Chapter 237 — I Have Important Intelligence to Report
Breaking free from an elite Uchiha jonin?
Yota was dreaming.
Escaping from Uchiha Ryoichi's grip was about as likely as forming a Rasengan with his bare hands — and he wasn't Naruto, so that option was nonexistent.
"Bastard! Do you know that Uchiha Fugaku will soon value me highly? How dare you treat me like this? You're dead, do you hear me?! Not even Amaterasu can save you!"
Yota shouted the words without thinking, puffing himself up like a cornered rooster.
Ryoichi paused.
A faint look of disdain flickered in his eyes, but curiosity followed afterward.
"Amaterasu? What kind of god is that supposed to be? I've never heard of it."
This kid really was ill — and apparently blasphemous.
When did such a weirdo show up inside the Uchiha Clan?
Still, before Ryoichi bothered to figure out which household produced this troublemaker, he decided to teach him a basic life lesson:
If you don't have strength, don't make threats.
It only makes the beating worse.
The way Ryoichi saw it, this would actually help the brat in the long run — assuming he didn't die on a mission someday.
Yota's stomach dropped the moment he saw the jonin's smile.
"W–wait, hold on, I—"
SMACK!
A sharp slap exploded across his cheek. Yota's face had only just begun to stop stinging after the earlier hits, but now the agony surged back with full force.
"AH!"
He clutched his cheek—
SMACK!
—only to be struck again with a backhand.
His head spun, stars bursting across his vision.
He barely had time to inhale before another strike landed.
And another.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
The quick, relentless rhythm left him dizzy.
Every time Yota opened his mouth to curse, another slap shut him up.
"Wait—!"
SMACK! SMACK!
He didn't even get half a word out.
Blood spilled from his lip — he'd bitten himself. Again.
The taste of iron filled his mouth. His face was numb, burning, throbbing — all sensations mixed together.
Finally, in the tiny gap between blows, he shouted:
"STOP HITTING!"
SMACK! SMACK!
Ryoichi didn't even acknowledge his plea.
He only stopped when he needed air.
Yota, frantic now, threw away all pride and screamed the only lifeline he could think of:
"I—I have important information to report to Uchiha Fugaku!"
This time, he didn't dare demand anything.
He didn't even scream for mercy.
He just said the one sentence he hoped would work.
But—
He didn't realize his fatal mistake:
He had once again called the Clan Head by name in front of Fugaku's own household guard.
SMACK! SMACK!
Two more slaps cracked across his face — harder than before.
Ryoichi's patience with the disrespect had clearly reached a limit.
If the brat weren't an Uchiha child, he'd have been thrown to the ANBU interrogation squad already.
But he was Uchiha, so Ryoichi limited himself to what he considered a "minor" punishment.
Slaps didn't cause real injuries anyway. A medic-nin could fix everything in minutes.
He was Fugaku's personal servant — the Fifth Hokage's direct retainer.
In the Uchiha district, almost no one dared to cross him.
Besides the three young masters, he feared no consequences.
And in this case, he was completely justified.
So this time—
He didn't stop at two slaps.
He delivered ten in one merciless sequence.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Blood splattered from Yota's mouth.
His teeth reopened the cuts on his lips.
Fresh red streaks dripped down his chin.
His face — already swelling — ballooned further.
Round. Puffed.
Barely recognizable.
He looked like someone who had been violently assaulted — but in reality, the injuries were superficial.
Painful, humiliating, but not serious.
He'd recover completely in days.
Still—
Yota could no longer feel his cheeks.
He could barely move his mouth.
But he forced himself to speak through the numbness.
"I… have… important… intel… to report… to the Clan Head… sir…"
Ryoichi blinked.
He understood the final four words clearly — Clan Head, sir — but the rest sounded like muffled gibberish.
"What nonsense are you muttering?" he muttered.
He raised his hand again.
SMACK! SMACK!
Yota's world blurred.
But he persisted, gasping:
"I have… very… very important… information… and I need… to report it… to the Clan Head… sir…"
This time, he repeated each part slowly, carefully, terrified of being misunderstood again.
Ryoichi snorted.
"You? Important information?"
But he paused.
He was curious.
Maybe he would hear what kind of "astonishing intelligence" this arrogant brat thought he had.
The slaps finally stopped.
For now.
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