The Beginning

A few days later, Uchiha Clan grounds, Naka Shrine.

Twilight stained the stone paths of the Uchiha grounds amber. Uchiha Ao's small hand was firmly enveloped by his sister, Uchiha Izumi.

The warmth of her palm seeped through his fingers. Sister Izumi's long hair fluttered in the evening breeze, the tips occasionally brushing against Ao's cheek, tickling him.

The footsteps of passing clansmen kicked up dust as Uchiha Ao pulled on Sister Izumi's hand, following behind several others.

Stepping into the shrine's corridor, the wooden floorboards beneath their feet gave a faint creak.

Ordinarily, neither he nor Sister Izumi would have been qualified to attend such a clan meeting, but Shisui held such high prestige within the clan that no one would dare say a word if he brought a few people along.

Inside the shrine, nearly a hundred Uchiha clansmen were packed tightly together, sitting in small groups on cushions.

On the raised dais, several white-haired elders sat around a purple-bronze brazier, their wrinkles hiding the dignity accumulated over years, while Fugaku sat upright in the seat of honor.

"Here, over here." A younger-looking Uchiha clansman spotted them entering, stood up quickly, and pulled them over.

Uchiha Ao had been thinking that he didn't know anyone in the clan, but upon seeing the somewhat familiar face of that clansman, he remembered.

Shisui had introduced him to this person yesterday.

He seemed to be called Uchiha Ning.

"Sister Izumi, it's an acquaintance," Uchiha Ao whispered to her.

Everyone present was at least a jonin, and their hearing was extremely sharp.

Uchiha Ao's youthful voice immediately drew the gaze of several clansmen, and a few scrutinizing stares landed on him and Sister Izumi like physical weights.

Uchiha Izumi couldn't stand such gazes, especially the way a few of the female clansmen were staring at her younger brother, which displeased her greatly.

"What a cute child, come here and let sister give you a hug~" The teasing from a corner made Uchiha Izumi's expression turn sour, and she instinctively pulled Ao behind her.

She then glared fiercely at the woman who had spoken.

The woman, stared down by Uchiha Izumi's fierce gaze, didn't get angry; instead, she smiled until her eyes curved into crescents, the cinnabar mole at the corner of her eye trembling with her mirth. "Oh my, this little sister looks so cute when she's angry!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Ning laughed heartily and slapped Ao's back hard, intentionally letting his laughter drown out the whispering. "Ling! If you keep teasing them, do you believe I'll spill all your dark history at the clan meeting later?"

Uchiha Fugaku, on the dais, heard the commotion and struck his wooden staff against the floor at the right moment. The sound wasn't loud, but it was clear to everyone. "Quiet down."

The hall fell silent instantly, with only the sound of charcoal popping in the brazier remaining audible.

"Ning, how many people are still missing?" Uchiha Fugaku, satisfied that the crowd listened to him as clan head, nodded and asked toward Uchiha Ning.

"Reporting to the Clan Head, only Itachi and Shisui are missing." Uchiha Ning's attitude wasn't exactly respectful, but it was flawless enough that no one could pick a fault.

"Hm, let's wait for them a while longer." Although Fugaku was somewhat dissatisfied with their tardiness, he thought of Shisui's high prestige in the clan and said nothing more.

The crowd waited for a while, but the figures of Shisui and Itachi were nowhere to be seen.

The elders were already growing impatient.

"Fugaku, how much longer must we wait?" A white-haired elder tapped his withered fingers against the edge of the purple-bronze brazier, sparks splashing onto the back of his liver-spotted hand.

Uchiha Fugaku sighed and turned to face the clansmen.

"Everyone, the suspicion Konoha holds toward our clan grows with each passing day," Fugaku's voice was low and grave. "The power of the Military Police Force is being whittled away step by step, and our every move is under their surveillance. Today's meeting is to discuss the future path of our clan."

An old clansman leaning on a cane spoke up indignantly: "Let's fight them! The Uchiha clan only has souls that die in battle, not cowards who kneel!"

His words sparked a commotion, and many young clansmen echoed him, their blood boiling in their chests.

An elder beside him immediately retorted: "How could the strength of our clan compare to the strength of the entire village?" The elder, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, had cloudy eyes filled with worry. "If we resist, the Nara, Akimichi, and other clans will never stand idly by! Furthermore..." He coughed violently, his knuckles turning white from gripping his cane.

The arguing surged through the shrine like boiling water. Fugaku tried several times to silence the debate by striking his staff against the floor, but his efforts were drowned out by the rising waves of noise.

Uchiha Ao pulled Sister Izumi and stepped forward, his youthful voice ringing out.

Accompanied by the pressure of Uchiha Izumi's Mangekyo ocular power, every Uchiha clansman in the grounds felt an invisible force pressing down heavily upon them.

The air seemed to solidify, making it difficult to breathe. Sparks about to fly from the brazier hung suspended in mid-air, and the dust on the wooden beams stopped falling.

The white-haired elder's hand, gripping his cane, began to tremble. The heated argument came to an abrupt halt.

"This ocular power!" The white-haired elder's Adam's apple bobbed violently as his withered fingers clawed into the edge of the purple-bronze brazier, leaving deep gouges.

Veins bulged on the back of his liver-spotted hand, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing—that the power once awakened by that lord could actually appear in a little girl.

As if realizing something, tears suddenly welled up in the elder's cloudy eyes.

Beside him, Uchiha Fugaku's own Mangekyo manifested in his eyes involuntarily.

"Clan Head Fugaku has a Mangekyo, too?" The youthful voice carried a hint of playfulness.

A flash of shock crossed Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.

"Clan Head Fugaku, we met just a few days ago. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Uchiha Fugaku certainly hadn't forgotten.

This is...

The junior from the riverside the other day.

But why would he appear here, and why is he accompanied by a clansman with a Mangekyo?

Uchiha Ao pulled Sister Izumi up onto the dais, while the clansmen below were all pinned by the Mangekyo's pressure, their bodies as stiff as puppets.

Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo spun rapidly in his eyes, two trails of blood tears streaming down his face. After a single sigh, he offered no further obstruction, instead stepping aside to yield his position.

Ao, however, remained unhurried. He gently patted Sister Izumi's hand to reassure her before walking to Fugaku's former spot and looking out at the crowd. "Konoha intends to wipe out the entire Uchiha clan; can you not see that clearly yet? Are you planning to just stand here and wait for death while you bicker?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the shocked clansmen below. "Everyone, I trust you have all felt the depth of the ocular power just displayed."

Uchiha Ao took Sister Izumi by the hand and looked toward Fugaku at his side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I imagine you were unaware that our clan head also possesses such ocular power."