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Uchiha Takeru's expression stiffened. The defiance from a moment ago disappeared, leaving him standing before Manji with an awkward look on his face.
"Um... Clan Elder, am I still allowed to attend tomorrow's council meeting?"
His voice had become remarkably polite.
"..." Manji chuckled. At his age, he had little interest in holding grudges. Still, leaving Uchiha Takeru on the council would only create problems for Tajima's rule. It was better to deal with the issue now before it got worse.
That was how Manji dealt with rivals.
Winners ate well. Losers also ate well—just behind bars.
Enemies were a different story. He never showed them that kind of courtesy.
Sending someone to the Pure Land was already an act of mercy.
"Takeru," Manji said, resting both hands on his cane, "you have little talent for commanding troops, and administration is not your strength either. From this day onward, you will retire to Naka Shrine and keep the Sage of Six Paths company."
He brought the end of his cane down against the floor, making the decision final.
Uchiha Takeru looked like he was about to cry.
Damn it. He had started the fight, but no one had followed him. Had the elders backed him and pressured Manji together, the result might have been different.
Instead, the moment the oldest man in the clan entered the room, every last one of them folded.
"I accept your decision," Uchiha Takeru said, bowing his head. "I will go to Naka Shrine, watch over the spirits of our ancestors—and keep the Sage of Six Paths company."
Several guards came forward and led him out of the hall, each taking one of his arms.
With that settled, Manji turned toward Uchiha Tajima.
He had once intended to let Tajima earn the position over time. In the original story, Tajima had become clan head without anyone clearing the way for him.
Then, during one of their conversations, Tajima had said, "Grandpa, I want to step up."
Manji thought it over and came to a simple conclusion.
There was no reason to make Tajima suffer for the sake of suffering. With Manji behind him, why force the boy to spend years struggling for a position he could assume today?
And so, they had arrived at this moment.
"Grand—"
Tajima approached with visible nerves, nearly calling him Grandpa before catching himself.
"CLAN ELDER!" He dropped to one knee. "You have placed your trust in me. I swear I will not disappoint you, and I will not fail the Uchiha Clan!"
An attendant brought forward the Uchiha gunbai. Manji accepted the flame-patterned war fan and placed it in Tajima's hands.
Tajima took it with both hands, and the seriousness of his new role showed on his face.
Manji took hold of his wrist and raised his arm before the assembled council. "From this day onward, Uchiha Tajima is the new head of the Uchiha Clan!"
Every elder and senior Uchiha in the hall bowed.
..............
The Pure Land
Black Zetsu resumed his introductions.
"This is Senju Futen—the legendary master of holding the line. Uchiha Kitsune may have been a monster, but Futen endured everything he threw at the Senju and kept the clan from collapsing."
Black Zetsu looked him over, then added, "He's also the strangest Asura reincarnation I've ever met. Most of the others were gentle by nature. This one had teeth."
"You didn't live in my era," Senju Futen replied. "If I had behaved like the other reincarnations, Kitsune would have torn through us. Had I shown mercy, the Senju would have been wiped out."
His gaze shifted toward Uzuki.
"Clan Head Uzuki's gentleness was what allowed the Senju to suffer such a devastating blow. The times made me what I was."
"I'm sorry," Uzuki said, guilt crossing her face. "It was my mistake that left the Senju at such a disadvantage. I never imagined things would end that way."
"All right, save the discussion until I'm finished," Black Zetsu cut in. "The dead from every generation live here in the Pure Land. Once the introductions are over, you can find whoever you wish to speak with."
A strange light entered the reincarnations' eyes.
The Pure Land might have been Manji's greatest creation.
Had they known this realm awaited them after death, perhaps they would not have fought so desperately to settle every grudge before their final breath.
Black Zetsu turned toward the next reincarnation and cleared his throat. Then, with far more ceremony than anyone expected, he began to recite:
"Pretty face in painted frame, Fed on prayers and empty fame. Better in my arms instead, Than lonely immortal in a cold bed."
He paused to let that sink in.
"Uchiha Sa—the only woman ever to inherit Indra's reincarnated soul."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"Oh? She even gets an entrance poem?" Uchiha Senichi studied Sa with growing interest.
Uchiha Kitsune frowned. "There is something very wrong with that verse!!"
Indra also looked toward his only female reincarnation, curious to see what kind of surprise she might bring him.
"..." Meanwhile, Sa looked mortified.
Why did anyone still remember that poem, anyway?
Then she had an even worse thought.
She had carved it into the wall of the Six Paths Hall!
The Sage of Six Paths had almost certainly seen it himself... That was much worse than everyone here remembering it.
"For anyone wondering," Black Zetsu said, wearing a wicked grin, "Uchiha Sa wrote that poem for the Sage of Six Paths."
"Oh, I see..."
Several people nodded.
Then the meaning hit them.
"WAIT—SHE WROTE IT FOR WHO??"
Everyone turned to Sa. Some looked horrified, while others struggled not to laugh.
Indra stared at her in shock, but after a moment, an odd smile appeared on his face. She had done something he had once wanted to do but had never managed himself...
Sa bowed and let out a helpless sigh. "I was ignorant and disrespectful. I never thought God was real."
"Clan Head Sa, you were lucky to be born at the right time," Uchiha Gen said with a bitter laugh. "The Sage of Six Paths decided not to hold it against you."
He sighed and shook his head. "Me? I lived right before the Six Paths Purge and got swept away with everyone else."
"To be fair, Grandmaster was handsome," Asura said with a shrug. "It's easy to understand."
"Back in the Ninshū era, lots of female disciples made the same mistake after seeing his portrait. If Father had painted Grandmaster as an old man, none of this would have happened."
"I remember Hagoromo painting that portrait," Indra said. "So once again, this is my biological father's fault."
Asura's face grew tense. "What was Father supposed to do? Grandmaster really was that handsome."
"Far be it from me to judge the true face of Heaven's Will, but yes. His appearance was beyond compare." Uchiha Kitsune said.
"Oh, the Grand Sage's true form?" Uchiha Gen laughed. "He was like divine light in human shape! The sight nearly blinded me!"
"Whenever I entered a Six Paths temple during my lifetime, I could feel the Grand Sage's heroic presence coming right off the canvas—" Senju Shima added. "Even in a painting, his divine authority was clear."
Uzumaki Yū nodded right away. "Great minds think alike. Even as a child, I thought the Sage looked heroic."
"This feels oddly familiar..." Uchiha Jin stared at the image in thought. "There was an old clan elder back home who looked a lot like the Grand Sage."
Indra let out a quiet sigh. "Knowing that everyone in the world can look upon Grandmaster's portrait makes me feel strangely jealous."
"..." Black Zetsu watched as the conversation got out of hand and felt a headache coming on.
Bring up their clans, their wars, or the Thousand-Year Pact, and the reincarnations might start fighting within minutes.
Bring up Manji's face, and suddenly everyone was getting along.
Perhaps he should gather the entire Pure Land one day and create an official beauty ranking for history's famous figures—
"All right, all right. That's enough," Black Zetsu interrupted. "For all you know, the Sage of Six Paths can hear every word you're saying."
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