Sister Izumi's Deterrence

Upon hearing this, almost no one beneath the high platform believed the claim.

"What kind of joke is this! How could the Clan Head be hiding a Mangekyo Sharingan!"

"Has this brat gone mad?"

"To spout such nonsense at such a young age!"

The voices of doubt surged like a tide; the Uchiha clan was, by nature, a highly emotional group.

Several hot-headed young clansmen even stood up, glaring with fury.

They had already felt that ocular power, and while they couldn't quite quantify its strength, they were certain of one thing.

In a one-on-one fight, they would undoubtedly be decimated by the frail-looking girl on the platform.

Seeing this, Uchiha Ao merely squeezed Sister Izumi's hand helplessly, and she understood his intent immediately.

In truth, she didn't need her younger brother to tell her; she had wanted to do this anyway. These people dared to use such a tone with her brother—if she didn't punish them, would they really think her Mangekyo was just for show?

Several genjutsu were cast upon the clansmen who had been shouting the most arrogantly.

In the blink of an eye, their gazes turned vacant.

"Hmph, it is not your place to point fingers at my brother!" Sister Izumi looked coldly at the clansmen trapped in the genjutsu.

If she weren't worried about ruining her brother's plans, she would have loved to let these people taste the agony of being tortured by genjutsu for three days and three nights.

The affected clansmen stood frozen in place, eyes hollow, occasionally giggling or muttering to themselves. Their ridiculous appearance added a touch of absurdity to the previously tense atmosphere.

A clan elder on the platform wanted to speak up, but was held back by another elder beside him.

"Why are you stopping me!" the restrained elder said with dissatisfaction. "They are just two juniors, yet they dare to be so insolent at the clan meeting!"

The white-haired elder holding him back had a heavy gaze, his wrinkled hand gripping tightly: "Hmph, do you wish to experience the power of a Mangekyo?"

The restrained elder choked, his face flushing red as he tried to retort, but upon meeting Sister Izumi's cold, piercing gaze, his words dissolved into a grunt of frustration.

The murmurs echoing through the shrine gradually faded, leaving only the clansmen trapped in the genjutsu, who were unconsciously fiddling with their sleeves while humming off-key, ancient melodies.

"Quiet, everyone!" Fugaku felt it was time for him to step in. He gestured, and several clansmen stepped forward. "Take them away first."

Meeting Uchiha Izumi's gaze, they tremblingly carried the men away.

Uchiha Ao did not have Sister Izumi stop them; after all, he only wanted to give everyone a warning, not actually take their lives.

"Sorry for the trouble, Clan Head Fugaku," Uchiha Ao said toward Fugaku.

"I underestimated you." Fugaku looked at Uchiha Ao with a complex expression.

He had not expected that the boy who was learning ninjutsu from him just a few days ago would possess such capability.

After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his head. The candlelight in the shrine flickered in his eyes, and suddenly, a scarlet radiance erupted—the unique blood-red patterns of the Mangekyo Sharingan spun within his pupils. Dark red chakra overflowed from his body like a physical substance, condensing into the skeletal phantom of a Susanoo behind him. Its massive silhouette bathed the entire dome of the shrine in blood-red light.

The clansmen gasped in succession, and the young ninjas who had still harbored doubts widened their eyes.

"Fugaku, I never expected you to hide this so deeply!" The white-haired elder, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, walked slowly to the center of the platform and reached out toward the bones of the Susanoo. His calloused palm had barely touched the phantom before he recoiled from the searing heat of the chakra.

He stared at his slightly trembling hand and suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Good! Very good!"

Today was the happiest day of his life; their clan had produced two Mangekyo users in succession.

And one of them was still so young—the future was full of promise!

His back suddenly straightened. His cloudy eyes swept over the crowd, his voice raspy yet every word clear: "I have lived for more than half a lifetime. I have seen the peak of the Uchiha, and I have seen our current predicament."

He paused, then struck his cane heavily against the floor, sending dust from the stone tiles fluttering into the air. "But today, the day of our clan's rise has arrived!"

"You, you are quite impressive," he said, looking at Uchiha Izumi.

Uchiha Izumi did not give him the satisfaction of a response; she merely pulled her brother's hand coldly, drawing him behind her.

Uchiha Setsuna's expression stiffened for a moment, but having seen his fair share of storms, he quickly returned to normal.

Uchiha Setsuna tapped his cane, a meaningful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "The way the little girl protects her own reminds me of Lord Madara in the past."

His cloudy gaze swept over Ao behind Uchiha Izumi as he paced slowly with his cane. "Back then, Lord Madara was the same; he would not tolerate anyone harming Izuna in the slightest."

Uchiha Ao felt a sense of revulsion at the old man's gaze.

Shisui had told him about this man before; he was an elder who supported their faction.

However, he was a staunch hawk who would sacrifice anything for the sake of the Uchiha clan, and he had warned Ao to be careful.

"Heh." Uchiha Setsuna noticed their resistance, stopped, and turned back to his seat.

"Say whatever you wish today; we old men will not stand in your way again."

The other elders nodded, acknowledging Setsuna's words.

Though they belonged to different factions, the Mangekyo had appeared, and there were two of them.

Having lived through the era of Madara, they naturally understood the power of the Mangekyo.

This was the power of a god!

Uchiha Ao took a deep breath. He walked slowly to the edge of the high platform, his gaze sweeping over every face below, whether filled with shock or wariness.

The flickering flames in the brazier stretched his shadow long, casting it in a restless dance against the mottled walls.

"Fellow clansmen," his voice was not loud, yet it reached every person's ears with perfect clarity, "Konoha was built by our Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan together."

"During the reign of the First Hokage, the Uchiha were the guardians of Konoha and legends of the ninja world! By all rights, we should be enjoying the reverence and trust of the villagers."

"But look at us now! In the eyes of the Konoha villagers, we are viewed as evil. They boycott us, loathe us, and would even prefer to see us wiped out entirely."

The Uchiha gathered below could not help but darken their expressions upon hearing his words, their eyes filled with resentment and indignation.

"The once-mighty Senju Clan has now waned, yet the Sarutobi Clan has taken the seat of Hokage!"

"Everyone, do you still not understand!"

"If we do not make a change, we will sooner or later follow in the footsteps of the Senju Clan!"

"Before the First Hokage passed, he personally admitted that the power of Madara was enough to protect Konoha! But after Tobirama succeeded him, he used the 'Bloodline Threat Theory' to squeeze us out of the center of power. The Military Police Force is nothing more than a cage to deceive us!"

A background Uchiha below voiced a question: "Then what should we do? Are we to go to war with Konoha?"

"It is not war; it is reclaiming the dignity that belongs to us!"