The entire hall fell into deathly silence. Then Uchiha Yashiro and the other Hawk Faction Uchiha seriously began considering the possibility of storming the Hokage Building. Their eyes grew brighter and brighter, and their killing intent grew heavier and heavier!
The scarlet Tomoe revealed in their excitement filled the hall with a cold, murderous air!
Uchiha Fugaku, whose expression remained composed, had actually frozen up completely. Uchiha Shisui nervously clenched the hem of his clothes in his fist.
With more than a decade remaining until the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and the Uchiha yet to be ostracized by the entire village after the Nine-Tails Incident, they had never considered rebelling as a clan.
Uchiha Mikoto's eyes flickered with a trace of worry, but it was soon replaced by a resolute light.
Even the Old Clan Head was considering the possibility, but he quickly dismissed the thought and barked in a low voice. Though his voice wasn't loud, it was like cold water poured into a pot of boiling oil.
"Right now, the four great nations beyond Konoha are all watching us like hungry tigers. If we commit an unjust act, even if we succeed, what then?"
He slowly rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping over every fervent or uncertain face before finally settling on Uchiha Ren.
"When the nest is overturned, how can any eggs beneath it remain intact?"
His words carried a heavy weight, pressing down on the restless killing intent in the air.
Everyone turned toward Uchiha Ren in unison. He merely lifted the corners of his lips.
"So, as long as the clan's safety is assured, Clan Head, you agree with our proposal to storm the Hokage Building?"
Before the Old Clan Head, whose expression had changed drastically, could object, Uchiha Ren knew the other man wouldn't agree right now. He immediately changed tack.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't do anything without a sure chance of success."
He surveyed the hall, his gaze passing over every face, whether excited or uneasy.
If the village fell into chaos from within during wartime, and they couldn't achieve the effect of a lightning-fast attack—
Whether they were in the right or not, all of Konoha would become the Uchiha's enemy, and the clan would be in grave trouble.
Their most urgent task was to preserve the clan's strength, build up their foundations, and wait for the right opportunity.
If they could just make it through the Third Shinobi World War, which would leave Konoha severely weakened, then when the time was right—
Whether they openly confronted Konoha or used a feint to secretly establish a new Uchiha base beyond its borders;
Or exposed the damn "Shinobi World's Darkness," Shimura Danzō, while Namikaze Minato held the title of Fourth Hokage, and did everything they could to suppress Sarutobi Hiruzen's faction, uprooting the tumors that prevented the Uchiha from integrating into Konoha...
All of those were good options.
The Old Clan Head's expression eased. From the corner of his eye, he saw his own foolish son looking at him as if to say, "So that's the kind of person you are," and irritation flared within him.
"Fugaku still hasn't learned to see things from a leader's perspective. He has plenty of courage, but not enough strategic sense. He needs time to grow."
This kind of character flaw was common throughout the Uchiha Clan.
Impulsive, impatient, and obsessed with saving face.
These were practically bad habits every Uchiha was born with, deep in their bones.
And if they awakened the Sharingan, they became even more troublesome. As for the Mangekyo Sharingan, it was almost a guarantee that the Uchiha in question had gone beyond ordinary thought and taken things to an extreme.
Take Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi, for example. Those lunatics had completely remade their worldviews.
Just as the saying went: My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror; everything I do is for justice.
Whether they killed their teacher and his wife, or their parents and relatives—
In their worldview, it was all "sacrifice and loss" that had to be endured for the sake of "what was right and just."
When dealing with such beasts, you had to hit them hard—perhaps even use another, more extreme method to shatter their warped worldviews once more and rebuild their personalities.
The simplest method was to kill them.
As for simply lecturing them?
Even a One-Tomoe Uchiha might not listen—unless you were far stronger and held a far higher position than he did.
Uchiha Ren had managed to keep the Hawk Faction Uchiha in line through a mix of punishment and reward.
Then, thanks to the advantages of his status, he had naturally earned their loyalty.
"Too bad Ren won't give Fugaku much time to grow..."
"Forget it. I'll talk to Ren privately and ask him to look after Fugaku in the future. They're members of the same clan, after all."
The series of upheavals at the clan meeting, especially the Dove Faction's change of position, had left the Old Clan Head somewhat resigned. But he hadn't completely given up on Uchiha Fugaku.
Perhaps a war would be enough to transform him.
"Ren."
The Old Clan Head's low voice rang out. "You're not one to make empty speeches. Tell us what you have in mind."
He looked up at the sharp-edged young man, his tone sincere.
"The Third Shinobi World War... The Uchiha can't avoid it."
The Konoha High Command had even turned to the Uchiha for reinforcements, despite keeping them under close watch for fear they would grow stronger with every battle. That showed just how great the pressure on them was. The so-called "strongest Hokage" probably couldn't sleep at night.
"I understand that, of course."
Uchiha Ren calmly returned to his seat, folded his arms, and analyzed the situation.
"Just as I said earlier, the clan's strong fighters haven't left Konoha because of what happened before. They don't dare send too many powerful shinobi to the front lines, for fear we'll make a move."
"The Konoha High Command must be paralyzed by indecision right now."
His gaze sharpened, but his voice remained steady. "The other villages are pressing them from every side. They don't have time to think things over."
"That gives us room to negotiate with the Konoha High Command."
Uchiha Ren looked at the Old Clan Head and spoke earnestly. "We have to secure concrete benefits. For example, independent command of the Kirigakure front. We must protect our clansmen's autonomy as much as possible. We absolutely cannot let a single order turn us into disposable cannon fodder."
He paused briefly, a trace of coldness flashing through his eyes. "And to put it more darkly, what guarantee do we have that the Konoha High Command won't use Kirigakure to slaughter us?"
Take Pakura, the Sunagakure hero known as the most beautiful back in the Naruto world, whose Scorch Release made her a legend. The Sunagakure High Command had jointly decided to use her as a bargaining chip to reconcile with Kirigakure. She had been sacrificed, ambushed by Kirigakure shinobi, and killed.
Uchiha Ren didn't dare underestimate how low the Konoha High Command could stoop. His voice turned somber.
"More than that, could Root, under Shimura Danzō's control, secretly attack us directly?"
"Quite a few of our clan's Three Tomoe Jonin have disappeared without a trace in the Land of Fire while on A-rank missions that weren't particularly dangerous. We still haven't figured out why!"
After he finished speaking, most of the Uchiha fell silent, lost in thought.
The more an argument was debated, the clearer the truth became.
No one who had become a Jonin was truly dull-witted.
Even a seemingly rough-and-tumble shinobi like Might Guy had a keen "beastly instinct."
As versatile shinobi, the Three Tomoe Uchiha naturally had considerable powers of reasoning, in addition to their exceptional combat intelligence.
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