It's Just Spoiled Innocence

According to Uchiha history, those who led the Uchiha to greatness were all born of the Mangekyo Sharingan; how could one even consider themselves a leader in the Uchiha clan without a touch of insanity?

Elder Setsuna, currently acting like a madman, showed none of the elegance he displayed in the Yating just moments ago, embodying exactly what everyone viewed as a qualified Uchiha leader.

It was not until Itachi, standing beside Fugaku, spoke up.

"Are you all so terrified that you dare not face Uchiha Kei alone?"

Seeing his father freeze up yet again, Itachi sighed, deciding to resolve the issue at hand.

This bunch of Uchiha in the clan really made it hard for anyone to like them.

It was no wonder Konoha Village refused to accept the Uchiha.

A group of people who took pride in being lunatics—who could possibly like them?

"Bullying a child will not make Kei-kun think any higher of you. I hope that when you finally see Kei, you have the courage to face his reprimands."

Possessing the mindset of a Hokage, Itachi condemned Setsuna's behavior with a condescending attitude while simultaneously striking at the heart of the matter.

Setsuna was merely playing the madman; he wasn't actually insane. He simply aspired to be a "great" Uchiha, rather than a true one.

Hearing Itachi speak this way, Setsuna released his grip, though he remained stubborn. He shook his lion-maned head and roared at Itachi.

"As if I'm afraid of that brat!"

This kind of bluster could only scare other children. But as elders who had known each other for years, who wasn't familiar with whom? At the very least, in the eyes of Uchiha Michiyo, Setsuna's display was nothing more than a sign of a guilty conscience.

Michiyo, an Uchiha who was very "un-Uchiha," had begun unconditionally supporting Kei ever since the boy started defending every single clansman without bottom-line principles—a stark contrast to this elder who had sacrificed so many of his own kin for the sake of the clan.

He did not take pride in being a madman; he took pride in the survival of his race.

Although Kei didn't pay much attention to him, this old man deeply admired that boy—the boy who could always conjure up more clansmen.

The false justice Kei displayed, the iron-blooded unity he forged through action, and the strict discipline he enforced were, in Michiyo's heart, the perfect Uchiha.

Michiyo could pretend not to see someone bullying a child, but if anyone dared to say a single word against Kei at a clan meeting, he wouldn't even need Kei to speak; this old man would tear their entire family apart.

"Heh, the last person who spoke to Kei like that is already fertilizing the grass three feet deep. Setsuna, have you written your will yet?"

Michiyo, you grinning fool, don't make your contempt so obvious!

"Michiyo, you're trying to scare me!" Setsuna, of the Hawk faction, could not tolerate this.

"Setsuna, have you forgotten? The reason Kei sits at the head of the elders' table, rather than at the end where we originally placed him, wasn't achieved through intimidation."

Whether Setsuna could tolerate it or not was irrelevant to Michiyo; he had more clansmen than Setsuna, and more promising children in his household, too. Was he really going to be afraid of Setsuna?

"Does Kei actually dare to kill me?" When Kei wasn't around, Setsuna was incredibly arrogant.

Unfortunately, Michiyo wasn't buying what Setsuna was selling. They were all adults who had grown up in the same compound; who didn't know who?

"Setsuna, don't say you aren't afraid. Look, Kei-kun isn't even here today, yet no one dares to sit in his chair. If you're so unconvinced, go ahead and sit there."

If it didn't involve Kei, Michiyo was willing to give all the elders face, but once Kei was involved, it became a matter of slandering the future of the Uchiha house.

It was something everyone had the right to punish.

"Hmph!" Setsuna turned his head away, signaling he would no longer pay attention to the old man.

But Michiyo had no intention of letting him off the hook.

"Setsuna, you must understand that being stubborn won't keep you alive for long. Think about the Great Elder who refused to give up his seat to Kei; his corpse was fed to the crows, and did anyone even dare to cry out for justice on his behalf?"

Back then, Kei's actions to establish his authority were extremely radical. To prove he was the kind of ancestor who did whatever he pleased, Uchiha Kei didn't care at all that the clan had offered him a seat at the end of the table—a position for someone not fit to be an elder—as their greatest gesture of goodwill.

Upon entering his first clan meeting, Kei played a game of forcing the palace, ignoring the seat left for him by the door and heading straight for the left side of Fugaku, simply saying, "Move."

When he didn't receive a satisfactory response, he had his subordinates hack the Great Elder to pieces while the man sat there in shock.

This was both a display of power and an expression of his dissatisfaction with the clan for allowing Root to infiltrate their living quarters.

For a clan with sealing barriers to allow outsiders to infiltrate so easily—how could that happen without the clan's tacit approval?

At that time, Kei wanted to play a big game and was already prepared for a counterattack from the Great Elder's family.

Who would have thought that the Great Elder's son, who had been a reserve elder for forty years, would happily take office the very next day?

In the face of power, family ties were worth nothing.

"That's right, it wouldn't be the first time Lord Kei has killed someone."

Zhaoming followed suit, borrowing the tiger's might. At this moment, he finally remembered the benefits of having Kei around, even though he had previously been very dissatisfied with Kei's total unwillingness to integrate into Konoha.

Michiyo looked down on this child; he was a boy with ideals but no pursuit, with ambition but no goal.

No wonder Kei wanted to abandon them; an Uchiha who couldn't keep up with the pace only deserved to rot in the clan lands!

Once he finished educating the younger generation of the clan, he would have them follow Kei.

A rotting Uchiha would eventually be buried alongside a filthy Konoha.

Setsuna pretended not to hear, continuing to turn his head and chat with Yawei.

Michiyo stood up, no longer bothering to tangle with Setsuna.

Since our clan leader has once again fallen into a state of indecision, let me say a few words; someone has to provide a direction for everyone.

"Respected elders, I know the Hokage has approached you, and he has approached me as well. But this is the Uchiha, after all; such things cannot be hidden. While I don't know what that old mongrel promised you, I do understand one thing: you are all prepared to sacrifice others today to fulfill your own interests."

Michiyo looked around as the clansmen gradually gathered. The elders stood in the center of the courtyard, while the rest of the clan crowded around to eavesdrop.

"But you must also understand: the moment you prepared to sacrifice others, did you ever stop to think if you actually possessed the strength to sacrifice them for your own gain?"

Kaku grew somewhat irritated at Michiyo's words.

"What right does Uchiha Kei have to refuse to sacrifice himself for the Uchiha!"

This remark made Michiyo burst into laughter.

"It seems that Kei's care for the elderly and his favoritism toward the clansmen have given you high-and-mighty elders a false sense of security. You don't actually believe Uchiha Kei cares about the Uchiha, do you?"

"Isn't that the case?"

"Ha! That was merely the pity of the strong for the weak. We have never done a kindness for Kei, and Kei has never once relied on the clan's help. You actually fantasize about using the clan's interests to force Uchiha Kei to sacrifice himself? Do you want to trigger a second Uchiha civil war?"

Michiyo's tone grew increasingly stern.

He truly had not expected these elders, who were so ignorant of the hardships at the bottom, to be this naive.

Kaku remained unconvinced.

"As an Uchiha, if he is unwilling to sacrifice himself for the Uchiha, then he deserves to die. Are we really supposed to be afraid of a civil war with him?"

Stubborn to the end. Michiyo had nothing more to say and flicked his sleeves, turning to leave.

His final warning was heavy with helplessness.

"Gentlemen, no one is born to accommodate you. Before you prepare to ignite a civil war, first consider whether you are even worthy of surviving it."