"Jie, you finally found something you can't beat me at," Izumi Uchiha said with a bright, teasing smile as they walked down the streets of Konoha.
"Yes, yes, Lady Izumi, you're the absolute best," Jie Uchiha replied with a helpless smile. "When it comes to eating, I, Jie Uchiha, declare you the strongest."
'What is it with the girls in this world?' Jie thought. 'Why do they all eat so much?'
Earlier that evening, Izumi had excitedly tracked him down and dragged him out of the Uchiha compound without a word of explanation. When they finally arrived, Jie realized Ichiraku Ramen was hosting an eating contest. The grand prize? A voucher for a full year of free ramen.
Usually, Jie kept a respectful distance from these kinds of events. He was the young heir of the Uchiha clan; participating in a public eating contest was terrible for his image. What if people thought the mighty Uchiha were so poor their future leader couldn't even afford a bowl of noodles? After all, he was the type of rich kid who normally ordered two bowls just to eat one and throw the other away.
But seeing the sheer excitement lighting up Izumi's face, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
What followed left Jie absolutely dumbfounded. Ichiraku Ramen used their extra-large, deluxe-sized bowls of miso ramen for the competition. Jie tapped out after just three bowls, completely stuffed. To his absolute shock, Izumi's petite frame somehow packed away fifteen massive bowls—and her stomach didn't even show a bulge. If she hadn't run out of competitors, Jie feared she would have happily asked Teuchi for five more.
Watching the pained, forced smile on the owner's face as he handed over the grand prize, Jie fell into a deep, silent contemplation.
'Do I need to start a side hustle?' he wondered. 'With the clan's current income, can I even afford to feed this glutton?' A sudden shiver ran down his spine at the thought.
On the walk back, Izumi was practically glowing, immensely proud of herself for finally besting Jie in something. Even if it was just her appetite, going from zero victories to one was still a massive breakthrough.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed through the evening air, shattering the peace. Jie stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
'That came from the direction of the Uchiha compound,' he thought. 'Is Kumogakure trying to create chaos in our territory as a smokescreen to kidnap Hinata?'
Regardless of their actual goal, anyone who dared to break ground on Uchiha territory was going to pay a heavy price.
Grabbing Izumi, Jie sprinted back to the compound, heading straight for the site of the explosion.
"Young Clan Head," greeted a Jonin patrol captain, immediately bowing as Jie arrived.
"What's the situation?" Jie demanded.
"An explosive tag was detonated, but we haven't found any physical tracks at the scene," the captain reported quickly. "However, Anbu just relayed intel suggesting that spies from another village are trying to sabotage the peace talks by causing a disturbance here. The Anbu are currently in pursuit."
'Spies?' Jie frowned. The timing was entirely too perfect, and no ordinary spy had the sheer nerve to cause trouble directly inside the Uchiha compound.
Suddenly, a dark realization hit him, and his expression turned ice-cold. "A diversion. They are luring the tiger from the mountain... They've got some nerve!"
He turned to the captain. "Put the entire clan on wartime alert and lock down the compound. Mobilize the full force of the Konoha Military Police Force and lock down the village. Don't let a single fly leave!" Jie commanded, his voice dripping with a cold fury that sent a chill down the Jonin's spine. "Also, conduct a full headcount immediately. Report any missing clan members to me."
"Yes, sir!"
Given Jie's overwhelming prestige, the patrol captain didn't ask a single question or waste a second doubting the order. He immediately relayed the commands.
Within a minute, the entire Uchiha compound was brightly illuminated. Every combat-ready shinobi donned their tactical gear, awaiting Jie's next directive.
When Jie finally stepped into his own home, however, he found it completely empty. A terrible premonition washed over him.
'Could Kumogakure's actual target be... Sasuke?' His fists clenched. 'If it is, not a single member of that envoy is leaving this village alive.'
Shortly after, the headcount results came back: no casualties or missing persons were reported among the general clan. Hearing this only made the ice in Jie's eyes harden.
The commotion of a full Uchiha lockdown couldn't be kept quiet. Hearing the alarms, Fugaku, Mikoto, and Itachi hurried back to the estate one after another.
But little Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
"Jie, what's going on? Why did you issue a wartime directive?" Fugaku asked urgently as he entered.
"Sasuke is missing," Jie said coldly. "It's the work of the Kumogakure envoy."
"What?!" Mikoto gasped. She rushed past them to Sasuke's bedroom, only to find the room entirely empty.
Fugaku took a deep, trembling breath, his Sharingan blazing to life as his aura exploded. "Arrest the entire Kumogakure envoy!" he roared. "If they resist, kill them on sight!"
"Rest assured, Father, Mother. Sasuke will be fine," Jie promised, his voice low and laced with killing intent. "No one who laid a hand on him is going to get away."
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