Faced with Feng An's insult, Tayuya twitched all over and said nothing.
It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but the pain was so intense he couldn't form words. His mind was blank, every nerve in his body screaming in alarm.
Seeing the other party was completely incapacitated, Feng An felt a bit bored.
He stood up and walked toward the Yukime sisters.
"How about we call our team 'Team Brave'?"
Without waiting for Yukime to speak, Fubuki nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"I think the name Feng An suggested is great!"
After witnessing Feng An's actions, in her heart, he had directly evolved from "hmph" to "brother."
The corners of Feng An's mouth twitched upward slightly.
The contrast in the girl's attitude before and after was truly a masterclass in Sichuan opera face-changing.
Just then, several figures wearing Konoha ninja uniforms suddenly appeared.
There were five in total. One stopped the crowd attempting to leave, while the remaining four split into two groups, attending to the unconscious man and Tayuya, respectively.
The man at the venue entrance stopped everyone.
"Please remain where you are."
Though he used the word "please," his tone carried an undeniable firmness.
Feng An gathered from the crowd's whispers that they were from the Konoha Military Police Force.
Ever since the Uchiha clan's massacre, the Konoha security forces had been composed of personnel from various backgrounds.
To put it bluntly, almost anyone could join the security force now.
This was also Sarutobi Hiruzen's tacitly approved method of limiting the force's power, preventing a recurrence of the Uchiha clan's monopoly.
Yukime and Fubuki looked at Feng An with concern.
These guards had probably come because of the earlier incident.
Yukime moved closer to Feng An and whispered an apology, "I'm sorry for getting you into trouble."
Feng An waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. I was acting in self-defense."
Yukime glanced back at Tayuya, still writhing on the ground, then looked at Feng An.
This... probably counted as excessive self-defense?
In Feng An's view, it was justified self-defense. Should he wait to be bitten by a dog before beating it to death?
Would that even count as self-defense by then? That would be revenge.
After receiving treatment from the security team's medical ninjutsu, the unconscious man was the first to recover.
On the other side, Tayuya seemed to be facing difficulties.
A man from the security team grabbed the shoulder of another treating Tayuya and asked urgently, "What's the situation? Can it be saved?"
The man treating Tayuya shook his head and sighed. "No hope. I guess he'll just have to keep his head down for the rest of his life."
"Baka! (Idiot!)"
The man cursed angrily, as if venting his frustration.
Hearing the... distinctive greeting, everyone turned to look at the security team member.
"Tayuō, what's wrong with you?" the man blocking the exit asked with a frown.
As the man walked over, Feng An studied his face and found it strikingly familiar.
!!
He looked exactly like Tayuya; they were practically cut from the same cloth.
His son? His father?!
Now Tayuya's shout of "You wouldn't dare!" made perfect sense.
He'd been confused at the time. Normally, people beg for mercy with "No!" but he'd shouted, "You wouldn't dare!"
This guy was either incredibly stupid or had powerful backing.
It was the classic "Do you know who my father is?" scenario.
Then, two streams of tears were seen flowing down Tayuya's father's, Tayuō's, face.
"Captain Shimura, you have to give me justice."
"Tell me, what happened?"
"He's my son. His... family jewels got hit, and they're... crooked now. Boohoo... he can never hold his head high again."
Hearing this, everyone lowered their heads, trying to suppress their laughter.
They felt he deserved it.
Especially the man who had fainted. Upon hearing Tayuya's... predicament and his inability to "hold his head high," he suddenly sprang back to life; his back and legs no longer hurt.
He stood up and burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
No one else is laughing, only you?
Tayuō cried and shouted, "He must have been the one who hurt my son!"
The captain, Captain Shimura, scolded:
"Why are you crying? If you keep crying, go home and tend to your fields!"
Hearing this, Tayuō immediately shut up, not daring to make another sound.
He was only a Genin. To join the security force, he'd sold nearly half his family's assets.
He knew that once he held an official position, even if he was weak, no one would dare bully him or his son because of his status.
Unfortunately, he hadn't expected his son to become arrogant and domineering, leading to today's situation.
Captain Shimura then ordered the other two, "Bring that man over here."
The man being restrained by the security team was utterly confused.
I'm clearly the victim. Why are you holding me down?
Captain Shimura looked at the man coldly. "Did you hit him?"
The man shook his head in bewilderment. "He hit me! I didn't hit him."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know. I was on the ground the whole time."
Captain Shimura said impatiently with a dark expression, "Take him away and lock him up for a week!"
"Why? I'm the victim! I'm the victim!!"
"Detain him for a month! Add 'interfering with the security force's execution of duties'!"
Hearing this, the man's face turned pale, and he allowed the two guards to drag him away.
On the other side, the man treating Tayuya shouted, "Captain, he seems to be dying."
Seeing his son in critical condition, Tayuō ran over and carried him toward the hospital.
Watching this, Captain Shimura's eyes filled with disgust.
Today's security force had become even more loathsome than the Uchiha clan had been.
When the Uchiha were in charge, they were at least strict and treated everyone in the village equally.
But now, every clan and civilian group had connections within the police force, making law enforcement increasingly difficult, with frequent cases of favoritism and revenge.
Captain Shimura let out a long sigh and scanned the crowd.
"Does anyone know what happened just now?"
Everyone looked around, feeling awkward. They didn't dare to easily offend anyone.
Tayuya's fate was still fresh in their minds, and they had just witnessed the security force's methods.
Seeing no one speak, he threatened with a grim expression, "I'll count to three. If no one talks, I'll arrest everyone and detain you for a week for harboring a criminal."
"Three."
"It was him!" A man in the crowd lowered his head, his body trembling as he pointed at Feng An. "Because Tayuya insulted those two girls, he attacked Tayuya."
Seeing someone take the lead, everyone else quickly nodded in agreement.
"Yes, he was the one who hit him."
"That's right."
Feng An looked at the crowd coldly. As his gaze swept over them, the noisy voices gradually quieted.
Captain Shimura turned and stared at Feng An, asking in a low voice, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Feng An raised his head and glanced at him casually, then said calmly, "No."
*****
You can read 30 advanced chapters on my Patreon.
Thank you for your support, and have a great day!
patreon.com/Izanami_no_Mikoto