Secret Chamber Beneath the Seventh Tatami Mat

"How so?"

Sōken humbly sought guidance.

"Do you remember what Uncle Yashiro said before? Don't take the reputation outsiders heap on you too seriously," Uchiha Arashiyama asked.

"That annoying old man!"

"Sōken, your reputation and Shisui's are both quite formidable. Some say Shisui is the strongest in the clan, while others firmly believe you are the strongest in the clan... But no matter what, this so-called strongest title is really just something the younger generation talks about. Those veteran Jonin in the clan may not necessarily acknowledge it. Just as Uncle Yashiro said, these people also happen to be supporters of the clan head."

By this point, Sōken understood what Uchiha Arashiyama meant.

Showing off one's formidable strength at the appropriate time was not a bad thing, especially in an environment like the Uchiha Clan, which worshipped the strong. To a certain extent, great strength was equivalent to power—it only depended on whether one knew how to use that power.

Shisui was the best example.

In the original history, after Shisui, the undisputed "strongest in the clan," died, clan members like Uchiha Yashiro, who could be called Fugaku Uchiha's most die-hard supporters, had actually rushed to the clan head's home to question his eldest son, Itachi Uchiha. This showed just how much influence this so-called strongest fighter possessed.

"I understand. Beat them until they have no spirit left, and naturally they'll behave and listen, right?"

"...That's not wrong. Though it may not go as smoothly as you imagine, it is only natural for the strong to lead the weak."

Uchiha Arashiyama nodded in affirmation.

In his eyes, Sōken was the unquestionable strong one. Though he was three years older than Sōken, he had never won a single one of their many sparring matches since childhood. Sōken's strength was genuine, utterly dominant—ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu... all of it overwhelmingly powerful.

The reason he firmly supported Sōken, aside from their friendship, their shared ideals, and other reasons, was his reverence for Sōken's dominating strength. As he himself had said, the Uchiha worshipped the strong.

And though Uchiha Arashiyama seemed calm and steady by nature, he was, deep down, a true Uchiha as well.

"Only natural, huh?"

Sōken narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, More figures appeared on the Approach Path steps.

"Grandfather, Elder Ryuji, Elder Homaru, Elder Jun!"

A group of elderly people, all over sixty, arrived together.

"Sōken, don't disappoint me tonight." The hot-tempered and impulsive Elder Homaru was the first to speak.

"Sōken, do your best!"

That was the familiar Elder Ryuji.

"Sōken... I hope you haven't deceived Shisui. Otherwise, don't let these old bones of mine fool you. Even if it costs me my life, I'll make you regret it." The thin, unhealthy-looking Elder Jun gave Sōken a deep look before continuing onward with Elder Homaru and Elder Ryuji.

This left Genji Uchiha at the rear.

"How are things now?" Genji Uchiha asked.

"Half and half, I suppose! Arashiyama just told me! It'd be best to use our fists to make those hardliners submit!"

"Half? That's not bad. To gather half the supporters on such short notice is already quite impressive... Good thing you brought Shisui over. Otherwise, we couldn't even have convened this emergency assembly. Everyone is more or less here, right?"

Sōken blinked.

Uchiha Arashiyama spoke up. "Other than the clan head and some of his close confidants, all the remaining clan members attending this meeting have arrived."

"Then come in with me!"

Genji Uchiha glanced at the shrine's main hall. "There's no need to wait for the clan head. Fugaku has a habit of arriving last. Besides, there's no point in meeting Fugaku alone at a time like this. Even if he intends to yield to you, Sōken, you'd best not accept it. Rather than wait for someone to hand it to you, it's better to take it yourself."

"Grandfather, you noticed too?"

"My eyes aren't dim yet! When I proposed holding this emergency assembly, even with Jun helping me, it would have been difficult for Fugaku to stop it if he objected. But Fugaku didn't obstruct it at all and readily supported the decision. And then there's the fact that he told you in advance... If I still couldn't understand what Fugaku intended after all that, you might as well bury me already."

"Then Grandfather will have to pick out a burial plot first. Do you want to be buried beside Great-Grandfather?"

"Absolutely not. That old bastard had too foul a temper. I don't want to die and still have no peace. In a few days, I'll take a walk around the cemetery and reserve a plot. Then whenever I die, just bury me there."

The three of them walked along the Approach Path paved with bluish-gray stone bricks and entered the main hall.

The seventh tatami mat from the right had been lifted, revealing stairs leading down to the underground secret chamber.

At the bottom of the stairs was a bluestone passage seven or eight meters long. Once they passed through the short corridor, the cramped space before them suddenly opened up. This spacious secret chamber, capable of holding nearly two or three hundred people, was already packed with people. More than forty clan members had gathered here, kneeling in their assigned places on the dark red wooden floor.

Before the clan members was a recessed area.

A Stone Tablet covered in strange writing stood there, while ancient-style tengu murals adorned the walls on either side. Two braziers had been set up before the left and right sides of the Stone Tablet. The bright, blazing firelight within them was the only source of illumination in this dark secret chamber.

Not every clan member was qualified to participate in the assembly.

Only the clan's ninja could attend, and all of them were Jonin. Chunin and Genin had no right to enter this secret chamber. In addition, some Jonin-level clan members had been assigned to guard the clan grounds, so fewer than fifty people were ultimately attending the assembly.

At this moment, Elder Homaru, Elder Ryuji, Elder Jun, and two other elders who had arrived ahead of them had already taken their seats at the front. Though they were said to have taken seats, the elders merely had an extra cushion beneath them, making kneeling somewhat softer than on the wooden floor.

"Elder Genshi is here too."

The clan members at the rear noticed footsteps coming from behind them. When they turned around, they immediately saw Genji Uchiha and the two people accompanying him.

"It's Arashiyama."

"And Sōken!!!"

The atmosphere turned slightly strange. News traveled quickly within the clan, and Jonin were the clan's core strength to begin with. Most of those seated here vaguely understood why this emergency gathering had been convened, and they also knew that Uchiha Sōken would be one of the central figures of tonight's assembly.

His supporters greeted him with the warmest stares, most of them young people.

His opponents expressed their dissatisfaction with cold, resistant looks, most of them middle-aged or elderly.

A small number merely regarded the clan's famed [Flame Demon] with simple curiosity.

Sōken remained composed in the face of those varied gazes, utterly unmoved. With both hands tucked into the sleeves of his long robe, he followed behind Grandfather at an unhurried pace, making his way forward through the passage that had been left open.

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