"The Fourth Hokage has fallen. Tomorrow, a meeting will be held to discuss post-war matters."
"You must be present."
Gento nodded and continued walking toward the outside of the village.
...
Early the next morning.
Gento led all the Uchiha clan members back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
A mighty procession of more than three thousand people passed through the village gates and entered a village full of devastation.
After a night of emergency handling, the ruins of the Hidden Leaf Village had been preliminarily cleared.
Collapsed houses had been dug open, and broken stones and debris were piled into small hills.
But there were even more corpses.
Civilians and shinobi alike lay neatly arranged in the open ground, waiting for their families to bid them a final farewell.
On the open ground, cries of grief shook the sky.
At that moment, the Uchiha clan's procession appeared in everyone's field of vision.
The crying gradually subsided.
Countless gazes turned toward them.
"This is… the Uchiha clan…"
Someone muttered.
"They… how is it that not a single one of them died?"
"Look at their formation… so orderly, not a single injured person!"
"That's impossible… it was so chaotic last night, how could no one have died?"
Someone suddenly shouted:
"They must have known in advance that the Nine-Tails would cause chaos, so they hid outside!"
Suspicious gazes immediately fell upon the Uchiha clan members.
"Damn it! This Nine-Tails incident must be related to them!"
"Exactly! Didn't you see the Nine-Tailed Fox's eyes last night? They looked exactly like the Uchiha's Sharingan!"
"It must be those damned Uchiha behind it!"
"I was wondering why the Nine-Tails suddenly attacked the village; turns out it was the Uchiha!"
"They controlled the Nine-Tails to attack the village!"
"Damn Uchiha! You all deserve to die!"
The grief-stricken crowd surged forward.
Twisted faces, blazing eyes, fingers pointing at the Uchiha clan members…
The Leaf Police Force members who had come to receive the clan were also filled with anger upon seeing this scene.
Inabi immediately jumped out and demanded:
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
He pointed at those people:
"The Police Force risked their lives to save you last night, have you all forgotten?"
"To save you, our Police Force lost more than a dozen people!"
The crowd fell silent for a moment.
Then, a man spoke in a mocking tone:
"Hmph, who knows whether your people are really dead or just pretending?"
"Exactly!"
Someone immediately echoed.
"Maybe it was all just an act for us to see!"
"Bullshit!"
Inabi trembled with anger and rushed forward to strike, but was firmly held back by the clan members behind him.
Fugaku stepped forward, trying to ease the tension through explanation:
"Everyone, calm down. We previously tried to organize evacuation drills precisely to prepare for situations like this…"
"You never said the Nine-Tails would attack!"
A middle-aged woman sharply interrupted him.
She held her child's corpse, her face streaked with tears yet twisted with fury:
"If you had said the Nine-Tails would come, we would have run long ago! Why didn't you say it?"
Fugaku opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
What could he say?
That even if they had said it, no one would have believed them?
That just yesterday, these same people were cursing them for meddling?
That they had been loudly claiming they didn't need the Uchiha, that Danzo would protect them?
"Exactly!"
Someone else in the crowd shouted loudly.
"No matter what, so many of us died, and not a single Uchiha did!"
"You have to take responsibility!"
"The losses of us civilians should all be borne by your Uchiha clan!"
"Compensation! You must compensate us!"
The crowd erupted once again.
Fugaku stood there, looking at those furious faces, suddenly feeling exhausted.
At the very front of the formation, Shisui stood in silence, watching everything.
His gaze swept across those clamoring faces, those hate-filled eyes, those fingers pointing at the Uchiha.
Yesterday, these people were shouting for Danzo to save them.
Yesterday, these people were cursing the Uchiha for meddling.
Yesterday, these people said, "We don't need the Uchiha to protect us."
Today, they said, "The losses must be borne by the Uchiha."
They even claimed that the clan members' sacrifices were just an act.
A powerful impulse suddenly arose within him: I want to change their perception!
In the next instant, a tearing pain erupted in his eyes!
Shisui let out a muffled groan, instinctively covering his eyes.
He could feel the three tomoe within his eye sockets emerging on their own, spinning frantically, as if being forcibly kneaded, compressed, and fused together.
The intense pain made his whole body tremble, but he clenched his teeth and did not let out a louder sound.
Moments later, the pain receded like a tide.
He slowly lowered his hand and opened his eyes.
The three tomoe in his eyes had disappeared.
In their place was an intricate pattern he had never seen before.
Shisui froze.
A flood of information suddenly surged into his mind.
About the abilities of these eyes.
About its name.
"Kotoamatsukami…?"
He murmured.
At the side, Gento keenly noticed Shisui's abnormality.
He turned his head, his gaze landing on Shisui's eyes.
His pupils contracted slightly.
That was… the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Shisui had awakened the Mangekyo.
However, now was not the time to dwell on it.
The Hidden Leaf's civilians were still pressing forward step by step.
They gradually surrounded the Uchiha, showing signs of encirclement.
At that moment, a masked figure suddenly appeared between the two opposing sides.
"By order of the Third Hokage! Uchiha clan members are to return to the clan grounds. Clan Head Gento and the head of the Police Force are to proceed to the Hokage's office for a meeting!"
The Hidden Leaf civilians froze for a moment, then unwillingly made way for a narrow path.
Some still muttered under their breath, but ultimately did not dare to defy the Hokage's order.
Gento expressionlessly waved his hand and led the three thousand clan members forward. Under the angry gazes of the Hidden Leaf civilians, the Uchiha returned to their clan grounds.
...
The Uchiha clan grounds, due to their remote location, had only a few civilian houses affected by the Nine-Tails' shockwaves. The main structures were fully intact.
Gento quickly arranged for the clan members to settle down. Just as he was about to catch his breath, Inabi arrived with a group of people.
"Clan Head Gento."
Inabi pushed the door open and entered, followed by more than a dozen people behind him.
Gento glanced over them; they were all influential combat forces within the clan, several of them with their Sharingan activated.
They had clearly come prepared.
Inabi got straight to the point, the unwillingness on his face undisguised:
"Gento, the Hidden Leaf's civilians and higher-ups are this foolish… why don't we Uchiha launch a coup?"
His voice carried suppressed fury:
"Just look at their faces today! Yesterday they cursed us for meddling, today they say we were putting on a show."
"Our Police Force lost more than a dozen people, and they say it was fake! We saved so many people, and they say we had ulterior motives!"
"What is there left to protect in a village like this?"
"Exactly!"
A clan member behind him chimed in.
"With the Uchiha's current strength, even the Hokage's Anbu might not be able to win! We might as well go all out and become Hokage ourselves!"
"Right!"
"We should've done this long ago!"
Several people echoed, their eyes filled with excitement.
Fugaku, standing to the side, instinctively wanted to rebuke them, but after glancing at Gento, he swallowed his words.
Gento did not respond right away.
He knew that the radical faction within the Uchiha clan was beginning to stir.
...
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