[Read up to Chapter - 88 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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The day after the wedding, Kanzou arrived at the Police Headquarters.
Just as he and his men were about to plot their next move to rack up more evil points, Souta came rushing in with urgent news.
"Word of Hatake Sakumo's mission failure has spread across the village—surprisingly fast."
Kanzou wasn't shocked in the slightest.
The one behind the leak was most likely Shimura Danzō, that cunning old fox.
And Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen? He had probably played a role, too.
If Hiruzen had truly wanted to suppress the news, it wouldn't have been difficult for him—not with the power of the Hokage's office.
"If I ride the wave of public opinion, I should be able to rack up quite a lot of evil points," Kanzou mused.
He felt no guilt about taking advantage of Hatake Sakumo's downfall.
They weren't friends, and Kanzou had no personal ties to him.
"...Never mind," he said aloud after a pause.
For now, Kanzou still had some shred of a bottom line left.
He had just learned Hatake Style Kenjutsu from Hatake Sakumo—turning around and attacking the man now felt too shameless, even for him.
Kanzou still had a bit of a bottom line, although it was only marginal.
Otherwise, he would've already started slaughtering civilians for evil points.
After all, killing a person granted at least 100 evil points. Although 100 points per kill wasn't much, with enough kills, it would add up.
Besides, even killing ordinary people would still yield evil points… but Kanzou didn't want to become a mindless killer chasing after evil points.
'Tch. I'm still not evil enough," Kanzou sighed inwardly.
Not evil enough? Fugaku, Uchiha Mikoto, and many people he has killed might have had something to say about that.
"I got married yesterday, and not a single clan in Konoha gave me any face. You know what to do, right?" Kanzou said flatly.
"Understood, Patriarch," Shin replied without hesitation.
Of course, he understood—Kanzou wanted to stir up trouble for those clans.
And these days, they had become quite skilled at that.
"Then what are you waiting for… get on with it," ordered Kanzou.
Shin smirked, "Leave it to me…" and left the office.
After Shin left, Kanzou turned his attention to Hazuki, "Any movements from Fugaku's group?"
Lately, he hadn't had the time to keep an eye on them, but he knew they wouldn't stay quiet for long. He had assigned Hazuki the task of using her underlings to check out their situation… and he wanted to hear if she had learned anything.
"It's been confirmed—they're all staying with the Sarutobi Clan," Hazuki reported in a somewhat mechanical tone of voice. "ANBU are present in the area, but we haven't been able to uncover what they're up to."
Ever since Shinkurou's death, the ninjas who had betrayed the Uchiha clan had all gathered around Fugaku.
And now, Fugaku himself was residing under the protection of the Sarutobi Clan.
"So it really was you, Hokage..." Kanzou muttered darkly, ignoring Hazuki's mechanical tone of voice.
Back when Fugaku had been taken by that mysterious figure, Kanzou had suspected Sarutobi Hiruzen was behind it. Now, the pieces had fallen into place.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen's youngest son—he's still enrolled at the Ninja Academy, isn't he?" Kanzou asked, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Yes," Hazuki confirmed. "Sarutobi Asuma is still studying at the Academy."
"...Good. I understand."
Hiruzen had clearly taken in Fugaku in an attempt to use him against Kanzou.
But did he really think Kanzou wouldn't strike back?
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Kanzou arrived at the Konoha Ninja Academy just around dismissal time.
This school, founded by the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, was also where Kanzou himself had once graduated.
"Good grief… the kid already looks old," Kanzou muttered under his breath upon spotting Sarutobi Asuma.
Although children could enrol in the academy at the age of four or five, Asuma already seemed a bit haggard for his age.
At the moment, he was trailing behind a little girl with black hair and striking red eyes—a precocious and adorable child.
That had to be Yuhi Kurenai.
Kanzou stood at the front gate, drawing curious glances from the students.
Some of the more mature kids couldn't help but sneak peeks at him.
Ignoring them, Kanzou waited until Asuma was just about to pass by with Kurenai—
Then, without warning, he lashed out with a swift kick, sending Asuma flying.
"Pfft—!" Asuma spat out a mouthful of blood and crumpled to the ground, nearly passing out from the pain.
If Kanzou hadn't held back, that one kick could've killed him.
Without hesitation, Kanzou walked over and stomped on the boy's head.
He showed no shame in bullying a child—nor any intention of letting up.
[Ding, Host has bullied a weak child — reward: B-Rank Ninjutsu, Fire Style: Ash Pile Bruning. +3000 Evil Points]
A B-rank ninjutsu and 3,000 evil points—far more than Kanzou had expected.
'Maybe the system thinks I went too far bullying a child,' he mused, and rewarded me generously for it.
He glanced down at Sarutobi Asuma, still pinned beneath his foot.
"Kid, someone reported that you were harassing your female classmates and sneaking into the bathhouse to peep at women. Pretty bold for your age."
Asuma couldn't respond. The pain in his abdomen had robbed him of breath. Fear filled his young eyes.
"Wait… Sarutobi Asuma harassed girls and peeked at women bathing?" one of his classmates exclaimed, eyes wide with shock.
"Harassing girls sounds about right," another muttered. "He's always been bothering Kurenai-chan. Disgusting little creep."
"I didn't think he was that scummy," a girl added, glaring at Asuma with contempt. "Following Kurenai-chan around was one thing, but spying on women in the bathhouse?"
"Ugh. Better be careful around him from now on. Don't let him get away with anything," another girl whispered to her friends.
With everyone pointing fingers and whispering around him, Asuma was as good as dead—socially, at least.
Kurenai glanced at him with obvious disgust.
At this moment, she had no liking for him whatsoever.
Honestly, why would she? Asuma wasn't good-looking.
He resembled an underdeveloped orangutan—who would like him unless they were blind?
How could someone as ugly as him even think that she would one day become his lover? If it ever happened, it'd probably be because he kept stalking her and forced her using his father's name which left her with no choice but to she give in.
"Take him away," Kanzou ordered coldly. "The Police force won't allow a little perverted boy like this to go unpunished."
With a clap of his hands, two teenage Uchiha ninjas stepped out from behind him and moved forward to seize Asuma.
"Stop right there!"
An ANBU ninja, wearing a mask, leapt out of the shadows to intercept them.
"I figured you'd show up," Kanzou said, almost bored.
He met the ANBU's charge with a brutal kick. The ninja barely had time to look shocked before he was sent flying and knocked unconscious.
Kanzou didn't spare him a second glance. His expression remained calm.
He had already sensed the ANBU lurking in the shadows when he first arrived.
That ANBU was likely sent by Sarutobi Hiruzen to protect his youngest son.
Clearly, the old Hokage still placed great importance on Asuma's safety.
"Patriarch, should we take this guy back with us too?" one of the Uchiha asked.
"No need. Just bring the kid."
As Kanzou turned to leave, his eyes briefly landed on a black-haired, red-eyed little girl—Yuhi Kurenai.
She was undeniably cute, but Kanzou had no interest in Loli.
'If it were the grown-up version of Kurenai,' he thought, 'then maybe I'd be interested to fool around with her for a bit and keep her around as a maid.'
Shaking his head, Kanzou returned to the Police HQ with his subordinates and simply gave the order to entertain Asuma and waited quietly, expecting Sarutobi Hiruzen to come knocking.
…
Meanwhile, the ANBU ninja who had been knocked out at the school gate regained consciousness with the help of a teacher.
"Where's Asuma-sama?" the ANBU demanded the moment he came to.
"He was taken away by the Police Force," the teacher replied calmly.
Upon hearing that Asuma had been taken away by the Police force, the ANBU ninja grew anxious. But he also knew there was no way he could just march into the Police headquarters and retrieve the boy.
Everyone in the village knew by now—Uchiha Kanzou was arrogant and fearless, and no one dared challenge him directly.
Without delay, the flustered ANBU rushed off to report the situation to the Third Hokage.
He arrived at the Hokage Building and immediately informed Hiruzen.
"Uchiha Kanzou…" Hiruzen muttered, his face darkening.
There was no mistaking it—Kanzou's sudden arrest of Asuma was a deliberate provocation.
He hadn't even settled the score with Kanzou for what happened to Shinnosuke, and now the man had gone after his youngest as well.
Without another word, Hiruzen left the Hokage Building and made his way to the Police headquarters in person.
This time, if Kanzou couldn't give a proper explanation, Hiruzen wasn't going to let it slide.
He wasn't eager to start a war with Kanzou… but that didn't mean he was afraid to.
If it really came to a fight, how could Kanzou—no matter how powerful—stand alone against the Third Hokage and the might of Konoha Village?
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Note:
The first SMUT... 'Uchiha Mikoto's First Time' is complete and uploaded.
Read Chapter 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6.
Also, the SMUT in Chapter 18, 22, 37, and so on will be uploaded similarly at a later date, so look forward to it. Writing them can take a bit of time.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 88 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]