Genkawa Uchiha's Pain

"Enough."

Fugaku Uchiha's voice was not loud, yet it was like a basin of cold water poured over the heated Council Chamber.

The voices gradually died down.

Someone was still saying something when the person beside him tugged at his sleeve, forcing him to swallow the rest of his words.

The last few people whispering among themselves also fell silent, and everyone's gaze turned toward the seat of honor.

Fugaku Uchiha's expression was extremely grave.

He sat there with his hands folded before him, his eyes sweeping across every face in the room.

There was little anger in that severity. Instead, it carried a heavy solemnity.

"Let me ask you a question."

His voice was steady.

"Are you all so happy here because you think Genkawa will definitely help the Uchiha Clan?"

The Council Chamber fell into silence.

No one spoke.

Someone opened his mouth, only to close it again.

Someone frowned, as though trying to figure out what exactly the question meant.

The excitement had not yet faded from some faces before the question choked it back, leaving their expressions somewhat ridiculous.

It was not an easy question to answer, especially since some people instinctively lowered their heads upon hearing it.

After a while, someone spoke.

"Genkawa is a genius of the Uchiha Clan. Why wouldn't he help the Uchiha Clan?"

The speaker was Inabi Uchiha, roughly Genkawa Uchiha's age. Being able to awaken his Sharingan at that age meant he could be considered fairly gifted within the Uchiha Clan.

His words represented the thoughts of some of those present and immediately drew agreement from several people.

"That's right. No matter what, Genkawa is still one of the Uchiha."

"We have never denied his identity. He is an Uchiha, and that is an unchangeable fact."

"He has ability, and that is the fortune of the entire clan. Didn't Lord Madara fight for the Uchiha Clan back then as well?"

"Genkawa's strength represents the Uchiha Clan's strength. What's there to discuss?"

Several people spoke over one another, finding their words more and more self-evident.

Clearly, just as they said, that was genuinely what they believed.

Among the Uchiha Clan, such people were the most common—those who constantly spoke of glory and pride. They were also the most numerous.

But some remained silent.

Uchiha Yashiro sat in a corner, having never joined the lively discussion from earlier.

He had thought about many things these past few days. From the Nine-Tails Incident to the present, from Genkawa Uchiha's attitude to the village's response, the more he thought about it, the more he felt things were not so simple.

He raised his head and looked at the clan members who were still talking away.

"Do you think the things you believe in are important to Genkawa?"

His voice was not loud, but the Council Chamber was quiet enough for everyone to hear him clearly.

The voices of those who had been speaking came to an abrupt halt.

"Or do you think he would care about the Uchiha Clan?"

After saying that, Uchiha Yashiro did not speak again.

Yet no one could deny those words. Quite a few people changed expression, instinctively looking at those around them before turning to Fugaku Uchiha in the seat of honor.

They remembered.

Thinking of Genkawa Uchiha's past actions, it was obvious that he was someone with little sense of belonging toward the clan.

He had rejected the clan's arrangements when he was very young, and now he had refused to move into the New Clan Grounds. He lived alone in the Old Clan Grounds and associated with no one.

They had once thought it was rebellion, willfulness, and immaturity.

But looking back now, it was plainly indifference.

From beginning to end, he had never cared what the Uchiha Clan thought.

The atmosphere in the room changed at once.

The earlier excitement and fervor seemed to have been drained away, replaced by an indescribable oppression.

Some lowered their heads. Some turned their faces away. Others went pale, their lips trembling faintly.

Watching those changes, Fugaku Uchiha felt somewhat relieved.

At least there were still clearheaded people in the clan.

"Yashiro is right."

He spoke, his voice heavier than before.

"Genkawa has never received any favor from the clan throughout his growth. Everything he has is something he earned himself. Whether he feels any belonging toward the clan, you should know in your hearts."

No one responded.

Fugaku Uchiha paused before continuing, "Furthermore, have you forgotten? Which clan member who awakened the Sharingan did not experience life, death, and pain?"

His gaze swept over everyone present once more.

"Then what pain did he experience to awaken the Mangekyō?"

Those words were rather too bloody and cruel. Especially for the Uchiha present, all of whom had awakened their Sharingan, thinking of the pain they had endured and comparing it to Genkawa Uchiha's circumstances made them shudder.

The pain required to awaken even the most ordinary one-tomoe Sharingan was already something they did not wish to remember. Then what about Genkawa Uchiha, who had awakened the Mangekyō?

What had he experienced?

Fugaku Uchiha continued.

"He has had no enemies throughout his growth. He did not need to go to war, carry out dangerous missions, or even leave the village. Then where did his pain come from?"

Fugaku Uchiha's voice was terrifyingly calm.

"If we're talking about pain... what could have caused him more pain than the clan?"

The air in the Council Chamber seemed to freeze.

Some people's expressions changed drastically, as though something had struck them in a vital spot.

Some clenched their fists until their knuckles turned white.

Others had their mouths open but could not make a sound.

They remembered.

They remembered the clan's attitude toward Genkawa Uchiha over the years.

Cold stares, exclusion, verbal humiliation. Some had even said things like, "Who the hell do you think you are?" to his face.

They had believed it was only right because he was disobedient, did not fit in, and refused to follow the clan's arrangements.

But looking back now, what was that?

It was plainly bullying.

A child had been treated that way by his own clansmen since he was only a few years old.

The environment he grew up in was not a battlefield or an enemy nation, but his own home.

The pain inflicted on him had not come from enemies, but from his own people.

Then why had he awakened his Sharingan?

And why had he awakened the Mangekyō?

Who exactly had his enemies been?

The more they thought about it, the more everyone present shuddered.

Perhaps... they were the ones who had caused Genkawa Uchiha pain, thereby leading him to awaken the Sharingan and then the Mangekyō.

Uchiha Yashiro closed his eyes, unable to bear looking at the expressions on these people's faces any longer.

Silence.

A long silence.

No one spoke. No one dared to speak.

Those who had been talking so grandly moments ago now lowered their heads one after another, staring at the tatami before them as though there was something worth studying there.

Fugaku Uchiha sighed softly.

"From now on, no one in the clan is to disturb him."

His voice was soft but clear.

"Some things need time to make up for."

At this point, no one opposed him. No one present was foolish. There were things they had been unwilling to think about in the past, but now they only needed to think a little to understand.

The fact that Genkawa Uchiha had not come to hate them after awakening the Mangekyō was already something they should consider themselves fortunate for.

If they provoked him again now, their fate would undoubtedly be miserable.

Some thought even further ahead. The way Genkawa Uchiha treated the clan—had it not already made his attitude clear?

No one spoke in the Council Chamber again.

Old Clan Grounds.

Over the next two days, Genkawa Uchiha lived a very leisurely life.

No one came looking for him, neither the Uchiha Clan nor the village. Even the Military Police Force personnel on their daily patrols deliberately avoided the area around the Old Clan Grounds.

He knew it was Fugaku Uchiha's arrangement, though he did not know whether those clansmen had finally understood some things.

Even if they had, he did not care.

What he cared about was something else: he could not stop practicing ninjutsu.

With his current talent, failing to make use of it would be quite a waste.

The original training ground had been completely destroyed in his battle with Obito. It was still a vast field of ruins and could not be used at all, so he needed to find another place.

That day, the weather was clear.

Genkawa Uchiha changed into clean clothes, took only the Ninja Blade Fugaku Uchiha had given him, and left the Old Clan Grounds.

The Old Clan Grounds were as cold and deserted as ever, with not a single person in sight. But the moment he reached the gate, he stopped.

A figure stood outside the clan grounds' entrance, leaning against a tree with a somewhat stiff posture. He had clearly been waiting for a long time.

White hair. A mask covered the lower half of his face.

Kakashi Hatake.

Hearing footsteps, he raised his head. His one exposed eye met Genkawa Uchiha's gaze.

Genkawa Uchiha sighed inwardly.

He did not know how long Kakashi Hatake had been waiting there, but it was clearly not a short time.

Was this the bond of the Ninja World?

How was it any different from the brotherhood on Chunxi Road?