He didn't like hearing that.
At that moment, when Fugaku saw Chiba and Itachi arrive, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Itachi, Chiba, you're here... Come over!"
The two went to Fugaku's side.
As clan head and Itachi's father, he smiled fondly and patted Chiba and Itachi on the head.
"Whatever else he was, Uchiha Obito was a hero of Konoha... and a hero of our Uchiha Clan."
As he spoke, he suddenly leaned down and brought his mouth close to Itachi's ear.
"Itachi!"
"Watch this ceremony carefully!"
Itachi was startled.
Carefully watch again?
His father and Chiba seemed to share the same idea.
What exactly did they want him to see?
The Uchiha Clan... and Konoha?
Chapter 48
Although Uchiha Obito was given a grand funeral by all of Konoha, there was no body in the tomb.
The flowers laid at the grave and the smiling black-and-white photograph attached to the headstone seemed strangely out of place.
But who cared?
The children, hearts full of fervor and eager to fight and kill the enemy, wept uncontrollably.
It seemed they were truly grieving for the hero who had sacrificed himself for Konoha.
But the ninjas from the various clans standing at the very front all wore cold, hypocritical masks.
Perhaps they had grown indifferent to it all.
People died in war. What was so surprising about that?
Perhaps they knew this was nothing but a performance, a carefully orchestrated one.
But who cared?
Perhaps the only ones truly grieving were the members of the Uchiha Clan.
And Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara, who knelt before Obito's grave.
The Sharingan that couldn't be closed was the gift Obito had given Kakashi for his promotion to jōnin.
It was his first, his last, and his only gift.
The chakra constantly being drained seemed to pierce Kakashi's soul.
-- In the world of shinobi, those who broke the rules were called trash, but those who abandoned their comrades were even worse than trash.
Obito's words seemed to echo in his ears.
Only now did Kakashi truly understand why his father had once abandoned a mission for the sake of his comrades.
Kakashi's presence prompted a Uchiha ninja standing beside Fugaku to speak in a low voice.
"Clan head, what should we do about the Sharingan in that member of the Hatake Clan?"
Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan and Byakugan had to be reclaimed.
They were generally taken back from anyone who wasn't a member of the clan.
But Fugaku simply watched in silence and answered calmly.
"Leave it as it is."
"That was Obito's gift to him."
"We'll honor his last wish."
"And besides—"
Fugaku didn't finish what he was saying.
But Chiba knew what he meant.
Kakashi was also a hero of Konoha. He had taken part in the mission to cut off Iwagakure's supplies, and he too had survived by the skin of his teeth.
Under those circumstances, if the Uchiha Clan tried to gouge out his eye, what would that make them?
As clan head, Fugaku wasn't foolish enough to do something like that.
Besides, he had never intended to take the Sharingan back.
After all, Kakashi was a member of Konoha too.
Amid this so-called atmosphere of grief,
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly walked up onto the platform by the tomb.
He wasn't puffing on his usual pipe.
It simply wasn't appropriate for the occasion.
Unlike the kind smile he had shown at the Ninja Academy last time,
Sarutobi Hiruzen now wore an expression full of grief and solemnity.
He had plenty of hypocritical masks.
Knowing how to say the right thing to the right person was what Sarutobi Hiruzen did best on the political battlefield.
"Wherever the leaves dance, the fire burns. The flames will continue to illuminate the village and help new leaves sprout."
"Without a doubt, Obito was a successor to the Will of Fire!"
"He burned himself to illuminate the village."
"It was his bravery on the battlefield that secured Konoha's ultimate victory."
"He was a hero—a hero of our Konoha!"
"We must always remember his heroic deeds."
"I hope everyone will remember this boy, this boy who carried on the Will of Fire."
"Ultimately, this Will of Fire will lead the entire village to prosperity!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke at length, his voice thick with emotion.
Every other sentence, he called Obito a hero of Konoha. Every third, he invoked the Will of Fire.
The young people of Konoha, so thoroughly indoctrinated, brimmed with fervor, as if they could spill their blood for Konoha at any moment.
The tragic thing was—
Sarutobi Hiruzen still hadn't said the words "Uchiha Clan."
Obito's name was Uchiha, after all.
Well played, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Uchiha Fugaku's expression was not good, but there was nothing he could do.
He knew exactly what Sarutobi Hiruzen meant.
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
Then, he suddenly reached out and patted Itachi and Chiba on the head.
Itachi looked at his father in confusion.
"What is it, Father?"
"Itachi, Chiba..."
"I want you to remember today. Remember everything that happened."
"This isn't humiliation. It's glory."
"This is the glory our Uchiha Clan has won for the sake of peace."
Those words were rather cryptic. At least, young Itachi couldn't fully understand them.
He only knew that his father's words had left a deep impression on him.
Chiba understood Fugaku's position as clan head.
Fugaku trusted Sarutobi Hiruzen as Hokage. At the very least, for the sake of peace and prosperity in the village, he knew when to give ground.
What had truly made Fugaku give up hope was probably Konoha's complete persecution of the Uchiha after the Nine-Tails Incident.
"Clan head..."
At that moment, Chiba suddenly spoke.
"What is it, Chiba?"
"Konoha has never belonged to the Sarutobi Clan..."
"When Konoha was first founded, the Uchiha named the village Konoha to build friendship and trust between the founding clans, while the Senju named its supreme leader Hokage."
The "wood" represented the Senju, while the "fire" represented the Uchiha.
Back then, no one even knew where the Sarutobi Clan was.
"I think backing down too much will only embolden them."
"We talked about this before, didn't we? Some conflicts can't be reconciled."
"Sometimes, there are things we have to fight for!"
"Even if it doesn't bring us any tangible benefit, we still need to make our position clear, don't we?"
"Clan head, will you... support me?"
Fugaku was stunned.
He looked at Chiba, deeply grateful that their clan had a child like him.
The future of the Uchiha Clan ultimately belonged to Chiba and Itachi.
Sometimes, someone really did need to set an example.
"Say what you want to say... We Uchiha don't shy away from trouble."
Fugaku smiled kindly at Chiba, then patted Itachi on the head.
"Itachi, he... is someone you should learn from."
Just then,
Chiba suddenly stepped forward, leaning on his cane.
"Hey, Lord Hokage."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been preaching the Will of Fire, paused in surprise.
He was a little surprised to hear the voice coming from the Uchiha Clan.
And when he saw it was Chiba, ...