saw nothing wrong, then perhaps the problem was her.
Was something wrong with her eyes?
The ability to see through things… wasn't that something only the Byakugan could do?
But she hadn't even activated the Sharingan. So how could she suddenly have Byakugan-like vision?
"Alright. After you finish cleaning up, go rest properly. You've probably been overworked lately," Fugaku said."But Yoichi-kun didn't behave inappropriately just now. Mikoto, you shouldn't have spoken like that in front of guests."
He felt her attitude earlier had been improper. As the clan head's wife, she represented him in a way—personal emotions should not be displayed so openly.
"I understand, Fugaku. I'll apologize to Yoichi-kun in a moment."
Uchiha Mikoto said apologetically. She also realized her position—but what she had seen was simply too strange. Why had she witnessed such a scene?
After that, Uchiha Mikoto followed Fugaku back into the reception room.
The moment she stepped inside, she once again saw that naked body.
As expected… only I can see it. No one else is reacting.But why is it only Yoichi-kun?
Uchiha Mikoto's heart trembled, but she had already prepared herself mentally before entering.
"Yoichi-kun, I was a bit rude earlier. Please forgive me."
"No, ma'am. Please don't worry about it. It's nothing."
Seeing Mikoto move to clean up the tea tray, Uchiha Yoichi stood slightly and helped her, reaching out to push the tray toward her.
But the moment he moved, the overwhelming visual impact in Mikoto's field of vision made her immediately avert her gaze—only for her eyes to involuntarily flick back again.
After collecting the tea tray, Uchiha Mikoto hurried out, barely exchanging any pleasantries.
"I apologize," Fugaku said after she left."Mikoto has been overworked recently and hasn't rested well. That's why she acted abnormally."
Then he returned to the main topic.
"Let's talk about the important matter again, Yoichi-kun. The clan will compensate you. Do you have any requests?"
"I'm not particularly concerned about compensation," Yoichi replied."But Clan Head, earlier you said the village suspects that I deliberately didn't save my teammate. That's something I can't accept. If I had truly harbored malicious intent toward my teammates, I wouldn't have carried him back from dozens of kilometers away."
His tone was firm, though Mikoto's interruption had softened his attitude slightly compared to before.
"In the future, I'll just take missions solo. Mabayashi-senpai has suggested that I join the Police Force, but I still prefer having more freedom with my time."