Peace

Chapter 29

"Don't be so tense. I wasn't spying on you."

Uchiha Fugaku helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead.

His gaze couldn't help but sweep toward Uchiha Siming's hands, which were hidden behind his back—such an obvious move, did he really think he wouldn't notice?

And at this close a distance.

What threat could there possibly be to him, a powerhouse who had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?

His expression was confident, carrying authority without anger, but he still explained:

"Actually, I simply awakened a special Dojutsu of the Mangekyo Sharingan."

As he spoke.

The black irises in his eyes shifted into the Three Tomoe Sharingan, then gradually linked together, transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan. His scarlet eyes carried a hint of eerie strangeness, and the powerful Dojutsu Power sent chills down the spine, as if it came from the abyss of hell itself!

"This is the Mangekyo Sharingan—a power far greater than the Three Tomoe, surpassing the Sharingan itself!"

"And my Dojutsu allows me to see the near future."

"That's how I saw the cause of Shisui's death, and the moment he died, you were by his side."

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes held sincerity, with no trace of pretense.

He was all about being straightforward.

Tch.

He'd almost forgotten about Uchiha Fugaku's Dojutsu, though he couldn't really blame himself—after all, in the original story, there wasn't much detail about Fugaku's Dojutsu.

Still.

Wasn't this way too direct?

There was absolutely no sense of a Clan Head's dignity!

Look at your two sons—once they got the Mangekyo, one built himself a secret room with a throne, the other threw his head back laughing, declaring himself invincible. And you... this is a bit too plain!

It completely goes against the Uchiha's arrogant, flashy, over-the-top personality!

"You could have just said so from the start, instead of making such a fuss."

Uchiha Siming waved his hand, pulled his hands out from behind his back, picked up his teacup, and took a big gulp.

"Siming."

Seeing the young man's relaxed demeanor, completely unafraid of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Fugaku's expression grew heavy and complicated. He tested the waters:

"So you've awakened those eyes too, haven't you?"

Only someone who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan could look upon his eyes with such calm, without a single ripple.

What delighted him was that Uchiha Siming had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan—if a rebellion broke out, the Uchiha Clan would gain an important combat force.

But what worried him inside was this:

If Uchiha Siming didn't stand with the Uchiha Clan.

Then the Uchiha Clan's rebellion was doomed to fail, and the lives of the entire clan—over a thousand people—would perish in vain!

"Clan Head, I understand what you mean."

Watching Uchiha Mikoto, her figure perfectly outlined by her Qipao, pour tea, Uchiha Siming met the Uchiha Clan Head's gaze directly.

He let out a light laugh, then said with utmost seriousness:

"I'll say it again."

"Clan Head, no matter who tries to destroy the peace of Konoha, I won't allow it. Whether that person is my closest friend, my wife, or even my son."

His voice was calm, but it carried an unshakable resolve.

"The night is deep and the dew is heavy. I'll head back first."

Siming stood up and walked out the door.

Thump—!

Uchiha Fugaku felt his heart skip a beat.

He stood up as well, staring at Siming's retreating back. His expression was complicated, but his eyes gradually turned cold:

"Siming, I was once just like you—believing in Konoha, believing that Konoha and the Uchiha Clan could coexist in peace. But the man who could maintain that peace between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha is already dead!"

It had been a long time since he'd spoken so openly and sincerely with anyone.

First, because there was no need—as one in a position of authority, he had no reason to let others know what he was thinking.

Second, because no one in the Uchiha Clan was qualified to hear him say these things!

The Uchiha Siming before him was the first.

The tea in front of him had already gone cold, but he didn't even notice. He downed it in one gulp:

"And how did Konoha treat us, the Uchiha Clan?"

"The Nine-Tails's Rampage back then—the Third Hokage ordered me to subdue the Nine-Tails. I had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan by that time; I had the ability! But Shimura Danzō, out of his own wariness, vetoed that command!"

"When the Nine-Tails's Rampage ended, the Konoha high command pinned the blame for it on our Uchiha Clan!"

"We were moved from the heart of Konoha to its outermost edge as an entire clan—this is nothing but blatant humiliation!"

"And now, with Shisui's death, even without seeing the killer, I know for certain it was Danzō's doing!"

His voice carried a fury pressed down to its breaking point, like storm clouds that had gathered for too long—gloom and oppression hung thick in the air, as if the next moment would bring a torrential downpour and the sky's thunderous wrath.

"Siming, do you think a Konoha like this is still worth our Uchiha Clan's loyalty?"

At this moment.

Uchiha Fugaku, who had served as the Uchiha Clan Head for over a decade, fully revealed the truest side of his heart!

No matter how unshakable he appeared at clan meetings.

Deep down, he remained a steadfast Hawk faction member—rebellion was already inevitable.

So he had to win over Uchiha Siming, who had already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan; otherwise, all his plans would come to nothing.

Pat.

Siming said nothing and kept walking.

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes dimmed for a moment—was this really all the Uchiha Clan could amount to?

The entire village was ostracizing the Uchiha Clan. Hiruzen Sarutobi could still hold things together when he was younger, but now he was old. Ever since he failed to suppress Shimura Danzō during the Nine-Tails's Rampage...

Over a decade, Danzō had been pressuring the Uchiha Clan openly and covertly.

Step by step, he pushed the Uchiha away from Konoha's high command.

And now it had come to the point of annihilation—could the Uchiha Clan still not fight back?!

A large portion of the Uchiha clan members didn't understand him.

Even his own son didn't trust him.

And had instead defected to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side.

Was the Uchiha Clan truly fated only for extinction? Then why had he awakened this pair of Mangekyo Sharingan?!

His heart felt like dough left to ferment, clogged and unable to breathe.

Suffocating to the point where he wanted to cry out.

But even his voice was ignored by others. His hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh, yet he didn't even notice.

Pat.

The footsteps stopped.

"Clan Head."

Uchiha Siming leaned against the doorframe of the courtyard, his figure tall and straight, like a spear that would never bend, piercing straight into the sky.

He turned his head, and a pair of crimson, three-pronged shuriken Mangekyo Sharingan emerged.

Carrying a chilling aura, as if from the depths of the Nine Hells.

"I just said—anyone who tries to destroy the village's peace, no matter who it is, I will never allow it."

He added, word by word:

"Whether it's the Uchiha Clan or anyone else in Konoha—no one is permitted."

Uchiha Siming's eyes held a hint of deeper meaning, pointed and deliberate.

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes suddenly blazed with light.

His breath quickened uncontrollably as he understood: "Good, good, good! I understand, Siming!"

So that was it?

No one.

Is permitted.

And his Uchiha Clan—as long as they did not betray Konoha—would also be included within that peace!