Neji Hyūga stood there with a furrowed brow, staring at the person beside him.
“Hirofumi Ito?! What do you mean by that?!”
Hirofumi gripped Neji’s arm and spoke quietly.
“Nothing much. Don’t forget — you’re already a ninja. Attacking ordinary civilians isn’t allowed. So leave this to us. After all, we’re just Ninja Academy students. We don’t count as ninjas yet. Which means even if we put these guys in the hospital, there’s no problem. Right?!”
A cruel smile spread across Hirofumi’s face as he said it.
Neji felt a small jolt of surprise.
All Neji had wanted was to teach these drunks a lesson.
Because Hirofumi wasn’t wrong, inside the Hidden Leaf Village, ninjas were not permitted to attack civilians.
But to think Hirofumi would go this far?
Cripple them, huh.
The moment Hirofumi finished speaking, the Konoha 11 closed in from all sides, surrounding the drunks in a tight ring.
Sasuke Uchiha wore an expression of pure cold fury, a kunai gripped tight in his hand.
Hirofumi noticed.
He walked over and gave Sasuke a light pat on the shoulder.
“Watch yourself. Even though we’re still Academy students, killing someone would be a real headache. Try not to use the kunai.”
The words had barely left his mouth before Hirofumi launched himself at the nearest drunk.
One kick sent the man flying several meters!
Then the Body Flicker Technique activated!
The drunk hadn’t even finished hitting the ground before Hirofumi’s figure reappeared right in front of him.
Hirofumi raised one foot and brought it down hard!
CRACK!
“AAAHHH!
My leg!
My leg!
My leg is broken!
Save me!
Save me!
It hurts!
It hurts so much!
Please stop!
No!”
“Heh. Know what pain feels like now?! Well?! Sobered up yet?!”
Hirofumi kept his foot pressed down, grinding it into the man’s leg with steady force.
He bent slightly forward, eyes narrowed, staring down at the drunk writhing and screaming on the ground.
“Sober!
I’m sober!
I’m sorry!
I was wrong!
I’ll never do it again!
I’ll never bully anyone again!
Wait — you’re a ninja, aren’t you?!
You have to be!
Don’t forget — ninjas are not allowed to attack civilians!
You’ve already broken the village’s rules!”
“Tch.” A scornful laugh.
“Sorry. I’m not some so-called ninja. Right now I’m just a Ninja Academy student, not even graduated yet. So even if I lay a hand on you, I’m not breaking any rules!”
The savagery of it knocked the rest of the drunks mostly sober on the spot.
Every one of them stood frozen, trembling in terrified silence.
Genuinely worried that the next moment, their own legs might snap too.
The other members of the Konoha 11 hadn’t expected this either.
None of them had seen Hirofumi strike like this before.
Then everyone heard him speak again.
“My name is Hirofumi Ito! If any of you have a problem with that, come find me. No matter who it is, anyone who dares lay a hand on my friends, I will not let it go. And I will make sure they understand exactly what the word cruel means! I don’t want to hear the words ‘fox demon brat’ or ‘Byakugan freak’ coming out of anyone’s mouth ever again. Otherwise, this guy right here is what’s waiting for you!”
As he spoke, Hirofumi swept his gaze around the watching crowd.
These people had no sense of reverence whatsoever.
Just like these drunks, even sober, they would dare call a Hyūga a Byakugan freak.
Because they knew the rules.
Ninjas were powerful, but ninjas were not permitted to attack civilians.
So most civilians didn’t take ninjas seriously at all.
Today, Hirofumi wanted to change that.
He lifted his foot again.
The drunk’s other leg produced another CRACK!
Two broken legs.
That was the price.
Hirofumi turned to face the rest of the Konoha 11.
“What are you all waiting for? Let’s wrap this up and get to dinner!”
They had all been standing there unable to move, partly from watching Hirofumi’s brutality, partly from sheer shock.
All these years at the Ninja Academy, Hirofumi Ito had always been the cheerful, sunny one.
Nobody had expected him to show a side like this.
And yet not one of them felt the slightest discomfort.
After all, that ferocity was aimed at enemies.
A friend who would fight for you!
Sasuke Uchiha was the first to move.
He put the kunai away and charged straight at one of the drunks.
Stars were practically glittering in Ino Yamanaka’s eyes.
Hirofumi radiating that kind of overwhelming presence, it was doing something to her.
“If I were ever in danger, Hirofumi would definitely protect me like this too!”
With that thought still warm in her chest, Ino moved into action.
Next came Hinata Hyūga.
That fragile, meek look was nowhere to be seen.
Thinking about how wretched Naruto Uzumaki had looked just moments ago, Hinata summoned up the courage to wade into the beating.
Kiba Inuzuka didn’t hesitate for a second, let out a loud howl and charged forward, shouting something about bonds and friendship and burning hot-bloodedness at the top of Kiba’s lungs!
Choji Akimichi tossed the last chip into Choji’s mouth.
“Let’s finish this quick! We still have dinner! I can’t wait any longer!”
Shikamaru Nara scratched a head helplessly at the whole scene.
Shikamaru had already noticed a few ninjas spot what was happening and quietly vanish, they had quite possibly gone to inform the Third Hokage.
“What a pain. But isn’t this what friends are for? There are so many of us, even the Third Hokage wouldn’t hand out punishments for this, right?”
Muttering under Shikamaru’s breath, Shikamaru walked toward the brawl.
Nearby, Sakura Haruno’s eyes darted around and landed on the drunk that Sasuke was currently beating.
“Infuriating! Sasuke is hitting you and you still dare to dodge?! When Sasuke’s fist lands on you, his fist must hurt too, right?! Infuriating! Unforgivable!”
Shino Aburame had the least presence of anyone there, hovering at the edge of the fight, waiting for the right opening, and occasionally landing a kick.
Every single one aimed straight below the belt.
➤ Next: The Embryo of the Leaf Gang
Chapter 32 – The Embryo of the Leaf Gang
After the brawl, every one of those drunks had paid the price of one broken leg.
The minor injuries stacked on top of that were too many to count.
Especially the drunk that Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno had dealt with.
Six teeth knocked out.
Eight ribs broken.
One arm fractured, on top of the broken leg.
For some reason, right at that moment, the members of Konoha 11 all felt something shift between them.
A closeness that hadn’t been there before.
Especially that feeling of standing up for each other.
Like brothers.
Pure, unbridled, righteous fire.
Every one of them felt a little stirred up inside.
None of them had ever been in a real fight before this, at most they’d gone through sparring drills at the Ninja Academy.
Tonight, it was fair to say they had genuinely let loose.
Naruto Uzumaki was the only one who hadn’t thrown a single punch, because seeing those drunks in such a miserable state made him feel a little sorry for them.
That soft-hearted streak surged up out of nowhere and nearly pushed him to talk his friends out of it.
Then the other feeling hit harder.
His friends were standing up for him.
They were helping him teach a lesson to the people who had come after him.
He knew beating them this badly was wrong.
He knew that.
But he was so moved he could barely stand it.
On the other side of the street, Neji Hyūga, Rock Lee, and Tenten looked like they’d seen a ghost, all three standing there with their mouths hanging wide open, staring dumbfounded at this pack of Ninja Academy students who looked exactly like gang members.
They all knew each other from the Academy.
They’d been classmates.
But nobody had expected this.
You’re all supposed to be the ones who haven’t graduated yet.
We’re the ninja here, and our missions are finding lost cats, walking dogs, and pulling weeds.
And you lot, still students, hit like that?
Looking at the flushed faces of the Konoha 11, Hirofumi Ito felt the corner of his mouth curl up.
Wasn’t this exactly the effect he wanted?
Get this group bound tightly together first.
Then, when the time came, his ambitions were as good as done.
“Well?” He looked down at the drunks sprawled across the ground the way someone looks at garbage.
“Did you get it out of your system?”
Sasuke Uchiha had never experienced anything quite like this before.
The thrill of it.
Especially that feeling, blood running hot, heart pounding.
For some reason, a song popped into Sasuke’s head.
Something Hirofumi Ito had sung once.
Commanding the world, I roam as I please, admired by all~~~
Exactly right.
I am the true star born for turbulent times.
Both hands went into the pockets.
Chin tilted up slightly.
Eyes narrowed at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky.
“Nothing but trash,” Sasuke said.
“Trash gets dealt with the way trash deserves. If they dared raise a hand against my friend, they had better be ready to face the wrath of the Uchiha.”
After saying it, Sasuke tilted his head just slightly to the side and snuck a quiet glance at Naruto Uzumaki.
Naruto hadn’t noticed.
He just bounded straight over and planted himself next to Sasuke.
“There goes smug Sasuke being smug again! But since you’ve already said all that — this great lord will reluctantly admit that you’re this great lord’s friend. Heh heh heh…”
Neji Hyūga and the other two were considerably calmer by comparison.
Neji in particular watched Hirofumi with a blank expression.
“This incident made quite a scene. Quite a lot of noise. Even though you’re Ninja Academy students, this isn’t going to be easy to handle.”
A pause.
“What’s your plan?”
Hirofumi smiled, that slightly sly, easy smile.
Neji Hyūga wore that cold face like armor, but this was clearly concern.
Anyone paying attention could see it.
Not surprising, really.
Hirofumi had been building connections at the Ninja Academy for years.
Neji had never had many friends growing up.
Besides Tenten and Rock Lee, Hirofumi was one of the very few.
“Tch.” Hirofumi waved a hand.
“Nothing to worry about. Take a look at the surnames standing in this group.”
Neji blinked.
Then understood.
Right.
What was there to worry about?
They’d taught a few drunks a lesson, drunks who had started it.
And when you looked at who had actually thrown punches: aside from Sakura Haruno, who came from a civilian family, even the smallest clan represented here was the Ito clan.
There really was nothing to worry about.
“Let’s drop it.” Hirofumi waved dismissively.
“A few drunks. Not worth the headspace. We’re heading over to Sasuke’s place for dinner — you three must be thinking about food too, right? Come along. No missions right now anyway, and we’re all old friends. Let’s get together.”
Both Tenten and Rock Lee showed a flicker of interest at that.
Neji Hyūga didn’t respond right away.
Then Hinata Hyūga stepped forward.
The fierce girl from five minutes ago was completely gone.
What stood there now was the quiet, gentle, soft-spoken Hinata everyone knew, the one who spoke like afraid of taking up too much space.
“Brother… come with us. Having everyone together would be livelier, wouldn’t it? Is that alright… Brother…?”
Neji stared at that hopeful look and simply could not reconcile the two images.
This sweet, introverted little sibling had been absolutely ferocious moments ago.
Neji nodded anyway.
“Fine… let’s all go.”
“That’s wonderful, Brother!”
“YES! YES! YES! We’re eating!” Choji Akimichi had already been getting hungry.
But at that moment, Shikamaru Nara had both hands in their pockets, eyes fixed on something in the distance.
“Trouble’s here.”
Only Naruto Uzumaki was too oblivious to catch the meaning.
“What trouble?! Shikamaru! Come on, let’s go, the food’s waiting!”
Everyone else had already turned to look.
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!
Several ninja in Anbu uniforms dropped in and landed in front of the group.
“As ninja — striking civilians without cause. You will come with us and cooperate with our investigation.”
Hirofumi looked at the white-haired ninja at the front, masked, with that unmistakable spiky hair.
Wait.
Was that Kakashi?
“Ha…” Hirofumi smiled pleasantly.
“I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding, officer. We’re not ninja. We’re Ninja Academy students.”
A beat.
“Those three over there are ninja. But those three didn’t lay a hand on anyone.”
The masked Kakashi Hatake paused.
Those three kids, Kakashi Hatake recognized them.
Might Guy’s students.
And they really hadn’t done anything.
Ninja Academy students weren’t ninja.
Which meant that even though they had struck civilians, it technically didn’t violate the rule prohibiting ninja from striking civilians.
This was going to be tricky.
➤ Next: My Father’s Name Is Aoyama Ito
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