It Must Be That Evil Old White-Haired Senju Ghost!

Inside the secret chamber, red eyes stared at red eyes, and for a moment, there was an eerie, absolute silence.

On the night of the Nine-Tails, Uchiha Fugaku had just gathered the clan's elite when he was intercepted by Danzo; the Uchiha ninja hadn't even touched a hair on the Nine-Tails, let alone had the chance to see the Sharingan within its eyes.

Therefore, most of the jōnin in the clan felt that the recent rumors were completely groundless.

The few elders who were older and more knowledgeable simply assumed that some of the seniors were bringing up the old story of Uchiha Madara attacking the village, and that the listeners had gotten things mixed up.

Now, you are telling me this is true?

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

An elder with white hair and beard suddenly sprang up, shattering the silent atmosphere, his eyes bloodshot:

"Only the Mangekyō Sharingan can control a Tailed Beast!

The clan hasn't produced one since the days of clan leader Uchiha Madara and his brother Uchiha Izuna."

As he spoke, his loud, resonant voice gradually faded into a whisper, and finally, he pursed his lips, casting suspicious glances at everyone present.

When it came down to it, awakening the Mangekyō was difficult, but every Uchiha had a theoretical chance.

Could it be that the enemy was here in this secret chamber?

The atmosphere grew increasingly awkward.

Everyone in the secret chamber looked left and right, trying to ferret out the Mangekyō user hiding among them.

Shisui? Uchiha Chen?

Impossible! How old are they? Even Uchiha Madara was still playing with water ripples by the river at that age! And the elders over fifty were impossible too.

Gradually, the suspicious gazes of most clansmen fell upon Uchiha Fugaku, who bore the title of "Fierce Eye."

"Ahem!"

Uchiha Fugaku cleared his throat, his expression calm as he pacified the crowd:

"It is not me, and I believe it is not any of you present here either!

There may be hidden circumstances regarding this Nine-Tails incident, so let us set this matter aside for now and focus on discussing the relocation of our clan grounds."

"Wait!"

Uchiha Chen, who had been keeping a low profile and acting like a transparent figure, finally couldn't help but speak up.

The destruction of the Uchiha clan was a perfect storm of timing, geography, and human factors.

The timing was the alienation of the villagers in Konoha after the night of the Nine-Tails.

The human factor was the presence of a "filial son" like Uchiha Itachi and a "big brain" clan leader like Uchiha Fugaku within the Uchiha.

Uchiha Chen could hardly change these two, but the "geography" was something he had to fight for.

If the Uchiha clan grounds remained in the most prosperous part of Konoha instead of being moved to the edge of the barrier, would the Konoha higher-ups have dared to carry out the "Night of the Uchiha Massacre"?

Even if they dared, the cost of sealing off information and preventing the Uchiha from escaping would have been ten or a hundred times higher than in the original timeline.

Uchiha Fugaku bringing up the relocation of the clan grounds and the Nine-Tails being controlled by a Sharingan at the same time showed that he was inclined to cave in to the higher-ups and move the clan.

With the suspicion of controlling the Nine-Tails hanging over them, the naturally unruly clansmen would feel guilty and choose to swallow their pride.

Uchiha Chen would not allow this!

He wanted to ignite the fire in the hearts of his clansmen, keep the Uchiha in the center of Konoha, and perhaps even turn the tables on Sarutobi Hiruzen!

Uchiha Chen made his decision, straightened his back, and brought out the argument he had prepared long ago.

"Clan leader, elders, and uncles!"

Uchiha Chen held his head high, swept his gaze over everyone with the traditional "Uchiha look-down-your-nose" expression, and raised his voice:

"I am young, and I know little of the clan's history regarding the Mangekyō.

The elder just said that the Mangekyō Sharingan can control a Tailed Beast; does this apply to all Mangekyō? The Nine-Tails is the strongest of the Tailed Beasts; could it really be controlled so easily?"

After saying this, Uchiha Chen paused for a few seconds, watching as the clansmen began to ponder and recall, before turning his head to look at an old man in the corner with a face full of wrinkles and white hair:

"Elder Uchiha Setsuna! You are the oldest in the clan and were already an adult before the village was founded; could you please enlighten this junior?"

The gaunt old man, who was so thin he was nothing but skin and bones, slowly raised his head. His cloudy eyes lingered on Uchiha Chen's face for a long time, revealing a look of reminiscence.

Uchiha Setsuna was the leader of the Uchiha's radical faction; he had launched a rebellion during the reign of the Second, and after failing, he had been imprisoned for decades until he was released a few years ago.

He was also the only remaining Uchiha who had served as a "ninja head" (equivalent to a jōnin in the era of ninja villages) during the time of Uchiha Madara.

"The theory that the Mangekyō can control a Tailed Beast has existed for a long time."

Uchiha Setsuna's voice was dry and hoarse, his speech very slow, pausing to catch his breath after every sentence.

"As far as I know, Lord Uchiha Izuna, the brother of clan leader Uchiha Madara, and Lord Uchiha Tajima, their father, both awakened the Mangekyō, but neither of them ever controlled a Tailed Beast. Whether they were unwilling or unable, I do not know.

The only one I have ever seen do it was clan leader Uchiha Madara, who controlled the Nine-Tails! But by that time, the eye power of clan leader Uchiha Madara was far beyond that of an ordinary Mangekyō."

At this point, Uchiha Setsuna grinned, then shook his head and said no more.

It didn't matter; Uchiha Chen had already gotten the answer he wanted.

"So," Uchiha Chen said, preempting the conclusion while the clansmen were still thinking:

"The only person truly capable of controlling the Nine-Tails is Uchiha Madara. The root of the problem likely isn't about who awakened the Mangekyō, but rather Uchiha Madara's pair of Sharingan that transcend the Mangekyō itself!

So, after Uchiha Madara was defeated by the First, where did his body go?"

"Back then." Uchiha Ryoji's expression turned grim, and he spoke in a distracted, hollow tone:

"To avoid any suspicion, Madara's body was handed over to the Second, who was acting as Hokage at the time, for burial."

"Ha!" Uchiha Setsuna sneered, gritting his teeth as he spat out:

"That damn white-haired brat loves nothing more than dissecting corpses and researching all sorts of wicked forbidden techniques! That naturally evil old Senju ghost!"

"No way, right?"

"The Second's reputation in that regard is indeed less than stellar!"

Some clansmen were clearly skeptical, but several of the older members immediately began to educate them on the 'glorious achievements' of Senju Tobirama back in the day—tomb raiding and dissecting thousands of bodies!

Soon, under the intentional guidance of Uchiha Chen, the logic formed a closed loop:

"The naturally evil white-haired Senju kept Uchiha Madara's Sharingan for experiments, and in the end, the test subject took revenge on Konoha, triggering the Nine-Tails Incident!"

In this version of events, the Uchiha were entirely the victims, a vulnerable group deserving of sympathy, while the Hokage Faction were the undisputed villains!

The clansmen were, of course, only half-convinced by this self-consistent narrative, but compared to the status of 'criminal suspect,' everyone naturally preferred to stand on the moral high ground.

More importantly, Uchiha Chen knew that the Hokage Faction simply could not produce Uchiha Madara's body.

Once they actually went to investigate, they would discover that Uchiha Madara's body was truly missing!

If they were to encounter the masked Obito in the future, it would only serve as further proof:

A person possessing both the Mangekyō and Wood Release—this was undoubtedly a test subject.

At this moment, it had become an art form!

That black pot, the evil old white-haired Senju ghost was destined to carry it!