Where Will the Uchiha Clan Go from Here?

Itachi Uchiha is currently in a state of profound existential doubt. He truly feels that his previous values have completely collapsed, and he feels like a fool who has been mocked and controlled.

There was a time when he had unwavering faith in the Will of Fire and was willing to dedicate his entire life to Will of Fire, to do everything in his power, even at any cost.

But... how can you tell him now that the Will of Fire is just a means for the upper echelons of Konoha to control the lower Konoha? How can he accept such a cruel reality all at once?

But Itachi Uchiha couldn't refute it, no matter how helpless, painful, or struggling he felt inside.

Because of this public trial, because everything that is happening now is real, Danzo is being interrogated, and the things Danzo confesses to are also true.

Even when Danzo confessed everything Hiruzen Sarutobi had done, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting behind him, looked ashen-faced, resigned to his fate.

When Itachi Uchiha saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, he knew that everything Danzo had said was true. The Third Lord Hokage, whom Danzo admired, was actually a complete villain, an extremely hypocritical, weak, and corrupt man.

I had such high regard and admiration for him before, even regarding him as my mentor. I was so blind! I was blind to his Sharingan!

At this moment, Itachi Uchiha felt extremely ashamed and indignant, realizing that he had been utterly deceived, that his life, his consciousness, and his thoughts had all been betrayed!

Not only is he extremely ashamed and indignant, but Itachi Uchiha is also feeling lost about life. He feels like he doesn't know what to do, what he should do, or even what he has done before.

After all that, the Will of Fire turns out to be this thing, the person he admires is this thing, and the spirit he wants to live by is this bullshit. This leaves Itachi Uchiha completely bewildered.

He now has a feeling that his short career of just over ten years has been nothing but hypocrisy and deception, nothing but falsehood, and nothing of any significance.

My goals have suddenly vanished, and the things that used to keep me going have completely collapsed. Where should I go from here? What should I strive for?

These are all things that Itachi Uchiha desperately wants to understand, and they are also the reason why Itachi Uchiha is so confused right now.

So, looking at the chaos before him, the eldest son of the Uchiha clan fell silent. His expression was very low, and he stood indifferently beside his father, showing a rare vulnerability.

Uchiha Fugaku also noticed the unusual behavior of his eldest son.

Uchiha Fugaku glanced at his son without showing any emotion, but he neither offered any advice nor comfort. It was unclear whether he believed his eldest son would come to his senses or if he thought the matter was unimportant.

To Uchiha Fugaku's surprise, his youngest son Sasuke Uchiha, standing beside him, tugged at his trouser leg and said to him with some concern:

"Father, although I don't quite understand what happened, it seems that our Uchiha Clan is the victim, bullied by those bad guys on the stage..."

However, it seems that our Uchiha Clan is not without fault; it seems that we have done many wrong things, Father. What should we do?

Looking down at Sasuke Uchiha, Uchiha Fugaku was surprised that his youngest son had asked such a crucial question. At the same time, he began to observe his surroundings.

Sure enough, the surrounding tribesmen also looked at him with similar pleading eyes. The tribesmen seemed confused and at a loss, and at this moment, they inevitably turned to him, the so-called tribe leader, for help.

Not only were his clansmen watching him, but other ordinary ninjas and civilians were also looking at him, seemingly curious about the Uchiha Clan's reaction.

To be honest, faced with this situation, Uchiha Fugaku sighed helplessly, not knowing what to say.

However, as the clan leader and a father, Uchiha Fugaku could not afford to be discouraged at this time. He could only muster his spirits and use some high-sounding words to boost the morale of his son and his clansmen:

"Sasuke, just as you said, in such a long period of time, our Uchiha Clan is both a victim and a responsible party who made mistakes."

In that case, I think we should look at this matter in two parts.

Part of it is the unfair treatment we suffered at the hands of the Konoha High Command, and part of it is our responsibility for the mistakes we made in the past.

I'm not too worried about the unfair treatment our Uchiha Clan has suffered.

This public trial demonstrates Konoha's stance and shows that the Konoha High Command has acknowledged what happened before.

They have thoroughly exposed these terrible things to the light of day, demonstrating that those matters will surely be put to rest, and the Uchiha Clan will no longer suffer injustice.

At this point, Uchiha Fugaku paused, his tone becoming more serious:

"However, there is a saying that one must be strong to forge iron."

We must recognize that our Uchiha Clan also has significant problems. Some of these problems have already been pointed out by that Danzo, while others require us to discover them ourselves.

But no matter what, we must take responsibility for ourselves and correct our mistakes ourselves.

"If the Konoha High Command shows goodwill towards our Uchiha Clan in the future, then our Uchiha Clan should naturally reciprocate that goodwill, and ideally use this opportunity to change ourselves and change our previous dire situation."

Upon hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, his youngest son, Sasuke Uchiha, nodded as if he understood.

He was still a child, and his age was still young. It was okay if he only partially understood, but the others didn't want to remain in this state of partial understanding; they wanted to figure it out completely.

For example, at this moment, a member of the Uchiha Clan walked over and anxiously asked Uchiha Fugaku:

"Clan Chief, according to you, does our Uchiha Clan intend to reconcile with the Konoha High Command?"

Calmly observing his clansmen, Uchiha Fugaku retorted:

"So what if we don't reconcile? Are you planning to take even more drastic measures? To fight Konoha to the bitter end?"

Although Uchiha Fugaku didn't explicitly state that he intended to incite the Uchiha Clan to stage a coup, that was clearly his meaning.

The Uchiha clansman who was questioned choked, and his face turned a little ugly. Of course, he could not say anything about a coup or drastic measures in public. Admittedly, he did not want to completely break with Konoha.

After a moment of silence, the Uchiha clansman nervously asked the question that worried him most:

"Chief, what I'm worried about is what will happen next."

As you just said, as long as our Uchiha Clan can be treated relatively fairly from now on, what's wrong with changing our previous way of doing things?

My concern is that after this public trial, the treatment of our Uchiha Clan will remain unchanged, and we will still be ostracized as before.

After all..."

At this point, the Uchiha clansman looked worriedly at Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting behind the judgment platform:

"Even if Sarutobi steps down, who will take his place? Who will be the next Hokage?"

If I'm not mistaken, the next Hokage will most likely be Tsunade. But can Tsunade truly treat our Uchiha Clan fairly?

Regarding the Uchiha clansman's concerns and questions, Uchiha Fugaku was somewhat confident. He smiled and reassured the Uchiha clansman:

"Don't worry, I know Lady Tsunade well. Although she is Sarutobi's disciple, she is not like Sarutobi. You can rest assured."

But this Uchiha clansman was still not entirely at ease:

"Chief, but... her surname Senju."

"It's alright," Uchiha Fugaku shook his head directly, his expression solemn and confident. "You don't need to worry about that. I believe Lady Tsunade can be relatively fair and impartial, and besides..."

At this point, Uchiha Fugaku looked up at Yun Yan, who was sitting on the judgment platform:

"Although I don't know exactly what happened, the fact that that kid has taken that position means that his status and position will definitely be extraordinary in the future."

With such a person around, as long as our Uchiha Clan makes enough changes and expresses a good enough attitude in the future, there won't be much of a problem."

Following Uchiha Fugaku's gaze, the Uchiha clansman also saw Yun Yan, and he couldn't help but frown with some questions:

"By the way, Chieftain, who exactly is this... this member of our clan? We've never heard of him or seen him before?"