He wasn't "loyal!" enough to the Uchiha Clan!

Uchiha Setsuna couldn't help tightening his grip on the top of his cane, his five age-lined fingers turning pale from the force.

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

"Chisen, you... say that again?!" His voice sank, his dark expression radiating pressure.

Uchiha Chisen did not repeat himself as requested.

He merely activated his own Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

But his attitude and meaning were unmistakable.

"Uchiha Chisen! Are you still a member of our Uchiha Clan or not?" Another Hawk Elder of the Uchiha Clan pointed at Uchiha Chisen.

Everything we are doing now is for the future of the Uchiha Clan!" he said angrily. "Are you standing in our way because you intend to betray the Uchiha?"

"And... you were the one who brought the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki into the Uchiha Clan compound in the first place. Now you're turning around and stopping us from going after that Demon Fox Incarnation? What exactly are you playing at?"

Despite all he had said, he did not dare take another step forward.

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

The elder snorted, his beard bristling and his eyes glaring. "Hmph! It is contradictory!"

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

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

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

He had worked tirelessly and conscientiously for the Uchiha Clan's future, and believed his conscience was clear.

Back then, the damned Second Hokage had even thrown him into Konoha Prison for it.

Yet in Uchiha Chisen's eyes, he had become vermin of the Shinobi World?

Uchiha Setsuna could barely contain his anger.

"You bastard!!" The other Uchiha Hawks erupted in outrage.

Uchiha Chisen narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze roaming over their necks, hearts, foreheads... and other vital points.

"Enough!!!"

A thunderous shout came from behind Uchiha Chisen. "What would people think if outsiders saw our Uchiha Clan fighting among ourselves? Put your swords away, all of you!!!"

Uchiha Fugaku had appeared after noticing the commotion outside.

He walked up beside Uchiha Chisen and stared at the Hawk Elders ahead, his face stiff and expressionless. "Everyone, I am the current patriarch of the Uchiha. I have my own considerations regarding the conflict between the village and the Uchiha. And no one is to lay a hand on this child, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Fugaku..." Uchiha Setsuna's brows knitted tightly.

But before he could continue, Fugaku interrupted him. "Elder Setsuna, I respect your seniority in the clan and address you as an elder. In return, please respect my decision."

"Besides, I'm doing this for the Uchiha's greater good. What's more, I've already sent someone to escort Uzumaki Naruto to Konoha Prison. Coming here won't accomplish anything."

Fugaku had already anticipated a situation like this.

That was why he had immediately sent Naruto away.

Forcing himself to ignore the Hawk Elders' dark expressions, Fugaku turned and spoke firmly to Uchiha Chisen. "Chisen, put your sword away too. That's an order from your patriarch."

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

Fugaku: "..."

He realized that the murderous intent in Uchiha Chisen's eyes had not diminished at all.

He even had the unsettling impression that if he said one more word, Chisen would turn around and slash at him.

Having a subordinate like this...

What a headache!

"Elder Setsuna, it's time for you to leave." Fugaku switched the target of his pressure, looking straight at Uchiha Setsuna as he said gravely, "Do you intend to keep confronting Chisen and me here?"

"Fugaku."

Uchiha Setsuna drew a deep breath. "You're far too indecisive. One day, you'll regret the decision you made today. You're plunging the Uchiha's future straight into the abyss."

"Elder Setsuna, I am the patriarch."

Fugaku the Fierce Eye might have been meek toward outsiders, but he did not hesitate when dealing with his own clan.

At least...

The Hawks had not yet pushed him to his absolute limit.

"Hmph!!!"

Uchiha Setsuna's shifting, stormy gaze lingered for several seconds on Uchiha Chisen's cold young face.

It was as though he meant to burn this unusual young Uchiha, who fit in nowhere, into his memory.

"We're leaving!"

"Phew..."

The tense standoff had left Izumi so nervous that she had nearly collapsed. Now, she could finally catch her breath.

She had been terrified that, after his bloody battle with the Root Ninjas, Chisen would have to fight his own clansmen next.

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

It was as though everyone in Konoha was an enemy!

"Hm?"

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Izumi noticed Chisen toss his sword toward her. Startled, she hurriedly caught it by the hilt, then carefully slid it back into its sheath.

Just then.

Izumi heard Patriarch Fugaku speak. "Chisen, that murderous intent you directed at them just now... were you serious?"

Uchiha Chisen replied, "I always mean what I say. Had they taken another step forward, they would have died."

Fugaku took a deep breath. "Their methods may be somewhat extreme, but they're still your clansmen. Sometimes, there's no need to show your own clansmen that kind of hostility."

Fugaku's words actually carried a pointed implication: he was referring to Uchiha Chisen's inexplicable hostility toward his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi.

At least, Fugaku had never been able to understand what Itachi had done to offend Chisen.

As he remembered it, Itachi was not the sort of person who liked offending others.

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

Fugaku froze.

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

"Phew, you really are serious..." Even though he had already suspected Chisen was serious, suspecting it and actually witnessing it delivered two entirely different psychological shocks.

Fugaku fell silent for a long while.

Then he offered a warning. "Although your ideals differ from mine, at least they differ from theirs as well. At the very least, you don't want to see the village descend into chaos, either. But you'd better be careful. Uchiha Setsuna and the others can be very extreme sometimes."

Uchiha Chisen countered, "Among the Uchiha who have awakened their eyes, who isn't extreme?"

Fugaku was left speechless.

It seemed...

That was indeed true.

Uchiha Chisen also offered a cold reminder. "I still suggest you have that son of yours see a psychiatrist. I've suspected from the very beginning that there's something wrong with his head."

Fugaku: "..."

"No junior has ever dared treat me with such contempt! That fellow... the look in his eyes just now-he even wanted to kill me!"

Having already left, Uchiha Setsuna was pounding his wooden cane against the ground, producing a rapid series of thuds.

His wrinkled old face was clouded with anger.

"He... is not loyal to the Uchiha!!!"