He Wasn't "Loyal" Enough to the Uchiha Clan!

Uchiha Setsuna involuntarily clenched the top of his cane. His five fingers, etched with the marks of age, had gone pale from the force.

Scarlet had already crept into his cloudy eyes. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared fixedly at Uchiha Chisen ahead of him.

"Chisen, you... say that again?!" His voice sank, and his grim expression carried a heavy sense of oppression.

Uchiha Chisen did not repeat himself as ordered.

He merely activated his own pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Yet his attitude and meaning were perfectly clear.

"Uchiha Chisen! Are you still a member of our Uchiha Clan?" Another Hawk Elder of the Uchiha Clan pointed at Uchiha Chisen.

Anger lacing his voice, he said, "Everything we are doing now is for the future of the Uchiha Clan! Standing in our way now—are you trying to betray the Uchiha?"

"And besides... you were the one who captured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and brought him to the Uchiha compound. Now you've turned around and want to stop us from going after that Demon Fox Incarnation? What exactly do you mean?"

Though he said a great deal, he did not dare take another step forward.

Uchiha Chisen finally spoke. "In your eyes, everything I'm doing now seems contradictory?"

The other man snorted, blowing out his beard and glaring. "Hmph! It is contradictory!"

Uchiha Chisen said calmly, "But that brain of yours, so smooth it doesn't have a single wrinkle, apparently never considered another possibility—that from beginning to end, I was never on the same side as vermin like you, who plague the Shinobi World."

As he spoke, he slowly stepped forward. "But don't misunderstand. I'm not on the same side as people like the patriarch, either."

Uchiha Setsuna's eyelids twitched sharply. "Ver... min..."

He had devoted himself tirelessly to the Uchiha Clan's future and believed he had nothing to be ashamed of.

Back then, he had even been thrown into Konoha Prison by that damned Second Hokage because of it.

And yet, in Uchiha Chisen's eyes, he was vermin of the Shinobi World?

Uchiha Setsuna could barely suppress his fury.

"You bastard!!" The other Hawk Uchiha were equally enraged.

Uchiha Chisen narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze drifting across the vital spots on their necks, chests, foreheads... and more.

"Enough!!!"

A loud shout rang out from behind Uchiha Chisen. "What would it look like if outsiders saw our Uchiha Clan fighting amongst ourselves? Put away your Ninja Swords!!!"

Uchiha Fugaku had arrived after noticing the commotion outside.

He walked to Uchiha Chisen's side and stared at the Hawk Elders ahead. With a stiff, expressionless face, he said, "Everyone, I am the current patriarch of the Uchiha Clan. I have my own considerations regarding the conflict between the village and the Uchiha. And as for Uzumaki Naruto, no one is allowed to lay a hand on him!"

"Fugaku..." Uchiha Setsuna frowned deeply.

But before he could speak, Fugaku interrupted him. "Senior Setsuna, I respect your seniority within the clan and address you as 'Senior.' In return, please respect my choice."

"Moreover, I am doing this for the greater good of the Uchiha. Besides, I have already sent Uzumaki Naruto to Konoha Prison. There's no point in you coming here now."

Fugaku had anticipated this situation long ago.

That was why he had immediately sent Naruto away.

Forcibly ignoring the gloomy expressions of the Hawk Elders, Fugaku turned to Uchiha Chisen and sternly said, "Chisen, put your sword away too. That is an order from the patriarch."

Uchiha Chisen let the words go in one ear and out the other.

Fugaku: "..."

He realized that the killing intent in Uchiha Chisen's eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

He even had the illusion that if he said one more word, Chisen would turn around and slash at him with his sword.

Having a subordinate like this...

What a headache!

"Senior Setsuna, it's time for you to leave." Fugaku switched targets, staring directly at Uchiha Setsuna as he said in a low voice, "Do you intend to keep confronting Chisen and me here?"

"Fugaku."

Uchiha Setsuna took a deep breath. "You are too indecisive. One day, you will regret the choice you made today. You are pushing the Uchiha's future straight into the abyss."

"Senior Setsuna, I am the patriarch."

Fugaku the Fierce Eye might be meek and submissive toward outsiders, but he was not vague in the slightest within the clan.

At least...

He had not yet been pushed completely to his limit by the Hawk faction.

"Hmph!!!"

Uchiha Setsuna's ever-changing gaze lingered for several seconds on Uchiha Chisen's cold young face.

It was as though he intended to etch this unusual, utterly incompatible young member of the Uchiha Clan into his mind.

"We're leaving!"

"Whew..."

That tense, explosive atmosphere had made Izumi so nervous that she had nearly collapsed. At last, she could finally catch her breath.

She had been afraid that after Senior Chisen fought desperately against the Root Ninjas, he would now have to fight his own clansmen as well.

A life devoted to [Absolute Justice] was far too thrilling.

It was like having enemies everywhere in Konoha!

"Hmm?"

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Izumi saw Senior Chisen toss his Ninja Sword toward her. Startled, she hurriedly caught the Sword Hilt, then carefully sheathed the Ninja Sword.

At that moment.

Izumi heard Patriarch Fugaku speak. "Chisen, were you serious about that killing intent toward them just now?"

Uchiha Chisen replied, "I always mean what I say. If they took one more step forward, they would have died."

Fugaku took a deep breath. "Their methods may be somewhat extreme, but they are still your clansmen. Sometimes, there is no need for you to show such hostility toward your own people."

Fugaku's words carried another meaning. He was referring to Uchiha Chisen's inexplicable hostility toward his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi.

At the very least, Fugaku had never been able to understand exactly how Itachi had offended Chisen.

As he recalled, Itachi was not someone who liked offending others.

Uchiha Chisen said indifferently, "I don't want to explain something twice in one day."

Fugaku froze.

"You mean... [Absolute Justice] makes no distinction between public and private matters?" He recalled Uchiha Chisen saying those words to him.

"Whew, so you really were serious..." Though he had already guessed that Chisen meant it, a mental guess and seeing it firsthand were two entirely different impacts.

Fugaku fell silent for a long while.

He offered a reminder. "Though your ideals differ from mine, they also differ from theirs. At the very least, you do not want the village to fall into chaos either. But you should be careful. Uchiha Setsuna and the others can be very extreme at times."

Uchiha Chisen asked in return, "Among Uchiha Clan members who have awakened their eyes, which one isn't extreme?"

Fugaku was left speechless.

It seemed...

That was indeed true.

Uchiha Chisen added coldly, "I still advise you to take your son to see a psychologist. From beginning to end, I've suspected there's something wrong with his brain."

Fugaku: "..."

"Never has a junior dared to look down on me like that! That brat... the look in his eyes just now—he even wanted to kill me!"

Having gone far away, Uchiha Setsuna viciously slammed his Wooden Cane against the ground, producing a rapid series of bangs.

His wrinkled old face was covered in dark clouds.

"He... is disloyal to the Uchiha!!!"