"Clan Head, we're the Security Force, but every day we're either looking for cats or helping villagers walk their dogs!"
"Exactly! Since when did the mighty Uchiha have to take orders from commoners?"
"Every other clan in the village has banded together, and we're the only ones being shut out!"
"But... the village's finances seem to be in trouble, too. We haven't received our allowances in ages."
"Clan Head! If this keeps up, the Uchiha will be completely devoured!"
"With Shisui's Kotoamatsukami and Itachi on our side, the Uchiha can absolutely take down the Leaf!"
Uchiha District, council hall.
Listening to his clansmen complain one after another, Fugaku felt himself beginning to waver.
Perhaps it was time for a change.
Ever since the Nine-Tails' rampage, the Uchiha Clan had been forced to move to the outskirts of the village.
They had become outsiders in the village in every sense of the word.
Although they held positions in the Leaf Security Force, those positions had only made relations with the villagers worse.
Dozens of complaints every day!
Their pay had been slashed in half!
And the villagers had grown more and more hostile toward them.
Even their clansmen on the battlefield had started dying under mysterious circumstances!
No bodies!
No compensation!
Even a cornered dog would bite, let alone the Uchiha.
Over the past year, more and more clansmen had grown dissatisfied.
Especially the few hardline elders!
Even he, the Uchiha Clan Head, could no longer keep them in check.
If they didn't fight back, wouldn't the Uchiha end up torn apart by internal strife?
"Everyone, quiet down."
He rubbed his throbbing temples and looked at the crowd of red-eyed clansmen. At last, he gave a heavy nod.
"If that's the case, then tonight, when Shisui and Itachi return, we'll—"
Before he could finish, an urgent announcement came from outside the door.
"Clan Head! Shisui's back!"
"He's back?"
An elder's face lit up. He slapped the table, practically ecstatic.
"Clan Head! The day we rise up is today!"
"The glory of the Uchiha Clan will endure from this moment on—"
He was about to continue when someone cut him off.
The Uchiha clansman bared his teeth as if he'd witnessed something horrifying, then said hesitantly, "But... his eyes have been gouged out."
Bang!
"Don't talk nonsense! Shisui has Kotoamatsukami. How could he be blind?!"
The elder pounded the table again and again.
He simply refused to believe it.
But!
Fugaku and the others had already hurried outside.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw nearly a hundred clansmen gathered by the family compound's entrance not far away.
They were pointing and talking about something. Fugaku couldn't make out their words, but he could feel the fury in their voices.
They were deafening.
"Could it be..."
Fugaku's face darkened, and he quickened his pace.
With a rustle, he pushed through the crowd. The moment he saw Shisui before him, the sky came crashing down.
He was still the same sunny, handsome young man, but his once-bright, innocent eyes were gone.
All that remained were bloody sockets.
Blood had crusted at the corners of his eyes.
"Shisui! How could this happen?!"
"Damn it, the Leaf must have done this!"
"They've harmed a Uchiha prodigy! We can't let this go unanswered, Clan Head!"
Amid the cries of anguish, the Hawk Faction Elder who had spoken earlier came forward.
His face was twisted with grief.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun at a furious speed.
He raised his head to look at the clansmen gathered around him, then slowly took out an item from behind his back and said:
"Clan Head! It's late, and it's cold. Put this on!"
As he spoke, he unfurled the garment in his hands.
The five bold characters on the back—"Fifth Hokage"—stood out clearly!
"Hokage! Sarutobi Hiruzen can sit in that seat. Why can't the Uchiha?"
"If you give the word, our four hundred and thirty-two Genin, one hundred and eighty-three Chunin, and sixty-nine Jonin will charge straight into Konoha Headquarters and tear that old man apart!"
Whoosh!
At his words, nearly a hundred clansmen and several elders immediately turned to look.
Apart from a few more mild-mannered clansmen, everyone's eyes turned crimson.
New grudges, old hatred!
Uchiha glory, and the Hokage's seat!
Tonight, it was time to change the Leaf's skies.
"Phew..."
Fugaku looked at the Hokage Robe and seemed to see the Hokage's seat beckoning to him in the distance.
He could almost see countless Leaf shinobi flocking to him with a wave of his hand.
Wasn't that satisfying?
It was.
But he...
After only a moment's hesitation, he silently shook his head.
Fugaku's resolve was remarkable, to say the least.
He forced his gaze away from the "Fifth Hokage" robe.
Looking at his enraged clansmen, he asked quietly, "Why don't we ask Itachi what happened?"
Only then did everyone notice that the one holding Shisui was Itachi.
The clansmen fell silent.
Only their heavy breathing filled the Uchiha District.
"No wonder Jin insisted that I bring him here..."
A flicker crossed Itachi's eyes. He decided to conceal some of what had happened and said,
"Phew, I'm sorry, Father. Shisui... gouged out his own eyes."
After saying that, he silently wondered: If Shisui were awake, he'd say the same thing, wouldn't he?
He wouldn't want to see the clan and the village come into conflict, either.
But...
As he pondered, Itachi's gaze quietly swept over several elders.
Especially the elder holding the Hokage Robe. A cold glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
To blaspheme the Hokage's seat!
His death was near!
As a shinobi raised on the Will of Fire, Uchiha Itachi could tolerate many things, but—he could never tolerate blasphemy against the Hokage.
That was his sense of values.
"Perhaps the conflict between the clan and the village really can't be resolved."
"Perhaps I should go speak with the Hokage."
"If they can't make peace, then one side will have to disappear..."
At that moment, Itachi's feelings toward his clansmen quietly changed.
Hearing this, Fugaku let out a sigh of relief.
He clapped his hands and reassured everyone:
"Enough, everyone. Shisui's been injured, and the clan has lost a great deal of strength!"
"As for the villagers and the village's finances, I'll speak with the Hokage."
Gradually, the unrest in the clansmen's hearts died down.
The red glow in their eyes slowly faded, too.
Only Uchiha Itachi remained standing where he was, his expression unreadable.
"Itachi, you should go home, too."
Fugaku shook his head and patted his eldest son on the shoulder.
His gaze flicked past his eldest son's tightly clenched right hand.
He said nothing. He simply picked up Shisui and turned toward the compound.
There, Itachi stood motionless beneath the moonlight.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked behind him.
Outside the compound, a man dressed in black and wearing a mask seemed to be watching him.
"Hmm? Root?"
His expression shifted, and he took off after him.
Before you continue