Clearly, Uchiha Inabi was also taken aback by the cooperative attitude of Tomu, the manager. After all, a large part of why the Uchiha Police Force was so notorious in the village was due to the uncooperative nature of some villagers, which forced them to take coercive measures. These measures naturally sparked resentment among the villagers, especially when fueled by those with ulterior motives. Furthermore, members of the Uchiha Clan were generally prideful; they considered themselves the premier shinobi clan in the Hidden Leaf and didn't deign to explain minor matters to others. They even grew dissatisfied because of these groundless slanders, which in turn led them to intensify their law enforcement efforts. In such a vicious cycle, it was only natural that the Uchiha Clan's reputation worsened and internal dissatisfaction with the village grew. This resulted in most villagers instinctively resisting the Uchiha Police Force during their duties. Thus, Tomu's cooperative stance at this moment stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens.
Still, it was a good thing if someone was willing to cooperate. Uchiha Inabi immediately issued an order. "Go inside and search. Bring out all the Food Pills being sold in the shop and see if things are truly as they claimed."
"Yes!"
With Tomu's cooperation, the Police Force swarmed in. They quickly moved out all the Food Pills currently on sale at the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce. Uchiha Inabi stared at Tomu and asked sternly, "Mr. Tomu, are you certain there are no issues with your Food Pills?"
Tomu wore a faint smile and gently pushed up his glasses. "Of course. Our Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce is known for its integrity. Moreover, the relevant departments of the Hidden Leaf conduct regular inspections. It is impossible for our Food Pills to have any problems."
Seeing Tomu's confidence, Uchiha Inabi nodded slightly. "Then let us test them."
The method of inspection was simple: randomly select some Food Pills and consume them to see if any issues arose. For the sake of fairness, Uchiha Inabi had the members of the Police Force each pick a few pills to swallow separately. As the Yang Style chakra within the Food Pills began to release, every Uchiha shinobi felt a warmth spreading through their bodies. Uchiha Inabi even felt his eyes, which were somewhat sore from overexertion during missions, become much more comfortable.
Could it be that these Food Pills also help restore visual prowess?
Inabi felt that he should perhaps speak with the Clan Leader about purchasing these Food Pills in bulk from the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce in the future. Returning his thoughts to the present, Inabi finished testing the pills in his hand and looked toward his clansmen.
"Is the testing finished?"
"Vice Captain, these pills of mine have no issues."
"Vice Captain, mine are fine too."
"Neither do mine..."
Inabi received a unanimous response: there were no problems at all. Upon hearing this, the faces of the troublemakers turned ugly. They argued, "This testing method isn't accurate at all! You only picked the good ones; you haven't tested the defective ones!"
Inabi frowned and let out a cold laugh. "In that case, how about we test every single pill here? If no defective products are found, you will pay out of your own pocket to reimburse the full price of all these pills. How does that sound?"
By now, how could Uchiha Inabi not see through their little scheme? As the Vice Captain of the Police Force, he knew these tricks all too well. It was nothing more than seeing their own family industries being hit and finding random excuses to cause a scene. It was precisely these filthy insects that gave the Police Force endless trouble to deal with every day. Thinking of this, a look of disgust appeared on Inabi's face. The other party was rendered speechless by his words. After all, even if he were sold, he couldn't afford to pay for so many Food Pills! Furthermore, this whole thing was fabricated by them from the start; he didn't even know if there were actually any defective pills among them.
Uchiha Inabi narrowed his eyes and made a final decision, shouting sternly, "We have inspected them. The Food Pills of the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce have no problems. Everyone, disperse! If you continue to block the road here, do not blame our Police Force for being impolite!"
At these words, the crowd of troublemakers seemed to finally think of something and shouted loudly, "The Uchiha Clan and the Spider Lily Chamber of Commerce must be in collusion! You used the good pills for testing to intentionally favor them!"
"What did you say?!" Inabi glared at them instantly.
As everyone knew, the Uchiha was a proud clan. Every clansman viewed Uchiha's honor as their very life. With Uchiha's pride, it was absolutely impossible to conspire with others. This person's words were a total insult to the Uchiha! It was a stain on the honor of their clan! Not just Inabi, but the other Uchiha clansmen also radiated a terrifying anger. Seeing this, the guy who slandered the Uchiha began to scream, "The Uchiha Clan is flying into a rage out of shame! They're starting to hit people!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Inabi could no longer suppress his fury. he shouted, "Disturbing public order! Take them all back!"
Since the commander had given the order, all the Uchiha shinobi rushed forward, prepared to take these deliberate troublemakers back for interrogation. The scene instantly fell into chaos. Unexpectedly, there were several shinobi with rich combat experience among the crowd who directly began to fight with the Uchiha Police Force. Both sides even drew their shinobi blades and kunai, facing off against each other.
"If you continue to resist, we will not be responsible for any casualties," Uchiha Inabi said with a cold gaze.
He knew such a conflict would only worsen the Uchiha Clan's reputation in the Hidden Leaf. However, if they were allowed to leave just like that, how could the Police Force maintain its status in the village? Would everyone then feel they could use force to oppose the Police Force? Facing Inabi's warning, the troublemaking shinobi struck back defiantly, "You Uchiha are in league with this black-hearted merchant, and now you want to use your clan to bully us civilians?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Inabi gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, anger practically spewing from his eyes. It was clearly these guys who were attacking others and disrupting order for their own selfish interests, yet they were turning it around on him. He couldn't take it! His eyes instantly turned blood-red, and two black tomoe spun continuously, releasing powerful visual prowess. Just as he was about to move to resolve these guys and take them back for judgment, a voice interrupted him.
"Wait! Everyone, stop!"
Uchiha Itachi hastily shoved a box of three-color dango into Arima's hands and rushed forward, attempting to prevent the conflict from occurring.
"Itachi?" Inabi recognized the person in front of him immediately as the son of the Uchiha Clan Leader.
He was also the new generation genius upon whom the clan placed great hopes. The only flaw was that he had joined the Anbu, and his stance seemed to be gradually leaning toward the village higher-ups. Itachi came before Inabi and spoke in a negotiating tone, "Brother Inabi, perhaps there is some misunderstanding here. There is no need for us to adopt such a violent approach."
Before Inabi could speak, someone from the opposite side shouted, "Uchiha Itachi? You, the young master of the Uchiha, don't need to be hypocritical here. All you Uchiha are a bunch of arrogant fools—"
He was halfway through when Uchiha Inabi's figure instantly vanished from the spot. Then, a knee like steel slammed into the man's abdomen. Inabi raised his shinobi blade and, under everyone's shocked gazes, brought it down fiercely. Uchiha Itachi was just about to intervene when he saw Inabi shift direction, striking the man's back heavily with the hilt of the sword. The massive force knocked him unconscious instantly, and he fell heavily to the ground.
"Murder! The Uchiha are murdering people!"
Due to Inabi's sudden move, the scene that had quieted down slightly became chaotic once again. This time, as the Vice Captain of the Police Force, Uchiha Inabi was not prepared to show any more mercy. He directly ordered, "Arrest all of them!"
Once the order was given, the Uchiha shinobi who had been holding back for a long time swarmed forward, pinning all the troublemakers to the ground. It was the kind of "ground" where the head and face made real contact with the dirt. Making a scene was one thing, but when it came to actual fighting, these ordinary shinobi were no match for the Uchiha. Watching the scene of the Uchiha escorting the villagers away, the eyes of the surrounding people held a bit more... wariness and disgust.
Uchiha Itachi could only let out a long sigh at the sight. Now the stereotype of the Uchiha being arrogant and overbearing in the eyes of the villagers would deepen once again. However, since the fight had already started, he couldn't possibly step in to stop Uchiha Inabi; otherwise, it would only lead to greater chaos.
Just as the Uchiha Police Force was about to escort the troublemakers back to the guardroom located in the Uchiha compound, a slouching figure appeared.
"Treating your own compatriots so brutally..."
"Lord Danzo was right after all. The Uchiha are a naturally evil and violent clan."
Simu—or rather, Yi—stood with his hands in his pockets, blocking the path of the Uchiha Police Force in a casual manner.
"What did you say?" This sentence clearly triggered Uchiha Inabi's nerves again.
He was already annoyed, and now seeing this kid and hearing the name "Danzo," he became even more furious. "That guy Danzo is fit to comment on our Uchiha Clan?" Inabi said with disdain.
He had always maintained a very disgusted attitude toward this so-called Darkness of the Shinobi. Or rather, most Uchiha despised him. Because this guy was the absolute hawk among the village higher-ups regarding the treatment of the Uchiha. After the Nine-Tails' attack years ago, it was also this guy's proposal that drove the Uchiha Clan to the current outskirts of the village, thereby distancing them from the village's political center. However, upon hearing Inabi's words, the youth before him showed an even stronger anger.
"Lord Danzo! You actually dare to refer to Lord Danzo as 'that guy'?"
"Then let me see exactly what skills you Uchiha possess!"
Simu's expression suddenly became distorted. He performed hand signs without hesitation, condensing the Water Style chakra within his body in his mouth, forming a surging and violent water dragon that blasted out!
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
This guy actually used ninjutsu...
A bad premonition surfaced in Itachi's heart. The disturbance that just happened could be called an ordinary friction, but once ninjutsu was used, the significance became entirely different—especially like now, using such large-scale ninjutsu on a main street!
Seeing the opponent take the lead in attacking with ninjutsu, Uchiha Inabi could no longer restrain himself.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
As soon as both sides made their move, it was a clash of top-tier ninjutsu. The scorching fire dragon and the surging water dragon collided violently in the street! The blazing flames and the turbulent water flow interacted and evaporated, instantly turning into a terrifying thick mist that enveloped the scene. Inabi frowned; because of the obstruction of the mist, the surroundings were completely invisible. For safety's sake, he immediately reopened his Sharingan.
Sure enough, his prediction was correct. The moment he activated his Sharingan, he suddenly felt a current of air from his flank. It was that kid! Chakra surged into Inabi's arm. He exerted force from his waist, his body twisting like a lightning bolt, while his arm slashed out like a sharp sword. The strong airflow brought by the arm's movement tore through the surrounding mist, revealing the youth hidden behind it.
Indeed, Simu had used the mist as cover to move directly behind Inabi, but unfortunately, he was still discovered. With his eyes landing on Simu's, Inabi's lips curled up slightly. This kid was still too green. There was a saying that always circulated on the battlefields of the shinobi world: never face an Uchiha shinobi alone, and if you are unfortunate enough to encounter one, never look them directly in the eyes. Otherwise, you lose. This saying originated from the Uchiha Clan's terrifying mastery of Genjutsu. Once you saw the Sharingan, it meant you had already fallen under the Uchiha's Genjutsu.
Thus, Uchiha Inabi was confident in his victory. Surging visual prowess was released from his spinning Sharingan, injecting Genjutsu chakra fiercely into Simu's body. Then, Uchiha Inabi saw a scene he would find difficult to forget for the rest of his life.
An unspeakable creature was resting calmly in an endless darkness. Then, thousands of tentacles surged out from the dark like a tide. Crimson blood and the smell of rot poured into Inabi's body through the pores on his skin like a wave. He felt a desperate suffocation. He was about to sink into it. At that moment, amidst the infinite darkness and bloodstains, that creature opened its eye. That eye was beautiful, like a gemstone with endless facets. Every facet was as smooth as a mirror, flashing with multicolored light and even colors he found difficult to recognize. The disgusting bloodstains around him vanished instantly, replaced by fluttering butterflies, multicolored dawn light, and crystal-clear trees and oceans.