Night fell, and the Ancestral Hall in the Uchiha Compound was brightly lit.
Clan members gradually gathered there, and the air was filled with a solemn, heavy atmosphere.
Nine bodies covered in white cloth lay in the center of the Ancestral Hall, each representing an Uchiha elite who had died on a mission.
Chiyo stood on the high platform in the Ancestral Hall, his gaze slowly sweeping across every clan member present.
"Tonight, we have gathered here not to celebrate victory, but to bid farewell to our brothers and sisters."
Chiyo's voice was low and powerful, echoing through every corner of the Ancestral Hall.
Below the platform, the clan members wore solemn expressions, grief flickering in their eyes.
Chiyo took a deep breath and continued.
"They could have returned alive, but because of a mission, they were left outside forever.
I want to ask everyone here: are Uchiha clan members really so cheap?"
His voice suddenly rose, his gaze blazing.
"To bring back members of the Uzumaki Clan, we sacrificed nine clan members!
Nine Uchiha elites!
Were their lives worth less than those surviving outsiders?"
Below the platform, Maki Uchiha lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly.
He remembered Captain Aoki's decision during the mission, and the comrades who had fallen while protecting the Uzumaki clan members.
Chiyo's words were like a sharp blade stabbing into his heart.
"Our Uchiha Clan has always placed family first."
Chiyo's voice gradually calmed, yet it carried an unquestionable force.
"The village is formed by the union of different clans.
And a clan is made up of individual people."
"What is most important?
It is the clan members—their lives!
That is the wealth we should cherish most!
If we cannot even do that, what right do we have to speak of the clan's