Hearing this, Night Namikaze looked at Yakumi Uchiha strangely. The other man's gaze didn't waver, but it held no further emotion.
"Oh?"
Night's tone was flat. "What impact? Do you mean my efficient handling of internal Police Force affairs, reducing conflicts between the Uchiha and the villagers?
Or are you referring to some groundless gossip?"
He paused, then added, "The Uchiha clan values its reputation."
"And I value my peace."
Night closed the file in his hand, his voice slightly cold. "Captain Yakumi, my handling of Fourth Division affairs is the greatest defense of your reputation.
As for my private matters, don't worry about them. If anyone feels I am unqualified as a division captain, they are welcome to apply to the Hokage Building to have me removed."
His words were blunt, carrying an unquestionable dominance.
Yakumi Uchiha frowned tightly at this, speaking with some indignation. "Weaver-Moon is a childhood friend and an elite of the Uchiha clan. She is not someone you can trifle with casually."
"I have never 'trifled' with anyone."
Night's voice turned a few degrees colder, his rebellious streak kicking in. "Captain Yakumi, if you are discussing official business as a colleague, I welcome it.
But if you are here to issue a warning based on some baseless personal speculation, I can only say you've found the wrong person and chosen the wrong method."
Yakumi Uchiha's face turned ugly under Night's dominance. He turned abruptly to leave.
But he paused at the door, back to Night, and added in a low voice, "I hope you remember what you said today."
With that, he closed the door and left.
Night watched the closed door, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk.
He truly had no designs on Weaver-Moon Uchiha, nor did he intend to get involved in any office romance.
Yakumi Uchiha's sudden, possessive warning felt both absurd and annoying to him.
He stood up, took out his stash of high-quality tea leaves from the cabinet beside him, and leisurely brewed a cup.
The faint aroma of tea somewhat dispelled the displeasure in his heart.
Leaning back in his chair, he took a sip of the slightly hot tea, intending to throw this unpleasant interlude to the back of his mind.
---
Meanwhile, Yakumi Uchiha walked out of the Fourth Division office filled with indignation.
Night's forceful words lingered in his mind. In his view, they were tantamount to tacitly admitting designs on Weaver-Moon Uchiha.
He even imagined it as the angry posture of someone whose covetousness had been discovered.
An anxiety that his long-cherished treasure had been discovered by someone else constantly burned his reason, causing his scarlet Sharingan to surface.
Just as he turned the corner of the corridor, he ran right into Weaver-Moon Uchiha, who was holding a stack of documents and heading to the Fourth Division office.
Seeing Yakumi with a grim face, Weaver-Moon slowed down, nodded in greeting, and moved to walk past him sideways.
"Weaver-Moon." Yakumi called out to her almost subconsciously.
Weaver-Moon stopped, looking at him in confusion. several other passing Uchiha clansmen in the corridor also cast their gazes over.
Yakumi looked at Weaver-Moon's delicate face before him, thinking of her unusual reactions to Night recently.
Combined with Night's "angry" words in the office just now, a rush of blood surged to his head.
The trait unique to the Uchiha clan—easily losing control under extreme emotions—was fully displayed at this moment.
He took a deep breath. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he spoke in a voice that wasn't loud but exceptionally clear. "Weaver-Moon, I know you might... see Captain Namikaze differently right now.
But I will absolutely not give up! I hope you can give me a chance, a chance to compete fairly with him!"
These words weren't loud, but they exploded in the corridor like thunder.
Silence fell instantly. All passing Uchiha clansmen stopped in their tracks.
They pretended to be busy with tasks at hand. Someone even took down the newly replaced water cooler bottle and began reinstalling it in slow motion.
Whether glancing sideways or pricking up their ears, everyone was focused on the development here.
Even the proud Uchiha clan couldn't exempt themselves from this; their gossip nature was fully revealed.
Weaver-Moon Uchiha froze on the spot.
Her pale cheeks first turned deathly white, then flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye, all the way to the roots of her ears.
Her hands gripping the documents tightened so hard they almost tore the paper, her body trembling with embarrassment and anger.
"Yakumi Uchiha! You... what nonsense are you spouting?!"
Anxious and angry, she shouted his full name. Her voice trembled, wishing she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into immediately.
And amidst this eerie silence and the focus of countless gazes...
PFFT—! Cough, cough, cough...
In Night's office, he had just taken a second sip of tea.
Since Yakumi hadn't gone far, Night heard that earth-shattering declaration in the corridor clearly. Unable to hold it back, he sprayed the tea all over his desk, choking and coughing repeatedly.
Unsure if his ears had deceived him, he unconsciously expanded his Mind's Eye of the Kagura to the maximum.
The scene outside the door was revealed in perfect detail.
He "watched" the almost frozen scene in the corridor and the two people who had instantly become the focal point in disbelief.
The teacup in his hand almost slipped due to his shock.
He just wanted to slack off quietly. How did he get saddled with such an absurd drama?
The brain circuits of these evil Uchiha really couldn't be judged by common sense!
Yakumi Uchiha's "fair competition" declaration, which could be called a suicide attack, had forcefully dragged him—someone who just wanted to stay out of it—right into the center of the gossip vortex.
Night wiped the water from the corner of his mouth, looking at the soaked files on the desk. For the first time, he truly understood the saying "Sitting at home, disaster falls from the sky."
He could almost foresee that his "slacking" life in the Police Force would be completely gone.
And the "love triangle" relationship between him, Weaver-Moon, and Yakumi would likely spread throughout the Uchiha clan grounds in various bizarre versions within a very short time.
Even... spreading to other corners of Konoha.
"This is really..."
Night rubbed his throbbing temples, seriously pondering which link had gone wrong.
And whether he should apply for a long-term mission to leave this troublesome place of Konoha temporarily.
In the corridor, after shouting that declaration, Yakumi Uchiha also realized what a stupid thing he had done.
Seeing Weaver-Moon's flushed face, looking like she was about to explode the next moment, his expression changed rapidly. He opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.
Finally, under Weaver-Moon's murderous gaze, he turned around wretchedly and fled in panic.
After Yakumi fled, Weaver-Moon Uchiha was left alone, enduring the probing or curious gazes from all directions.
Overwhelmed, she quickened her pace and rushed into the Fourth Division office.
The moment the door closed, her eyes met Night's, who was still in a daze.