According to Uchiha history, all the ones who had led the clan to fame were Mangekyō Sharingan wielders. If you weren't a little crazy, how could you possibly expect to lead the Uchiha Clan?
At this moment, Elder Uchiha Setsuna looked almost deranged. Gone was the elegance he'd shown at Yating; now he looked exactly like what everyone considered a proper Uchiha leader.
That is, until Itachi, standing beside Fugaku, spoke up.
"Are you so afraid that you don't dare face Uchiha Kei alone?"
His father had frozen up again. Itachi sighed and decided to deal with the problem at hand.
This bunch of Uchiha in his family really were hard to like.
No wonder Konoha didn't accept the Uchiha.
Who could possibly like a bunch of people who took pride in becoming lunatics?
"Bullying a child won't make Lord Kei think any more highly of you. I hope you'll have the courage to face his rebuke when you see him."
With his Hokage-like mindset, Itachi reprimanded Setsuna from a lofty position, while also getting right to the heart of the matter.
Setsuna was only pretending to be crazy. He wasn't actually insane. He merely aspired to become a great Uchiha, not a true Uchiha.
Hearing Itachi say that, Setsuna released his grip, but he still refused to back down. He shook his lion's mane of hair and roared at Itachi.
"As if I'm afraid of that kid!"
That kind of bluster might scare other children. But as elders, they all knew one another. At least to Uchiha Michiyo, Setsuna's behavior looked like nothing more than a guilty conscience.
Michiyo was a very un-Uchiha-like Uchiha. Ever since Uchiha Kei had begun defending every member of the clan without the slightest restraint, this elder, who had sacrificed many clansmen for the Uchiha, had supported Kei unconditionally.
He didn't take pride in being a lunatic. He took pride in the survival of his people.
Kei didn't pay him much attention, but the old man admired that kid immensely—the one who always seemed able to produce more clansmen out of nowhere.
The false righteousness Uchiha Kei displayed, the iron discipline he brought to his actions, and the strict order he maintained were what Michiyo considered the perfect Uchiha.
Michiyo could pretend not to see someone bullying a child. But if anyone said so much as a word against Kei at a clan meeting, this old friend would tear into them and their entire family before Kei even had to speak.
"Heh. The last person who spoke to Kei like that has been dead long enough for the weeds over his grave to grow three feet high. Setsuna, have you written your last words yet?"
Michiyo, laughing as he spoke, really didn't bother hiding his contempt.
"Michiyo, are you trying to scare me?" Setsuna, proud as an eagle, couldn't stand for that.
"Setsuna, have you forgotten? The reason Kei sits at the head of the elders' table instead of the very end, where we originally assigned him, wasn't because he threatened us."
Michiyo didn't care whether Setsuna could stand him or not. His clan had more people than Setsuna's, and more promising children, too. Was he supposed to be afraid of Setsuna?
"Does Kei really dare kill me?" Setsuna was full of bluster whenever Kei wasn't around.
Unfortunately, Michiyo wasn't buying it. They were all adults who'd grown up in the same compound. Who didn't know the other by now?
"Setsuna, don't just say you're not afraid. Look, Lord Kei isn't here today, but nobody dares sit in his seat. If you're not convinced, go ahead and sit there."
If Kei wasn't involved, Michiyo was willing to let the other elders save face. But the moment Kei was involved, it became a matter of slandering the Uchiha Clan's future.
Anyone could take him down for it.
"Hmph!" Setsuna turned his head away, making it clear he wouldn't listen to the old man.
But Michiyo wasn't about to let him off.
"Setsuna, you need to understand that stubbornly running your mouth won't keep you alive. Think about the Grand Elder who refused to give Kei his seat. His corpse was fed to the crows. Did anyone speak up for him?"
Back then, Kei had been eager to establish his authority and had acted very aggressively. To show that he was the kind of man who did whatever he pleased, Uchiha Kei hadn't cared that the clan gave him a low-ranking elder's seat at the very end—he'd considered that the greatest show of goodwill.
At his first clan meeting, Kei had staged a show of force. Ignoring the seat by the door at the end of the row that had been set aside for him, he went straight to the left of Fugaku and said, "Move."
When he didn't get the answer he wanted, he had his men chop down the unresponsive Grand Elder.
It was both a show of force and a way to express his displeasure that the clan had tolerated Root infiltrating their home.
The clan had sealing barriers, after all. How could outsiders have infiltrated without the clan's tacit approval?
Kei had wanted to make a big move then and was already prepared for the Grand Elder's family to retaliate.
Who could have guessed that the Grand Elder's son, who'd spent forty years as a reserve elder, would happily take up the post the very next day?
In the face of power, family affection was worthless.
"Exactly. Lord Kei has killed before."
Zhaoming joined in, borrowing Kei's authority to intimidate the others. At last, he remembered the benefits of having Kei on their side. Though he'd once been dissatisfied that Kei had no desire to integrate into Konoha.
Michiyo looked down on the boy. He had ideals but no ambition, aspirations but no goals.
No wonder Kei wanted to abandon them. Uchiha who couldn't keep up had no place but to rot in the clan compound!
Once he'd finished educating the clan's children, he'd send them to follow Kei.
The rotten Uchiha would eventually be buried alongside filthy Konoha.
Setsuna pretended not to hear and continued chatting with Yawei, his head still turned away.
Michiyo stood up and stopped arguing with Setsuna.
Since their esteemed clan leader was once again caught in a dilemma, unable to make a decision, Michiyo would say a few words instead. The others needed some direction, after all.
"Elders, I know the Hokage has approached you. He approached me, too. But this is the Uchiha Clan. Things like this can't be kept secret. I don't know what that old bastard promised you, but I do know that today you're planning to sacrifice someone else to further your own interests."
Michiyo looked around. The clansmen were gradually gathering around. The elders stood in the center of the courtyard, while the clansmen ringed it, listening in.
"But you need to understand this: when you decided you were willing to sacrifice someone else, did you stop to think whether you had the strength to trade someone else's life for your own interests?"
Kaku grew irritated at Michiyo's words.
"Why shouldn't Uchiha Kei be willing to sacrifice for the Uchiha?"
Michiyo burst out laughing.
"It seems that Kei's care for the clan's elderly and favoritism toward his fellow clansmen have given you high-and-mighty elders the wrong idea. You don't really think Uchiha Kei cares that much about the Uchiha, do you?"
"Doesn't he?"
"Haha! That's just a strong person's pity for the weak. We've never done Kei any favors, and he's never counted on help from the clan. You actually think you can use the clan's interests to force Uchiha Kei to make a sacrifice? Do you really want to provoke a second Uchiha civil war?"
Michiyo's words grew increasingly stern.
He truly hadn't expected these elders, who knew nothing of the hardships ordinary people faced, to be so naive.
Kaku still refused to yield.
"If he's an Uchiha but isn't willing to sacrifice for the Uchiha, then he deserves to die. Are we supposed to be afraid of fighting a civil war with him?"
Stubborn, Michiyo thought. He had nothing more to say, and left with a sweep of his sleeve.
His final warning was full of helplessness.
"Everyone, no one is born to accommodate you. Before you start a civil war, ask yourselves whether you're even fit to survive one."
Before you continue