The training ground lay in ruins.
Uchiha Yuan stood alone at its center, motionless. His eyes were vacant, unfocused, staring straight ahead.
"Hah… in the end, the kid still lost. Lost to the clan's Sharingan."
A short-haired man in his early thirties chuckled as he looked at Yuan. The three tomoe spinning in his eyes faded away.
His name was Uchiha Takahiko, captain of the Sixth Squad.
In his view, an Uchiha who hadn't awakened the Sharingan had no right to serve as a Police Force squad captain.
Standing beside him were two other young men with their arms crossed—Uchiha Heisuke, captain of the Fourth Squad, and Uchiha Mikuma, captain of the Fifth Squad.
Both of them were still staring at Yuan with three-tomoe Sharingan active.
Yuan's astonishing speed had forced them to rely on the Sharingan just to follow his movements.
At this moment, Heisuke turned toward Uchiha Xun and Uchiha Yi, who were standing not far away.
"Yi, Xun," he said, "looks like the Third Squad's captain is about to be replaced."
Xun glanced at the three of them, then returned his gaze to Yuan, his expression calm.
"Since he lost, he should step down."
Yi frowned slightly.
"Still, being challenged so aggressively by Tonghu… the clan head probably won't be pleased."
Xun looked toward the Police Force headquarters and smiled faintly.
"I don't think the clan head minds. After all, he hasn't stepped in to stop Tonghu even now."
"In the Uchiha clan…"
he added calmly,
"the strong are respected."
Shua.
A figure flashed into existence between the two sides.
The newcomer was a long-haired man around twenty years old.
His name was Uchiha Taichi—elder brother of Uchiha Eiji, and a squad leader in the Police Force's headquarters guard unit.
He stared at Yuan standing in the ruined training ground, surprise flickering across his face.
Taichi had just returned from an external mission.
After sweeping his gaze around the scene, he asked,
"What's going on here?"
Once he learned the cause of the conflict, Taichi's brows drew together sharply.
"Tonghu has overstepped his bounds," he said coldly.
"After this, I'll report it to the company commander. Tonghu must be punished."
Takahiko raised his thick brows and laughed.
"Heh, Tonghu does deserve punishment. But if that punishment earns him a squad captain's seat, I doubt he'll complain."
Taichi looked at Yuan, the corner of his mouth lifting into an intrigued smile.
"Uchiha Yuan may not have lost."
The moment those words were spoken, several people nearby turned to look at him.
In their eyes, Yuan had already been defeated.
Mikuma pointed at Yuan and said,
"Taichi, can't you see? Yuan is clearly caught in Tonghu's genjutsu. He's already lost."
"I don't think Tonghu's genjutsu can trap him," Taichi replied calmly.
As Eiji's elder brother, Taichi hadn't known much about the bouts between the two at first.
But as Eiji continued to challenge Yuan time and again—bringing out stored ninjutsu scrolls from home—Taichi had taken notice.
After every fight, Eiji would report every exchange, every move, in meticulous detail.
While guiding Eiji, Taichi had effectively been sparring with Yuan himself.
From those descriptions, he'd formed his own judgment of Yuan's strength.
He'd originally planned to recruit Yuan into the Police Force once he graduated from the Ninja Academy.
But as the war intensified, the next news he heard of Yuan was far more shocking—
Yuan had repelled the Fourth Raikage.
"Taichi, you're overestimating that kid," Takahiko said skeptically.
"I don't believe he can break free from a genjutsu cast by a three-tomoe Sharingan."
Not far behind them, Uchiha Kawa and the others watched anxiously.
Hearing Taichi's words, a glimmer of hope appeared on their faces.
Leader—wake up. Hurry…
Under everyone's gaze, Uchiha Tonghu slowly walked toward Yuan, step by step, and stopped in front of him.
"Peh."
Tonghu spat a mouthful of dark blood onto the ground, staring at Yuan with seething hatred.
"This is the first time I've ever been injured this badly."
"Being able to push me into such a sorry state—I'll admit, you're strong."
His eyes burned.
"But without the Sharingan, you're still nothing before me."
As the last word fell—
A cold glint flashed.
Tonghu suddenly drew the blade from his back and slashed toward Yuan with a vicious arc.
"What?!"
The sudden attack caught Taichi and the others completely off guard. By the time they reacted, it was already far too late to intervene.
In that instant, expressions varied across the crowd.
Yi and Xun showed brief surprise—then quickly returned to calm.
Takahiko jolted in shock, then broke into a careless grin.
Taichi's pupils contracted sharply, his brows knitting together.
At the top floor of the Police Force headquarters.
"Bastard!"
Fugaku roared in fury as he witnessed the scene, rage finally breaking through his usually composed expression.
Beside him, Itachi stared at the training ground, at the unmoving figures, his gaze deep and unreadable.
Clang!
A shrill sound of snapping metal rang out.
At the very last moment, Yuan moved.
Faster than lightning, he reached out and caught Tonghu's blade—pinched between two fingers.
Under countless stunned gazes, he snapped off a section of the sword with raw force.
"You—how did you break free of my genjutsu?!"
Tonghu stared at Yuan in disbelief.
His Sharingan hadn't detected the slightest trace of chakra movement within Yuan's body.
Yuan replied coldly,
"Every day, I throw the same straight punches—thousands upon thousands of times.
"My focus in each strike tempers my will, again and again."
He lifted his gaze.
"Your genjutsu is strong—but it's not enough to trap me."
A fierce light flashed across Yuan's face.
The next instant—
Boom!
A whip-like kick tore through the air, detonating it as it struck Tonghu.
Tonghu was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing down more than a hundred meters away.
"Tonghu!"
"Captain Tonghu!"
Ignoring the cries around him, Yuan spoke in an icy voice,
"Relax. He isn't dead."
"His crime deserves death—but I'll spare his life."
"This kick will keep him bedridden for half a year. That should give him time to stop entertaining foolish thoughts… and repeating today's stupidity."
Hearing this, many present finally let out the breath they'd been holding.
Yuan slowly swept his gaze across the crowd.
He had spared Tonghu because he'd sensed that the final slash hadn't been aimed at any vital point.
There had been no killing intent in it—only the intent to cripple him.
Some people die… but they don't die completely.
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