I Have Plenty of Reasons (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Uchiha Fugaku wore an expression he couldn't help but laugh at.

"Haha, his strength is impressive? Who told you that? Why don't you go to the Ninja Academy and ask his classmates?"

Uchiha Mikoto pressed her lips into a thin line, just about to retort.

Uchiha Setsuna strode out from the shrine, his voice cold and grim.

"The assembly is about to begin. What are you idling about for? Get inside, quickly!"

Uchiha Setsuna wore a black, high-collared robe with a ninja blade strapped to his back, radiating an imposing aura.

Although he was as expressionless as Danzo, he possessed a dangerous quality that exerted a powerful sense of pressure.

Compared to him, Danzo just looked like he was mourning his mother; he was far inferior.

Uchiha Fugaku smiled and said to Uchiha Setsuna, "Mikoto brought Kurohane here. She wants that guy to attend the clan assembly."

Uchiha Setsuna cast a cold glance at Uchiha Kurohane, the corners of his mouth curling slightly into a mocking, icy smile.

"You've come at just the right time. It saves me the trouble of looking for you. Get inside, now."

After saying this, Uchiha Setsuna turned and walked into the shrine.

Uchiha Fugaku was left completely bewildered, unable to grasp the situation.

Why would Clan Leader Setsuna want to find Uchiha Kurohane?

Fugaku had always known that Uchiha Setsuna looked down on Uchiha Kurohane, viewing his very existence as a disgrace to the Uchiha clan.

He had expected him to chase Uchiha Kurohane away.

Yet, Uchiha Setsuna had agreed to let him attend the clan assembly, and even seemed to have intended to seek him out personally. This was completely beyond Fugaku's understanding.

He was just a nine-year-old kid and the dead-last in his class; what right did he have to know about clan affairs?

Uchiha Mikoto ignored Fugaku, hurried to Uchiha Kurohane's side, and whispered comfortingly, "Don't pay any mind to what Fugaku says. Let's go in."

After she finished speaking, she took Uchiha Kurohane's hand, and the two of them walked quickly into the shrine together.

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes locked onto Mikoto's small hand, and his heart gave a violent jolt.

That dead-last is actually holding hands with Mikoto?

Even I have never touched her hand; what right does he have?

A surge of intense anger and jealousy welled up in Uchiha Fugaku's heart, and suddenly he felt as if he couldn't breathe, as if the air had been sucked out of his lungs...

Inside the shrine, candles were lit on both sides, and the Uchiha clansmen stood packed in the center.

Everyone wore a solemn expression, silently waiting for the assembly to begin.

Uchiha Mikoto held Uchiha Kurohane's hand, standing with him at the very back of the crowd.

Uchiha Setsuna stood majestically in the center of the main hall and announced the start of the clan assembly.

"There is a reason for this emergency clan assembly. Kagami, you explain it."

A young man with gray-blue hair and vacant eyes stepped onto the dais and spoke in a calm voice.

"Today, someone from our clan injured three genin who were set to fight on the front lines in the Land of Rain. To be specific, he stabbed their kidneys. They will need to recover for several months and are unable to head to the front."

"The Hokage wishes for our Uchiha clan to send people to replace them and fight in the Land of Rain."

A clamor erupted among the crowd upon hearing this.

"Go to the Land of Rain to fight? That place is sandwiched between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, facing enemies on both sides. Now that the Land of Rain has changed its stance and joined forces with them, Konoha is facing enemies on three fronts. If we go there to fight now, will we even be able to come back?"

"That's the territory of Hanzo, the Demigod of the Shinobi! There is no antidote for his salamander poison. Whoever goes there dies; there's no way they're coming back!"

"Who injured those three genin? They've truly ruined our Uchiha clan!"

"That's right! Who did such a thing? Tell us his name!"

Everyone chattered in a chaotic mess, all feeling as though they had been struck by an unprovoked disaster. They were furious, and the venue descended into disorder.

Uchiha Setsuna spoke in an authoritative voice, "Quiet!"

As soon as he spoke, everyone immediately shut their mouths, and the venue returned to silence.

Uchiha Kagami continued, "I heard that this was done by Kurohane."

"What? That dead-last did it? What is he playing at? He's really ruined us!"

The clansmen had already despised Uchiha Kurohane as a disgrace to the Uchiha; knowing he had caused such trouble made them even more dissatisfied with him.

Some even began to gnash their teeth in anger.

Since no one wanted to go to the Land of Rain to die, they were all whipped into a frenzy.

Uchiha Fugaku stood to the side, gloating with a secret smile.

Good, so that's why Clan Leader Setsuna let that dead-last attend the assembly—to make him explain this mess. This is going to be a good show!

Uchiha Mikoto appeared somewhat anxious.

"Kurohane-kun must have had a reason for doing this; everyone, please calm down and listen to his explanation first."

The crowd felt strange hearing Uchiha Mikoto speak up for him.

Why would the young lady help that dead-last?

When they turned to look at her and discovered Uchiha Kurohane standing by her side, the crowd became even more agitated.

"Fine, so you, the culprit, are here too! Tell us quickly, what reason could you possibly have for injuring genin who were about to head to the front lines!"

Facing the angry, clamoring crowd, Uchiha Kurohane responded calmly.

"Mikoto-nee is right; there is indeed a reason behind it."

Uchiha Fugaku immediately stirred the pot.

"You've caused such a huge disaster, and now you want to make excuses? How shameless!"

Uchiha Fugaku had laid the groundwork in advance, characterizing whatever reason Uchiha Kurohane might give as nothing more than an excuse.

Uchiha Kurohane saw through his little trick but didn't care, as he had plenty of reasons to choose from.

He pursed his lips into a smile and said indifferently.

"At the time, the three of them surrounded me and said that they dared to go to the Land of Rain to fight, while the Uchiha clan did not. They mocked the Uchiha for calling themselves the strongest ninja clan when, in reality, they were all cowards."

Upon hearing this, the crowd's faces instantly flushed red, and the clamor of dissatisfaction directed at Uchiha Kurohane ceased immediately.

Everyone was so angry they were speechless, and the venue became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Objectively speaking, this was merely Uchiha Kurohane's one-sided account, and a mature ninja would generally not take it at face value; at the very least, they would seek to verify it.

However, the Uchiha clan believed that Konoha owed them a Hokage and had long harbored resentment toward the village.

Furthermore, after Uchiha Setsuna's failed coup, the other ninja clans in Konoha had come to realize that the Uchiha clan was a threat.

Coupled with the fact that the Uchiha clan served as Konoha's Military Police Force, they had become security guards despised by everyone.

The relationship between the other Konoha clans and the Uchiha had become extremely hostile.

The other clans surely must have been mocking and ridiculing the Uchiha in private.

Add to that the fact that these genin were truly heading to the Land of Rain while the Uchiha clan was not sending anyone, and it was entirely plausible that they would say such things!

Moreover, it wasn't just them; even if the other clans hadn't said it aloud, they would have thought it in their hearts.

Uchiha Kurohane's seemingly low-level attempt to incite hatred had struck exactly at the Uchiha clan's sore spot.

The confrontational sentiment between the Uchiha clan and the other Konoha clans had been completely stirred up!

After a moment of silence in the venue, a middle-aged jonin glared with wide eyes and said.

"What do those genin know? Our Uchiha clan is fighting the Cloud Ninja on the northern front, and the Cloud Ninja have the Third Raikage, whose combat power rivals a Tailed Beast!"

"Besides the people of our Uchiha clan, who else would dare to fight the Third Raikage head-on!"

"We Uchiha are holding the northern front; are we supposed to go to the Land of Rain too? Konoha doesn't just consist of the Uchiha clan; let the ninjas from other clans go!"

Uchiha Kurohane nodded repeatedly as he listened to their complaints.

"That's exactly what I said. I told them that since our Uchiha clan is holding the northern front, the war in the Land of Rain should be left to other ninjas."

The clansmen said approvingly.

"You're very smart, well said. What did they say to that?"

"They said that the Uchiha clan is only defending on the northern front and doesn't dare to fight the Raikage head-on at all—that we are cowardly turtles."

Hearing this, the crowd erupted into another roar of righteous indignation.

"What the hell do they know? Defending is an order given by the Hokage!"

"Konoha is fighting on three fronts; do they expect us to go on the offensive? Is he an idiot?"

Uchiha Kurohane said, pretending to be aggrieved.

"That's what I said, too. This is the combat strategy set by the Third, and it has nothing to do with our Uchiha clan."

The crowd nodded excitedly.

"You said it perfectly. They have nothing left to say now, right?"

"No, they said..."