Everyone to Blame

Uchiha Yoru's voice cracked like thunder, instantly silencing the previously clamorous valley.

His sharp gaze swept across the faces of every radical faction member before finally settling on Uchiha Yashiro.

"The fault lies with Konoha High Command's suspicion? The fault lies with me, the clan head, for deceiving you?" Yoru sneered. "No, the real fault lies in your weakness!"

"What did you say?!" Yashiro's expression changed drastically, and the clansmen behind him also revealed indignant looks.

"Isn't that the truth?" Yoru stepped forward, his presence oppressive. "You keep talking about launching a coup and fighting Konoha to the death. But do you know how many powerful people Konoha truly has?"

"The Third Hokage, hailed as the strongest Ninja Doctor of all generations; Shimura Danzō, who commands countless expendable soldiers in Root; Jiraiya, one of the Sannin and inheritor of Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode; and Tsunade, Kakashi... Which of you is confident you can defeat these top-tier experts?"

With every name Yoru spoke, the radicals' expressions grew uglier.

These were facts they all knew well but had always refused to face.

"Not to mention Konoha's army of tens of thousands of ninjas, its complete ninjutsu system, and those forces hidden in the shadows."

Yoru's voice grew increasingly severe. "And what about us? Aside from Shisui and me, with our two Mangekyo, what are you so-called elites worth before true powerhouses?"

Uchiha Tekka could not help retorting, "But we have the Sharingan. We aren't afraid of fighting to the death!"

"Foolish!"

Yoru shouted sharply. "It is precisely this reckless thinking of yours that has brought the Uchiha Clan to its current state! Do you think a coup is just a matter of fighting and killing? Do you know what the clan's elderly, women, and children will face once war begins? Those children who cannot even walk, those unarmed elders—they will pay for your impulsiveness with their lives!"

Those words left quite a few radical members speechless.

They could disregard their own lives and deaths, but they could not completely ignore their families' safety.

"Do you think I do not want to fight Konoha and our enemies to the death?"

Yoru's tone suddenly grew heavy. "I can fight the Third Hokage, but who will deal with everyone else?"

"Because I have to divide my attention to protect weak clansmen like you, because I have to guard against Konoha using despicable hostage threats, Shisui and I cannot fight without restraint at all. It is your weakness that limits the Uchiha Clan's strongest fighters!"

"And now you dare question me?"

Yashiro's face turned deathly pale. He opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to refute him.

Weakness was the original sin, a belief carved into the Uchiha Clan's bones.

"Look at Shisui!"

Yoru suddenly pointed at Shisui beside him. "Why do you think he vanished for more than half a year? Why do you think he lost the Uchiha Clan's ultimate power and became blind!?"

"He possessed the strongest Genjutsu, yet he nearly died at Danzo's hands. He wanted to control Konoha High Command, yet he was defeated by Konoha High Command."

"That's right. Just as you suspected before, Shisui's disappearance was closely tied to Konoha High Command."

"But so what? Even Shisui could not defeat them. What can a bunch of people like you, who have not even awakened the Mangekyo, possibly do? Stand up for him? Do you have the ability?"

Shisui lowered his head slightly at those words.

To others, he appeared ashamed of his own lack of strength.

But they did not know that Shisui was ashamed by the clan head's words.

What did Yoru mean by saying Shisui had wanted to control Konoha High Command and failed? Clearly, Shisui had been ambushed by Danzo while preparing to use Kotoamatsukami to control the radical faction within the clan.

How had he become someone who silently protected the Uchiha Clan in the clan head's version of events?

Shisui had not wanted to speak, but under the clan head's meaningful gaze, he could only nod at the appropriate moment and say in a heavy voice:

"The clan head is right. If I had been stronger back then, perhaps I could have changed the Uchiha Clan's fate."

The Uchiha clansmen immediately erupted into an uproar.

So that was why Uchiha Shisui had disappeared? He had been defeated by Konoha High Command while silently protecting them.

And they had been unable to do anything.

Yoru looked around at the crowd, his voice turning impassioned once more:

"But now, we have a new opportunity! This New World is rich in resources and free from Konoha's surveillance and oppression. Here, you can focus on training and grow stronger!"

"I want you to remember today's humiliation! Remember that it is because of your weakness that we were forced to leave our homeland! Remember this hatred, and turn it into the driving force that makes you stronger!"

A sharp glint flashed in Yoru's eyes.

"When every one of you is strong enough to stand on your own, when the Uchiha Clan's overall strength is enough to crush Konoha, that will be the time for us to return and avenge our grievances!"

"When that time comes, we will no longer need to fear anything, nor will we need to compromise on anything! We will make Konoha pay for what they have done!"

Those words completely ignited the radicals' fighting spirit.

Uchiha Yashiro was the first to drop to one knee, his voice hoarse.

"Clan head, I understand! From today onward, I will use every method possible to become stronger. I will never again be a burden to the Uchiha Clan!"

"So will we!" Tekka and the other radical faction members knelt and swore their oaths one after another.

Yoru watched this scene with satisfaction, knowing that these unruly clansmen had finally been guided onto the right path.

However, when Yoru turned and saw that Itachi and Shisui's expressions were somewhat off, he hurriedly leaned closer and whispered:

"You two are smart. I can speak to you in a smart way, but that won't work for them."

Yoru gestured with his chin toward the emotionally charged Yashiro and the others.

"They are too stupid. You cannot tell stupid people the truth; you have to use passionate words to hypnotize them, making them believe that what they are doing is right."

"So returning to attack Konoha is really just a slogan. You understand, right?"

"Big Brother, you don't need to say so much. I believe you." Itachi nodded coldly.

"Mm, that's good." Yoru nodded "comfortingly."

Believe my ass. With that expression like I owe you eight million, it would be a miracle if you trusted me.

My foolish little brother still had his heart set on Konoha.

Deep within a dark, damp cave far from the camp's firelight, space twisted unstably.

A figure wearing a shattered spiral mask stumbled out in a wretched state and crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Cough, cough... Urgh..."

Obito coughed violently. His face beneath the mask was pale as paper, blood streamed endlessly from his right eye, and Chakra throughout his body was in complete chaos, as though he might collapse at any moment.

The cost of forcibly tracking the world's barrier far exceeded his expectations. The spatial turbulence had not only severely injured his body, but had also dealt considerable damage to his Kamui Sharingan.

He struggled to prop himself against the cold stone wall. After gasping for breath for quite some time, he finally managed to gather a trace of Chakra and sense his surroundings.

"Such dense... Natural Energy... Is this the world they fled to?" Obito's voice was hoarse and filled with hatred. "Uchiha Yoru... Do you think you can rest easy just because you escaped here?"

He closed his eyes and struggled to calm the surging blood and Chakra within him, along with the stabbing pain in his Eye Power.

"Just wait... Once I recover... this so-called New World will become the Uchiha Clan's... burial ground!"

A cold killing intent spread through the cave.