Chapter 75: An Iron Law
Uchiha Kazuo's protest hung in the air, a direct challenge to the Sannin's authority. The camp was utterly silent, every shinobi holding their breath.
Orochimaru stared at the Uchiha Jonin, his golden, snake-like eyes unblinking. He did not speak. The silence itself was a weapon, a pressure that weighed down on Uchiha Kazuo until a cold sweat broke out on his brow.
"I... I am very familiar with Kyosuke and his team's capabilities," Kazuo defended, his voice straining to remain respectful. "I have extensive experience leading missions. I am fully qualified to be their captain!"
"Oh?" Orochimaru's voice was a soft, dangerous hiss. "How excellent for you."
A flicker of hope crossed Uchiha Kazuo's face, thinking he had made his point.
It died instantly as Orochimaru continued, his tone shifting to one of glacial disdain. "But what does your personal qualification have to do with me? In terms of excellence, everyone here is excellent. Why do you presume that only you are fit to lead them?"
Orochimaru took a single, deliberate step forward. "I am your supreme commander. This is my order. Are you intending to disobey a direct order from your supreme commander? Answer me!"
The force of Orochimaru's presence and words made Uchiha Kazuo's head bow slightly, but his clan pride kept his teeth gritted. "I have no intention of disobedience, Lord Orochimaru! But... I beg you to reconsider! Or at least appoint someone else!"
Orochimaru closed the distance between them, his taller frame looming over the Uchiha. He looked down, his gaze pitiless. "I said, this is my order. If you object, you are welcome to return to Konoha and file a complaint with the Hokage. But as long as you stand in this camp, under my command, my word is iron law."
He paused, letting the finality of that statement sink in. "However, there is one condition under which I would rescind this order." He turned his head, his eyes finding Kagenori in the crowd. "Kagenori. Are you willing to be the captain of these five?"
A slow, cold smile spread across Kagenori's lips, a stark contrast to the gentle one from earlier. It was the smile of a predator being offered prey. "Of course I am willing," he said, his voice clear and carrying. "I am honored to be their captain. Don't worry, Orochimaru-sensei, I will be a very good captain."
Orochimaru turned his head back to Uchiha Kazuo, his expression making it clear the matter was beyond discussion. "Kagenori is willing. So, do you have any further... questions?"
It was now obvious to everyone that this was a deliberate move by Orochimaru, a calculated act to either break the Uchiha's pride or to allow his disciple to vent his long-held animosity. The watching shinobi, many of whom harbored their own resentments towards the prestigious clan, watched with undisguised schadenfreude.
Uchiha Kazuo seemed to deflate, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I... have no further problems, Lord Orochimaru," he muttered, the fight draining out of him.
The five Uchiha chunin, however, paled with a mixture of fury and humiliation. To be placed under the command of the clan's cast-off, the "abomination"? It was unthinkable. They exchanged a single, determined glance. They would not go quietly. They would make it impossible for him to lead them.
After Orochimaru dismissed the assembly, Kagenori walked directly to the five Uchiha. They stood in a tight, hostile group, their arms crossed and their chins held high.
"Follow me," Kagenori ordered, his tone flat and devoid of emotion.
The five men ignored him. One examined the clouds, another studied his fingernails, a third looked at a distant tree. The insult was blatant and public.
Uchiha Kazuo, watching from a distance, allowed a bitter, vindictive smirk to touch his lips. Let's see you command them now, he thought.
The other shinobi, who had begun to disperse, stopped again, turning back to watch the unfolding drama.
Kagenori's eyes, already cold, turned to ice. "I'm saying this for the last time. Follow. Me."
Still, they pretended not to hear.
The attack was so fast it was barely a blur. Kagenori drove his knee hard into the abdomen of the nearest Uchiha, Ryuhei. The man let out a choked gasp, coughing up a spray of blood as he crumpled to his knees, clutching his stomach in agony.
A collective gasp went through the crowd. He'd actually struck!
The other four Uchiha erupted in rage, turning to attack him as one.
Kagenori was a whirlwind of brutal efficiency. A swift, crushing left hook connected with Uchiha Keiichi's temple, sending him sprawling to the ground, dazed. As Uchiha Kyosuke lunged from behind, Kagenori threw a sharp elbow backward, catching him directly in the throat. Kyosuke staggered back, clawing at his neck, his coughs ragged and wet.
"Bastard!" Uchiha Yorito roared, swinging a wild punch at Kagenori's head. Kagenori ducked under it effortlessly, grabbed the man's arm, and used his momentum to execute a perfect shoulder throw, slamming him onto the hard ground. Before Yorito could recover, Kagenori's foot stamped down on his abdomen, forcing a pained groan from his lips.
The last one, Uchiha Jinno, his face a mask of fury, activated his Sharingan—two tomoe spinning in each eye. His hands flew into the seals for the Great Fireball Technique.
He never finished them.
Kagenori closed the distance in an instant, his own Sharingan—also two tomoe, but somehow sharper, more menacing—flaring to life. He grabbed Jinno's hands mid-seal, his grip like iron, and twisted.
The crack of breaking bone was sickeningly loud. Jinno screamed as his wrist snapped. A swift, powerful kick to the back of his knee sent him collapsing to the ground, and Kagenori placed his foot squarely on the back of the Uchiha's head, grinding his face into the dirt.
Kagenori looked down at the five groaning, defeated forms, his voice dripping with contempt that echoed across the silent camp. "The mighty Uchiha clan could only spare trash like you for the front lines? Is there no one left? If this is all you have, then you should stop calling yourselves Konoha's strongest clan. It's pathetic."
He increased the pressure on Jinno's head. "You weaklings... where do you get the courage to disobey my orders? Huh? Answer me!"
The onlookers were stunned into silence, shocked by both the sheer, overwhelming power displayed and the brazen insult to the entire Uchiha clan.
Uchiha Kazuo, who had been frozen in disbelief, finally snapped. His eyes burned with rage. "YOU DARE!"
He took a furious step forward, his chakra flaring.
He never took a second.
Two large, patterned snakes materialized from the shadows, coiling around his body with lightning speed, pinning his arms to his sides and holding him fast.
Orochimaru's voice, calm and sinister, came from directly behind him. "Kagenori is their captain. Is there a problem with a captain disciplining subordinates who refuse to obey a direct order?"