Both brothers, Uchiha Mahiru and Uchiha Kirika, had awakened the Mangekyō?
And Uchiha Kirika had gouged out his brother Mahiru's Mangekyō?
Uchiha Kane's heart grew increasingly heavy with pain.
What a failure of a Clan Head he was. So many major events had occurred within the clan, and he knew nothing about them.
And now Utatane Koharu was questioning him, asking why he hadn't reported the awakening of the Mangekyō.
Hah, report?
Report to the village so they could send more people to monitor the Uchiha clan?
"Lord Utatane Koharu," Uchiha Kane said, "my apologies. I knew nothing about the two of them awakening the Mangekyō. They kept it a secret from me."
Utatane Koharu said, "Clan Head Kane, the village has just decided to designate Uchiha Kirika as an S-Class rogue ninja.
Acts like Uchiha Kirika killing his own brother and gouging out his Sharingan are absolutely forbidden by the village.
This matter must be dealt with not only by the village, but your Uchiha clan must also take a stance."
Uchiha Tōka looked at the Clan Head and sighed inwardly in bitterness.
"I... I understand," Uchiha Kane said.
"The Uchiha clan will also publicly announce within the clan, through bulletins and other means, that Uchiha Kirika is a rogue ninja and the murderer of his brother."
Uchiha Rikiga, standing nearby, had a look of unwillingness in his eyes and shouted,
"Clan Head! Mahiru and Kirika were blood brothers! Kirika was raised by Mahiru! How could he kill his brother? Clan Head..."
"Silence!" Uchiha Kane growled in a low voice. "Uchiha Rikiga, don't talk nonsense. Uchiha Kirika has betrayed the village. Is there any room for argument?"
Whatever the truth was, Uchiha Kirika was already a rogue ninja.
He would act against Konoha, he would kill other Konoha shinobi. And the Uchiha clan would inevitably be implicated because of Uchiha Kirika.
Forget the Uchiha clan; even the Sarutobi clan had become much more restrained because of Sarutobi Kanenosuke.
What needed to be done now was to quickly distance themselves from Uchiha Kirika to avoid being implicated.
No... Uchiha Kane thought, it was impossible not to be implicated. The village would definitely use Uchiha Kirika to pressure the Uchiha clan.
Now the village had three S-Class rogue ninjas, two of whom were from the Uchiha clan.
Just thinking about it filled Uchiha Kane with despair.
Why were both from the Uchiha clan?
Why couldn't other clans put in some effort?
Uchiha Kane emphasized again:
"Lord Utatane Koharu, I will unify the Uchiha clan's perspective.
Uchiha Kirika cruelly murdered his elder brother and stole his eyes for power. Such behavior will never be tolerated by the Uchiha clan."
Utatane Koharu nodded. Uchiha Kane was an experienced Clan Head who understood compromise.
Unlike the other fools in the Uchiha clan who thought they could do whatever they wanted just because they had the Sharingan.
So many shinobi had emerged in the Uchiha clan's history, but how many had truly become powerful?
Geniuses were rare. Most clan shinobi were mediocre; without the clan's protection, they were nothing.
Utatane Koharu led the village forces away. After the Anbu withdrew, only the Uchiha shinobi remained.
"Clan Head!"
Uchiha Rikiga wanted to say more, but Uchiha Tōka stopped him.
"Don't say anything, Rikiga. Don't say a word!"
Uchiha Tōka walked to the corpses and lifted the white cloth covering them.
Beneath the cloth were bodies utterly destroyed by Fire Release, making it impossible to determine what exactly killed them.
Uchiha Tōka glanced back at the Clan Head. Seeing no reaction, he covered the bodies again with the cloth.
"Bury them both..." Uchiha Kane said. "Uchiha Kirika is a rogue ninja, but Mahiru and Shun were not. They are qualified... to be buried behind the Memorial Stone."
He said to Fugaku, "Fugaku, come with me."
Uchiha Kane and Uchiha Fugaku did not return to the Clan Head's residence but entered the clan's Naka Shrine.
The Uchiha compound covered a large area, a legacy left by the founding generation of Uchiha for the clan.
The Nakano River cut through Konoha Village, flowing through the woods behind the compound.
In the darkness, Uchiha Kane sat in the main seat, looking at Uchiha Fugaku before him.
"Fugaku, I must teach you something extremely important."
"What is it, Father..." Uchiha Fugaku's spirits were low.
He had been deeply shaken today.
Originally, hearing that Uchiha Mahiru had awakened the Mangekyō, Fugaku had felt envy and jealousy.
So Uchiha Mahiru was the clan's top genius.
He never expected Uchiha Mahiru to be dead in the blink of an eye.
They said it was a fratricide, but the Konoha Anbu had arrived first on the scene. There were many signs of concealment, the bodies were damaged... it was clear there was more to the story.
However, the village was powerful. If the village said Uchiha Kirika was a rogue ninja, what could the Uchiha clan do about it?
"Fugaku, I will teach you one thing... Lift your head. You are the young clan head, the future of this village. Do not bow your head."
Fugaku looked up at his father, his expression turning to shock in an instant.
"What I want to teach you is... if you ever awaken the Mangekyō in the future, you must never tell anyone..."
In Uchiha Kane's eyes was a slowly spinning Mangekyō Sharingan!
A Mangekyō with a unique four-bladed shuriken pattern!
After revealing his Mangekyō to his son Fugaku, Uchiha Kane closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were ordinary Three Tomoe Sharingan. He said slowly,
"Beside Uchiha Kagami's corpse with its gouged-out eyes, your grandfather told me that if I ever awakened the Mangekyō, I must keep it secret, never tell anyone, until the moment the Uchiha clan's survival is at stake.
I awakened the Mangekyō ten years ago. No one knows my true strength.
Now, having seen Uchiha Mahiru's corpse with my own eyes, his eyes gouged out, I pass this warning on to you.
If you are fortunate enough to awaken the Mangekyō in the future...
Absolutely! Absolutely! Do not let others know your true strength!
As Clan Head, I will use these eyes on the day the clan's survival hangs in the balance.
Our Uchiha clan has known glory within Konoha, glory rivaling Senju Hashirama's.
Our Uchiha clan has also faced suppression. You must remember that a little suppression means nothing.
Inheritance, survival... these are what matter most for the Uchiha clan."
Uchiha Fugaku's breathing grew rapid. He then nodded and said, "I understand, Father..."
Uchiha Kagami had once been the clan's most dazzling genius, so much so that the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, personally came to the Uchiha compound and, in front of everyone, took Uchiha Kagami as his student.
He was a genius who could overshadow an entire generation of Uchiha.
Compared to Uchiha Kagami, his father seemed to pale.
If Uchiha Kagami hadn't followed Senju Tobirama, his father wouldn't have been able to compete with Kagami for the position of Clan Head.
Yet, even a genius like Uchiha Kagami had his eyes gouged out and died a tragic death.
The Mangekyō... the Uchiha clan's legendary strongest ocular jutsu... yet it was always being gouged out.
Gouged out by one's own brothers, gouged out by enemies lurking in the shadows.
This so-called 'strongest' was fragile and vulnerable in the face of endless malice.
Even Uchiha Madara—what of him? Didn't he suffer repeated crushing defeats at the hands of Senju Hashirama?
The Uchiha clan always failed. It seemed like a code etched into their very genes.
Fugaku recalled Uchiha Mahiru's actions. After awakening, he had been extremely arrogant, eager to immediately change all of the Uchiha clan's policies, provoke the village, and expand outward.
In less than a month, Uchiha Mahiru's eyes had been gouged out.
According to Utatane Koharu, Uchiha Kirika killed his brother Uchiha Mahiru and awakened the Mangekyō.
Uchiha Kirika chose to defect.
Probably Kirika understood that even seeking the clan's help would be useless.
Konoha Village was too strong...
The presence of Advisor Utatane Koharu was intimidating, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Yellow Dog, Fox, Golden Eagle, White Ram, and the other Anbu members were overwhelmingly oppressive.
Uchiha Fugaku closed his eyes in pain.
His father was right. If he was fortunate enough to awaken the Mangekyō, he must never let anyone know.
Hokage Building, Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window, looking out over the entirety of Konoha Village.
He took drags from his pipe, one after another.
Danzo sat on the sofa and said, "Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Anbu has been getting out of hand lately. Fox, relying on his strength, actually disobeyed my orders in the midst of battle.
If all Anbu shinobi acted like Fox, how could the village function?
Konoha is too large. The most important principle is unity of command from top to bottom, to prevent anyone from going rogue!
Obedience! All subordinates must obey absolutely!
Even if ordered to die, they must not hesitate!"
Listening to Danzō's forceful speech, Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a thick cloud of smoke from his lungs and said,
"Danzo, Fox had a different objective from you, hence he adopted different tactics. I can understand Fox in this regard.
Fox isn't like you; he doesn't have a chance at resurrection.
When he saw an Uchiha with the Mangekyō, of course his first instinct was to kill him.
He didn't know your goal was to seize Uchiha Mahiru's Mangekyō. If you had made that clear to him, I believe he would have understood.
But could you have stated your objective in that situation?
What would you have said? That child, Uchiha Mizukiku, might have guessed something, might have grown suspicious about Kagami's death.
The pressure on the Anbu is immense right now. Fox is an extremely rare asset.
Who else in the Anbu, besides Fox, can complete those dangerous missions?
I cannot possibly punish Fox, and you must not move against him because of this.
Just like this mission to pursue Uchiha Kirika—how many people in the entire village can be ordered to pursue a rogue ninja who has activated the Mangekyō?
Orochimaru? He already follows orders selectively and has rejected several missions I assigned.
Hatake Sakumo? Would you dare send him out? If he killed Uchiha Kirika, he would trample the Uchiha clan underfoot and gain even greater prestige.
Tsunade? Tsunade won't even see me.
You, me, Koharu—which of us three will go hunt down Uchiha Kirika?
Only Fox follows orders. And when he achieves merits, they are credited to the Anbu; he himself gains very little."
Danzo fell silent.
The weak Anbu could not meet Sarutobi Hiruzen's demands.
At least for now, the Will of Fire in Fox's heart was beyond doubt.
He always charged into the most dangerous places, honing his defensive secret techniques through successive desperate situations.
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued,
"Let me ask you, after Uchiha Madara took Uchiha Izuna's Mangekyō, his power increased dramatically.
Now Uchiha Kirika has taken Uchiha Mahiru's Mangekyō. Do you think you can defeat Uchiha Kirika?
Without Fox's intelligence, facing the Uchiha's terrifying ocular jutsu for the first time, any of us could die.
Even the Second Hokage-sensei, without the advantage of intelligence, fell to the Gold and Silver Brothers' Sage Artifacts."
Danzo said nothing more.
Uchiha Kirika, having taken his brother's Mangekyō Sharingan, would become an even more terrifying enemy.
"So I should thank Fox? For his Wood Spikes technique that finally killed Uchiha Mahiru?"
"Thanks aren't necessary," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
"Konoha's current three major rogue ninjas—Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Kirika, and Sarutobi Kanenosuke—are all difficult to deal with.
Among our forces, only Fox can guarantee not being killed instantly.
His combat style is suited for fighting powerful enemies; his absolute defense secret techniques and Wood Release provide high margin for error.
You have the Three Tomoe for Izanagi sacrifices, but you don't have many Three Tomoe Sharingan left in your collection, do you?
So, Danzo, let it go."
***
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