Naka Shrine!

As dawn broke and the first rays of morning sunlight pierced the clouds and fell gently over Konoha, Uchiha Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku was already dressed and ready to leave.

His eyes shone with determination. At his sides stood his son Uchiha Kōki and his adopted son Shisui Uchiha. Though both were young, the resolve and anticipation in their eyes mirrored Fugaku's own.

The previous night, Koki had explained the relationship between the village and the Uchiha to Shisui, including the conflicts within the clan and the disputes surrounding the Uchiha Military Police Force, making the stakes clear to him. Shisui was very clever and understood as soon as he was given a hint.

With his silver tongue, Koki had succeeded in bringing Shisui over to his side.

Koki had agreed to let Fugaku take him to the clan meeting, but only on the condition that Shisui Uchiha be allowed to attend as well. Fugaku had flown into a rage and rebuked him harshly on the spot. "Do you think this is a game? It was hard enough to get permission to bring you! I don't even know what those elders are going to say."

Though Fugaku was furious, Koki was undaunted. "Dad, I don't care. I want to bring Shisui. Trust me, he's really capable."

Koki had kept pleading and pestering until Fugaku finally agreed.

And so, early that morning, the three of them set off together for Naka Shrine.

"Koki, Shisui, remember, the clan meeting isn't merely a place for discussion. It's also a stage where we show the unity and strength of our Uchiha Clan," Uchiha Fugaku instructed the two as they walked, his voice carrying a note of unquestionable authority.

Both nodded in agreement.

They passed through one familiar street after another and made their way through a dense forest.

At last, they arrived at the Uchiha Clan's gathering place on the edge of the village-Naka Shrine!

Naka Shrine stood in the woods on the edge of Konoha. Since the Warring States period, it had been the Uchiha's most important gathering place, where affairs both great and small were conducted.

Naka Shrine was a shrine left to Konoha by the Sage of Six Paths, and it held extraordinary significance for the Uchiha Clan. It conveyed important teachings about power and responsibility, especially the power and symbolism of the Sharingan, which embodied the Uchiha Clan's strength.

Naka Shrine stood downstream along the Naka River, from which it took its name. The river was the birthplace of the Uchiha Clan.

The Naka River had witnessed Shisui Uchiha's death. Shisui had left a note there before leaping into the river, entrusting his ideals, the village, and the Uchiha to Itachi, who was only thirteen at the time.

Unfortunately, Itachi had ultimately failed to protect the Uchiha, and their fate was a cause for sorrow.

The Naka River was also where Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had pledged their love.

During the Warring States period, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had met and gotten to know each other there. They had skipped stones together, peed together, competed to see who could pee farther, and talked about their clans and their ideals. There, they had met, come to know each other, and become confidants.

Unfortunately, their friendship had been discovered by their respective younger brothers, forcing them to sever it and even causing Madara to awaken his Sharingan.

It was also because of that meeting at the Naka River that the two had joined hands to establish Konoha Ninja Village.

In the past, during the Warring States period, the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had lived on opposite banks of the river. War had raged on both sides, and no one knew how many bodies from the two clans lay buried in its waters.

Time had passed, seas had turned to mulberry fields, and things and people had changed. Only the river still flowed quietly, bearing witness to all the changes in Konoha.

Fugaku led his two sons up the stone steps, and the three followed the bluestone paving into Naka Shrine's main hall. Koki's gaze wandered, casually passing over the spot beneath the seventh tatami mat from the right. Hidden there was the stone tablet that passed down the Uchiha Clan's secrets!

That tablet was the root of all evil in the world of Naruto-the tablet that Black Zetsu had tampered with!

According to Madara Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi, the tablet recorded the secrets of the Uchiha Clan's Dōjutsu. The stronger one's Dōjutsu, the more one could naturally read.

Every member of the Uchiha Clan who possessed the power of the Mangekyō had been fooled by that tablet!

Especially the poor sucker Madara Uchiha!

In the world of Naruto, Madara Uchiha could be called the strongest hired hand. He had devoted his life to pursuing his ideals, only to be defeated in the end by one of Black Zetsu's schemes and reduced to a pawn.

What had shaped his entire life was the writing on the stone tablet in Naka Shrine. The tablet, originally tailored for Madara Uchiha, had unexpectedly influenced others as well.

The Sage of Six Paths had left the tablet behind. Although its original form was now unclear, one could still glimpse his original intent from it: the Sharingan could not be avoided, because everyone had negative emotions.

And just as Izanami had been created to correct Izanagi, the Sage of Six Paths had hoped to use the tablet to remind those who possessed the Sharingan of the pain of losing love, so that they would cherish and protect their family bonds all the more.

The Sage of Six Paths had cleverly designed the tablet so that only the Sharingan could decipher it. The stronger one's ocular power, the more one could read.

However, the tablet's fate had undergone a drastic change.

Black Zetsu had altered the inscription: a god divided yin and yang into two poles, and in the pursuit of stability, only when the two poles became one again could one possess all things in creation.

No one was more skilled with the Sharingan than Madara Uchiha, which made him the target Black Zetsu had sought so desperately.

The mysterious inscription became a mark of honor, leading Madara Uchiha to believe firmly that only his clansmen could change the ninja world, and that only he could save it.

Thus, Madara Uchiha became a pawn, enduring countless hardships in his efforts to resurrect the Ōtsutsuki. He first took Hashirama Senju's power during their battle at the Valley of the End, then used Obito to resurrect himself. Yet just as he was about to achieve victory, Black Zetsu struck him from the shadows.

Besides Madara Uchiha, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku had also been influenced by the tablet. Of course, what they had read was certainly different, and could not compare with what Madara had read.

Thus, the two chose different paths.

Uchiha Itachi did not follow what the tablet showed him. Instead, guided by his own interpretation of what it meant to be a ninja, he took the path the Sage of Six Paths had hoped those who awakened the Sharingan would pursue.

That path meant not relying too heavily on the Sharingan's power. After losing his closest friend and family, he did not succumb, but continued to make protecting Konoha his mission, even infiltrating the Akatsuki.

However, Uchiha Itachi was not without feeling for his clan. After being brought back through Impure World Reincarnation, he learned that Naruto already knew about his past, but Itachi said, "Let me disappear as a missing-nin of Konoha. Please don't let anyone know about this dishonorable chapter in the Uchiha Clan's past. Let the Uchiha Clan retain that glory forever!"

Uchiha Fugaku, by contrast, took a path similar to Madara Uchiha's.

Uchiha Fugaku had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and read the entire tablet, becoming convinced that the Uchiha Clan was the clan blessed by the gods and should be the true stewards of Konoha.

In the end, influenced by the anger of its members, the Uchiha Clan rose in rebellion, only for it to end in tragedy.