If you can’t win, run.
Wasn’t that common sense?
The five children of the Yakushi family were just children.
Did anyone seriously expect them to fight to the death against five jōnin from the Sarutobi clan?
Don’t be ridiculous.
Anyone who stayed behind would be an idiot.
If you couldn’t beat them yourself, couldn’t you just go home and get your family?
As an Uchiha, you should always understand one thing:
You were never fighting alone.
That was what the teachers at the Iga Academy taught them.
Their older brothers wouldn’t lie to them.
Of all the Yakushi children, the one who had been putting on the most intimidating display—Yakushi Kabuto—was also the fastest to run.
He had already done more than enough for his slightly older brothers.
Now, everyone, keep running!
As long as even one of them reached their eldest and second-eldest brothers first, everyone would be safe.
After all, everyone knew that their eldest and second-eldest brothers were going to become Uchiha.
And the Uchiha clan’s family rule was simple:
Protect your own.
When trouble arose, deal with the outsiders first.
Then, once you closed the door, you could settle your own family’s affairs.
How could the younger brother of an Uchiha clan member be bullied by a group of Konoha shinobi?
What a joke~
Yakushi Kabuto ran for his life while shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Big Brother! There are Konoha shinobi causing trouble! Help me!"
The closer he got to his eldest brother, Yakushi Inari, the harder Kabuto shouted.
There wasn’t the slightest hint of fear in his voice.
If anything, he sounded delighted that the trouble wasn’t big enough yet.
The Uchiha clan ought to swing the iron fist of justice at Konoha too.
And Yakushi Kabuto was determined to make it happen.
At that moment, Kabuto was brimming with ambition.
The Five Sarutobi behind them, however, still hadn’t realized what had happened.
Everything had been going so well.
They had been just about to reach the part where everyone revealed their identities.
So how had the children suddenly disappeared?
And how could they run so fast?!
"Did we get tricked?"
Sarutobi Yasukuni asked Sarutobi Zashikoku uncertainly.
Zashikoku didn’t know how to answer either.
The two simply stared at each other.
Sarutobi Aoyama, on the other hand, felt that this was precisely how children from a prestigious clan should behave.
They should always put their own safety first.
The moment danger appeared, they should immediately identify an escape route and remove themselves from danger.
It seemed they really had caught a big fish.
The identities of these children were definitely not ordinary.
"Not sure. Follow them and see. We can’t let these little brats get away."
After seeing the reaction of the Yakushi children, Sarutobi Aoyama became even more convinced of his judgment.
He immediately called to his fellow clan members and gave chase.
Five jōnin were naturally much faster than a group of children.
In an instant, they caught up with the five Yakushi children.
The Yakushi children stopped as well.
They had already exhausted their tiny reserves of chakra.
But they weren’t afraid in the slightest.
Because they had already escaped to their eldest brother’s side.
The five children hid behind Yakushi Inari and Yakushi Tsuchihachiman, pointing their tiny fingers at the approaching Five Sarutobi and complaining.
"It’s them! They bullied children!"
"They even called us Uchiha evil!"
Yakushi Kai’s face was filled with pride as he said this, as though someone had just praised him.
If you removed the word evil, Kai would have been perfectly willing to become friends with these useless Konoha shinobi.
"That’s right, Big Brother, Second Brother! Hurry and gather your classmates. Let’s wipe out these heretics!"
Kabuto, however, had made his position perfectly clear.
What was there to discuss with the people of Konoha?
When dealing with enemies, you should crush them into dust.
That was also one of the Uchiha clan’s family principles.
He would become an Uchiha sooner or later.
Kabuto was completely confident about that and was already demanding the same standards of himself as a pure-blooded Uchiha.
The children’s antics were not taken seriously by the more mature second eldest brother, Yakushi Tsuchihachiman.
Besides, they currently didn’t have the advantage.
There was no reason to escalate the conflict.
The other side consisted of five adult shinobi.
On their side, only he and his elder brother could actually fight.
The other five younger brothers were nothing more than dead weight.
As the second eldest brother, Yakushi Tsuchihachiman had always been the most meticulous and thoughtful of the family.
The safety of his family came first.
Tsuchihachiman moved the five younger brothers behind him and addressed the five aggressive shinobi.
"Everyone, my younger brothers are still young. If they’ve done anything inappropriate, I ask that you forgive them."
Sometimes, taking one step back brought peace.
First, clarify the situation.
Then find a way to resolve it.
The Five Sarutobi also stopped.
Looking at the two young men before them, Sarutobi Aoyama became even more certain of his judgment.
These were definitely children from a wealthy and influential family.
Earlier, Aoyama and the others had seen Inari and Tsuchihachiman using ninjutsu to work their family’s land.
Under Uchiha rule, every resident could receive twenty mu of hereditary farmland and eighty mu of allotment farmland.
The Yakushi family alone possessed a full eight hundred mu of land.
That was no small amount.
In the eyes of Konoha shinobi who did not engage in agricultural labor themselves, owning such a vast amount of land was something only shinobi clans and nobles could afford.
The Sarutobi clan themselves owned considerable amounts of land throughout different parts of the Land of Fire.
They simply didn’t farm it themselves.
Instead, they rented it out to farmers.
Therefore, in their eyes, the Yakushi family’s eldest and second eldest brothers—who used Earth Release to level the land and Water Release to divert water from the river—had to be core members of a newly incorporated Uchiha clan.
They were using farming as a method of training their chakra control.
Only the younger generation of clans receiving serious cultivation would be subjected to such rigorous training.
The exact methods of chakra-control training differed from clan to clan, but the principles were largely the same.
Tree climbing.
Water walking.
Farming.
There wasn’t much difference.
The Five Sarutobi had now confirmed their judgment.
Since everyone was apparently from prominent families, and the other side had asked politely, the Sarutobi clan couldn’t afford to lose face.
"Sir, state your name. Your younger brothers are severely lacking in discipline. As their elder brothers, and as successors of a shinobi clan, you have an unavoidable responsibility for their behavior. Come with us to Konoha and explain the situation."
If they could avoid fighting, then deception was still the better option.
Sarutobi Aoyama continued hoping to achieve his objective without resorting to violence.
Yakushi Tsuchihachiman was a considerate second brother.
Yakushi Inari, however, didn’t have nearly as much patience.
Take one step back and there’ll be peace?
Why don’t you take one step back yourself?
He was the eldest brother.
Ever since childhood, his younger brothers had looked up to him as a hero.
Even before joining the Uchiha, he had been an extremely protective elder brother.
After joining the Uchiha, that protectiveness had only become more excessive.
Especially now.
Although he had received only a few months of shinobi training, his outstanding performance had already earned the Uchiha’s recognition.
He had even been implanted with the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
He could now easily enter its second-stage state.
With his strength having increased so dramatically, Yakushi Inari was even less willing to listen to outsiders lecture him about his younger brothers.
They’re my family’s children.
I can scold them or beat them however I want.
But if you lay a finger on them, I’ll wipe out your entire family.
And there was a Nanga outpost right behind them.
His classmates from the inspection squad and their teachers should be stationed there.
Thinking of this, Yakushi Inari’s confidence grew even stronger.
"Konoha trash, I’ll give you a chance. Think carefully about your choice of words."
The first stage of the Cursed Seal of Heaven began to stir.
Chakra gathered in Inari’s right hand.
His right arm even began to deform slightly as the enormous quantity of chakra accumulated within it.
The chakra was practically visible to the naked eye.
Facing five jōnin from Konoha, Yakushi Inari wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
His plan was simple.
He would hit them hard enough to make a big commotion.
Then he would wait for the academy’s teachers to arrive and handle the aftermath.
As for whether what he had done would be considered a merit or a mistake...
That was an internal matter for the Uchiha.
Could an Uchiha who refused to make mistakes for the glory of the clan still be considered a good Uchiha?
His teachers would probably bail him out.
Whatever.
He would worry about the future when the future arrived.
He absolutely could not lose face in front of his younger brothers.
Inari clenched his fist and concentrated the chakra into a devastating blast.
It was a Cursed Seal Technique invented by Mr. Hyōma, who had been the first to complete his modifications.
It was simple, effective, and powerful.
And it required no hand seals.
Its only drawback was that it consumed a considerable amount of chakra.
Looking at the amount of chakra gathering around Inari, the Five Sarutobi began to panic.
They had seen reckless people before.
But they had never seen anyone this reckless.
We...
We are the young masters of the Sarutobi clan.
The clan of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
Even a daimyō would have to offer us tea with both hands.
Even the leaders of other hidden villages would greet us respectfully.
And you little brats not only refuse to show us respect...
You actually want to fight us?
Were they insane?
The worldview of the Five Sarutobi had been thoroughly shaken.
Before Yakushi Inari could make his move, five Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall techniques erupted between the two groups.
The Sarutobi clan backed down first.
Seeing that the situation had been brought under control by his elder brother’s overwhelming presence, the second eldest, Yakushi Tsuchihachiman, spoke.
"Gentlemen, when asking someone else for their name, shouldn’t you give your own names first?"
Only then did the Five Sarutobi finally realize what had happened.
It wasn’t that the Sarutobi clan had fallen so far.
They simply hadn’t introduced themselves.
There really were people who didn’t know who they were.
The five shinobi announced themselves from behind the Earth-Style Walls.
"Sarutobi clan. Sarutobi Tsukiji Hongan!"
"Sarutobi Yasukuni!"
"Sarutobi Zashikoku!"
"Sarutobi Tanaka!"
"Sarutobi Aoyama!"
"At your service!"
After hearing the five announce their names, Yakushi Inari and his second brother, Yakushi Tsuchihachiman, exchanged a glance.
Looks like we’ve hooked a really big fish~
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