Uehara Isami's Provocation

The Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall was inevitable.

That also meant Uchiha Yuan would eventually face this pair of geniuses who had directly set the events in motion: Obito Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi.

As for Obito Uchiha, Uchiha Yuan thought he was an idiot who had lost his mind over a woman.

Although he was actually just a pawn in Uchiha Madara's schemes, there was no understanding or forgiving actions like killing one's teacher and raising a blade against one's own clan, no matter the reason.

What's more, if his memories from his previous life were correct, his younger sister Izumi seemed to have died at Obito's hands on the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall.

At the thought, a flash of coldness crossed Uchiha Yuan's eyes.

He would make anyone who tried to lay a hand on his sister understand just how brutal a brother's fury could be.

As for Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Yuan had mixed feelings about him.

There was no doubt that Uchiha Itachi was a super-genius with outstanding combat talent and ninja abilities.

And what he had sacrificed for his younger brother Sasuke made him a truly great older brother.

But when it came to politics and schemes, he was an idiot.

The reason he gave for slaughtering his entire clan was that if the Uchiha rebelled, Konoha would be severely weakened, and other villages might attack it, causing a war.

Uchiha Itachi had been taken to the battlefield at the age of three, where he witnessed war and death, and began to ponder the meaning of life.

He longed for peace. At seven, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had even praised him for having the mindset of a Hokage, saying his thinking had transcended the boundaries of clan and village.

Uchiha Yuan thought this was downright laughable, especially since his reason for raising a blade against his clan was utterly absurd.

Clearly, in Uchiha Itachi's eyes, the village that oppressed and ostracized the Uchiha Clan mattered more than the clan members who cared for him and the parents who had placed their hopes in him.

A person like that was terrifying!

In Uchiha Yuan's view, a ninja was essentially a blade wielded by the shinobi village—a tool.

Since Uchiha Itachi longed for peace and didn't want a conflict between his clan and the village, he should have turned from a blade into the one who wielded it.

Instead, he chose to become one of Shimura Danzō's blades for eliminating the Uchiha.

The Uchiha Clan's tragedy had happened because Konoha High Command saw that Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui identified more with the village than with their clan.

The two of them had been headed in the wrong direction from the start. They had kept trying to help their clan assimilate into the village, never considering how to make the village accept their clan.

If Uchiha Shisui had stood with him from the beginning, on the side of the Uchiha Clan, and revealed the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan to Konoha High Command, they might have been afraid to oppress the Uchiha Clan so excessively.

If Konoha High Command had been willing to truly trust him and Uchiha Shisui, allowing the two pro-village moderates to join the Center of Power and show goodwill toward the Uchiha Clan, that might have eased the clan's resentment over being ostracized and suppressed.

Perhaps the Uchiha Clan's tragedy could have been avoided.

Thinking of Uchiha Itachi made Uchiha Yuan think of his younger sister Izumi, and a helpless look came over his face.

The little girl hadn't spoken to him for days.

Was this what they meant by a younger sister preferring her sweetheart over her own brother?

When the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall really came, he could bring himself to kill Obito Uchiha. But when it came to Uchiha Itachi, just imagining Izumi crying made Uchiha Yuan hesitate.

"Uchiha Yuan!"

A boy spotted Uchiha Yuan, strode over, and stood in front of him, glaring as he spoke.

The boy was stout, almost a head taller than the other youths.

Uchiha Yuan frowned slightly and looked at him. "Uehara Isami, what do you want?"

The boy raised his fist, his face full of resentment. "It's all because of you Uchiha! If your Police Force had gone out to stop the Demon Fox that night, my uncle wouldn't have died!

"This is all your Uchiha's fault!"

With that, Uehara Isami swung his fist at Uchiha Yuan.

"Pathetic."

"You're an idiot, too!"

Uchiha Yuan kept his hands in his pockets, an impatient look on his face. He had no interest in arguing with a fool who had been misled by rumors.

He took a step forward, easily sidestepped Uehara Isami, and headed for his classroom.

"Damn you, Uchiha Yuan!"

Uehara Isami's fist missed. He froze for a moment, then his face reddened with embarrassment and anger. He turned and swung again at Uchiha Yuan's back.

Smack.

A hand slapped the punch aside, followed by a sharp shout.

"Hey, punk! Sneaking up on someone from behind? You looking to get beaten?"

It was Uchiha Eiji's voice.

Uchiha Yuan turned around and saw Uchiha Eiji and a group of Uchiha children coming over.

Seeing the dozen or so Uchiha youths, Uehara Isami looked alarmed. He turned and bolted, fleeing at full speed.

Watching Uehara Isami run away, Uchiha Eiji sneered. "A coward like him actually dared to raise his fist against the Uchiha! Not just anyone gets to challenge the dignity of the Uchiha Clan."

Then he looked at Uchiha Yuan. "When that coward stopped you just now, you should've knocked him down with one punch. We can't let anyone challenge our clan's reputation."

Uchiha Yuan said, "He was just misled by rumors and took out his resentment on the Uchiha. But Eiji, thanks for helping me get rid of that nuisance."

Then he turned and left.

Watching Uchiha Yuan's back, the other Uchiha youths frowned.

"Eiji, whose family is that guy from? How rude. I don't think I've ever seen him before."

"I know him. His name's Uchiha Yuan, from Class Nine. But he always seems to be alone and never comes to our gatherings."

"He can't be that strong. I've never seen his name among the top fifty students in our year."

"He actually avoided someone who challenged him. What a disgrace to the Uchiha Clan."

"Exactly. He didn't even dare throw a punch when someone challenged him. He's probably a cowardly loser, too."

Hearing his clanmates, Uchiha Eiji furrowed his brow and headed for the classroom.

He didn't want them to find out that Uchiha Yuan had defeated him with a single punch.

The clash between Uchiha Yuan and Uehara Isami had begun suddenly and ended just as quickly when Uchiha Eiji and the others arrived.

Still, quite a few people nearby had seen it.

But what they saw was a boy surrounded and intimidated by more than a dozen Uchiha youths, then fleeing in a panic.

Not far away, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze from the group of Uchiha youths and looked at Uchiha Shisui. "Shisui, the Uchiha Clan is becoming more and more domineering. This will only distance them further from everyone else in the village."

Uchiha Shisui furrowed his brow and looked toward the group of Uchiha youths in the distance. His voice low, he said, "Third Hokage-sama, I'll change the Uchiha Clan."