At the banquet, there were quite a few young heirs and disciples present.
When they heard someone refer to him as the number one swordsman among the younger generation, some of them looked scornful.
They thought, If I had participated, the champion would've definitely been me.
But after everyone listened to what Uchiha Kairen said, they all felt this kid was ridiculously arrogant.
They thought, He actually took that flattery seriously.
And that person beside him — wasn't he just the runner-up?
What, you have to beat the gatekeeper before you're qualified to challenge the champion now?
Uchiha Kairen didn't care about the murmurs around him. He continued calmly:
"I see that there are quite a few outstanding young talents here today — all fine warriors of the Land of Fire.
Why don't we put on a little swordsmanship performance for the Daimyō-sama?"
As soon as he said that, several young men were immediately provoked into standing up.
Uchiha Danten smiled faintly, thinking to himself, My little cousin sure knows how to land me some work.
Then, one man stepped out and said:
"Daimyō-sama, since this is a banquet, it would be inappropriate if blood were to be spilled.
How about the young gentlemen use wooden swords instead?"
After speaking, he clapped his hands — a few attendants quickly brought out a set of wooden swords of varying lengths.
Several of the young Uchiha sneered coldly.
You think we're idiots? they thought. We just decided to step into the ring, and you've already got the props ready?
You must've been planning to see the glory of the Uchiha Clan for a while now, huh.
Uchiha Kairen smiled and said,
"Very well then. Let's have our brave young gentlemen step forward."
After that, he patted Uchiha Danten on the shoulder and added:
"Go easy on them. Don't scare the kids."
His voice wasn't loud, yet everyone around heard it clearly.
Uchiha Danten walked into the arena, casually picked up a wooden sword, and said lazily:
"Are you coming at me all together, or one at a time?"
A minute later —
A dozen young challengers lay sprawled across the floor.
Only Uchiha Danten stood in the middle, expression calm, as he gently placed the wooden sword back where it had been.
Then Uchiha Kairen sighed dramatically:
"Ah~ Fighting with the young generation like this, it really looks like we Uchihas are bullying children. Daimyō-sama, everyone — please forgive us."
Uchiha Danten returned to his seat and said to Kairen,
"Don't look at me like that. I really tried to hold back — I can't possibly go any slower."
"Couldn't you have gone a little easier?" said Uchiha Retsu, annoyed.
"You really made them lose face."
"I did go easy," Danten protested. "What else could I do — let them swing first and not even draw my sword?"
Uchiha Honō chuckled and added,
"That wouldn't help either. One of those kids just now tripped over his own clothes.
Even if you hadn't attacked, they'd probably still have fallen down."
He even pointed toward one of the boys who'd gotten up after tripping, only to faint again after being hit.
Uchiha Kairen bowed slightly to the Daimyō and said apologetically,
"Daimyō-sama, I'm terribly sorry. I never imagined a friendly match would end so quickly."
His face was filled with contrived guilt.
The Second Elder hurriedly added,
"Please forgive them, Daimyō-sama. These children still lack restraint.
I'm afraid this demonstration must have disappointed you."
Just then, an elderly man in ornate clothing stood up.
"If Daimyō-sama is not yet satisfied, why not invite the Twelve Guardian Ninja to come down and exchange a few blows with the young Uchiha talents?
It would surely broaden all our horizons."
Uchiha Kairen seized the moment and continued,
"If Daimyō-sama is still not entertained, then why not have one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja come forth?
I would gladly learn from our senior protectors.
After all, safeguarding the Daimyō is of utmost importance to the Land of Fire — those lacking the skill shouldn't be entrusted with such a duty.
For me, receiving instruction from a senior would be an honor."
At that moment, a man wearing a ninja uniform stepped out from the side.
He wore a scarf tied around his waist — just like Asuma's.
Half-kneeling before the Daimyō, he said,
"Daimyō-sama, if you are not yet satisfied, allow your humble servant to take the field and experience the prowess of these young Uchiha warriors."
The Daimyō clearly wanted to see a true duel between shinobi, but he hesitated —
Would it really be appropriate?
No matter who won, it might look bad.
If his Guardian Ninja won, Konoha might see it as bullying the young; the Uchiha would definitely demand a rematch.
But if his Guardian Ninja lost… that would be utterly humiliating —
the Daimyō's personal guard, defeated by a thirteen-year-old boy?
Uchiha Kairen, however, brimmed with confidence.
At his current strength, he was no weaker — if not stronger — than Uchiha Itachi before awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
These so-called "Guardian Ninja" were nothing but second-rate compared to true Konoha elites.
Within the Land of Fire, they might be big shots, but in Konoha, they'd struggle to even find a seat at the table.
Most of them were only on the level of special jōnin — and that was being generous.
Uchiha Kairen stepped forward and said with a faint smile,
"Since this Guardian Ninja–san is so eager, I suppose it would be rude for me to refuse.
Very well — let's have a little fun."
Then he walked to the center of the hall, clearly intending to handle this himself.
The people around murmured among themselves — He's going to fight personally?
Perfect. This would be a good chance to see what kind of strength Konoha's Uchihas really had —
and to judge which faction to align their clans with in the future.
The Daimyō, sitting above, gave a slight nod to the kneeling ninja.
The meaning was clear.
He'd been wavering under pressure from the militarist faction recently — this match would be a good test to see just how strong Konoha's young generation truly was.
Both sides took their positions.
Uchiha Kairen formed the Tiger Seal and immediately activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
His body shot forward like lightning, right hand poised as though to draw a blade.
"Iaido—Lion's Song!"
The Guardian Ninja saw Kairen rushing at him and charged as well, throwing several shuriken mid-sprint before gripping his short blade, preparing to counter.
But before he could even make a move, Kairen's strike had already landed.
In the next moment, Kairen had already sheathed his blade, standing upright.
Then everyone noticed — he was holding a strip of cloth in his left hand.
That cloth was the waist-scarf symbolizing the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
A crisp sound echoed.
The Guardian Ninja collapsed onto the floor, blood pooling rapidly beneath him — no one could tell whether he was alive or dead.
Uchiha Kairen handed the bloodstained scarf to the stunned attendant beside him and said coldly:
"The Daimyō's bodyguards are of vital importance.
Don't go hiring unworthy people just to fill the numbers."
The hall fell utterly silent.
No one had expected the match to end so fast.
What was supposed to be an intense duel had been cut down by a single merciless stroke.
Just one move — not even a second strike.
Konoha… truly remains as formidable as ever. The Uchiha Clan — still as dazzling as always.
Kairen thought to himself with disdain:
This guy's barely half as good as Asuma. Calling him a special jōnin is already an overstatement. Even among chūnin, he wouldn't stand out. And these fools still think they can challenge Konoha? Idiots. Even a mid-sized clan could wipe out their entire city.
The Second Elder was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hahaha, Kairen, really now — I told you not to draw blood, and you went and ruined the Daimyō's banquet.
Ah well, I'm sure the Daimyō will be lenient, seeing how young you are.
Allow me to apologize on his behalf."
He even bowed deeply after saying so.
The group then saluted the Daimyō respectfully before returning to their seats, chatting and eating as though nothing had happened.
Before long, the banquet ended — there was no point in continuing.
What was meant to be a display of power had turned into humiliation.
First they were beaten black and blue, then utterly crushed trying to save face.
How could the Daimyō possibly continue the event after that? He still had his pride, after all.
As they followed the Second Elder back to their residence, the old man looked positively cheerful.
"Hahaha, you really taught those militarists a harsh lesson today!
For the past two years they've been so noisy, jumping around like monkeys.
Well, today you've finally knocked some sense into them.
Hmph, with this, I doubt there'll be any more dispute about who the next heir should be."
The Uchiha youths laughed along.
Uchiha Retsu said,
"With the level of that Guardian Ninja, any one of us could've taken him down — Kairen didn't even need to go himself."
"No," Uchiha Honō said, shaking his head. "It had to be Kairen. We wouldn't have won so quickly otherwise."
"Exactly," Danten added. "The longer the fight dragged on, the weaker our impact would've been. The point was to shock and intimidate."
As they walked, Kairen gazed down the streets of the Fire Capital, already plotting in his mind —
How should I maneuver within the Land of Fire to carve out a path for the Uchiha Clan?
That same night, in the Hokage's office, an ANBU knelt before Hiruzen Sarutobi and reported:
"Hokage-sama, members of the Uchiha Clan — Uchiha Kairen and four others — entered the Land of Fire's capital.
During the evening banquet, Uchiha Danten easily defeated the younger generation of Fire nobles,
after which Uchiha Kairen slew the captain of the Twelve Guardian Ninja with a single strike.
"He then took the Guardian's waist-scarf and declared, 'The Daimyō's guards should not be filled with useless men.'
That night, the Third Prince received an order from the Daimyō — he is not to return to the capital until further notice."
The Third Hokage chuckled softly.
"This brat from the Uchiha Clan — he really can't keep quiet wherever he goes.
But this time… he's actually done something good for Konoha."