The shock Shisui had brought had yet to fade when heavy footsteps sounded at the entrance to Naka Shrine's basement.
This time, more than one person descended the stone stairs.
Seven elders entered the meeting hall. The Uchiha Clan's highest authorities had all arrived.
The chief elder led the way, leaning on a cane, his face expressionless.
These seven elders usually kept to themselves and rarely appeared together as they did today.
At the sight of the seven elders, the noisy basement fell silent.
Radicals and conservatives alike straightened their backs and lowered their heads.
As everyone waited for the elders to take their seats, some clan members noticed something unusual in the hall.
"Wait... look over there!"
A conservative clan member lowered his voice and pointed toward the corner on the right side of the hall.
Several people nearby followed his finger and drew sharp breaths.
More than a dozen young faces had appeared in the corner. They wore matching dark combat uniforms and stood ramrod straight.
What truly drew attention was their eyes.
In the dim basement, all those young clan members had activated their Sharingan.
Three tomoe spun in every pair of scarlet eyes.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Uchiha Inabi's eyes widened.
"Thirteen people, all with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?"
"When did the clan gain so many young elite fighters? I'm a senior officer in the Military Police Force. How have I heard nothing about this?"
"They're Lord Ren's men!"
A clan member beside him recognized several of the faces.
"The one standing at the front is Tekka Uchiha, who nearly died on the Iwagakure battlefield two years ago."
"He hadn't even awakened one tomoe back then, and now he already has three tomoe?!"
Hushed whispers swept through the hall.
Thirteen newly awakened Three-Tomoe Sharingan—a force powerful enough to strike fear into the Konoha Leadership.
While everyone was still reeling at the appearance of these young fighters, unhurried footsteps sounded on the stone stairs.
Tap, tap, tap.
The footsteps were light, but they rang out clearly in the quiet basement.
A young man in loose robes entered the hall.
Uchiha Ren!
The entire basement of Naka Shrine erupted when they saw him.
"Lord Ren!"
The thirteen young elites with Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the corner dropped to one knee and bowed their heads at the sight of Ren.
Throughout the hall, the many young clan members who had received Ren's help, along with the veterans he had saved on the battlefield, clenched their fists and stared at the approaching man.
Ren spent years absorbed in training, rarely attended clan meetings, and never accepted the village's routine missions.
He had even refused to join the Uchiha Clan's central power structure—the Military Police Force.
Yet everyone present knew that this man commanded immense respect within the clan.
He was not only the genius who had driven back the Third Tsuchikage with S-rank Lightning Release, but also the savior of countless clan members.
The young three-tomoe fighters he had personally trained showed everyone the depth of his strength.
Ren's arrival brought the hall's astonishment to its peak.
Seated at the head of the hall, Clan Leader Fugaku Uchiha frowned deeply at the sight of Ren.
Fugaku's gaze sharpened, and his hands gripped the fabric over his thighs.
He knew Ren all too well.
This young man always planned before acting and never involved himself in pointless disputes.
Today, he had not only come to Naka Shrine but had also brought his young fighters into the open. He was certainly not here merely to listen.
Ren... what exactly are you planning?
Fugaku wondered inwardly, a powerful sense of foreboding washing over him.
Ren would make a major move tonight, perhaps even shatter the clan's existing balance.
Ignoring the awed gazes around him, Ren walked straight to the front of the hall and sat in the seat nearest the Elders Council.
Once Ren was seated, the chief elder slammed his cane against the floor.
Thud!
That single sound silenced the entire hall.
"Everyone is here."
The chief elder surveyed the room, his aged voice echoing through the basement.
"I hereby declare this emergency clan meeting open."
As his words fell, a tense silence settled over Naka Shrine.
More than a hundred pairs of scarlet Sharingan focused on the chief elder.
No one dared even breathe loudly as they waited for the central issue of this emergency meeting to be revealed.
The radicals anticipated an order to go to war, while the conservatives prayed for peace to endure.
The silence lasted a full half minute.
Finally, Fugaku Uchiha, seated at the head of the hall, could no longer contain himself.
He was the clan leader, yet he knew nothing about the purpose of this meeting. The feeling that his authority had been stripped away left him deeply uneasy.
Fugaku broke the silence first, fixing his gaze on the chief elder as he asked,
"Chief elder, this emergency meeting was called so abruptly that even I, the clan leader, received no advance notice."
"What matter of life and death for our clan does the Elders Council have to announce tonight?"
Displeasure and accusation colored Fugaku's tone.
The chief elder met Fugaku's gaze without answering.
Then he turned to look at Uchiha Ren, seated nearby.
"Fugaku, you're asking the wrong person."
The chief elder's voice remained level.
"Tonight's emergency meeting was not called at the Elders Council's initiative."
He paused, then extended a withered finger and pointed directly at Ren.
"This emergency clan meeting was convened at Uchiha Ren's request," the chief elder stated plainly.
An uproar erupted!
Those words sent a wave of shock through the hall.
In an instant, every gaze shifted from the chief elder to Ren.
Fugaku's brow furrowed, his heartbeat quickened, and a sense of danger rose within him.
"Ren's request?"
Fugaku stared at the young man, his mind racing.
He had always done everything he could to win Ren over.
To show his goodwill, he had not only allowed Ren to freely build his own faction within the clan but had also given him unrestricted approval when allocating resources.
He had always believed that, although Ren stayed out of clan affairs, he was at least on his side.
But now, Ren had bypassed him, the clan leader, and directly persuaded all seven elders to convene an emergency meeting!
This meeting was aimed at him!
Under the shocked, confused, and wary gazes of the entire hall, Ren stood and looked straight at Fugaku Uchiha in the seat of honor. His voice reached every person present.
"I gathered everyone here tonight for one reason."
Ren raised his hand and pointed directly at Fugaku Uchiha's face, his tone commanding.
"I am publicly impeaching Clan Leader Fugaku Uchiha!"
The entire basement fell silent. Everyone stared wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open.
"Ever since the Nine-Tails Night, the Konoha Leadership has never stopped suppressing us Uchiha!"
Ren raised his voice.
"On fabricated charges, the leadership forced our clan to relocate to the edge of the village. Fugaku, what did you do? You backed down!"
"The leadership secretly fueled the villagers' resentment toward the Military Police Force and treated us like watchdogs. What did you do then? You compromised again!"
Ren advanced toward Fugaku, step by step, his overwhelming presence forcing the nearby clan members to retreat.
"You kept meekly giving ground, thinking it would buy peace. And what did it get us?"
"Even worse bullying from the leadership, and the humiliation of our clan members being unable to hold their heads high in the village."
Ren thundered furiously,
"You lack both the ability and the resolve to lead this clan through its crisis. A weak, incompetent man like you has no right to remain the Uchiha clan leader!"
An uproar erupted!
The entire hall descended into chaos.
"Im... impeach the clan leader?!"
"My god! Lord Ren actually intends to remove the clan leader outright!"
Everyone stared at Ren in disbelief. Publicly impeaching a clan leader was practically unheard of in Uchiha history!
Fugaku himself was utterly stunned. He stared at Ren with wide eyes, his lips twitching.
He had never imagined that the genius he had always treated well and worked to win over would plunge a knife straight into his heart at this critical moment!
He had never thought Ren would directly challenge his position as clan leader!
"How dare you!!!"
While Fugaku was still too shocked to speak, two furious roars rang out.
Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Inabi.
These two staunch supporters of Fugaku, both influential senior officers in the Military Police Force, immediately charged out of the crowd in fury.
"Ren! Who the hell do you think you are, spouting nonsense here?!"
The three tomoe in Yashiro's eyes spun wildly as he pointed at Ren and cursed him.
"The clan leader works day and night for our clan. Who are you to judge him when all you do is hide away and train?"
"Publicly impeaching the clan leader is treason! It's an unforgivable betrayal!"
Relying on his position as a captain in the Konoha Military Police Force and his status as Fugaku's loyal supporter, Yashiro gave no thought to Ren's terrifying strength.
To him, Ren's actions amounted to rebellion. He had to defend the clan leader's rightful authority!
"Why waste words on him? Seize this traitor!"
Inabi drew his Ninja Blade as well, radiating murderous intent.
"You're asking to die!"
Yashiro roared, giving no one time to react.
He drove off with both legs and immediately activated the Body Flicker Technique.
Whoosh!
Yashiro vanished from where he stood, becoming a blur as he launched a surprise attack right in front of Ren.
With a Kunai clenched tightly in his hand, he thrust forward through a sharp rush of air.
Shhk!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
Yashiro's sudden Body Flicker Technique attack drove his Kunai into Ren's chest.
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