"Mm, got it." Indra put down his book, brewed another pot of tea, and poured himself a cup. He raised it to his lips, blew on it, and took a small sip. Seeing that the Shadow Guard still hadn't left, he asked, "Would you like a cup too?"
"No. Your subordinate takes his leave." The Shadow Guard vanished with the Body Flicker Technique. He wouldn't dare drink the eldest young master's tea. Who knew whether it was poisoned? The elders couldn't blame him; he'd done his best. The eldest young master himself had said he understood.
After the Shadow Guard disappeared, Indra rose from his rocking chair and flicked several Healing Talismans onto the four of them. He had intended to call Madara, but remembering how the two of them had completely forgotten their business last time, he turned his gaze to Izuna, who was lying on the ground playing dead.
"Izuna, take me to the Meeting Hall."
"Huh? Oh, oh, sure." Hearing his name, Izuna opened his eyes and scrambled up from the ground. He glanced at his father as if to ask what was going on.
Uchiha Tajima squirmed under his younger son's gaze and rubbed his chest, where his unfilial son Madara had kicked him. That kick had broken his ribs. Even though they had already healed, phantom pain still lingered.
"This has nothing to do with me. The elders want something."
Hah. Whoever wants to deal with that unfilial brat can go right ahead. I'm not going.
He thought that decision was nothing short of genius.
As he imagined the miserable state those old fellows would be in after facing that unfilial brat...
As Clan Head, he couldn't neglect them, either. He summoned a Shadow Guard and told him to have a few doctors standing by. They absolutely mustn't die.
Madara, who had remained silent all this time, had already settled into Indra's vacated seat. He picked up the book on the table and drank some tea, looking utterly at ease.
The sight nearly infuriated Uchiha Tajima to death. Madara was becoming more and more like that unfilial brat.
Meanwhile, Izuna led Indra leisurely through the Uchiha streets. They stopped at a noodle shop for lunch before making their unhurried way to the Meeting Hall.
At that moment, the First Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder, and Fourth Elder were all seated along the two sides, while the Clan Head's seat in the center stood empty. Without so much as looking at them, Indra hauled Izuna over and sat in Uchiha Tajima's seat, setting Izuna down beside him.
Izuna, who had thought he was merely showing the way and scoring a free meal, now huddled like a quail, head lowered as he fiddled with his fingers. I can't see anything. I can't hear anything. Don't drag me into this. I'm still a child.
The Second Elder's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Three tomoe slowly rotated in his crimson eyes as he tried to suppress Indra, who was sitting in the Clan Head's seat.
Indra seemed not to have noticed him. He activated his own three tomoe and gave him a casual glance. The overwhelming superiority of his ocular power forced the Second Elder's Sharingan to deactivate.
"H-how is that possible?" The Second Elder stared at Indra in shock. They both had three tomoe, yet the other boy's ocular power had suppressed his and even forcibly shut down his Sharingan.
Absolute suppression.
Impossible.
How could this be possible?!
He was only fourteen.
How could he possess such terrifying ocular power?
Had all the ocular power of the Uchiha somehow gone to him alone?
The feeling he had just experienced was exactly like standing before his father as a child while the man held a belt.
"Xia, do you no longer have any regard for the Uchiha?" The First Elder frowned, deeply displeased that this child was sitting in the seat reserved for the Clan Head. This was blatant provocation.
"When have I ever?"
Seated at the head of the hall, Indra dismissed his unfilial descendants' questioning with contempt.
Every single member of the Uchiha today shared nothing with him beyond the same eyes. There was no bond of blood at all. Some hadn't even inherited the slightest trace of his appearance.
Perhaps his direct bloodline had died out entirely.
All these people now were unfilial descendants.
"Xia, do you mean to betray the Uchiha?"
The Third Elder's expression darkened. He could tolerate conflicts among the Uchiha, but he would never tolerate someone whose heart held no place for the clan.
Yet the person before him was dancing right on that line.
"Are you worthy?" Indra's casually spoken question enraged those present. Their chakra erupted as they prepared to join forces and subdue him.
Izuna, reduced to a mere tagalong, edged behind Indra and tucked his head down like a quail, silently chanting, You can't see me, you can't see me. None of you can see me.
"Hmph. As expected of someone raised outside the Uchiha. No sense of propriety." Thoroughly enraged, the Third Elder activated his three tomoe. He was already considering capturing the boy and locking him in the Dungeon.
Indra snorted, a cold gleam flickering in his eyes. He had established the Uchiha's rules himself, yet so many had changed by now. These unfilial descendants were utterly useless.
"If this is what you called me here for, you can shut up." He no longer felt like wasting words on these people. He would rather spend that time casting a couple of genjutsu on Madara. "Izuna, let's go!"
"Huh? Ah! Yes, big brother." Izuna was trembling all over under the pressure of the elders' unleashed chakra. Seeing his big brother rise, he immediately followed and took his hand.
Indra paused briefly, then led Izuna toward the doorway by the hand.
Sometimes Izuna struck him as an obedient version of Asura. But one look into his eyes made it clear that all the Uchiha's cunning had ended up in him.
Mm. He'll be Madara's brains from now on. I need to train him well. At the very least, he should learn a little of my scheming.
The elders activated their Sharingan in unison and blocked Indra's path.
This damned child had humiliated them far too much. No wonder Uchiha Tajima was always going on about unfilial descendants.
Indra lifted his eyelids and raised a hand. The Gunbai hanging on the wall flew into his grasp. With a thud, he planted it against the ground in front of Izuna.
"Hold this."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!" Izuna nodded like a chick pecking at grain and stayed close behind Indra. He held the Gunbai in front of himself to avoid being accidentally injured by the elders, fired up by the notion that brothers should face hardship together.
But in the next instant, an immensely powerful surge of chakra erupted from Indra, sweeping over Izuna, who stood closest to him.
Caught completely off guard, Izuna was sent flying backward. Had the Gunbai not shielded him, he would have been injured outright.
Only then did Izuna realize that the Gunbai wasn't meant to protect him from the elders. It was meant to protect him from his big brother.
"No matter how many useless fools you gather, they're still useless." Indra snorted, disdain and contempt flashing in his eyes.
At the same time, a dazzling flash of lightning flared in his hand and instantly engulfed the entire Meeting Hall.
In a blink, the Meeting Hall was reduced to chaos. The walls and floor cracked apart, sending fragments flying everywhere.
Realizing the danger, the elders' expressions changed drastically. Without daring to hesitate, they fled from the room as fast as they could.
Then came a tremendous boom.
The entire Meeting Hall collapsed at that instant. A massive shock wave spread in every direction, throwing clouds of dust and wood splinters into the air.
Izuna wished he could shrink himself straight into the Gunbai, yet he couldn't resist peeking out to watch.
Even though his big brother had already taken care to protect him!
Even though the Gunbai was already shielding him!
Even though he had already shaped his chakra into a protective cloak!
His body still felt the faint tingling of the electric current, leaving his movements slightly sluggish.
Just then, the smoke gradually cleared, and a figure walked out of it.
Before you continue