Clan Assembly (1)

Uchiha Yushu's arrival gave those standing outside a backbone to rally around.

One person from the crowd stepped forward and said, "Yushu, are you really sure about this?"

"Keita, tell everyone not to worry. We're determined to win this time."

Looking at the shrine before him, Uchiha Yushu had once wondered which god was enshrined within.

Yet he had never found an answer. The Uchiha Clan's records contained the names of many gods from Japanese mythology in his previous life, but without exception, they were all Sharingan ocular techniques.

Although he had long accepted this setting, he sometimes truly felt that this world was a patchwork monster. The gods of Japanese mythology had practically become the Uchiha Clan's ocular techniques, while chakra, the most important thing for ninja, clearly came from Indian mythology, and senjutsu and sages were legends from China.

Out of curiosity, Uchiha Yushu had asked everyone, only to receive the answer that a god was simply a god. At the time, Yushu had been utterly speechless. Great, another Christian setting.

In such a bizarre worldview, Uchiha Yushu found the various strange actions in the original story somewhat understandable.

At the end of the day, although Naruto was a hot-blooded series, after all that passion, only the protagonist could keep bouncing around just fine. The guy had cheats.

At first, Yushu had been deeply worried about whether he could survive in this world. But after discovering that he had cheats, he stopped worrying.

Uchiha Yushu led the way toward the shrine. Feeling the crowd following behind him, his blood began to heat up as well.

I'm fired up, and I've got cheats too. At the very least, I should be the protagonist tonight, right?

Perhaps he was still somewhat nervous, because Uchiha Yushu began letting his thoughts run wild.

Not everyone followed behind Uchiha Yushu, such as these few people ahead of him.

Uchiha Yashiro, a die-hard supporter of Fugaku Uchiha and one of the three captains of the Konoha Military Police Force, was also the only captain who had never shown Uchiha Yushu a friendly face.

Having sensed from the start that something was off about the atmosphere, Yashiro had not entered directly and instead chose to watch from the entrance. When he saw Uchiha Yushu and his group arrive, the sudden shift in the atmosphere gave him a vague idea of what was going on.

Uchiha Yashiro stood on the steps above, his expression somewhat displeased.

"Yushu, although many in the clan praise you as the strongest in the family, that's just young people bragging among themselves. Don't get too full of yourself, young man!"

"Uncle Yashiro, of course I know that. But people are different, after all."

Uchiha Yushu responded directly.

"Don't think you're so impressive just because you're called a genius. Who wasn't a genius when they were young? Reality will teach you what truly matters!"

Seeing that Yushu showed no reverence for an elder, Uchiha Yashiro's tone became even harsher.

Yushu was not affected by Yashiro's tone. After all, he was planning to make a move against the man's boss. Couldn't he let the man vent a little?

So he still smiled and said, "Uncle Yashiro, you're right. Reality will teach you."

After saying that, he ignored him and continued forward.

At that moment, someone beside Uchiha Yushu said softly, "Yushu, although Senior Yashiro speaks unpleasantly, he does have a point."

This person was Uchiha Naoto, one of the Konoha Military Police Force captains who supported Uchiha Yushu.

"Senior Naoto, what do you mean?"

"Senior Yashiro said your reputation is merely something young people praise among themselves. Although those of us here know your strength, many clan members still do not."

Uchiha Naoto answered. He greatly admired Uchiha Yushu. Although he was eight years older than him, whether it was ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, he had no ability to fight back against Yushu.

That was how the Uchiha Clan was. They were arrogant, conceited, and looked down on others, but when facing someone stronger than themselves, they became remarkably obedient.

"So, Senior Naoto, you mean that I'll need to display my strength later to earn the clan members' recognition, right?"

Uchiha Naoto nodded after hearing that. "That's more or less what I mean."

"Senior Naoto, that's exactly what I intend to do," Uchiha Yushu said.

At that moment, Shisui said from the side, "If you need me to act, I'll help too."

Naoto gave Shisui a surprised look, unable to understand why Yushu would need Shisui's help.

Although Shisui was as famous as Yushu, in Naoto's mind, Yushu was the undisputed strongest in the clan.

Yushu, however, understood that if they needed a deterrent force, Shisui could reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Yushu understood Shisui's goodwill, but he still shook his head. "You probably won't need to act, Shisui, but thank you anyway."

First, he wanted to keep it secret as much as possible. Second, he believed his cheat was no weaker than the Mangekyō Sharingan, but the clan members did not know that. If Shisui revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, then Shisui would probably become the protagonist.

Uchiha Yushu arrived at the entrance inside the shrine that led to the gathering place, but he did not enter directly.

Naoto and Xuanyue each led a group of people. As people gradually entered, they picked out the supporters they had already won over and went forward to talk with them, both to build rapport and to confirm their intentions.

Most people clearly expressed their support, but some who had previously agreed now became evasive and changed the subject. Of course, regardless of who it was, after a brief exchange, they were allowed into the gathering place.

"Naoto, Xuanyue, how is the situation?"

The time for the clan assembly was drawing ever closer, and hardly anyone was still arriving. Uchiha Yushu asked directly.

Naoto and Xuanyue exchanged the records in their hands. After roughly looking them over, Naoto spoke. "The situation is a little delicate."

"Because of Shisui, some of Elder Qing's people have begun supporting us. But some who supported us before have now become uncertain. If we only look at the number of supporters, it should be evenly matched. We have a very slight advantage."

"If we had a little more time, even just one... no, half a month, we could get more people to accept you. But we're really pressed for time now."

Hearing that, Uchiha Yushu let out a long breath. If he had had time, he would not have chosen such a moment. To put it bluntly, this was no different from usurping power. Although it was only the position of clan head, if they did not act now, there would be no turning things around if they delayed any longer.

Perhaps he could only become a rogue ninja and follow Tobi, but he clearly did not want to abandon his family and clan, and he could not bring himself to become a rogue ninja outside the village.

In the original story, Itachi Uchiha could become a rogue ninja and still protect Sasuke Uchiha because slaughtering the entire clan to protect his younger brother had shown Konoha's higher-ups his determination. Second, with only Sasuke left in the Uchiha Clan, they were no longer a threat, so Sasuke could remain comfortably in Konoha.

Yushu obviously could not choose that method.

"The biggest problem is that we're running out of time, Naoto, Xuanyue."

Then Yushu sighed. "It seems that achieving our goal peacefully is no longer possible. Prepare for bloodshed."

The two exchanged looks and said nothing, but their gazes became extraordinarily resolute.