The Clan Meeting and Uchiha Itachi's Resolve

"Shisui, I'm counting on you."

Big Brother Shinji stood in the clearing, watching Shisui Uchiha. "You're my last safeguard. My eyes tell me Clan Head Fugaku's Sharingan is more advanced than mine... I don't know what his ability is, so the power in your left eye is crucial!"

"I understand!"

Shisui looked solemn. Growing up alongside Big Brother Shinji had made him far more open-minded, and he rarely wore such a troubled expression anymore.

"I'm counting on you!"

"Big Brother Shinji!"

"Big Brother Shinji!"

"Big Brother Shinji! You have to pull this off!"

"Big Brother Shinji..."

Kei, Chiba, Ryuka, Shigetsu, Shusui, Kika...

Shinji Uchiha looked at each companion beside him and flashed a brilliant smile.

Perhaps...

This was what it felt like to shoulder a heavy burden. Everyone waited eagerly for every word he said, every move he made...

He, Shinji Uchiha, was no longer alone. He carried the hopes of so many people on his shoulders—the hopes of the Uchiha!

The proud Uchiha would not be content to remain hunting dogs forever!

Starting now!

Big Brother Shinji turned and strode forward.

Behind him came the one-eyed Shisui, his five childhood friends, and more than thirty like-minded comrades with Three Tomoe!

Naka Shrine.

The Uchiha Clan's sacred gathering place. Though Big Brother Shinji had never understood what was so sacred about the Ghost place.

He did not even...

Know whom the Ghost shrine was dedicated to.

Kaguya Otsutsuki?

Hagoromo Otsutsuki?

Or Indra?

The question had troubled Shinji Uchiha for ages as a child. He had explored the shrine with Shisui, Kei, and the others, hoping to find some lost Uchiha secret technique.

Naturally, they had come away empty-handed.

Even Madara Uchiha, powerful as he was, had found nothing back then beyond a battered stone tablet Black Zetsu had tampered with. What could Big Brother Shinji hope to find?

Big Brother Shinji looked up at the moss-covered stone steps of Naka Shrine. Several clansmen were working hard to clean them, but the shrine itself looked dilapidated.

"Shisui, do you think we'll end up living in this Ghost place someday?" Big Brother Shinji asked with a grin. "Or will they feed us to wild dogs when we die?"

Shisui said, "...I don't know."

Kei shook his head. "This dump's already got enough rats and dead Ghosts. No room for people."

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Nearby, Uchiha Yashiro approached with a group of Jonin. "Kei, you've disrespected the shrine dedicated to our ancestors. I'll be telling your elders!"

Kei: "..."

"Hey! Uncle Yashiro! Tekka! Inabi!"

Big Brother Shinji raised a hand in an energetic greeting. "You're here early, Uncle Yashiro. No shift at the Konoha Military Police Force today?"

Uchiha Yashiro.

He was one of the strongest members of the Uchiha Clan today, perhaps the strongest below those with the Mangekyo Sharingan—Big Brother Shinji aside, of course...

That alone showed how formidable he was. He was also one of Fugaku's staunchest supporters, which meant he would likely be an obstacle tonight!

"Mm."

Tekka and Inabi were not much for banter. They simply nodded to Big Brother Shinji.

Uchiha Yashiro fixed Big Brother Shinji with a long look. "It's too soon, Big Brother Shinji. Far too soon... Give it five years, and I'll support you without reservation. But now... Hah. As your senior, let me offer you some advice: don't mistake outsiders' flattery and attempts to set you up for praise. It'll only make you lose sight of yourself."

"Fugaku is steady and dependable. You can't compare to him yet."

"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 tell the Clan Head when he's wrong and only carry out missions and orders without question, how are you any different from a tool? From a sharp blade?"

Big Brother Shinji shook his head. "So save your breath. I can't communicate with someone who can't think for himself. We'll settle this soon enough!"

Uchiha Yashiro glanced at Big Brother Shinji.

As one of the Uchiha's most dependable men, he knew how to keep his composure. Seeing Big Brother Shinji's resolve, he abandoned his attempt to persuade him and led the Jonin into the shrine.

Before leaving, he glanced at the Bandages over Shisui's right eye and paused. He seemed about to say something, but his lips moved without a word coming out.

After that,

The clansmen arrived one after another.

Only those with Three Tomoe were qualified to attend the Clan Meeting at Naka Shrine. Even so, more than two hundred were present, not counting the Jonin guarding the clan compound.

Nearly a hundred approached Big Brother Shinji and the others to chat before entering the shrine. These were the clansmen who had committed to supporting Big Brother Shinji.

Of the hundred or so remaining, a few exchanged words with them, but their manner was lukewarm.

They supported Fugaku or belonged to the Neutral Faction.

By the time the sun dipped behind the mountains and the chirping of birds and insects faded, Big Brother Shinji looked into the distance. No one else was coming. He turned to Kei, the brains of their little group.

"How many?"

Kei rubbed the spot between his brows. "One hundred and seventeen."

At those words, everyone silently tensed.

They looked ready to fight at any moment.

Big Brother Shinji gave them an optimistic grin. "Not bad! Looks like my name carries some weight in the clan after all. Relax. Whatever you do, don't lose your heads at the Clan Meeting. Otherwise..."

"Today will be the day the Uchiha Clan is wiped out!"

By the last sentence, Big Brother Shinji had stopped joking. His face was grave. "If it comes to a fight tonight, it will be between Clan Head Fugaku and me alone. Shisui is there only as a precaution. No one else makes a move without my permission. Understood?"

"Yes!"

"Let's go!"

The group poured into Naka Shrine. As a child, Big Brother Shinji had thought the Ghost place was vast, too big to explore in a single day.

Now that he was grown, it felt cramped.

"Down!"

They looked at the opened entrance to the Underground Passage and filed in one by one.

Big Brother Shinji led the way, with Shisui close behind.

They followed a short, narrow corridor downward. It opened suddenly onto the Bluestone Chamber, many times more spacious than the shrine above.

It could hold over a thousand people.

According to clan lore, the rules of the Uchiha Clan Meeting had remained unchanged since ancient times. That meant that at the height of the clan's glory, there had been a thousand Uchiha with Three Tomoe!

But now...

Big Brother Shinji surveyed the little over two hundred gathered there. Add the thirty-odd guarding the clan compound and the fifty-plus ninja on duty with the Konoha Military Police Force...

And there were still fewer than three hundred Uchiha with Three Tomoe?

With numbers like that, they wanted to take on Konoha head-on?

What a joke!

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had assembled an allied force of eighty thousand... Even if fewer than a tenth had been Jonin, the numbers for each village were still staggering.

Even counting the samurai of the Land of Iron, ninja still made up a huge share!

And that was without the forces each village had kept at home.

How could they stage a coup against numbers like that?

"Big Brother Shinji's here!"

"And Shisui!"

Big Brother Shinji led the group forward beneath the stare of countless crimson eyes. With everyone watching 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 talking to me like we have a secret password? Sit down. The Clan Meeting's about to start. We were just waiting for you kids!"

Big Brother Shinji bowed respectfully to Fugaku and took his seat.

The atmosphere gradually grew heavy.

The younger and middle-aged clansmen could not sit still. They squirmed as though ants were crawling over them, glancing toward Big Brother Shinji and Shisui with fervent, excited eyes.

Most of the older generation sat with their eyes closed, resting. At least they had far more composure and self-control.

Big Brother Shinji remained unmoved by it all.

He had expected it.

Except...

Something happened at this Clan Meeting that he had not expected.

A stir swept through the clansmen at the edges. Many sprang to their feet, and the clamor spread like a contagion, rising in wave after wave.

Unable to see what was happening outside, Shisui craned his neck. "What happened?"

Shinji Uchiha shook his head. "I'm afraid someone unexpected has arrived. Someone who shouldn't be here..."

Footsteps echoed closer!

As they approached,

Chiba, Ryuka, Kei, and the others, who had looked puzzled moments ago, rose as one. Some even put their hands on their sword hilts and glared.

Shisui looked at the newcomer and smiled with relief.

As long as he could take the first step, change was possible... What Shisui feared most was that he would refuse to listen to anyone and stubbornly go his own way.

At that moment, the person standing before Fugaku stole the spotlight from Big Brother Shinji!

Unfortunately,

Every pair of Blood-Red Three Tomoe eyes turned on him held the same hostility and wariness!

"Go back!"

"Go back!"

"Third Hokage's Hounds don't deserve to attend the Clan Meeting! Get out!"

"What right do you have to be here? Traitor! Shameless turncoat!"

Fugaku frowned deeply. "Why are you here?"

Uchiha Itachi revealed his Three Tomoe, his gaze unwavering. "I'm here to attend the Clan Meeting."