Remember, only I can save the Uchiha

Uchiha Yashiro stood silent, his heart sinking like a stone into an icy abyss, chilled from the inside out to the very core, to the point where he could no longer even feel the pain in his body.

It was a strange sensation.

Before Seisui's questioning today, Yashiro had never realized just how stark the gap in visible combat strength between them was—so obvious it was almost laughable...

The current Uchiha Clan still had some Three Tomoe users, but due to the Second Hokage's Military Police Force policy, most clan members lacked real combat experience in their daily training, casting doubt on their actual fighting ability.

In the Uchiha Clan's thousand-year history, this seemed to be the only era without a single Mangekyō Sharingan.

To put it bluntly, it was a bit embarrassing... A Three Tomoe, no matter how powerful its Dojutsu, was still just a Three Tomoe...

Even looking at Seisui standing before him.

Yashiro's mind ran through the Three Tomoe users he knew: Tekka, Inabi, Setsuna, Fugaku...

Could any of these Uchiha, stronger than him, really take down Seisui easily?

And if they couldn't even handle Seisui, what did the Uchiha Clan's Hawk Faction have to go head-to-head with Konoha? Just sheer passion?

Tears slowly trickled down Yashiro's face, whether for himself or for the Uchiha Clan, he didn't know.

Seisui, who had still been somewhat angry, couldn't help but laugh at this almost comical sight. "Uchiha Yashiro, you're a grown man—why are you crying..."

"The Uchiha Clan is finished. I... I've failed my grandfather, failed my ancestors..."

Yashiro's tears burst forth like a broken dam, mingling the frustration of being beaten by Seisui today with a deep, heartfelt worry for his clan. He wept freely, as pitiful as a thirty-year-old child.

"Foolish." Seisui slowly shook his head. "Even Hiruzen Sarutobi—could he beat the people I mentioned combined? You still don't understand the basic principles of how Konoha works..."

"If you want to change the Uchiha Clan's standing, it's simple. Either you possess the overwhelming power of a Madara Uchiha, sweeping away all demons and monsters with absolute dominance to reach the pinnacle of the ninja world."

"Or you play by Konoha's rules and become one of them."

Yashiro lay sprawled on the ground, arms and legs splayed out as if giving up entirely, muttering in a low voice, "How could I not understand? I do... To become Hokage, you have to be part of their master-disciple lineage—that's the unspoken rule Konoha has laid out in the open."

"Even the famed Hatake Sakumo—anyone with eyes can see he'll never be Hokage. That's Konoha. So what can we Uchiha do about it?"

"Forget becoming Hokage—even a position like Hokage Assistant or advisor would be something. Doesn't our Uchiha Clan deserve a spot among Konoha's high ranks? We were the core founders of the village!"

As Yashiro spoke, he finally voiced his true feelings, and the sentiments of most of the Uchiha Clan.

They knew the Uchiha could never become Hokage, but wasn't a high-ranking position still within reach? The problem was, the requirements for being an advisor were almost the same as for Hokage—you had to be part of the Hokage's master-disciple system...

That was the so-called core power circle, and the Uchiha Clan was clearly outside it.

This sense of despair had robbed many Uchiha of hope, leading them to selectively ignore the gap in combat strength, masking their inner turmoil with a so-called hardline Hawk Faction.

Uchiha Yashiro was a textbook example of this.

Seisui looked down at the tear-soaked Yashiro and shook his head. "You see it so clearly—so why did you do something so stupid..."

"Precisely because I see it clearly, I had no choice but to act this way." Yashiro sobbed in reply, his voice hitching.

"You still don't get it. Your despair comes from the Uchiha Clan having no one in the Hokage's master-disciple system. If I hadn't shown up, your thinking might have made some sense..."

"But I'm here now. Do you think I'll get that chance?"

Yashiro's crying came to a dramatic halt. "Huh..."

An Uchiha who championed the Will of Fire, openly criticized the Sharingan, was kind to civilian ninjas, and had caught the Third Hokage's attention back at the Ninja Academy...

Most importantly, Seisui was a direct descendant of Kagami Uchiha—his biological grandson!

If you stretched it, Seisui was born into the Hokage's master-disciple lineage, bound by the strongest blood ties.

Yashiro stared blankly at Seisui. Every past action of Seisui's flashed through his mind like an electric shock, each move now laden with profound meaning.

He could no longer see through Seisui at all, just as he couldn't tell whether the Seisui in his illusion was Uchiha Izuna or Tobirama Senju...

"I don't want to abandon the Uchiha Clan, but you can't hold me back, Yashiro." Seisui crouched beside him and spoke slowly.

"In terms of talent, combat strength, lineage, or intellect, only I can save the Uchiha."

"I'm telling you all this because I don't want the clan to lose a Three Tomoe user. You're not a waste like Setsuna Uchiha, who ties his own selfish desires to the clan's future. You're still worth saving."

"But I'm telling you now—I'm disheartened. I'm tired." Seisui let out a heavy sigh, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Yashiro panicked instantly. Ignoring the tearing pain of his injuries, he scrambled up and knelt urgently before Seisui. "No, no... Lord Seisui, Seisui, you can't..."

"This is the clan's fault—no, no, it's my fault! It's that bastard Setsuna Uchiha's fault! You can't lose heart in the clan, I beg you, you can't lose heart in the clan!"

Seeing the weariness on Seisui's face, an overwhelming wave of guilt and regret consumed Yashiro's heart. He desperately wanted to do something...

He had a feeling that if Seisui truly gave up on the Uchiha Clan, he would go down in clan history as a notorious sinner!

Just then, Yashiro spotted the blade of Muramasa. Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself and shouted, "Lord Seisui, let me apologize with my life! Just please forgive the Uchiha Clan!"

As he tried to throw his chest onto Muramasa's edge, Seisui kicked him to the ground and said flatly, "I don't need clan members to apologize with their lives..."

"If you think what I said is right, then turn over."

Yashiro froze. Turn over for what? But he quickly complied, lying face-down on the ground, not daring to move.

A soft green light flickered across his back. As Seisui healed him with the Mystical Palm Technique, he muttered helplessly to himself, "I'm still too soft-hearted, Yashiro..."

Feeling the warmth spreading across his back, Yashiro dug his fingers into the dirt. Tears mixed with the blood on his face, and an expression of regret exploded across his features.

At that moment, he felt like the biggest bastard in the entire Uchiha Clan.