"Hmph!"
Seeing Rukawa walking off, Uchiha Sōjin snorted coldly.
"Fugaku, mind if I teach your arrogant brat a lesson for you?"
Fugaku's face was dark, but he said nothing.
His silence was all the permission Sōjin needed.
Letting this punk suffer a little isn't such a bad thing.
The kid doesn't even respect his own father—insulting me right to my face!
Besides, he'd be watching. It wasn't like he'd let Rukawa get seriously hurt.
Noticing Fugaku's tacit approval, Sōjin sneered.
"Good, Fugaku. For once, we agree on something."
But instead of moving himself, he turned and ordered:
"Fenghuo, you go. Teach this little bastard some manners. Just don't kill him."
"Heh heh! You got it, boss!" Uchiha Fenghuo cracked his knuckles excitedly.
"I've been itching to beat the crap out of this brat. If not for the clan head being here, I'd have smashed his mouth in already."
"Thanks for the honor, boss!"
BOOM!
The wooden floor splintered beneath his feet as Fenghuo charged like a beast, bloodlust surging.
Seeing Fenghuo's ferocity, even Fugaku got nervous.
No matter how rebellious, Rukawa was still his son. He didn't actually want him crippled.
But Sōjin deliberately blocked him, keeping him from intervening.
Damn it! This bastard planned this from the start!
Fugaku growled in frustration and shouted:
"Fenghuo! Don't go overboard! Or I swear, you'll answer to me!"
"Relax," Sōjin replied with a smile. "He'll show restraint. Just a little lesson."
At most, maybe a few 'missing parts.' Like, say, four limbs. I'm sure Fenghuo knows what to do.
Swish!
Fenghuo dashed around and reappeared in front of Rukawa, eyes gleaming with sadistic joy.
He threw a fist straight at Rukawa's face.
"You damn brat! I'll smash that foul mouth of yours, then break your arms and legs!"
Before the fist even landed, the wind from it whistled sharply.
This punch was no bluff—it aimed to maim.
But Rukawa simply raised one hand and effortlessly caught it.
"Huh?! What the hell?! Where'd this brat get so much strength?!"
His punch, caught effortlessly by a small hand—Fenghuo's face filled with disbelief.
Rukawa gave no reply. Instead, his fingers closed like a vice.
Crack! Crack!
Like popcorn popping, the bones in Fenghuo's hand shattered, some even piercing the skin. Blood poured from his mangled hand.
"AHHHH! MY HAND! DAMN YOU!"
Driven mad by the pain, Fenghuo screamed and drew a kunai with his other hand.
"DIE!"
The blade slashed toward Rukawa's head.
Still calm, Rukawa caught the kunai in his bare hand.
Slice!
It cut into his palm—barely. Just a small scratch.
Thanks to the double dose of Super Soldier Serum, even in his normal form, Rukawa's body was absurdly durable. Regular weapons couldn't harm him.
If he transformed into his full muscle-bound form, even this scratch wouldn't happen.
Fenghuo froze in shock.
"How... how is this possible?! Are you a monster?!"
Rukawa ignored his panic and crushed both the kunai and Fenghuo's remaining hand with one squeeze.
Crunch!
"AAAAAHHH!!"
Fenghuo howled.
Rukawa tilted his head, smiling.
"Didn't you say you were gonna smash my mouth and break my limbs?"
To Fenghuo, that smile looked like a demon's.
He stopped screaming and began begging:
"No, please! I was just joking! I didn't mean it! Let me go!"
He struggled frantically to escape, but Rukawa's grip was like iron. He couldn't break free.
"Help! Someone help me! This kid's a monster! He's not even Uchiha Rukawa, he's—"
CRACK!
Rukawa's upward kick shattered Fenghuo's jaw and teeth, silencing him instantly.
"Now for the arms."
Crack! Crack!
Rukawa twisted and snapped both arms at unnatural angles.
"And the legs."
Swish! Swish!
CRACK! CRACK!
Two swift kicks. Both knees shattered.
THUD!
Rukawa casually dropped Fenghuo's unconscious, limp body to the floor like garbage. He dusted off his hands.
"Well, he asked for it. Mouth smashed, limbs broken. I guess I'm just honoring our great imperial tradition of repaying kindness with kindness."
Fenghuo lay at Rukawa's feet, broken and bloody like a discarded rag.
The room was dead silent.
Everyone was frozen.
Fast.
Too fast!
Faster than... well, faster than most of them lasted during their nightly "exercise."