"It's nothing. Lord Hokage has ordered the Uchiha Clan to stay inside its compound for the time being. You're not allowed to leave."
The Root ninja spoke coldly.
"You bastard! I don't believe this is the Hokage's will!"
Another Uchiha standing beside Uchiha Fugaku immediately activated his Sharingan, its three scarlet tomoe clearly visible!
"Believe it or not, these are the Hokage's orders. If you want to defy Lord Hokage, go ahead and attack me."
The Root ninja wasn't afraid in the slightest. He had long since stopped caring whether he lived or died.
If someone from the Uchiha Clan killed him here, Lord Danzo would have an excuse to act, and his family would receive Lord Danzo's protection and care.
"En, calm down!"
Uchiha Fugaku placed a hand on Uchiha En's shoulder.
But clearly, Uchiha Fugaku had a temper too. The veins on his arm bulged.
Uchiha En looked at Uchiha Fugaku and forcibly suppressed his anger.
"Now that you understand, hurry back to your compound!"
The Root ninja kept advancing on Uchiha Fugaku.
He wanted to enrage Uchiha Fugaku and make him kill him!
As long as Fugaku dared to kill him, he would fall right into his trap!
"Under... stood."
Uchiha Fugaku's veins bulged with rage, but he still forced his anger back down.
It had to be said that Uchiha Fugaku was indeed someone who could see the bigger picture.
Anyone else would surely have brought out their Gundam and started slaughtering people throughout Konoha.
"Lord Fugaku..."
Watching Uchiha Fugaku walk silently toward the compound, Uchiha En shot the Root ninja a hateful look before hurriedly jogging after him.
The Uchiha Clan Compound
The clan head's home
"Father."
Uchiha Fugaku knelt on the floor and addressed his father.
"Mm."
The Uchiha Clan Head gave a murmur of acknowledgment, his expression unchanged.
"Father, we've been blocked in. We can't even leave the compound now."
Seeing how calm his father was, Uchiha Fugaku directly told him about Root blocking the entrance.
"Sigh..."
The Uchiha Clan Head sighed.
"Father, why don't we rebel?"
A vicious gleam appeared in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, and his Sharingan began spinning, transforming into the Mangekyō.
Although he already had some sense of the bigger picture, he had only just awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. Its immense, sinister ocular power had made his personality somewhat more radical.
"Rebel? How do you intend to rebel?"
Unexpectedly, the Uchiha Clan Head did not scold Uchiha Fugaku. Instead, he questioned him with a serious expression.
"I'll use my Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, and then every member of the Uchiha Clan will attack!"
Uchiha Fugaku's face was fierce.
"Son, you're still too young. With only the Nine-Tails and the Mangekyō Sharingan, we have no chance at all."
The Uchiha Clan Head let out a long sigh.
If a rebellion stood a chance, he wouldn't have spent every day hiding in the Uchiha Clan Compound like an old turtle.
Forget a fifty percent chance. Even with a ten percent chance, he would dare lead the whole clan in a desperate gamble!
After all, Konoha's suppression of the Uchiha Clan had grown increasingly severe over the years. He truly feared that one day, the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out.
He also deeply regretted not leaving Konoha with Madara Uchiha. The decision Madara Uchiha had made back then had been the right one.
But now, he no longer had a choice.
Rebelling now would only lead to death. Konoha had the Third Hokage in his prime, Shimura Danzō, Hatake Sakumo, and two of the Konoha Sannin.
There were also many jonin and elite jonin.
How could the Uchiha Clan alone possibly eliminate them all?
Even with the Nine-Tails, it was impossible.
At most, the village would suffer grievous damage, while the Uchiha Clan would be exterminated.
What Uchiha wasn't proud and arrogant? If they weren't hopelessly outmatched, who would willingly bow and scrape?
"Then are we just supposed to hide here?"
"Are we supposed to wait while they boil us like frogs? Do you know what people outside are saying about our Uchiha Clan?"
Uchiha Fugaku was still young, without any of the seasoned composure he would have later. Right now, his mind was filled with anger.
Shimura Danzō was spreading word that the Uchiha Clan was a rebellious clan, and that given the opportunity, it would revolt without hesitation.
He also claimed that the entire Uchiha Clan had wanted to leave Konoha with Madara Uchiha back then, and had stayed only because they feared the First Hokage's power.
Those two short statements painted the Uchiha Clan as cowardly, afraid of trouble, and ignorant of its own limits.
Now, ordinary Uchiha clan members doing business outside had to endure Konoha's villagers pointing fingers at them.
Many had even voluntarily shut their shops and stopped opening for business because they could not stand the villagers' finger-pointing.
"It's not as though there's no solution."
"You can go see Tsunade. She'll help us."
The Uchiha Clan Head looked at Uchiha Fugaku as he spoke.
"Tsunade? Isn't she from the Senju Clan?"
Uchiha Fugaku opposed the idea. He did not believe someone from the Senju Clan would help the Uchiha Clan.
"It's precisely because she belongs to the Senju Clan, and is even the First Hokage's granddaughter, that she's all the more likely to help us."
The Uchiha Clan Head looked at Uchiha Fugaku as he spoke.
"Father, why?"
Uchiha Fugaku did not understand. The Senju Clan had always been at odds with the Uchiha Clan, and later, the First Hokage had even killed Madara Uchiha. Yet now he was being told to seek help from Tsunade, a member of the Senju Clan?
"Precisely because she's the First Hokage's granddaughter, she's more likely to inherit the First Hokage's will, rather than the current Third Hokage's."
The Uchiha Clan Head sneered.
Hashirama Senju's will and Hiruzen Sarutobi's will were worlds apart.
One sacrificed himself to protect others; the other sacrificed others to protect himself.
And Tsunade had inherited the First Hokage's will well, so there would absolutely be no problem with pleading for her help!
No matter how much Tsunade disliked the Uchiha Clan, she would not target it as Hiruzen Sarutobi did. Instead, she would mediate.
"Well..."
Uchiha Fugaku thought about it and realized that it really was the case.
The First Hokage and the current Third Hokage were on entirely different levels. The former had the breadth of spirit to embrace everything, while the latter's narrow outlook extended only to a village, or even just a clan.
"Then I'll go right now!"
Uchiha Fugaku acted immediately, getting straight to his feet and preparing to find Tsunade!
"Don't rush."
The Uchiha Clan Head waved a hand.
"Do you know what to say?"
The Uchiha Clan Head questioned Uchiha Fugaku.
"Well... no. Please enlighten me, Father!"
Uchiha Fugaku scratched his head, realizing that he really had not prepared anything to say.
If he went now, he would only stammer, unsure of what to say.
"Then listen to me..."
Father and son whispered together in the room. Before long, Uchiha Fugaku walked out.