The Uchiha Clan's Blind Swordsman

He did not like such sounds.

At this moment, seeing Chiba and Itachi arrive, a smile immediately appeared on Fugaku's face.

"Itachi, Chiba, you're here... come over!"

The two walked to Fugaku's side.

As the clan head, and also as Itachi's father, he patted Chiba and Itachi's heads with a loving smile.

"Regardless of anything else, Uchiha Obito... he is a hero of Konoha, and a hero of our Uchiha clan."

As he spoke, he suddenly leaned down, moved close to Itachi's ear, and spoke softly.

"Itachi!"

"You must watch this memorial service carefully!"

Itachi's heart skipped a beat.

Watch carefully again?

His father and Chiba seemed to have the same idea.

What exactly did they want him to see?

The Uchiha... and Konoha?

Although Uchiha Obito was given a grand burial by all of Konoha at the cemetery, his body was not actually there.

The flowers for the memorial and the black-and-white photograph of him smiling, attached to the tombstone, seemed somewhat out of place with their surroundings.

But who would care?

The children, filled with hot-blooded passion and a desire to fight the enemy, wailed loudly.

It seemed as if they were truly weeping for this hero who had sacrificed himself for Konoha.

However, the ninjas from various clans standing at the very front all wore cold, hypocritical masks.

Perhaps they had become indifferent to all of this.

In war, how could there be no deaths?

Perhaps they knew this was nothing more than a show, a calculated performance.

But then again, who would care?

Perhaps the only ones truly weeping for him were his fellow clansmen of the Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara, who were kneeling before Obito's grave.

That Sharingan, which could not be closed, was the gift Obito had given Kakashi for his promotion to Jonin.

It was the first, the last, and the only gift.

The chakra being consumed at every moment seemed to be piercing Kakashi's soul.

Although in the world of ninjas, those who break the rules are called trash, those who do not value their companions are even worse than trash.

Obito's words seemed to still echo in his ears.

Only now did Kakashi truly understand the real reason his father had abandoned his mission for the sake of his companions back then.

Kakashi's appearance caused an Uchiha ninja beside Fugaku to speak in a low voice.

"Clan head, what should we do about the Sharingan on that member of the Hatake clan?"

Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan and Byakugan were meant to be recovered.

Generally, if someone outside the clan obtained one, it would be reclaimed.

Yet, Fugaku just watched everything quietly and spoke calmly.

"Leave it be."

"That was a gift from Obito to him."

"We respect his final wish."

"Besides—"

Fugaku did not continue his sentence.

But Chiba knew what he was going to say.

Kakashi was also a hero of Konoha; he had participated in the mission to intercept Iwagakure's supplies and had narrowly escaped death himself.

Under such circumstances, if the Uchiha clan were to go and gouge out his eyes, what would that look like?

As the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku was not stupid enough to do such a thing.

Moreover, he had no intention of taking the Sharingan back at all.

After all, Kakashi belonged to Konoha as well.

Amidst this so-called atmosphere of sorrow.

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked slowly up to the memorial platform.

At this moment, he was not holding his usual pipe.

Such an occasion was, after all, inappropriate for it.

Unlike the gentle smile he had displayed at the Ninja Academy last time.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was now filled with solemnity and grief.

He possessed many masks of hypocrisy.

Speaking what people wanted to hear, playing the part required by the situation—this was what Sarutobi Hiruzen excelled at most on the battlefield of politics.

"Where the leaves dance, the fire will also burn. The light of the fire will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

"Without a doubt, Obito was a successor to the Will of Fire!"

"He burned himself to illuminate the village."

"It is precisely because of his heroic performance on the battlefield that we were able to secure the final victory for Konoha."

"He is a hero, a hero of our Konoha!"

"We should forever remember his heroic deeds."

"I hope everyone can remember this young man, this youth who inherited the Will of Fire."

"This Will of Fire will ultimately lead the entire village toward prosperity!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke eloquently, his words filled with emotion.

Every other sentence mentioned a Konoha hero, and every third sentence was inseparable from the Will of Fire.

The Konoha youths, deeply brainwashed by him, were filled with hot-blooded passion, as if they were ready to shed their blood for Konoha at any moment.

The pathetic thing was.

Up until now, Chiba had not heard the word "Uchiha" pass Sarutobi Hiruzen's lips even once.

Obito was, after all, an Uchiha.

You really are something, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

At this moment, Uchiha Fugaku's expression was not looking good either, yet he could do nothing.

He knew exactly what Sarutobi Hiruzen meant.

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly.

He suddenly raised his hand and patted Itachi and Chiba on their heads.

Itachi looked at his father with some confusion.

"What is it, Father?"

"Itachi, Chiba..."

"I hope you can remember today, remember everything that happened today."

"This is not humiliation, but glory."

"This is the glory that our Uchiha clan has bloomed for the sake of peace."

These words were inexplicable, or at least, the young Itachi could not fully understand them.

He only knew that what his father said was profound and deeply etched into his heart.

Chiba understood Fugaku as the clan head.

He trusted the Hokage as Sarutobi Hiruzen; at the very least, for the sake of the village's peace and prosperity, he knew how to make concessions.

What truly made Fugaku lose hope should have been the complete targeting of the Uchiha by Konoha after the Nine-Tails incident.

"Clan Head..."

At this moment, Chiba suddenly spoke up.

"What is it, Chiba?"

"Konoha has never belonged to the Sarutobi..."

"At the time of Konoha's founding, as the founding clans, in order to build friendship and trust, the Uchiha named the village Konoha, while the Senju named the supreme commander of Konoha the Hokage."

The "Konoha" (Tree Leaf) represented the Senju, while the "Fire" represented the Uchiha.

Back then, the Sarutobi clan didn't even know where they were.

"I feel that excessive concessions will only fuel the other side's arrogance."

"I discussed this with you before, didn't I? Some conflicts are irreconcilable."

"Sometimes, there are things that one must fight for!"

"Even if there is no tangible benefit for us, at the very least, we must make our stance clear, don't you think?"

"Clan Head, are you... willing to support me?"

Hearing this, Fugaku froze.

He looked at Chiba, feeling deeply gratified that his clan possessed a child like him.

The future of the Uchiha Clan, after all, belonged to the likes of Chiba and Itachi.

Sometimes, it was indeed necessary to set an example.

"If you have something to say, then say it... Our Uchiha Clan does not fear trouble."

Fugaku smiled, looking at Chiba with great kindness while simultaneously patting Itachi on the head.

"Itachi, he... is worth learning from."

Just then.

Chiba suddenly stepped forward, leaning on his crutch.

"Hey, Lord Hokage."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was in the middle of preaching the Will of Fire, suddenly paused.

He was somewhat surprised to see the voice coming from the Uchiha Clan.

And even more so when he saw it was Chiba.