"Shisui, I'm counting on you."
Shinji stood in the clearing, staring at Shisui Uchiha. "You're my last safeguard. My eyes tell me that Clan Head Fugaku's Sharingan is a level above mine... I don't know what his ability is, so the dōjutsu in your left eye is crucial!"
"I understand!"
Shisui's expression was solemn. Having grown up alongside Shinji, he had become much more open-minded and rarely wore such a grim, burdened expression anymore.
"Please, I'm counting on you!"
"Big Brother Shinji!"
"Shinji!"
"Shinji! You have to succeed!"
"Shinji..."
Kei, Chiba, Ryuka, Shigetsu, Shusui, Kika...
Shinji Uchiha looked at each of his companions in turn and broke into a radiant smile.
Perhaps...
This was what it meant to shoulder a heavy burden. Everyone eagerly awaited every word he said, every action he took...
From this moment on, he, Shinji Uchiha, was no longer alone. He carried the hopes of countless people on his shoulders—the hopes of the Uchiha!
The proud Uchiha would not remain content to live as hounds forever!
Starting now!
Shinji turned and strode forward.
Behind him followed the one-eyed Shisui, his five childhood friends, and more than thirty like-minded companions with three tomoe!
Naka Shrine.
The Uchiha Clan's sacred meeting place. Yet from childhood to adulthood, Shinji had never figured out what was so sacred or holy about this damned place.
He did not even...
Know whom this damned shrine worshipped.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki?
Hagoromo Otsutsuki?
Or Indra?
The question had troubled Shinji Uchiha for a long time as a child. He had come exploring with Shisui, Kei, and the others, hoping to find Uchiha secret techniques left behind in the shrine.
Naturally, they had come back empty-handed.
Even someone as powerful as Madara Uchiha had found nothing here back then, aside from a lousy Stone Tablet that Black Zetsu had tampered with. What could Shinji possibly find?
Shinji looked up at Naka Shrine's moss-covered stone steps. A few clansmen were hard at work cleaning them, and even the shrine itself looked dilapidated.
"Shisui, do you think we'll end up living in this damned place someday?" Shinji asked with a smile. "Or will we be fed to stray dogs after we die?"
Shisui replied, "...I don't know."
Kei shook his head. "This dump already has enough rats and dead spirits living in it. There's no room for people."
"Hahaha!"
Everyone laughed.
Nearby, Uchiha Yashiro approached with a group of jonin. "Kei, you're disrespecting the shrine that honors our ancestors. I'll be informing your elders!"
Kei fell silent. "..."
"Hey! Uncle Yashiro! Big Brother Tekka, Big Brother Inabi!"
Shinji raised a hand and greeted them cheerfully. "You're here early, Uncle Yashiro. Aren't you on duty with the Konoha Military Police Force today?"
Uchiha Yashiro.
One of the strongest members of the Uchiha Clan today, he was practically the strongest below the Mangekyo Sharingan level. Of course, Shinji did not count...
Still, reaching that point proved his strength could not be underestimated. He was also one of Fugaku's staunch supporters and would probably be an obstacle tonight!
"Mm."
Neither Tekka nor Inabi was much of a wisecracker. They simply nodded to Shinji in silence.
Uchiha Yashiro stared at Shinji and said quietly, "It's too soon, you little brat. Too soon... Give it another five years, and I'll support you unconditionally. But now... heh! As your senior, let me offer you a word of advice. Don't mistake outsiders' flattery and praise meant to ruin you for genuine compliments. That will only make you lose sight of who you are."
"Fugaku is steady and dependable. You can't compare to him as you are now."
"Uncle Yashiro, I respect you as my senior. But I also wonder: as one of the pillars of the Uchiha's strength, if you can't even advise the clan head when he makes mistakes, and only carry out missions and orders unconditionally, how are you any different from a tool—a sharp blade?"
Shinji shook his head. "So I suggest you save your breath. I can't communicate with someone incapable of thinking for himself. We'll settle this in a little while!"
Uchiha Yashiro glanced at Shinji.
As one of the most dependable Uchiha alive, he knew how to keep his composure. Seeing Shinji's firm resolve, he abandoned his attempt to persuade him and led the jonin into the shrine.
Before leaving, he glanced at Shisui's bandaged right eye and paused. He seemed to want to say something, but though his lips moved, he ultimately said nothing.
After that...
The clansmen arrived one after another.
Only those with three tomoe were eligible to attend the clan meeting at Naka Shrine. Even so, excluding the jonin standing guard within the clan grounds, more than two hundred people remained.
Nearly a hundred of them approached Shinji and his companions to exchange greetings and chat before entering the shrine. These were the clansmen who definitely supported him.
Among the other hundred or so, a few exchanged words with them, but their attitudes were lukewarm.
They were Fugaku's supporters and the Neutral Faction.
When the sun sank behind the mountains and the calls of insects and birds gradually faded, Shinji gazed into the distance. No one else was coming. He turned to Kei, the "brains" of their little group.
"How does it look?"
Kei Uchiha raised a hand and pinched the space between his brows. "One hundred and seventeen."
At that, everyone silently tensed.
They looked ready to start fighting at any moment.
Shinji gave an optimistic smile. "That's pretty good! Looks like my name still carries some weight in the clan. Relax. Whatever you do, don't act recklessly at the meeting, or..."
"The Uchiha will be wiped out today!"
By the final sentence, Shinji's grin was gone, replaced by utter seriousness. "If there's a fight tonight, it can only be between me and Clan Head Fugaku. Even Shisui is only there as a precaution. Apart from that, no one is to make a move without my permission. Is that clear?"
"Yes!"
"Let's go!"
The group streamed into Naka Shrine. As children, they had thought this damned place was vast, difficult to explore fully even in an entire day.
Only after growing up did they realize how cramped it felt standing inside.
"Down!"
They looked at the open entrance to the underground passage and stepped inside one after another.
Shinji led the way, with Shisui following.
After a short, narrow passage sloping downward, the space suddenly opened up. Before them lay a Bluestone Chamber many times more spacious than the floor above.
It could accommodate more than a thousand people.
According to the clan's accounts, the rules for Uchiha clan meetings had remained unchanged throughout history. In other words, during the Uchiha's glorious past, they had once boasted a thousand members with three tomoe!
But now...
Shinji surveyed the little over two hundred seated there, then added the thirty-odd people guarding the clan grounds and the fifty-odd ninja on duty with the Konoha Military Police Force.
They actually had fewer than three hundred people with three tomoe?
With numbers like these, they wanted to take Konoha head-on?
Ridiculous!
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had mustered an allied army of eighty thousand... Even if fewer than a tenth were jonin, the number per village was still terrifying.
Even counting the samurai from the Land of Iron, ninja still made up an enormous proportion!
And that did not even include the troops left behind to guard the villages.
With numbers like these, how could they stage a coup?
"Shinji's here!"
"And Shisui!"
Shinji led the group forward, watched by pair after pair of scarlet eyes. With everyone's attention on him, he met the gaze of Fugaku, who sat before a pitch-black Stone Tablet.
"You're here."
"I'm here."
Fugaku laughed. "You little brat, why are you exchanging passwords with me? Sit down. The clan meeting is about to begin. You lot are the only little rascals we're still waiting for!"
Shinji bowed respectfully to Fugaku and settled into his seat.
The atmosphere gradually grew heavy.
The younger and middle-aged members fidgeted as though ants were crawling over them, occasionally looking toward Shinji and Shisui with fervent, excited eyes.
Most of the older generation sat with their eyes closed, resting. At least their composure and patience were far stronger.
Shinji remained unmoved by everything happening around him.
He had expected it all.
Except...
Something he had not anticipated occurred at this clan meeting.
An uproar erupted!
The clansmen on the outskirts suddenly burst into commotion, and many sprang to their feet. The noise spread like a contagious virus, wave after wave.
Unable to see what was happening farther out, Shisui craned his neck. "What happened?"
Shinji Uchiha shook his head. "I'm afraid someone unexpected has arrived... someone who shouldn't be here."
Tap, tap, tap!
As the footsteps approached...
Chiba, Ryuka, Kei, and the others, who had looked puzzled a moment earlier, all rose to their feet. Some even rested their hands on their sword hilts, glaring furiously.
Shisui looked at the newcomer and smiled in relief.
As long as he could take that first step... there was a chance for change. Shisui's greatest fear had been that he would refuse to listen to anyone and stubbornly follow his own path.
At that moment, the person standing before Fugaku had completely stolen Shinji's spotlight!
Unfortunately...
Every pair of blood-red three tomoe revealed around him displayed nothing but hostility and wariness!
"Go back!"
"Go back!"
"One of the Third's Hounds has no right to attend our clan meeting! Get out!"
"What gives you the right to attend? You betrayer! You shameless traitor!"
Fugaku's brows drew into a deep frown. "Why are you here?"
Uchiha Itachi revealed his three tomoe, his gaze resolute. "I'm here to attend the clan meeting."
Before you continue