The Uchiha began preparing for the worst.
If the Masked Man really was connected to a former member of the Uchiha.
If that name really was Obito Uchiha.
If the person who controlled the Nine-Tails that night really had once possessed the Sharingan.
Then how would the village view the Uchiha?
No one wanted to ask that question.
But Gen had to make the clan meeting ask it first.
Only by asking first could they establish rules in advance.
In the Meeting Hall, Fugaku placed the review principles in the center of the table.
Individual actions.
Outside manipulation.
Clan responsibility.
Three separate categories.
Che handled the records.
Shisui clarified the boundaries.
Itachi cross-referenced the gaps in the old battlefield records.
Gen wrote the worst-case scenario on the first page.
If the Masked Man's identity involved a former Uchiha member, that did not mean the Uchiha Clan had participated in the Night of the Nine-Tails.
Uchiha Jun's eyes reddened when he read that sentence.
"Will they listen?"
Gen answered, "They might not."
Everyone in the room turned to him.
Gen continued, "But if we don't write this down beforehand, they'll be even less likely to listen."
Writing rules would not immediately protect everyone.
But without rules, when suspicion descended, the Uchiha would not even have a table edge to cling to.
Fugaku said gravely, "I'll request a role in reviewing the old battlefield records."
An elder from the Conservative Faction asked anxiously, "Won't that put the Uchiha in the line of fire ourselves?"
Fugaku answered, "Not participating means waiting for the wind to knock us down."
His words silenced the Meeting Hall.
In the past, the Uchiha had often been told to wait.
Wait for the village to investigate.
Wait for the leadership to decide.
Wait for suspicion to fade on