It was obvious to anyone with eyes.
Yashiro had been targeting Itachi because he was really criticizing Fugaku, the Clan Head, and trying to pressure him.
Faced with Yashiro's accusations,
Itachi met his gaze without fear and answered with a clear conscience:
"I'm a member of the Uchiha Clan."
It was precisely because he sincerely wanted what was best for the Uchiha that he was doing everything he could to stop his clan from going down the path of a coup d'état.
Itachi knew just how powerful Konoha was, especially after joining the Anbu.
He believed that the Anbu under the Third Hokage alone were more than enough to crush the Uchiha Clan's coup plot. And that was without even considering Konoha's other clans and the thousands of shinobi in the village.
None of them would side with the Uchiha.
The Uchiha had no public support.
How could they possibly win?
Itachi had even considered the worst-case scenario: the Uchiha would fail in their rebellion and be wiped out. They wouldn't even be able to preserve their former glory. Instead, they would end up like the Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure—
A disgrace and a laughingstock in the eyes of the entire Ninja World.
The thought only strengthened Itachi's resolve. He swore he would pull his clan back from the edge of the abyss.
Fugaku watched Itachi argue with Yashiro without saying a word.
He didn't intervene because he didn't want to shield his son and give the clan members something to gossip about.
If they wanted to argue, then let them argue. Better yet, let them argue this matter through. If things took a turn for the worse, he, as Clan Head, would step in. He wouldn't let the clan members turn on one another.
However,
what surprised everyone was that
Yashiro didn't keep giving Itachi a hard time this time. Instead, he glanced at Dan, who stood nearby, then abruptly shifted his attention to the person beside Itachi—
Uchiha Shisui.
"Shisui, I hear you're Itachi's closest friend. Do you think the same way he does? Or did you put these ideas in his head?"
Yashiro barked.
Itachi was even more fed up with Yashiro. He was about to fire back, but Shisui pressed a hand to his shoulder.
"That's right. I told Itachi to say that."
Shisui stepped forward and shielded Itachi, drawing all the hostility toward himself.
Watching Shisui's back, so much like an older brother's, Itachi felt his eyes sting.
Shisui's words stirred up a commotion among some of the clan members. Yashiro, meanwhile, thought he had found something to use against him.
"So it's true—you've sided with the Third Hokage and long since thrown the clan's interests aside. Uchiha Shisui, do you even care about the rest of us?"
Yashiro relentlessly pressed Shisui, roaring at him.
"Because I care about the clan, I can't stand by and let you lead it down the wrong path."
Shisui answered calmly. The words he spoke were exactly what Itachi himself thought.
Yashiro was displeased by Shisui's lecturing tone and was about to lose his temper.
"Ahem."
A cough interrupted him. Elder Setsuna rose to his feet, leaning on his cane.
He glared coldly at Shisui and rebuked him:
"Shisui, you've been brainwashed by that damn Will of Fire, just like your grandfather, Kagami Uchiha."
Shisui's gaze sharpened. He gave the elder no courtesy and replied coldly, "Elder Setsuna, watch your words."
He knew perfectly well that Uchiha Setsuna, who had led the clan in a rebellion years ago and been locked in the Anbu Prison by the Second, was the source of today's Radical Faction within the clan.
"Am I wrong?"
Setsuna raised an eyebrow, then suddenly spoke louder so all the clan members around them could hear:
"The Second took six disciples back then. Four of them became members of Konoha's high command. Torifu Akimichi went home to retire. Only Kagami Uchiha died young, living to just twenty-five!
Who would believe there was nothing suspicious about that? In my view, Kagami Uchiha was killed through a conspiracy by the other members of Konoha's high command!"
There was no denying that most of what Setsuna said was true.
Back then, the Second had taken Kagami Uchiha as his student to placate the Uchiha and show the clan that
the Uchiha, too, had a chance of inheriting his Will and taking the Hokage Position.
And what happened?
Not only did Kagami Uchiha fail to become Hokage, he also died young under mysterious circumstances.
"Elder Setsuna is right!" Quite a few clan members were swayed by his words, and outrage spread through the crowd.
Shisui took a deep breath and stared at Uchiha Setsuna, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"My grandfather sacrificed himself to uphold the Will of Fire and protect the village. He never cared about power or empty fame. Elder Setsuna, please stop saying things that dishonor the dead."
"You..." Setsuna was so infuriated by Shisui's stubbornness that his blood pressure shot up, leaving him unable to speak.
"Enough talking!"
Yashiro roared. He had the others help Elder Setsuna down, then revealed his Sharingan without hesitation.
Inohi and Tekka activated their Sharingan as well.
At that moment,
three pairs of Three-Tomoe stared straight at Uchiha Shisui.
In Yashiro's eyes, Shisui might have been hailed as the clan's strongest, but he was still just an immature boy, only fifteen or sixteen years old—the same age as Yashiro's son.
Today, Yashiro would teach the boy a lesson, as an elder should.
Seeing the conflict escalate, Fugaku hesitated, but ultimately didn't step in.
He wanted to use this chance to see just how strong Shisui had become.
So,
"Make room for them," Fugaku ordered, making his position clear.
Whoosh.
The crowd immediately split to either side, leaving a path between Shisui and the three men.
The Uchiha were a warlike clan, and the creed they lived by was simple: if you could settle it with your fists, don't waste time arguing.
It was common for clan members to spar at the slightest disagreement and settle things with their fists.
And now, there was a spectacle to watch.
Shisui shook his head.
He hadn't wanted to fight, but Yashiro and the others were too narrow-minded and too radical. They'd left him no choice.
"Shisui, I'll help you."
Itachi stepped forward and revealed his Sharingan, ready to fight alongside Shisui, two against three.
Shisui smiled faintly. "No need. Step aside. This'll be over soon."
Before he had even finished speaking,
a pair of Three-Tomoe appeared in his eyes.
The moment Shisui and Yashiro met each other's gaze, Shisui quietly cast a Genjutsu.
"Hmph."
Yashiro sneered. He had been ready for this and immediately countered with his Pupil Power.
The Uchiha were all skilled at Genjutsu, and Yashiro was one of the best, particularly when it came to reflecting Genjutsu.
With his sharp Sharingan, he often saw through an opponent's Genjutsu and reflected it back unchanged, dealing a heavy mental blow.
Shisui thought he could catch him off guard with Genjutsu? What a fantasy.
However,
Yashiro's smugness lasted less than a second.
"H-How could..."
He suddenly froze in place, his face twisted in pain. Shisui's figure blurred rapidly in his vision, and then he pitched forward with a thud.
He collapsed unconscious.
Yashiro had underestimated the difference in Pupil Power between him and Shisui.
Someone who had awakened the Mangekyo completely outclassed a Three-Tomoe in both the quality and quantity of their Pupil Power.
Even though Shisui hadn't revealed the Mangekyo pattern, his Genjutsu still carried the Pupil Power of the Mangekyo. Yashiro couldn't easily see through it.
If Yashiro had focused entirely on defending himself, he wouldn't have gone down so easily. He could have resisted with his Pupil Power, at least for a moment.
But he was far too confident. He had actually tried to reflect a Mangekyo Genjutsu. He'd simply overestimated himself.
And so everyone saw it:
With a single glance, Shisui had instantly taken down the Uchiha Clan's second-in-command and leader of the Radical Faction, Yashiro.
Everyone around them was left stunned.
Thanks to Changqing1040 for the 5,000 Qidian Coins! That was incredibly generous of you. I'm adding an extra chapter today. Thanks for your support!
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