Shisui awakened the Mangekyō

"The Fourth Hokage died in battle. A meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss the aftermath."

"Make sure you're there."

Gentō nodded and continued walking out of the village.

Early the next morning.

Gentō returned to Konoha with all the Uchiha clanspeople.

More than three thousand people marched through the village gates in a vast procession, entering the devastated village.

After a night of emergency work, Konoha's ruins had been partially cleared.

Collapsed houses had been pulled apart, and rubble had been piled into small hills.

But there were even more bodies.

Civilians and ninja alike lay in neat rows on the open ground, waiting for their families to say their final goodbyes.

Wails filled the clearing.

Just then, the Uchiha Clan's procession came into view.

The crying gradually subsided.

Countless eyes turned toward them.

"That's... the Uchiha Clan..."

Someone murmured.

"How... how did they not lose a single person?"

"Look at their ranks. Everyone's in perfect order, and not one of them is injured!"

"Impossible... last night was such a mess. How could none of them have died?"

Someone suddenly shouted:

"They must have known in advance that the Nine-Tails would go on a rampage, so they fled!"

Suspicious gazes turned toward the Uchiha clanspeople.

"Damn it! They must have had something to do with the Nine-Tails' rampage!"

"Exactly! Didn't you see the Nine-Tailed Fox's eyes last night? They looked just like the Uchiha's Sharingan!"

"Those damned Uchiha must be behind this!"

"I was wondering why the Nine-Tails suddenly attacked Konoha. So it was the Uchiha's doing!"

"They controlled the Nine-Tails and made it attack the village!"

"Damned Uchiha! You all deserve to die!"

The grief-stricken, furious crowd surged toward them.

Twisted faces, eyes blazing with fury, fingers pointed at the Uchiha clanspeople...

The members of the Konoha Military Police Force who had come to welcome their clanspeople were furious at the sight as well.

Inabi immediately stepped forward and demanded:

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

He pointed at them.

"The police force risked our lives to save you last night. Have you forgotten?"

"More than a dozen of our officers died saving you!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Then a man spoke in a sneering tone:

"Hmph. Who knows whether your people really died or just faked it?"

"Exactly!"

Someone immediately chimed in.

"Maybe it was all an act for our benefit!"

"Bullshit!"

Trembling with rage, Inabi lunged forward to attack, only to be held back firmly by the clanspeople behind him.

Fugaku stepped forward, trying to ease the tension with an explanation.

"Everyone, calm down. We tried to organize evacuation drills precisely to prepare for something like this..."

"But you never said the Nine-Tails would go on a rampage!"

A middle-aged woman cut him off with a shrill cry.

She held her child's body in her arms, her tear-streaked face contorted with fury.

"If you'd told us the Nine-Tails was coming, we'd have run long ago! Why didn't you tell us?"

Fugaku opened his mouth, but no words came.

What could he say?

That they wouldn't have believed the clan even if they had been told?

That just yesterday, they had cursed the clan for meddling?

That they had kept insisting they didn't need the Uchiha and that Danzo would protect them?

"Exactly!"

Someone else in the crowd shouted.

"Whatever you say, so many of us died, while not a single one of you Uchiha did!"

"You have to take responsibility!"

"You Uchiha should cover all our losses!"

"Compensation! You have to compensate us!"

The crowd erupted again.

Fugaku stood there, looking at those angry faces, and suddenly felt exhausted.

Shisui stood at the front of the procession, watching everything without a word.

His gaze swept over the shouting faces, the hate-filled eyes, and the hands pointing at the Uchiha.

Yesterday, these people had cried out for Danzo to save them.

Yesterday, these people had cursed the Uchiha for meddling.

Yesterday, these people had said, "We don't need you Uchiha to protect us."

Today, they were saying, "The Uchiha must cover our losses."

They even dismissed his clanspeople's sacrifices as an act.

A powerful urge suddenly rose within him. I wish I could change the way they think!

Then a tearing pain shot through his eyes!

Shisui grunted and instinctively covered his eyes.

He could clearly feel the three tomoe manifesting in his eyes and spinning wildly, as though something were forcibly twisting, compressing, and fusing them.

The excruciating pain made his whole body tremble, but he clenched his teeth and refused to make another sound.

A moment later, the pain receded like a tide.

He slowly lowered his hands and opened his eyes.

The three tomoe in his eyes were gone.

In their place was an intricate pattern he had never seen before.

Shisui froze.

A flood of information suddenly poured into his mind.

About these eyes' abilities.

About their name.

"Koto... amatsukami?"

He murmured to himself.

Beside him, Gentō keenly noticed the change in Shisui.

He turned his head, his gaze falling on Shisui's eyes.

His pupils contracted slightly.

That was... the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō.

But this wasn't the time to discuss it.

The Konoha villagers were still pressing closer.

They gradually closed in on the Uchiha, clearly intending to surround them.

Just then, a masked figure suddenly appeared between the two sides.

"Orders from the Lord Third! The Uchiha clanspeople are to return to their compound. Clan Head Gentō and the chief of the Konoha Military Police Force are to attend a meeting at the Hokage's Office!"

The Konoha villagers paused, then reluctantly opened a narrow path.

Some still muttered under their breath, but ultimately, none dared defy the Hokage's orders.

Gentō waved a hand expressionlessly, and the three thousand Uchiha clanspeople returned to their compound under the Konoha villagers' furious stares.

Because the Uchiha Compound was in a remote location, only a handful of homes had been hit by the shock waves from the Nine-Tails. The main buildings were almost entirely intact.

Gentō quickly arranged for everyone to settle in. Just as he was about to catch his breath, Inabi arrived with a group of people.

"Clan Head Gentō."

Inabi pushed the door open and entered, followed by more than a dozen people.

Gentō glanced over them. They were all prominent fighters within the clan, and several had their Sharingan activated.

They had come prepared.

Inabi got straight to the point, making no attempt to hide his resentment.

"Gentō, the villagers and Konoha's leadership are all so stupid. Why don't we Uchiha launch a coup?"

His voice carried anger that had been suppressed for far too long.

"Just look at how they acted today! Yesterday, they cursed us for meddling. Today, they accused us of putting on an act."

"More than a dozen of our officers died, and they said we faked their deaths! We saved so many people, and they said we had ulterior motives!"

"What is there left to protect in a village like this?"

"Exactly!"

One of the clanspeople behind him chimed in.

"With the strength the Uchiha have now, even the Hokage's Anbu might not be able to beat us! Let's just do it and make one of us Hokage!"

"Right!"

"We should've done this long ago!"

Several others voiced their agreement, their eyes bright with excitement.

Beside them, Fugaku instinctively started to reprimand them, but after glancing at Gentō, he swallowed his words.

Gentō didn't answer immediately.

He knew the radicals within the Uchiha Clan were starting to make their move.