The hilt pressed against Uchiha Yan's chest slowly slid downward. Saitama kept glancing around—he hadn't forgotten that Uchiha Huo was still hiding somewhere nearby.
"Don't forget, Captain, we're a team of two!" Yan had already recovered from his shock. His eyes flickered toward the corner of his vision as he tilted his body slightly, staring at Saitama.
"That's right! And where's the other one?" Saitama gave a puzzled look on purpose.
"Huh?" A sudden uneasiness stirred in Yan's heart.
"Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique!" A deep sound rumbled from beneath them, followed by Huo's voice. Saitama smiled, thinking to himself that he'd finally decided to act!
"Boom!" The Saitama pressing the sword against Yan suddenly sank straight into the ground. In an instant, only his head remained visible.
"Hehe, Captain, you were careless!" Huo climbed out from the earth beside them with a smug grin.
Although Saitama hadn't used his Sharingan or even much of his Lightning Release, clearly holding back, they still managed to defeat him—something that gave him great satisfaction.
Huo then started walking toward Yan, but Yan quickly scanned Saitama's face and caught a trace of mockery. Suddenly shouting, "Watch out!" he rushed toward Huo.
"Boom!"
The Saitama buried underground vanished in a puff of white smoke, disappearing before their eyes. Both brothers' expressions changed drastically as they instantly turned back-to-back, hands reaching for kunai knives instinctively.
"Whoosh!" A lightning flash zipped past too quickly for the Uchiha brothers' Sharingan to catch. In an instant, a blade rested across both their necks.
Electric sparks danced along the sword, leaving neither daring to move a muscle.
"Truly powerful!" That's exactly what they were both thinking.
During the fight just now, the two of them had alternated as bait, executing several tactics seamlessly together. Yet against such overwhelming strength, all those flashy maneuvers proved essentially useless.
"Not bad at all. Your coordination is quite synchronized. Even Jonin would struggle against you two," Saitama commented as he withdrew the sword and hooked it at his waist.
"Captain truly lives up to his reputation. Someone with this level of strength must be among the rarest ninja in the Jonin ranks," Huo flattered Saitama enthusiastically.
"Haha!" Saitama slapped Huo's arm lightly, brushing off the dirt.
"C'mon, let's do a little more training before we wrap up and grab a bite."
With a serious expression, Saitama spoke firmly. Indeed, their teamwork did offer him a sense of pressure. Practicing his [Shifting Body Technique] with these nonstop attacks was proving really helpful—he was starting to find the technique oddly useful.
Although he also possessed a weakened version of the Lightning Release — Chakra Mode, a form of Taijutsu, the Shifting Body Technique he learned from Shisui was more suitable for his current situation considering the chakra consumption and aftereffects.
Still, this Shifting Body Technique Saitama practiced wasn't exactly the same as the one Shisui taught. He had made some personal modifications based on his own experience.
He had applied chakra to the soles of his feet, using an explosive burst of power to activate the [Shunshin no Jutsu]. Others had considered this method before, but without support from a high-level Sharingan, the instantaneous speed would be untraceable to the naked eye—and thus impossible to fight back against.
"You got it!" Uchiha Yan wasn't fazed at all by his earlier defeat. As soon as Saitama suggested it, he readily agreed—even faster than Uchiha Huo.
From the start, he'd always approached fighting Saitama as a learning opportunity. Winning or losing wasn't important; what mattered was picking up some combat techniques. After all, Saitama was a battle-hardened ninja, while he and Uchiha Huo were still technically rookies.
The three trained together until well past five in the afternoon. Noticing the time was getting late, Saitama called a halt, cleaned himself up, and dragged both of them out for barbecue. He also asked Nagare to head back and inform Ka Po-pu that he wouldn't be coming home for dinner tonight. Nagare and Shisui, however, didn't follow along because they had family affairs to attend to.
...
"Captain, want more?" Uchiha Huo swallowed hard, looking a bit uneasy.
Several stacks of plates sat in front of Uchiha Yan, who claimed he was already full, watching Saitama put on a one-man eating performance.
"You two are done already?" Saitama picked up all the grilled meat from the rack with his chopsticks, dipped it into his special sauce, and stuffed it all into his mouth at once.
"Yeah, Captain, just take your time." Uchiha Huo looked at Saitama's face. Knowing he still had a long way to go under the captain's command, he held back what he wanted to say and flipped more meat onto the grill.
The table directly in front of Saitama and the nearby meat rack were piled high with dishes—some empty plates from meals finished, others freshly ordered, filled with raw meat.
"This is already the sixtieth plate!" Uchiha Huo's eyelid twitched as he suddenly recalled how Saitama had cleverly tricked him into agreeing to foot today's bill when they first walked into the restaurant.
Seeing the captain still going strong, Huo took the initiative and waved the owner over again.
"Coming right up!" The shop owner grinned ear to ear. Every visit from Saitama meant big business. He was even thinking about offering Saitama a VIP membership card so he'd bring friends over more often.
"Huo, nice work!" Saitama smiled encouragingly and gave Uchiha Huo a thumbs-up with his chopstick-wielding hand.
"As long as the captain eats well, the rest is nothing to worry about!"
Huo Uchiha smiled. Getting along with Saitama like this didn't feel like a loss at all. Sure, it was tough on his wallet, but he wasn't alone—didn't he have a younger brother beside him?
Thinking this, Huo Uchiha glanced at Yan Uchiha. Their eyes met, and Yan's look was filled with mockery—as if waiting for the show to begin.
Saitama ignored the brothers' silent exchange and just kept eating like there was no tomorrow. His appetite had been growing bigger and bigger lately, especially after a full day of training left him feeling empty inside. Only eating could make him feel whole again.
At home, Granny Ka never let him go hungry, always serving plenty of meat at every meal. But today, he had run into two generous hosts—so naturally, he was milking them dry! The food at home was his own, but what he was eating today came from others—it tasted even better!
"Sizzle!" The meat on the grill sizzled as oil dripped off. Already marinated, the slices gave off an irresistible aroma. Saitama stared intently at the grill, watching only as the meat changed from red to golden brown.
"Yosh! Let's dig in!" A loud voice rose from the neighboring table. Huo Uchiha turned his head slightly and saw two figures dressed in green sitting face-to-face across a table scattered with plates of barbecue.
The speaker was the middle-aged man. He picked up a slice of grilled meat and gently dropped it into the other person's bowl as he spoke.
"[The fire of Youth!] shall keep on burning!" Might Duy didn't pick up his chopsticks yet; instead, he enthusiastically kept placing meat onto Guy's plate, smiling all the while.
"Hai!" Sparks lit up in Guy's eyes as he dove into the meat with enthusiasm.
"Duy, why aren't you eating?" After a few bites, Guy finally noticed that Duy hadn't touched his food.
"Ahhaha, Duy is also eating! Youth allows no cheating!" Duy picked up a slice of meat, dipped it into sauce, and popped it into his mouth.
Seeing that Duy had started eating too, Guy resumed his meal. However, he failed to notice that Duy himself wasn't eating much at all—even when he did eat, his pace was several times slower than Guy's.
Huo Uchiha didn't recognize these two people. He glanced once and then looked away—it was just an ordinary father-son pair, though a bit loud.
"Hmm?" Saitama, focused on eating, also noticed the father and son at the next table. Watching Might Duy's behavior, he wore a thoughtful expression.
As a "perennial Genin," Might Duy's financial situation wasn't great either. After all, he only took simple D-rank missions that offered minimal pay. Plus, since both father and son specialized in Taijutsu, their usual training expenses were considerable, and they suffered injuries far more frequently than typical ninja, which meant frequent hospital visits and medical bills.
Although Konoha offered some ninja stipends (minimal funds given to all active shinobi), those tiny amounts barely covered anything.
"Guy! Finish this and then run ten laps around the village! Can you do it?!" Duy picked up a piece of meat, pointing at Kai.
"Hai! I will complete this mission!" Just like charging into battle, Guy loudly declared as he bit down hard on the meat.
"Yosh!" Duy placed the slice into his mouth, wearing an expression of satisfaction and contentment.
"Fire!"
Saitama tapped the grill with his chopsticks, signaling Huo to add more meat for him.
"Ah, right away, Captain!" Huo had just noticed Saitama observing that father-and-son pair for several seconds with a thoughtful expression. He couldn't help but stare a couple more times, so he ended up forgetting to keep adding meat to Saitama's grill.
Meanwhile, En was also staring at the father and son, racking his brain trying to figure out who exactly these two people were. Otherwise, why would Captain Saitama have shown such an expression earlier? But no matter how hard he thought, he still couldn't place their identities.
"Hmph!" Saitama ate quickly, devouring all the newly grilled meat in one sweep, sending it straight into his stomach.
"Alright, let's go! I'm completely full today!" After sitting for a few minutes to digest, Saitama glanced over at Duy and Kai—who were still eating much slower than him!
"Yeah! Captain!" The Uchiha brothers stood up, and Huo hurried to the counter to pay.
As Saitama passed Duy's table, he saw Duy happily watching Kai, the meat on his chopsticks suspended midair without entering his mouth for quite a while.
Giving Duy a kind smile, Saitama walked straight past. He wasn't particularly familiar with this father and son, and now wasn't really the best time to make acquaintances either—just getting their faces recognized was enough.
"Captain, let's go, I've paid already," Uchiha Huo, having finished paying, came over and nodded toward Saitama.
"No rush, wait a moment," Saitama waved his hand, motioned to the restaurant owner, took out some money, said a few words, and then finally followed the two brothers out.
...
"Mr. Ninja, this is from Mr. Saitama," said the shop owner, carrying several plates of meat and placing them on Duy's table. Noticing the puzzled look in his eyes, he explained further.
"Eh?" Duy felt somewhat perplexed; he didn't know anyone by the name of Saitama.
"The young man who just left—he's a regular customer here, probably from the Uchiha family. He's quite a nice guy, actually," continued the store owner.
"Oh, okay, thank you, Boss," Duy nodded, a vision of that smiling figure from moments ago flashing through his mind.
"Sure thing, don't thank me though—it wasn't me treating you. I'll head back then," said the boss as he placed down the dishes and moved off to sit at his seat behind the counter.
"Got it!" Duy replied with a nod, while Kai, clueless as ever, looked joyfully at the sudden pile of meat and grinned widely.
"Kai, this is a kind gift from someone who crossed our lives—dig in heartily!" Duy didn't decline politely either; now that he knew who paid for it, he just went with it instead of refusing.
"Yes, great! Dad!" Kai smiled broadly, his teeth gleaming momentarily before he started gobbling up again.
With Saitama's sponsorship, Duy could now indulge freely since Saitama had generously gifted them thirty platters' worth of meat.
"Yoshii! Let's eat!"
"Hai!"
For a moment, the place buzzed with wild, youthful energy, while the shop owner behind the counter looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
...
"Captain, was there anything special about that father-and-son pair earlier? Why did you treat them to barbecue?"
After walking together for a stretch, En finally couldn't resist asking.
"Maybe just because they looked pleasant? En, you know—never judge a book by its cover!"
Saitama nudged Uchiha Yan, who was significantly taller than him, with his elbow. Then he said something pointless in a sincere tone. Uchiha Huo and Uchiha Yan both felt the words made sense, though they didn't quite understand them fully yet.
"You mean to say they're really strong?" Uchiha Huo asked.
"Hmm!" Saitama didn't deny it or confirm it—just gave a vague reply.
"Oh!" The two fell silent and followed him toward the Uchiha clan compound.
After dinner, it was already past seven, nearly eight o'clock. Konoha had completely fallen into darkness.
With Saitama's sensory abilities, he could detect occasional flashes of chakra on the village rooftops—figures wearing masks moving between buildings, seemingly patrolling or responding to some emergency?
Konoha Year 46 marked a sudden escalation in warfare. As the heart of everything, Konoha Village operated under heavy load. Even at this hour, Saitama could see lights still glowing from the Hokage Building in the distance.
"You two should come to the training grounds these days and spar with me. I can give you some pointers too," Saitama said seriously, addressing the two behind him.
"Okay!" They quickly agreed. Truthfully, they were thinking the same thing. Getting used to working together early would definitely boost their survival odds on the battlefield.
Without further conversation, they returned to the Uchiha clan compound. The two Uchiha brothers lived in the west district, so as soon as they entered the compound, they parted ways with Saitama and headed straight home.
Ka Po-pu was still watching TV at this time. Saitama knocked on the door and entered her bedroom upon hearing her response. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, he started chatting casually. They'd be deploying to the frontline in just a few days, and their time together was limited.
When the clock struck ten, Saitama said goodnight and went upstairs to wash up before resting.
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