From Today On, Root Belongs to Uchiha!

"Let's go." Uchiha Shisui smiled and walked out of the house.

This time, it was more than just one or two steps.

The surrounding Anbu were utterly shocked.

Uchiha Shisui, who had lived like a prisoner for nearly a year, had actually stepped outside!

And it was not merely one or two steps!

This was earth-shattering news!

Not to mention the terrifying Orange Flame Pillar behind him...

They hurriedly sprang into action.

"Report to Lord Hokage immediately!"

Because...

Uchiha... No! Konoha was about to change!

The village summoned its shinobi.

In the middle of the night, countless shinobi hurriedly dressed, equipped their weapons, and prepared to answer the summons.

Yet without exception, they all noticed the Orange Flame Pillar in the Uchiha Clan Land, as though it were holding up heaven and earth.

The terrifying high temperature could be faintly felt even from half a village away, making the air seem dry and scorching.

"What is that..."

They felt uneasy.

It was the same unease they had felt when facing the Raging Red Skull Giant in the Village Center.

For some reason, they seemed to have seen those Orange Flames before.

It was as though a fear etched deep into their hearts was spreading, leaving them flustered and at a loss.

They had clearly meant to grab their weapons, yet picked up their shoes instead.

They had clearly meant to take their masks, yet grabbed mirrors instead.

Such mistakes happened one after another, making them even more uneasy.

They hurried out and gathered at the Hokage Building.

Their unease seemed to find a home, gathering together and turning into even greater fear and apprehension.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a black tight combat suit and a shinobi cap with green layered armor hanging from both sides. His expression was sharp, his gaze fixed directly on the terrifying pillar of flames shooting into the sky.

He had already made up his mind, yet failed to notice the unease among his subordinates behind him.

Uchiha Clan Land.

On a rooftop, a man in black robes wearing an Orange-Bottomed Black-Patterned Single-Eyed Mask watched the blazing flames, his eye narrowing slightly.

"They actually fell into chaos on their own first? Interesting."

"Jinghuo Uchiha is dead. Uchiha Shisui should go mad now. When that happens... Heh heh."

Then he saw the figure within the Orange Flame Pillar and his eye widened.

"How is that possible?!"

He saw that Jinghuo Uchiha, who should have been dead, was actually alive.

Instead, the one responsible for this scene was Jinghuo Uchiha.

At that moment, the Orange-Bottomed Black-Patterned Single-Eyed Masked man had only one thing he wanted to say: "Why the hell did you destroy your own house when you were fine?!"

If Jinghuo Uchiha knew, he would probably answer like this: "The mood was right, so I burned down my house to liven things up for everyone?"

The towering Orange Flame Pillar gradually receded, gathering around a little boy. Like flames that would not harm anyone, it burned quietly.

Yet the high temperature radiating through the air constantly reminded everyone of the flames' terror.

Facing the owner of those flames, everyone could not help but feel afraid.

However, upon seeing that it was this little boy, the surrounding Uchiha Clan Members all breathed a sigh of relief first.

It was good that Jinghuo Uchiha was all right.

But the next second, they came to their senses.

"Jinghuo... You... you..."

"This is..."

The clan members stared at Jinghuo Uchiha, their mouths dry.

They did not know why Jinghuo Uchiha had suddenly become like this, even burning down his own house.

But they could tell that Jinghuo Uchiha was somewhat irritable right now. It was better not to approach him.

Facing the clan members' uncertain and suspicious gazes, Jinghuo Uchiha remained calm. "Uzumaki Naruto was taken by Shimura Danzō. He framed our Uchiha Clan, and now all the shinobi in the village are coming to surround and suppress us."

The clan members' eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?!"

"They're coming to suppress us?!"

"Shimura Danzō! It's him again!"

"Damn him!"

The clan members were all furious. The Sharingan in their eyes spun wildly, filled with bloodthirsty light.

"I'm going to the Root Base and kill Shimura Danzō. Who's coming with me?" The Orange Flames around Jinghuo Uchiha gradually faded away, eventually disappearing completely.

He was very calm.

Yet no one could hear the violent excitement hidden beneath his calm tone.

"This..." The clan members hesitated for a second, then saw Uchiha Shisui step forward and appear behind Jinghuo Uchiha.

"Let's go," Uchiha Shisui said calmly.

The clan members were stunned.

"Clan Head..."

Shimura Danzō was the Hokage's advisor!

Were they really just going to kill him so suddenly?

Was that appropriate?

Wasn't it too reckless?

Before they could finish thinking, Jinghuo Uchiha started walking forward.

And Uchiha Shisui quietly followed behind Jinghuo Uchiha.

The clan members stared blankly.

For some reason, they recalled that day, when Uchiha Shisui had carried the unconscious Jinghuo Uchiha back.

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out.

The clan members turned their heads blankly and discovered that a youth had a clear, burning handprint on his face.

"Even if I die this time, I'm following them!"

He gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and followed.

The other clan members glanced at Fugaku Uchiha.

Last time, he had given up.

This time, he said nothing, but even if he had...

They clenched their fists, their expressions becoming resolute. No longer looking at Fugaku Uchiha, they walked toward Jinghuo Uchiha.

Fugaku Uchiha watched Jinghuo Uchiha and Uchiha Shisui walking at the front with a cold, calm expression.

In the end, his gaze settled on Uchiha Shisui.

"Even if you die, you would rather make the whole of Konoha pay than let the clan members suffer indignity..."

"Is this your choice, Shisui..."

Naturally, Fugaku Uchiha knew about the threats outside the village.

Forced by the clan members into having no choice but to stage a coup, he had wanted Uchiha Itachi to control the upper ranks of the Hokage's administration.

As for the villagers' distrust afterward... Future problems could be resolved in the future.

After all, as an Uchiha, he could not possibly wipe out the Uchiha Clan with his own hands, could he?

In the original story's Night of the Massacre, Fugaku Uchiha knew that Uchiha Itachi had chosen to wipe out the clan, yet he did not resist.

He could not bear to fight his own son to the death.

But was it not also a form of escape?

This father and son both wanted to escape the fate of being members of the Uchiha Clan.

But neither of them could escape it.

Both were forced to make choices they did not want to make.

Fugaku Uchiha was forced by the clan members.

Uchiha Itachi had even more pressures upon him.

First, Uchiha Shisui forced him to protect the village and preserve the Uchiha Clan's reputation;

Then there were the threats outside the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen's tacit approval, and Shimura Danzō's gradual indoctrination of "putting the greater good first";

Then came the clan members' distrust and their narrow-mindedness;

The pressure pushed upon him by all those people made him choose to wipe out the clan, so that he could preserve the most important person left after his best friend's death—his younger brother.

From this perspective, they and Sarutobi Hiruzen were the same kind of people—weak, merely going with the flow.

Now, Uchiha Shisui's choice allowed him to see another kind of Uchiha Clan Head—strong and absolutely unwilling to compromise!

"Fugaku didn't follow," Uchiha Shisui said softly as he followed behind Jinghuo Uchiha.

"It doesn't matter," Jinghuo Uchiha said.

In his view, it made no difference whether Fugaku Uchiha came or not, because Fugaku Uchiha would never take action of his own accord.

And now, the time was ripe.

"From today onward, Root belongs to Uchiha!"

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