"What... the Sage of Six Paths? Clan Leader Fugaku, do you really mean the legendary founder of Ninshu, the Sage of Six Paths?! And Itachi has the same eyes as him?!"
Fugaku ignored the shocked cries from the crowd and quietly waited for Itachi's answer.
Itachi weighed his words.
Explaining this really was rather complicated.
He was not surprised that his father knew about the Rinnegan and Rinne Rebirth. His father had possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan while alive and had read the Uchiha stone tablet.
To a certain extent, he knew secrets the other clan members did not.
But... the price of Rinne Rebirth was the caster's death.
Explaining who had cast it would inevitably mean explaining that as well.
Then... who actually counted as the caster of this Rinne Rebirth, Sasuke or Obito?
Probably no one present knew that Obito Uchiha, the hero of the Shinobi World War, was still alive, or that he had posed as Madara and caused Konoha's Nine-Tails Incident, directly intensifying the village's suspicions toward their clan.
Moreover, Obito had even been his accomplice in the Uchiha massacre.
Bringing Obito into this... would unleash an overwhelming flood of information all at once. Far too many things would need additional explanation.
That was secondary, though... most importantly, Itachi did not want Obito to become another target of the clan's attention.
Obito... if you've had a change of heart this time, there must be something else you intend to shoulder as you move forward. So for what happened that night, it's enough for me alone to bear the clan's hatred.
Itachi said this silently to himself, then answered Fugaku and the clan.
"All I can say is that the Rinne Rebirth that revived our clan had something to do with Sasuke!"
Fugaku looked contemplative. "I see..."
An