Chapter 6: We Should Love Each Other
"**Ah!**"
The older brother hadn't even finished speaking when he let out a sharp cry. "**Ow, ow, ow! What kind of freakish strength is this?!**"
Wuye snorted coldly, tightening his grip on the boy's wrist.
This body wasn't suited for ninjutsu, so he'd focused on taijutsu. Years of push-ups and handstand walking had made his strength far greater than that of an average boy.
"**Still not letting go?**" he asked icily.
"**If I let go just because you say so, where's my dignity?!**"
This kid wasn't a fresh genin for nothing. Not only did he refuse to yield, but he doubled down, raising his kunai to stab at Wuye's hand.
"**Shnk!**"
He expected Wuye to dodge, but instead, that hand shot forward, grabbing the kunai's sharp blade head-on.
Blood trickled between his fingers as Wuye drove a knee upward.
*«Injury Severity: 1%. Cell Division Accelerated 10x.»*
His physical energy surged, instantly boosting the chakra extracted within him.
"**Thud!**"
The boy took a blow to the stomach, wincing in pain. Reflexively, he released Kushina's hair and let go of the kunai.
Before he could recover, Wuye kicked him to the ground, pounced on him, and sat on his stomach. His left hand pinned the boy's chest while his right flipped the kunai, pressing it against the boy's face.
"**Now I'm thinking of carving a few lines on your face. Any objections?**"
His expressionless face and blood-dripping hand terrified the two brothers.
The older one swallowed hard, stammering, "**N-No, don't…**"
The younger one bolted in a panic. "**So scary! H-Help…**"
Wuye nearly laughed. "**Such 'brotherly love'!**"
The older brother's face turned ashen. "**Y-You, let me go…**"
"**If I don't, what can you do about it?**"
Wuye threw his own words back at him.
"**The p-police force won't let this slide!**" the rookie genin blustered, his bravado hollow.
Wuye chuckled. "**Guess what? Do you think the Uchiha care about kids brawling?**"
"**W-What do you want, then?**"
The kunai glinted as it hovered before his eyes, blood dripping onto his face. The inexperienced genin was on the verge of tears.
Wuye stood up. He briefly considered mimicking Orochimaru by licking the blood off the kunai for intimidation, but the metallic stench was too much for a sane person. He abandoned the idea.
"**Get up. Kneel and apologize,**" he said flatly.
Relieved to be free of the kunai's threat, the boy struggled to his feet, muttering defiantly, "**If I hadn't been holding her hair, I could've formed seals. You wouldn't have touched me—I'd have dodged with a Substitution Jutsu…**"
"**Hey! Dare to fight me again?!**" he challenged, looking up.
"**Shameless!**"
Kushina cursed under her breath, tugging Wuye's sleeve. "**He's five years older and a genin. Let's… let it go.**"
The genin's sharp ears caught her words, and he puffed up with pride.
Wuye smirked. "**I wasn't planning to accept anyway. On a battlefield, he'd be dead by now. What enemy would care if he didn't get to use his jutsu and offer a rematch?**"
The boy's newfound pride faltered, his face shifting as he opened his mouth to argue.
But deep down, he knew Wuye was right. He shut his mouth, his face flushing red with frustration.
"**We don't have time to waste. Hurry up and apologize,**" Wuye said, stone-faced.
The boy's face turned purple, veins bulging like he was constipated.
"**What, you gonna back out?**"
Wuye raised the stolen kunai again, hovering it near the boy's neck.
"**I'll fight you to the end!**"
Unable to bear the humiliation, the genin decided to throw dignity aside and use ninjutsu.
"**Stop!**"
At that moment, another boy darted between them.
One hand grabbed Wuye's wrist, the other shoved the burly genin back.
"**Wuye, we're all comrades of the village—how can you use a kunai like that?**"
Hearing that voice brimming with positivity, Wuye sighed helplessly. "**Nawaki, here to play the justice hero again?**"
As the First Hokage's grandson and an aspiring Hokage himself, Nawaki had the same saintly disposition as Naruto.
"**Big Brother Nawaki, this isn't the academy. Can you just stay out of it?**" Kushina piped up.
Both she and Wuye knew firsthand how persistent Nawaki could be as the school's peacekeeper.
"**A kunai shouldn't be aimed at a fellow villager,**" Nawaki said, radiating righteousness.
Wuye's eyes glinted. "**He's a newly minted genin who came to bully us. Nawaki, I think you should help me get justice.**"
"**A genin?**" Nawaki turned in surprise. "**You beat a genin?**"
"**He ambushed me and grabbed my hand! I couldn't use Substitution!**" the boy protested, his face red.
An ambush by a ninja isn't an ambush—it's a tactic.
Nawaki held back for a moment before offering the genin a warm smile. "**Try harder next time.**"
The boy seethed with shame.
"**Wuye, he's learned his lesson. Can't we all make peace?**" Nawaki looked at Wuye expectantly.
Good grief, a total Naruto clone!
No wonder he died young. If he'd lived, where would Naruto fit in?
"**Nawaki, not everything can be easily resolved. The harm wasn't great, but the insult was huge,**" Wuye said, subtly squeezing Kushina's wrist and stepping forward to block Nawaki's view. "**He wanted Kushina to kneel, so I'll make him kneel.**"
"**We're all comrades of the village. We should love each other. If everyone thought this way, we'd understand one another. If everyone on earth did the same, we'd have true peace,**" Nawaki said, his face aglow with sanctity.
A true idealist—capable of forgiving the murder of parents, the betrayal of a master, the death of a friend… just like Naruto would one day.
Nawaki was his spitting image.
Wuye plastered on a fake smile. "**Worthy of the First Hokage's grandson! Nawaki, you'll surely carry on his legacy and spread the Will of Fire!**"
"**Of course,**" Nawaki said, tilting his head proudly. "**I'm destined to become Hokage!**"
Classic line… Wuye gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up without hesitation.
"**Thud!**"
"**Ah!**"
At that moment, a muffled sound rang out, followed by the genin's miserable scream.
Nawaki's eyes widened as he peered past Wuye. Kushina had somehow knocked the boy down and was pummeling him relentlessly.
"**For pulling my hair!**"
"**For telling me to kneel!**"
"**Jerk, jerk, jerk!**"
"**…**"
Seeing Kushina's red hair flare like a raging fire, Nawaki stood dumbfounded.
"**Kushina, you! Stop!**"
It took him a moment to react. He lunged to intervene, but Wuye grabbed both his wrists.
"**Hold on, we're not done chatting!**" Wuye said with a grin.
"**Tap.**"
Nawaki didn't have time for him. The instant his wrists were caught, he stomped his foot, springing upward. He planted a kick on Wuye's chest, using the recoil to break free.
He flipped and landed, then charged toward Kushina.
Wuye swept a leg out, striking Nawaki's crossed arms.
"**Thud.**"
A piece of wood flew from Wuye's kick, and Nawaki reappeared on the other side.
Substitution Jutsu!
Having learned it himself, Wuye could now spot its obvious flaws. No wonder it fell out of use in later Naruto arcs.
The delay in forming seals and the limits of its range made it vulnerable to taijutsu.
It was a trump card among genin, but a joke among jonin.
For the current Wuye, who wasn't even a genin, it was still pretty useful, though.
"**Stop!**"
By now, Nawaki had reached Kushina, forcing her back with a punch.
"**Alright, alright, no more fighting,**" Wuye said magnanimously, grabbing Kushina's wrist. "**Being aggressive isn't right. We should love each other, you know.**"
Nawaki looked at the genin, now beaten into a pig-faced mess on the ground, and felt his own headache grow threefold.
*This* is loving each other?
Seeing Nawaki's expression flicker, Wuye smiled. "**Nawaki, you should give this genin some good advice. We're all part of the Leaf—we should love each other and not hold grudges, right?**"
Nawaki: "…"
"**Why aren't you coming over yet, Nawaki?**"
Suddenly, a woman's voice called out.
Wuye instinctively looked up.
At the street's entrance stood a young woman, one hand on her hip, her light blonde ponytail bouncing behind her.
She was…
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