The next second, Uchiha Kyu appeared inside the Uchiha Compound.
"Mikoto and Itachi..."
Fugaku Uchiha looked at Uchiha Kyu with a complicated expression, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Uchiha Kyu cheerfully congratulated him on making the right choice and did not make things difficult for him any further.
"Don't worry. I watched Itachi grow up. It's just that you failed to fulfill your responsibility to teach Itachi. There'll be a gathering at Naka Shrine later. Remember to bring Itachi and Mikoto along after you get home."
"I'll come."
Fugaku Uchiha hurriedly thanked him, but he was still worried about the mother and son, so he left in a rush.
When Uchiha Kyu stepped out of his room after taking a comfortable bath, he saw Uchiha Kage waiting respectfully outside.
"Clan Head, following your orders, we've already brought every clan member who awakened the Sharingan to Naka Shrine."
"Mm, very good."
Uchiha Kyu rolled his wrist. He had also changed into a black, loose-sleeved outfit before coming out.
"By the way, has Shisui returned?"
Uchiha Kyu suddenly thought of Uchiha Shisui, whom he had sent out on a mission.
"Reporting to the Clan Head, Shisui hasn't returned yet."
Uchiha Kage answered truthfully.
"Very good."
Uchiha Kyu finally let go of his worries.
The Mangekyō Sharingan technique in Uchiha Shisui's eyes was an enormous variable, so he had secretly used his authority to transfer Uchiha Shisui elsewhere on a mission.
Naka Shrine was where the Uchiha Clan worshiped their ancestors and held major ceremonies. It was also where the clan gathered to discuss important decisions.
In the little-known underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine stood a stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. Only successive Uchiha Clan Heads were qualified to know of its existence.
This stone tablet, modified by Black Zetsu, had directly lured Madara Uchiha down the "path to heaven" that Black Zetsu had laid out for him.
It could be said that the entire Uchiha Clan had been exploited, exploited again, and exploited yet again by Black Zetsu ever since their ancestor Indra.
The Uchiha Clan was overflowing with geniuses. Even without awakening the Sharingan, their innate talents were still far superior to those of civilian ninja.
Although the Uchiha Clan could not match the massive chakra reserves of the Senju and Uzumaki Clans, they were still far superior to the other shinobi clans, second only to the Senju and Uzumaki Clans.
In this period after the Third Shinobi War, not many members of the Uchiha Clan's new generation had awakened the Sharingan. The rate of Sharingan awakenings had even fallen to its lowest point in recorded history.
The Sharingan was born alongside blood and tears. War was the most fertile ground for awakening the Sharingan, and losing war was equivalent to closing the door to awakening the Sharingan for most clan members.
Konoha was like a massive cage, taming the Uchiha tiger into a harmless kitten.
Uchiha Kyu sat cross-legged in the seat of honor, facing pair after pair of scarlet Sharingan. He felt as though the entire world were reaching out to him.
"What exactly happened? Where are my son and grandson?"
"And this isn't your seat."
The Grand Elder, Yata Uchiha, sat at the front and questioned him with a deeply furrowed brow.
To this day, he still had no idea what had happened. His family had been taken hostage, forcing him to lock himself in his room and refuse to come out. Now he had been summoned here as well.
The Second Elder, Uchiha Niura, and the Third Elder, Hirota Uchiha, stared expressionlessly at Uchiha Kyu. Their families had likewise been held hostage until now.
The other clan members, unaware of the truth, did not dare speak either. Uchiha Kage and the others stood around them with weapons in hand, watching them coldly.
Uchiha Kyu stared coldly at the three men. He had already arranged a destination for these three useless parasites who had done nothing to earn their positions.
"Sorry for coming late."
Fugaku Uchiha hurriedly arrived with Mikoto and Itachi. Seeing Kyu sitting in what had once been his own seat, he inexplicably felt relieved.
Perhaps the position of Clan Head had truly been a burden to him, one that had pressed on him until he could barely breathe.
When Yata Uchiha saw Fugaku Uchiha enter, he anxiously asked, "Fugaku, what exactly is going on?"
Fugaku Uchiha sighed inwardly and looked toward the clan members' confused faces before slowly speaking.
"From this moment onward, I officially resign as Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan. The position of Clan Head will be taken by Uchiha Kyu."
After saying that, Fugaku Uchiha did not forget to bow deeply to Uchiha Kyu.
"Fugaku Uchiha pays his respects to the Clan Head."
Seeing Fugaku announce his resignation, Yata Uchiha cursed furiously.
"Even if you're resigning, you should have informed us. The position of Clan Head isn't something you can decide on your own."
"And Uchiha Kyu is so young. Does he really deserve the position of Uchiha Clan Head?"
"I don't deserve it?" Uchiha Kyu gave a disdainful laugh.
The pressure in the surroundings instantly dropped. It weighed so heavily on everyone that they could barely breathe, while the terrifying Mangekyō Sharingan stared directly at Yata Uchiha.
"You... You..."
Yata Uchiha pointed at Uchiha Kyu's Mangekyō Sharingan, so shocked that he could not speak.
"Uchiha Kyu, you actually awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan."
The two remaining elders were also among those who knew about the Mangekyō Sharingan. Unfortunately, despite exhausting half their lives, they had been unable to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan any further.
Most of the clan members behind them looked bewildered. Their understanding of the clan's Sharingan was still limited to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Boom!
Yata Uchiha was sent flying backward and slammed heavily into the wall, fainting on the spot.
The two remaining elders had just begun to move when the powerful ocular force of the Mangekyō Sharingan caused them to lose themselves and fall under a genjutsu. In front of everyone, they smashed into the wall and passed out.
The three elders had been toyed with effortlessly by Uchiha Kyu, leaving the Uchiha Clan members present feeling as though they were dreaming.
Fugaku Uchiha saw everything, and just as he was about to say something, Mikoto Uchiha forcibly tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to keep quiet.
After the battle that night, Uchiha Itachi had become unusually quiet. He stood silently beside his father and mother, curiously observing everything unfolding before him.
The terrifying ocular force contained in Uchiha Kyu's Mangekyō Sharingan suppressed everyone present, leaving no one daring to meet his eyes.
"I, Uchiha Kyu, hereby announce in my capacity as Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan that, from this day forward, the elder system is officially abolished."
Uchiha Kage waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to bind the three unconscious, deposed elders.
Uchiha Kyu raised one finger toward the clan members. "The Uchiha Clan only needs to obey the orders of the Clan Head."
"But what if that order is wrong? Do we still have to carry it out?"
A Three-Tomoe Sharingan clan member under Yata Uchiha shouted in protest.
Uchiha Kage was just about to deal with the troublemaker when Uchiha Kyu stopped him.
"I'm not so narrow-minded that I can't tolerate even this."
Uchiha Kyu looked at the man, who was clearly filled with dissatisfaction, with a smile.
"You're right. Even if the Clan Head's order is wrong, you still have to carry it out without hesitation."
"Why carry it out when we know it's wrong?"
"Exactly. Wouldn't that drag the clan into the abyss?"
Those words caused quite a few clan members who had maintained a neutral attitude to erupt into a commotion.
"It's precisely because you hesitate and insist on your own opinions that the previous Clan Head, Fugaku Uchiha, kept wavering, leaving the entire clan in such an awkward position."
"The example is right before your eyes. Could it be that none of you can see it?"
Uchiha Kyu's cold, domineering voice struck the hearts of the crowd like a heavy hammer.
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