The Grand Performance Begins

"This is your choice, and you should have known the consequences of making this decision."

Fugaku said painfully that he had no choice but to make this decision. Under the circumstances at the time, if Fugaku had said the wrong thing, he might not have been able to leave the Hokage's office. Anyone in there could have taken his life. And he Fugaku Uchiha, was the first and possibly the last Clan Head to turn against his own clansmen.

"Hmph, it's all because those Hokage are too arrogant. Our Uchiha clan, the number one clan in Konoha, only has one Police Force. Even commoners like Jiraiya and Orochimaru can become high-ranking officials in Konoha and even become Hokage."

"We, the Uchiha, are the founding clan of Konoha! Am I just going to stand by and watch our clan follow in the footsteps of the Senju Clan?"

"I'm not wrong, they are."

The Grand Elder spoke hysterically, venting his dissatisfaction and his worries about the future of the Uchiha.

"Since Orochimaru became Hokage, he has stopped suppressing our Uchiha Clan, and clan members have started taking positions in other departments. Isn't that enough?"

"That's right, Orochimaru didn't guard against the Uchiha day and night like the Third Hokage did, but can you guarantee that the next Hokage will do the same?"

"Are we Uchiha destined to live under the thumb of others forever? How can a true man, born between heaven and earth, remain subservient to others for long?"

The Grand Elder spoke passionately about his thoughts, as if he were also trying to convince himself.

Fugaku hadn't expected the Grand Elder's thinking to be so extreme, and at the same time, he felt that his decision was correct. The Grand Elder's ideology was leading the Uchiha Clan into an abyss—no, it was already dragging the Uchiha into an abyss. If the Grand Elder's plan succeeded, not a single member of the Uchiha Clan in Konoha would survive. Fugaku knew Orochimaru's ruthlessness very well.

What are you doing?

"Ah!"

The screams coming from outside the house reached the ears of the Grand Elder.

"You..."

The Grand Elder slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and looked at Fugaku. This was a trap. Fugaku had already gained the upper hand. The Grand Elder turned to leave, knowing he might suffer if a fight broke out on Fugaku's turf.

"Grand Elder, you should stay here!"

At this point, Fugaku would naturally not allow the Grand Elder to leave, otherwise his plan would have failed. The power exerted by the hawks without the Grand Elder's leadership is different from that of the hawks with the Grand Elder's leadership.

"Are you going to stop me, Fugaku?"

The Grand Elder knew that Konoha had instructed Fugaku to eliminate the hawks himself; otherwise, he would have met not just Fugaku, but the entire Konoha leadership.

"Grand Elder, if you had surrendered, the Uchiha wouldn't have bled so much tonight."

Fugaku spoke earnestly to the Grand Elder. Fugaku looked at the Grand Elder expectantly, hoping that the Grand Elder could think of the Uchiha Clan.

"Fugaku, you're still too naive. You're really not suited to be a clan Clan Head!"

"Whether I surrender or not, none of my men will survive tonight. You still don't understand the cruelty of politics!"

"This..."

After the Grand Elder said that, Fugaku realized that he had been deceiving himself.

The Grand Elder knew he still had a sliver of hope, because only the Uchiha were involved in the operation tonight. Orochimaru would only intervene after Fugaku failed to complete his mission by dawn, a final act of respect from Konoha to the Uchiha. All the Grand Elder needed to do was run back to his home and escape Konoha through the secret passage he had dug over the years. This was his last chance to survive.

However, Fugaku made his decision known to the Grand Elder through his actions. Fugaku teleported and blocked the Grand Elder's way out, his intention was very clear: defeat me and you can pass.

"Then let me see your strength, Clan Head!"

After saying that, the Grand Elder immediately began to act, because he knew that only by getting rid of Fugaku in front of him as soon as possible could he leave this place. After speaking, the Grand Elder pushed off with both feet and leaped backward.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique"

A large fireball was spewed from the Grand Elder's mouth. As soon as his feet landed, he stomped hard and headed towards the Great Fireball Technique, hiding behind it.

Fugaku, with his extensive combat experience, reacted swiftly, unleashing his own Great Fireball Technique. "Boom!" The two Great Fireball collided, the resulting roar echoing throughout the entire Uchiha clan territory.

"What happened? There was such a loud noise."

"It seems to be coming from the direction of the Clan Head's house."

Unaware of the truth, the Uchiha clan members left their homes, intending to go to the Clan Head's house to find out what was going on.

"The Grand Elder has rebelled; all unrelated persons must immediately return home."

Fugaku's men spread the word, not wanting innocent clansmen to be implicated by me, as it would affect their future actions.

"What? How could the Grand Elder do such a treasonous thing?"

For ordinary Uchiha, although Fugaku's personality was somewhat indecisive, the Uchiha clan members still lived a comfortable life. They didn't want to lose everything they had, so the Grand Elder's rebellion was a loss to their interests. Who knew if the next Clan Head would be as good as Fugaku?

"Take care of things at home, I'm going to help out at the Clan Head's place."

The Genin and Chunin of the Uchiha Clan bid farewell to their families and left their homes, wanting to contribute their meager strength to the Uchiha. They all carried the pride of the Uchiha and could not tolerate the betrayal of the Grand Elder.

"Lord Shisui, what should we do?"

Seeing the Uchiha clan members disobeying and coming out of their homes one by one, the responsible Uchiha could only report to Shisui, because Fugaku was still fighting with the Grand Elder, and Shisui had the highest prestige at the scene.

Shisui was pleased to see the Uchiha so united.

"These are the Uchiha I want to protect! They're willing to do anything for their families."

"Shisui I am proud," Shisui thought to himself.

"Organize them well; don't let them handle dangerous tasks after the battle."

Shisui issued the order. These strengths were generally uneven, which was why Fugaku hadn't notified them—he didn't want too many Uchiha casualties.

"Yes, Master Shisui."

"Oh no. Something's happened."

Shin Uchiha also heard the sound, and at that moment his brows furrowed; they had been exposed.

"Gentlemen, we only have one path left now. Fight our way out and we'll survive."

Shin Uchiha was a decisive person, and he gave the order without hesitation.

"Bang!"

The gate to the Grand Elder's house was forcibly broken open.

"Kill."

The leader was clearly Uchiha Itachi. This was also Fugaku's way of building momentum for his son; nothing could be more effective at generating momentum than suppressing a rebellion.

"Kill."

Shin Uchiha the same thing. And so, the two sides immediately began their battle.