It's All Your Fault

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

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

"The fault lies in Konoha's high-ranking suspicions? The fault lies in me, your clan head, deceiving you?" Yoru let out a cold laugh. "No, the real fault lies in your weakness!"

"What did you say?!" Yashiro's expression twisted in fury, and the clansmen behind him revealed indignant looks.

"Isn't it true?" Yoru stepped forward, his presence imposing. "You clamor for a coup, for a decisive battle to the death with Konoha. But do you even know how many strong warriors Konoha truly has?"

"The Third Hokage, hailed as the strongest in history, the 'Ninja Doctor'; Shimura Danzō, commanding countless death soldiers of Root; Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja, inheritor of Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode; and Tsunade, Kakashi... These top-tier powerhouses—which of you can claim to defeat them?"

With every name Yoru uttered, the radicals' faces darkened by a degree.

These were truths they knew deep down but had always refused to face.

"Not to mention Konoha's tens of thousands of ninja troops, its perfected ninjutsu system, and the forces hidden in the shadows."

Yoru's voice grew sharper. "And what about us? Aside from my and Shisui's two pairs of Mangekyo, what are you so-called 'elites' in the face of true strength?"

Uchiha Tekka couldn't help but retort, "But we have the Sharingan! We're not afraid to fight to the death!"

"Foolish!"

Yoru barked sternly. "It's precisely this reckless, thoughtless mindset that has driven the Uchiha into today's predicament! Do you think a coup is just simple fighting and killing? Do you know what will happen to the clan's elderly, women, and children once war breaks out? The children who can't even walk yet, the old with no weapons—they will pay for your impulsiveness with their lives!"

These words made many radical members pause.

They could disregard their own lives, but they couldn't completely ignore their families' safety.

"Do you think I don't want to fight Konoha's enemies to the death?"

Yoru's tone suddenly grew heavy. "I could take on the Third, but who would handle the rest?"

"It's precisely because I have to divert attention to protect you weak clansmen, because I have to worry about Konoha's despicable hostage tactics, that Shisui and I can't fight at full strength. Your weakness is what limits the Uchiha's top combat power!"

"And now you dare to question me?"

Yashiro's face turned pale. He opened his mouth but found he couldn't refute.

Weakness was the original sin—this was a belief carved into the Uchiha's very bones.

"Look at Shisui!"

Yoru suddenly pointed at Shisui beside him. "Do you think he disappeared for over half a year for no reason? That he lost the Uchiha clan's ultimate power and became blind for nothing?!"

"He possessed the strongest genjutsu, yet nearly died at Danzō's hands. He tried to control Konoha's high-ranking officials, but was defeated by them."

"That's right, just as you guessed before, Shisui's disappearance is closely tied to Konoha's high-ranking officials."

"But so what? Even Shisui couldn't beat them. What can you lot, who haven't even awakened the Mangekyo, do? Stand up for him? Do you have the ability?"

At this, Shisui lowered his head slightly.

To outsiders, it seemed he was ashamed of his own lack of strength.

But they didn't know—Shisui was actually ashamed of the clan head's words.

What did he mean by trying to control Konoha's high-ranking officials and failing? He had planned to use Kotoamatsukami on the clan's radicals when Danzō ambushed him.

In the clan head's telling, he had somehow become the silent guardian of the Uchiha clan.

Shisui originally didn't want to speak, but under the clan head's gaze, he could only nod at the right moment, his tone heavy:

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

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

So that was the reason for Uchiha Shisui's disappearance—defeated by Konoha's high-ranking officials while silently protecting them.

And they had been able to do nothing.

Yoru swept his gaze across everyone, his voice rising with fervor again:

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

"I want you to remember today's shame! Remember that it's because of your weakness that we had to leave our homeland! Remember this hatred, and turn it into the drive to grow stronger!"

A sharp light flickered in Yoru's eyes.

"When each of you is strong enough to stand on your own, when the Uchiha clan's overall power is enough to crush Konoha—that will be the moment we return for revenge!"

"By then, we won't have to hold back anymore, won't have to compromise anymore! We'll make Konoha pay for what they've done!"

These words fully ignited the radicals' fighting spirit.

Uchiha Yashiro was the first to kneel on one knee, his voice hoarse:

"Clan head, I understand! From today on, I will use every means to grow stronger and will never again be a burden to the Uchiha!"

"Us too!" Tekka and the other radical members knelt one after another, swearing their oaths.

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

But when Yoru turned and noticed the odd looks in Itachi and Shisui's eyes, he quickly leaned in and whispered:

"You two are smart people, so I can speak to you with clever methods—but not to them."

Yoru jerked his chin toward the impassioned Yashiro and the others.

"They're too stupid. You can't tell the truth to stupid people. You have to hypnotize them with rousing words, make them feel like what they're doing is right."

"So 'march back to Konoha' is just a slogan—you understand that, right?"

"Big Brother, there's no need to say so much. I trust you." Itachi nodded coldly.

"Mm, good." Yoru nodded with "relief."

Trust you my ass. With that look on your face like I owe you eight million, if you trusted me, that'd be a miracle.

My foolish little brother—still loyal to Konoha at heart.

Deep inside a dark, damp cave far from the campfire's glow, space twisted with extreme instability.

A figure wearing a shattered spiral mask stumbled out, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Cough... ugh..."

Obito coughed violently, his face beneath the mask pale as paper, blood streaming from his right eye. His chakra was in utter chaos, as if it might collapse at any moment.

The cost of forcibly tracking the world barrier far exceeded his imagination. The spatial turbulence had not only gravely wounded his body but also damaged his Kamui Sharingan considerably.

He struggled to lean back against the cold stone wall, panting for a long while before barely gathering a thread of chakra to sense his surroundings.

"Such dense... Natural Energy... So this is the world they fled to?" Obito's voice was hoarse and brimming with hatred. "Uchiha Yoru... did you think escaping here would let you rest easy?"

He closed his eyes, striving to calm the surging blood and the stabbing pain in his ocular power.

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

An icy killing intent spread through the cave.