__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Didn't you hear me tell you to stop?!"
Kakashi barked sharply.
But in the very next instant—
Boom!!
A vast, crushing pressure surged forward like a tidal wave.
In Kakashi's eyes, the one walking toward him was no longer a seven- or eight-year-old child.
It was a god standing above all others, gazing down on the world, stirring an instinctive urge in him to kneel and submit.
"Damn it! This isn't genjutsu. This pressure is real!"
Cold sweat poured down Kakashi's face. His calves trembled violently, his knees on the verge of buckling at any moment.
Still, relying on sheer willpower, Kakashi grit his teeth and resisted the pressure, barely managing to stay on his feet.
His teammates weren't so lucky.
By now, every one of them had dropped to their knees.
What kind of pressure was this, to make elite ANBU unable even to stand?
Behind their masks, their expressions were a mix of terror and disbelief.
Just like that, Akira dragged Hyūga Tokuma along like a dead dog and walked straight past them, completely ignoring them as if they were nothing but air.
"Damn it… damn it! Move! Move already!!"
Kakashi roared helplessly in his mind.
At last, just as Akira was about to pass him, Kakashi forced himself through the crushing pressure.
"Stop right there!"
He spun around and thrust the kunai in his hand forward with all his strength.
Stab!
Akira turned his head and glanced at the kunai lodged in his back shoulder. He raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, and looked at the white-haired man before him.
"Interesting. You actually broke free from my Conqueror's pressure. Guess you really live up to that reputation of being able to trade blows with anyone, huh? Mr. Fifty-Fifty."
Akira sounded relaxed, even amused.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was utterly shaken.
What kind of monster was this? The kunai had barely even broken the skin!
"You—"
Kakashi had just started to speak when his face was struck by a terrifying blow.
Crack!
The dog-head mask shattered on the spot. Even the black face covering underneath was torn apart as Kakashi was sent flying.
"Cough, cough!"
Instinctively, Kakashi grabbed his collar to cover his mouth, trying to hide his exposed face. Blood poured out anyway, soaking the fabric red.
"Tch. So that's what you look like. Nothing special," Akira said with a disappointed click of his tongue. "I thought you'd have buck teeth or something."
He casually hoisted Hyūga Tokuma again and kept walking.
When he struck earlier, Akira had deliberately used his fingernails, just to tear the mask.
He'd always been curious in his previous life what Kakashi really looked like.
Now he knew. A small beauty mark on the lower left side of his chin, kind of handsome, sure—but still nowhere near Akira's level.
Once Akira was far away, Kakashi's teammates finally regained their ability to move. They rushed over and helped him up.
"Captain, are you okay? Let me check your injuries!"
"Cough… cough!"
Kakashi tugged hard at his blood-soaked collar.
"I'm fine! Stop pulling my collar!"
"Uh… sorry, Captain. I just wanted to check the injury on your face."
The ANBU member awkwardly pulled his hand back.
Kakashi shot him a look but didn't bother arguing. Now wasn't the time.
"This involves both the Uchiha and Hyūga clans. The situation is far more complicated than we can handle."
His voice was grave.
"We must report this to the Hokage immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
The squad answered in unison.
As for the bystanders who had witnessed everything, their jaws were practically on the ground.
What had they just seen?
A seven- or eight-year-old kid taking down dozens of Hyūga ninja in moments.
Elite ANBU forced to kneel, unable to move.
The only one who attacked was swatted away with a single blow.
What kind of monstrous child was this? If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it.
And so, amid a crowd of stunned onlookers trailing behind him, Akira headed straight for the gates of Konoha.
…
Konoha's gates were guarded by two well-known sentries: Kamizuki Izumo and Kotetsu Hagane.
At the moment, the two were lounging around, chatting idly about what to eat after their shift.
Then they saw a huge crowd surging toward them.
What the hell is going on?!
Startled, both men jumped to their feet.
The next thing they saw was a child dragging a member of the Hyūga clan along the ground.
"Stop right there! What do you think you're doing? How can you treat a fellow villager like this? Let him go at once!"
Izumo shouted, with Kotetsu standing beside him, backing up his buddy.
"Get lost. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong."
Akira merely glanced at them indifferently.
The so-called legendary duo, once joked about in another life as "the two gods who could beat Pain with one hand," immediately stumbled backward in fear.
Retreating to the side, both of them patted their chests, hearts still pounding.
That cold, detached look in Akira's eyes told them everything.
If they insisted on stopping him, they would be killed on the spot. No doubt about it.
They were just gate guards. The pay wasn't great. It wasn't worth risking their lives.
If something this big happened, the village would send someone to deal with it.
So they decided, quite reasonably, to join the crowd as spectators.
…
Akira looked up at the towering gates of Konoha.
The middle beam looked like the perfect place to hang someone.
Just as he was about to act—
"Uchiha Akira! If you really go this far, my Hyūga clan will never forgive you!"
At some point, Hyūga Hiashi staggered forward.
Akira merely lifted a hand slightly, and Hiashi instinctively recoiled.
"A worthless piece of trash like you thinks you're qualified to talk about 'never forgiving' me?"
"When Kumogakure pressured you, you didn't dare resist. Instead, you shoved your own brother Hizashi out as a scapegoat."
"And you dare open your mouth?"
"Your entire Hyūga clan isn't even worth a second glance from me."
"Main house, branch house, the Caged Bird Seal… what a joke."
"With trash like your Byakugan, I wouldn't take it even if you offered it to me for free."
Akira's mockery was merciless, his eyes filled with naked contempt.
"..."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________