Megumi couldn't imagine the shamelessness of these people.
"Was your clan head aware of this, or do you just want to learn one or two things from me?"
Megumi looked at Shikaku, whose face was downcast. He knew Shikaku would never tell that bastard to issue a challenge.
But now his prey had delivered himself on a plate. He wouldn't miss a chance for revenge.
"Are you telling me you're scared? Don't worry, I won't go all out against you," Naosuke said, patting Megumi on his shoulder.
"Scared? Scared of who? You're just an extra, boy," Megumi muttered to himself.
"Okay. What's at stake?"
Naosuke's smile grew wider, as if he'd just received good news.
"The stake, you say? The stake is your title as the Uzumaki and everything under it will be mine."
"You heard when these people said I was an imposter. Why would you want something that isn't with me?"
Megumi could tell this guy was just a robot that had been programmed, saying what he'd been told to say without reading the room.
"We know you were the student of the last Uzumaki, and we can tell the Hokage about it," Elder Daburo said.
"Okay, what's in it for me if I win?" Megumi asked.
"Hahaha, you win? Seriously?" Naosuke chuckled, finding Megumi's words funny. "Okay, if you win, you'll be given the honor to use the Nara name since your pathetic mother is dead now."
"Okay, I accept your offer." Megumi showed no reaction toward Naosuke's provocation.
"But does your clan head approve of this? Sorry, I forgot your clan head isn't the ruler of your clan."
Shikaku was now understanding where this was going, but it was like fast-forwarding. Standing there like a statue, he realized he'd made a mistake protecting Naosuke. This guy thought that because he was called a prodigy, he could do anything.
"Shikaku, you need to stop this meaningless battle," Inoichi called, trying to bring his friend back to his senses. He'd been told how strong Megumi was, but he wanted to see what his abilities could do.
"It's no use. Naosuke doesn't acknowledge me as the clan head, and this was the elders' plan," Shikaku said.
"Why do they want the Uzumaki property?" Inoichi could tell the reason wasn't the Uzumaki ownership.
"You should know the Hokage will never release the Uzumaki property to them. They just want to see how strong Megumi is." He turned to head home and join his wife.
"Are you not going to watch this match as the clan head?"
Inoichi pulled Shikaku by his hand, taking him to climb the building that would show the match better.
"Do you think your nephew stands a chance against him? Don't get me wrong. I've heard rumors he beat a two-tomoe Sharingan Uchiha, but this..."
"I think you're feeling concerned for the wrong person here."
"Look at Megumi. He didn't flinch when Naosuke was insulting his mother. You should never underestimate him. Everything you heard about him is true."
Megumi pocketed his hands and turned to leave since Hana would still be waiting at home for him. He was someone who valued time. "Okay, when you pick a date, let me know."
Elder Tsunayoshi nodded to Naosuke, who started forming hand signs.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu."
Shadow extended from his shadow toward Megumi, who hadn't yet realized it.
The shadow successfully connected. Megumi looked down to see he was restricted from moving.
He gritted his teeth, tilted his head, and saw Naosuke's smile.
"Hey, stop this madness right now. We never announced the date," Megumi said calmly.
"We? The match already began, and you will die today."
Naosuke made Megumi pick up a kunai an elder had dropped.
Megumi aimed the sharp kunai at his own heart. At any moment, Naosuke could press the button.
"This is not a death match. Stop this, you bastard," Megumi said in a cold voice.
"It was from the start, and you made a mistake that you might never reach your potential, just like your father."
Elder Tsunayoshi said this while walking to where Megumi was held, two more elders a step behind him.
Five masked men dressed as ANBU flashed into the clan. They signaled Elder Tsunayoshi, who gave Naosuke a nod to finish it.
Naosuke made Megumi stab himself in the heart. Blood gushed out. Falling to his knees, Megumi gave a death stare to Naosuke, but before he could say anything, he was beheaded by one of the ANBU.
---
The whole time, Shikaku and Inoichi were above ground, watching Megumi about to leave.
"Shikaku, why are your elders doing this?" Inoichi asked, looking to Shikaku for answers.
"We'll see. Look, it's already started." Shikaku drew his friend's attention away.
Even Shikaku couldn't tell who and why was motivating them to do this.
"Looks like he's going to kill him. Do something, Shikaku." Inoichi was ready to use his clan's mind-swapping technique.
Shikaku stopped him immediately from interrupting the battle.
"Why are you stopping me? This will be a problem for your clan." Inoichi showed his frustration.
"You need to calm down. Like I said earlier, you're worried about the wrong person."
They saw how Megumi stabbed himself in the heart and how three elders came out from the crowd.
What shocked them was the presence of ANBU operatives in this duel. One of them beheaded Megumi.
"Why would the Hokage allow this?"
"So it was with the Third Hokage's influence that they were doing this."
"Shikaku, I'm sor—"
"No, he's not dead yet. Technically," Shikaku cut his friend off mid-sentence.
---
"Tsk tsk, I was expecting a great fight, but trash will always be trash," Naosuke said.
One of the ANBU-like operatives stepped forward and picked Megumi's head from the ground, putting it in a sealing scroll.
"Lord Danzo appreciates your understanding and support for making the decision to side for the peace of the village," it said.
"My clan will never accept or tolerate a monster dangerous to the village being allowed to walk free," Elder Tsunayoshi said with a smile.
*Clap. Clap.*
Applause sounded from a building behind where Shikaku stood.
Walking out was Megumi, whom they'd thought they'd slain.
Everyone looked at the Megumi on the floor and the one standing.
"How are you alive?" Naosuke asked in disbelief.
Megumi looked at him, then took his eyes off the unworthy piece of trash.
"I see. So the elders were Danzo's dogs. How pathetic."
"We will be leaving. Our job is done here," the Root squad leader said. They'd been warned never to reveal themselves and never release killing intent.
"Wait, you can't leave us with this," Elder Daburo said, seeing they were just pawns being used and now disposed of.
"I'll just kill you again," Naosuke said, already going berserk seeing Megumi alive.
"Shadow Imitation Jutsu."
Megumi was bound by the jutsu again, but this time he wasn't under Naosuke's control.
"Why aren't you doing what I want you to do, dammit?" Naosuke raged out his frustration.
"Control me? You were never my match from day one."
Megumi, looking at the opposite direction from Naosuke, saw the terror emotion in the elder.
A weapon, a katana, came up from the shadow jutsu. Grabbing the weapon, he imbued it with cursed energy.
Megumi vanished from where he'd stood, appearing right in front of Naosuke. He beheaded him with the first strike.
Silence filled the clan compound.
The Root members were about to use smoke to escape but found themselves bound in shadow chains that grew tighter the more they struggled.
Megumi tilted his head toward where the Root members were. "Who said you bugs can leave without my permission?"
"Do you think Lord Danzo will give up on killing you, monster? You better let us go, and Lord Danzo might reduce your punishment."
"We are the ones who protect the village in darkness. More of us will come for you."
Megumi already knew these guys would rather commit suicide than snitch on Danzo. "Then challenge accepted. I'll start killing every Root member I find. Starting with you first."
"Great Serpent."
Megumi said this without forming hand signs anymore, since he kept them in his shadow.
All of a sudden, shadow spread out in circles with the Root members in the middle. A huge, monstrous white snake emerged from the shadows, swallowing the Root members whole before descending back into shadow.
The elders now started to regret their actions, thinking they would die. But Megumi just went to where his body lay and absorbed it.
Then he picked up the severed head of Naosuke and went to where Shikaku and Inoichi now stood.
"You should get a list of those who killed my mother from this guy."
Megumi tossed the head at Inoichi's feet.
"What do you want as a reward?" Shikaku asked. He already knew the elders were as good as dead.
Megumi faced where the elders stood. "Every one of you elders, down to your followers, should perform seppuku to atone for your sins. And if you don't, when I come back, I will not only kill you, I'll kill your wife, children, and grandchildren."
"W-what? You can't touch us. The Third Hokage will never support that," Elder Daburo said, stammering. Even he wasn't 20 percent sure the Hokage would help them.
"The Third Hokage? Well, if he stands in my way, then I'll kill him too." He walked out of the clan compound.
---
"You knew he was this strong?" Inoichi asked.
"I tried the jutsu on him when his father died and I visited him without him knowing. Will you believe the jutsu did nothing to him? And now he can't be killed, even after they cut off his head," Shikaku explained his sad story.
"You mean he was playing everyone from the start?" Inoichi asked.
"I think he baited the Third Hokage, and he fell for his trap." Shikaku looked up at the sky. Like father, like son.
---