Trash Fish and Rotten Shrimp, Lu Ming's Challenge

Lu Ming turned his head to look at the Second Elder on the platform, his face full of mockery.

"The result of a joint discussion?"

Lu Ming strode forward, pressing toward the platform.

"Second Elder, are you so old that your mind has stopped working?"

"Impudent!"

The Second Elder's eyes widened in fury.

"The impudent ones are you old fossils who occupy your positions and accomplish nothing!"

Lu Ming's voice echoed through the spacious underground chamber.

"Since Fugaku sat in the position of the Uchiha Clan's highest leader and enjoyed the loyalty and reverence of the entire clan, then while enjoying that power, he should have borne the final responsibility."

"No matter how many suggestions the Elders Council made, wasn't he the one who made the final decision and gave the orders?"

"When something went wrong and caused a catastrophe, you dragged out the Elders Council as a shield. Is that the responsibility a clan head should have?"

The Second Elder's face flushed Kurenai-red. His mouth hung open as he gasped heavily, unable to utter even half a word in rebuttal.

He turned to look at the other elders and found that those elders, usually so lofty and untouchable, had all avoided his gaze. Every one of them lowered their heads, speechless.

Lu Ming gave them no chance to catch their breath.

He turned around and aimed his attack at the pale-faced Fugaku Uchiha.

"Since the Elders Council's decision has been mentioned, let's carefully settle the score over your second greatest mistake!"

Lu Ming raised two fingers.

"The clan compound's relocation!"

The moment those words were spoken, every Uchiha present changed expression.

The clan compound's relocation was the most painful scar in every Uchiha's heart.

"After the Nine-Tails' Attack, the Konoha Leadership used the reconstruction of the village as an excuse to force our Uchiha Clan to relocate to a dead corner at the village's edge."

Lu Ming pressed forward step by step, unable to suppress the fury in his voice.

"At the time, the entire clan was enraged. How many people knelt before your residence, begging you to reject that utterly unreasonable demand?"

"But what did you do? Ignoring the clan members' fierce opposition, you obediently submitted to the village's orders!"

Lu Ming swung his arm and pointed straight at Fugaku's nose.

"With that single move, you completely removed the Uchiha from Konoha's core areas. You personally turned us into prisoners isolated at the edge of the village."

Fugaku clenched his fists, raised his head, and roared with Kurenai-red eyes.

"What do you know? The village had just suffered a devastating blow from the Nine-Tails, and the higher-ups' suspicion toward us had already reached its peak."

"The blades of ANBU and Root had already been drawn and placed against our necks."

"If I had refused the relocation and openly turned against the higher-ups, the Uchiha would only have faced total annihilation."

"I did it to preserve the clan. At the time, we lacked the strength. We could only endure humiliation and make plans for the long term."

"Endure humiliation? Make plans for the long term?"

Hearing Fugaku's defense, Lu Ming burst into loud laughter. His laughter was filled with sorrow and ridicule.

"Fugaku, you're hopelessly stupid!"

Lu Ming reined in his laughter and rebuked him sharply.

"You thought your concessions would earn the higher-ups' mercy? You thought your compromise would prove the Uchiha's innocence?"

"You were wrong! Dead wrong!"

"Your spineless concessions without any bottom line would only make Danzo and those higher-ups believe that the Uchiha were nothing but weaklings they could bully at will!"

Lu Ming swept his gaze across the room, his voice thunderous.

"After you relocated, did the suppression stop?"

"No! They only became worse!"

"They cut the Military Police Force's funding, restricted our authority over missions, and even allowed the villagers to insult us however they pleased."

"This was the result of your so-called endurance and long-term planning. You trampled the clan's dignity beneath your feet, only to receive even more frenzied weakening and humiliation from our enemies."

Among the crowd, the clan members who had once supported Fugaku all showed looks of sudden realization.

As though awakening from a dream, they recalled their experiences over the past few years. The truth was exactly as Lu Ming had said.

Since relocating to the outskirts, the village's suppression of them had not eased in the slightest. Instead, it had only intensified.

"Lord Lu Ming is right..."

An elderly clansman spoke, his eyes taking on a Kurenai-red hue.

"Since moving to the outskirts, our status in the village has plummeted. Even when we go buy groceries, those civilian vendors give us the Byakugan!"

"We are the proud Uchiha, one of Konoha's founding clans. Why should we be treated like weak dogs that can be bullied at will?"

The proud Uchiha clansmen had been completely ignited.

Pride ran through their blood. They simply could not accept being treated by the village's higher-ups as toys too weak to resist.

Even Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Inabi, once Fugaku's most steadfast supporters, were thoroughly shaken.

They looked at Fugaku, and the respect and loyalty in their eyes had turned into disappointment.

"Clan Head... you have truly disappointed us."

Yashiro gritted his teeth and painfully closed his eyes.

He finally understood that the clan head he had always been loyal to was actually one of the driving forces that had led the clan step by step into the abyss.

Everyone's dissatisfaction with Fugaku erupted completely, no longer possible to contain.

The underground chamber of Naka Shrine was filled with accusations and furious curses directed at Fugaku. The momentum to impeach him at the clan meeting had completely taken shape and could no longer be reversed.

Fugaku slumped into his chair, his expression ugly beyond measure.

He looked at the pairs of eyes below, all blazing with anger.

He believed he had compromised for the peace of the clan and the village. He believed he had borne all the blame, yet no one understood his helplessness at all.

"Why... why don't any of you understand my intentions..."

Fugaku muttered in pain.

Lu Ming looked at Fugaku's devastated appearance and gave him no chance to recover, directly throwing out the most fatal core issue of today's clan meeting.

"The mistakes of the past created today's dead end. Now, let's talk about the present."

Lu Ming turned around and swept his gaze across the room before finally fixing it on Fugaku.

"Fugaku, since you are still sitting in the position of clan head, then I will ask you the most crucial question facing the clan today."

Lu Ming's voice was low.

"What exactly is your stance on the armed coup the clan members are secretly planning?"

The moment that question was asked, the entire underground chamber fell silent.

Every gaze in the room focused squarely on Fugaku.

More than a hundred Kurenai-red Sharingan stared at him, waiting for his final decision.

Within the Uchiha clan, the radical faction's influence had already reached unprecedented heights.

More than two-thirds of the clan members favored seizing power through force and completely overthrowing the Konoha Leadership.

Fugaku was drenched in sweat, cold perspiration sliding down his cheeks.

He understood the current situation all too well.

If he dared say the word "no" now, these thoroughly enraged clan members would tear him to pieces.

He would completely lose all support and become a commander without an army.

In order to salvage the last of his dignity.

In order to gain the support of those more than two-thirds of the clan members, Fugaku gritted his teeth and stood up.

"I... I support the coup!"

Fugaku declared loudly, his voice echoing through the underground chamber.

The moment his words fell, the radical clan members erupted into deafening cheers.

"Wonderful! The Clan Head has finally made up his mind."

"Kill all of the Konoha Leadership and reclaim the glory that belongs to us."

"Long live the Uchiha!"

The radical clan members were beside themselves with joy, waving their fists with frenzied killing intent on their faces.

However, in a corner of the crowd, Uchiha Shisui and Itachi Uchiha lowered their heads at the same time, their faces filled with extreme disappointment.

They knew Konoha's foundations well. They knew that a coup was a one-way road with no chance of survival.

Fugaku's declaration was equivalent to personally pushing the clan into the abyss of destruction.

Just as the radical faction celebrated wildly, Lu Ming suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"You support the coup?"

Lu Ming looked at Fugaku and said something shocking.

"But I firmly oppose the coup!"

Whoosh—!

The entire room erupted in uproar, and all cheering came to an abrupt halt.

The radical clan members widened their eyes and stared at Lu Ming in shock.

"Lu Ming! What do you mean by that?!"

Inabi angrily drew his ninja blade and pointed it at Lu Ming as he shouted in rebuke.

"You just cursed the higher-ups to hell and back, criticized the Clan Head as completely worthless, and now you say you oppose the coup? Are you planning to be as cowardly and yielding as the Clan Head?"

"That's right! What right do you have to oppose it?"

"We've been oppressed for so long. Must we keep enduring it?"

Facing everyone's furious accusations, Lu Ming did not retreat even half a step. Instead, he stepped forward.

A matchless, violent chakra erupted from his body. The tangible pressure made the air throughout the underground chamber hum and tremble.

The forty-three Three Tomoe elites standing behind him stepped forward at the same time. Forty-three pairs of Kurenai-red eyes erupted with terrifying killing intent, suppressing the unrest throughout the room.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Lu Ming shouted sharply, pointing at the clamoring radicals as he mocked them.

"With trash like you, you want to launch a coup? Do you think Konoha's higher-ups are made of paper?"

"With the Uchiha's pitiful current strength, you couldn't even get past ANBU and Root, let alone the Ino-Shika-Cho and the Hyuga clan within the village."

"You aren't launching a coup. You're leading the entire clan to its deaths!"

Those mocking words enraged everyone present.

"Who are you calling trash?!"

"Lu Ming, you're too arrogant!"

Lu Ming ignored the enraged clamor of the clan members. He turned his head, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on the silent figure in the corner.

"Shisui."

Lu Ming looked at Uchiha Shisui.

"What is your stance?"