Nanga Shrine.
The moment he opened the door, Tōshirō realized that everyone present was looking at him with an intense sense of anticipation.
"Heh, heh, I arrived just in time."
Tōshirō let out a light laugh, easing the tense atmosphere.
With everyone watching, he slowly walked up the steps.
Fugaku's gaze seemed to say, "What took you so long? Everyone's been waiting for you."
Tōshirō shrugged, as if to say, "Don't protagonists always make a late entrance?"
Fugaku, feeling helpless, stepped back, giving the stage to Tōshirō.
Today, he was the protagonist.
Tōshirō slowly scanned the crowd. This meeting would decide the future of the Uchiha clan, and all Uchiha with the right to attend were here.
Soon, he noticed a figure sitting quietly in a corner, watching everything on the stage.
"Itachi, you've been sent by the village to monitor the Uchiha and me, haven't you?"
"Heh, heh... I'll play along."
Tōshirō shifted his gaze from Itachi to the crowd. After a moment of silence, he got to the point: "I've learned everything about what's been happening in the Uchiha clan from Fugaku. I won't waste time with formalities. I'll just tell you my thoughts on this matter."
Upon hearing this, everyone held their breath, waiting for the verdict.
In a less conspicuous corner, Itachi also held his breath, waiting for Tōshirō's announcement.
Tōshirō said in a deep voice, "Regarding the coup, I do not agree..."
Phew...
The weight on Itachi's heart finally lifted.
If Tōshirō disagreed, his strength and status could completely suppress the rebellion.
While some were relieved, others, which was almost everyone, were unhappy.
"Lord Tōshirō, please reconsider."
"Lord Tōshirō..."
"Lord Tōshirō..."
Led by Yashiro, the Uchiha members jointly voiced their opposition, hoping to sway Tōshirō's decision.
In addition, they also looked at Fugaku.
"Captain, please persuade Lord Tōshirō..."
"Captain..."
"Captain..."
The Uchiha had thought Tōshirō's return was to support them, but instead, he was voicing his opposition. They couldn't accept this.
Some of the younger Uchiha members, full of youthful arrogance, couldn't stand it.
They glared at Tōshirō with resentment. "What 'legendary ninja'? I think he's just a coward."
If Tōshirō hadn't shown up, they might have already succeeded in the coup. There would be no need for this meeting.
Fugaku's eyes turned red, and he gave a cold stare to the disrespectful young Uchiha. "Watch what you say."
"Captain..."
Under the gaze of his "fearsome eyes," the few hot-headed, irrational young men began to tremble. Their anger quickly subsided, and they sat down begrudgingly.
Seeing his subordinates obediently sit down, Fugaku sighed inwardly. He glanced at Tōshirō, hoping he would show his true stance.
He could only use his position as clan head to suppress the clan's dissatisfaction for a short time.
The Uchiha, who had been suppressed by the village for so long, had a lot of pent-up resentment. If it wasn't guided properly, it would eventually explode, leading to an irreversible situation.
Someone in the crowd punched the ground, asking Tōshirō with indignation, "Are we just supposed to endure this forever?"
"Now is not the time," Tōshirō said calmly. "Trust me, I will give everyone a satisfying answer."
"Trust? That's easy for you to say. What do you have to make us trust you? More to the point, what makes the village trust us?"
"We've always loved and trusted the village. For the village's prosperity and peace, we would gladly sacrifice our precious lives."
"All we want is for the village to treat us fairly, just as we love the village."
"But in the end, the village is constantly on guard against us. Just like during the Nine-Tails' attack, we wanted to help, but the village feared we would use the opportunity to control the Nine-Tails. We followed the village's instructions to evacuate the people, but we still received no trust in return."
As he spoke, some of the Uchiha, pushed to their limits, began to shed tears, while others shouted, venting their years of emotion. "Tell me! How can you expect us to trust a village like this?"
Tōshirō was also a genuine Uchiha, and he could understand their feelings. He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, revealing a scarlet, snowflake-like pattern in his pupils.
"With these eyes of mine..."
Tōshirō raised his arm, clenching his fist in the air, and made a solemn declaration.
"Th-this is..."
The crowd, who was watching Tōshirō, was astonished by the unique change in his eyes. Their pupils suddenly widened.
Red, with a more complex pattern than the three tomoe.
The only eye with this pattern recorded in the Uchiha clan's history was this one.
Mangekyō Sharingan... Itachi murmured to himself, staring intently at the snowflake-patterned eye.
"That's right. This is the Uchiha clan's most revered dōjutsu, the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Tōshirō loudly confirmed what was in everyone's minds, showcasing his dōjutsu for the first time.
Behind him, blue flames swirled, forming the upper half of a blue creature.
It had a pair of antennae on its head, with arms as thick as crab claws. Its sharp fingers were spread out, and its palms were pressed on either side behind Tōshirō, exuding an overwhelming and awe-inspiring aura.
The few clan members who had been beaten by this creature last time let out a gasp. "It's the thing from that time..."
"This is the dōjutsu of my Mangekyō Sharingan, Soul Fire."
Tōshirō said in a calm voice, casually introducing it.
His words were like a bomb dropped into the crowd, causing a commotion and a stir.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan! It's the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"How many years has it been? I always thought it was just a legend, but today I've seen it with my own eyes."
"Haha, with this power, a successful coup is within our grasp."
The Uchiha clan hadn't had someone awaken these eyes since Uchiha Madara.
These eyes were not only a symbol of power but also held special significance.
"Our sincerest apologies, Lord Tōshirō..."
The few young clan members who had just confronted Tōshirō now looked at him differently. Their defiance instantly turned into intense admiration. They knelt down and apologized, with their butts on their heels and their heads touching the ground. The more defiant they had been, the humbler they were now.
Tōshirō calmly waved his hand, letting bygones be bygones.
By revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan, Tōshirō easily quelled the Uchiha's desire to immediately launch a coup.
"You can all go now. The next time we meet, I will give you a proper explanation."
After dismissing the crowd, Tōshirō noticed that Yashiro didn't immediately leave with everyone else. He lingered for a bit, his mouth slightly agape, as if he had something to say.
This caught Tōshirō's attention, and he went up to him and asked, "What is it, Yashiro? Do you have something to say?"
(End of Chapter)
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