The steady, distinct footsteps finally stopped in front of Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto timidly lifted his small face, which was stained with vegetable scraps and still wet with tears.
What met his eyes was a tall, cold figure.
It was none other than the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Akahiro, who had just stirred up the streets and struck fear into the hearts of all the villagers.
Red looked down at the scene before him from his commanding height.
Rotten vegetable scraps were scattered everywhere, a child was curled up protecting his head, and there were faces flushed Red and twisted with the malice of bullying the weak.
His mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly.
Truly, the villagers of Konoha all possess the Haki of “Bullying Color.”
Red thought ruthlessly to himself.
A moment ago, these people had gathered together, relying on their numbers to bully the Uchiha Clan with righteous indignation, only to be sent scurrying in fear when he caught them.
Yet, turning around, they could aim their butcher-knife-like malice at a helpless, innocent, and pitiful child without the slightest psychological burden.
This “talent” for bullying the weak and trampling on the helpless was truly carved into their bones and fused into their blood.
This, perhaps, was the truest and most ironic undertone of the so-called “will of fire.”
The villagers, who had been energetically throwing vegetable scraps and hurling insults, finally realized Red’s arrival.
The arrogance and bluster that had just been so overwhelming instantly drained from their faces, leaving them pale.
They were like roosters with their necks throttled; their voices came to an abrupt halt, and each of them went limp like deflated balls.
Subconsciously, this group wanted to sneak into the crowd and scatter like birds and beasts before Red could take action.
However, would Uchiha Akahiro ever give them the chance to escape?
He couldn’t even be bothered to glance at them, merely raising his hand coldly and waving it forward casually.
“Do not let a single one get away.”
“Yes!”
Uchiha Tekka, who had been ready and waiting, led the members of the Konoha Military Police Force behind him, swarming forward like wolves and tigers.
In just a few breaths, the villagers who had been happily bullying Naruto were all captured and subdued, their hands tied behind their backs with mournful expressions.
Watching the villagers who had bullied him being tied up with ropes and taken away one by one.
Uzumaki Naruto, who was kind by nature or perhaps just didn’t understand the situation at all, made a move that caught everyone off guard.
He wiped the tears from his face, climbed up from the ground unsteadily, and ran straight towards the “fierce and terrifying” Uchiha Akahiro.
Naruto looked up, timidly tugging at Red’s sleeve, his blue eyes filled with pure pleading.
“Can… can you please not make things difficult for them? They… they didn’t do anything bad…”
This child, who had just been viciously hurt by the villagers with vegetable scraps and malicious words, was now pleading with Red on behalf of those who had bullied him.
Silence fell all around.
Red lowered his head and gazed quietly at the clean and kind little face before him, a flash of complex and inscrutable emotion flickering deep in his eyes.
A moment later, he returned to his professional, expressionless demeanor.
“Kid, you’ve misunderstood.”
Red’s tone was calm and waveless as he gave his airtight standard answer.
“These villagers have countless ties to the’suspects’ previously taken away by the Konoha Military Police Force. Taking them back to the Konoha Military Police Force is merely for routine questioning and following procedure.”
Having said that, he stopped looking at Naruto, turned around, and led the Konoha Military Police Force, escorting the group of ashen-faced villagers as they strode away.
Leaving Naruto alone, standing blankly on the spot, watching that resolute back.
…
Inside the Hokage Office.
When the Anbu member reported the news that “Uchiha Akahiro has once again taken away a large group of Konoha Village villagers on the street.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart was already dead; he was so numb that he didn’t even have the strength to be angry.
He just waved his withered hand wearily, as if shooing away an annoying fly.
“I know… let him be.”
Things had reached this point, and being constrained by his own concerns, he could only watch helplessly as Red continued to act recklessly.
“Reporting to Hokage-sama, there is one more thing.”
The Anbu member paused and continued to report.
“Just now on the street, Uzumaki Naruto… was in contact with Uchiha Akahiro.”
“What?!”
In that short instant, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been slumped in his chair, suddenly had a sharp gleam erupt in his turbid eyes!
He suddenly woke from his decadence; his entire nervous system tensed to the limit in an instant, and his body leaned forward involuntarily.
Naruto!
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
This was the most untouchable and fragile string deep in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart. The source of this chapter is g.com.
He could tolerate Red arresting hundreds or thousands of villagers, but he absolutely could not tolerate Naruto, the Village’s most important strategic weapon, falling into or leaning towards the Uchiha Clan!
“What did they say?! What did Red do to Naruto?!”
Hiruzen’s voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling.
“Reporting to you, Hokage-sama, please rest assured.”
The Anbu member quickly added.
“Uchiha Akahiro did not converse much with Uzumaki Naruto, only saying a few cold words. Now… Uzumaki Naruto has gone home alone.”
“Hoo…”
Hearing this reply, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been tensed to the limit, finally leaned back heavily against the chair, as if all his strength had been drained, and let out a long, turbid breath.
A false alarm.
As long as Red didn’t have any ulterior motives towards Naruto and didn’t harbor any thoughts he shouldn’t, everything was still under his control.
The heart that had just been hanging in his throat finally slowly fell back into place.
It was just that deep down, a few lingering worries had inexplicably been added.
…
And on the other end of Konoha Village, in that Uchiha Compound that was shrouded in invisible clouds all year round.
Inside a solemn and respectful mansion.
As the current head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku’s face finally turned livid and ugly as the news kept pouring in.
“What did you say? Red… has again taken away a large group of Konoha Village villagers in broad daylight?”
Fugaku stood up abruptly, his hand gripping the teacup turning slightly white due to excessive force.
The various “great achievements” of Red “slaughtering all directions” on the street today, and continuously cornering Konoha civilians and Anbu in the name of spies, were now laid out before him one by one.
Fugaku’s heart sank suddenly.
He knew better than any hot-blooded young member in the clan just how precarious the Uchiha Clan’s current situation was, like walking on thin ice.
Red’s radical behavior of not covering up, publicly tearing off the face of the Konoha high-level officials, and crazily intensifying the conflict.
While it might be gratifying for a moment and relieve the years of resentment in the hearts of the clansmen.
But this was no different from dancing crazily on the edge of a cliff, and it was highly likely to bring utter disaster to the Uchiha Clan, which was already shaky and suspected by the whole Village!
“Foolish… Red, you are too foolish!”
Fugaku felt a rush of anxiety, his temples throbbing.
He could no longer sit still, and without time to put on the outer robe that symbolized his status as clan head, he rushed out of the mansion.
Heading towards the Konoha Military Police Force, which was currently at the center of the storm, in a great hurry.