[T/N: A huge thank you to another member "That Guy" for supporting me on Patreon! Your support really motivates me to keep writing, and I'm so grateful for it. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Send him your blessings—thanks to him, you get these bonus chapters lol.]
Night had fallen in the Uchiha clan compound. In a quiet, remote room, five old men were meeting. It looked like they were planning something secret.
But they didn't all seem to agree. Some of them looked happy, while others seemed worried.
Uchiha Kai, who was the grandfather of Uchiha Kyo and Setsuna, started talking. "What's wrong? Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder, do you disagree with my plan?"
The two elders hesitated for a moment after hearing this. "It's not that we disagree," one of them said, "but isn't this moving a little too fast?"
Uchiha Kai waved his hand calmly. "No, we've been getting ready for this for almost a year."
He paused, then continued, "Besides, with these eyes of mine, I can already do a lot."
His pupils started to twist and turn. Then, they turned bright red, and the black centers changed into the shape of a shuriken, with a tomoe on each of the four points.
"This is! The Mangekyo Sharingan!" the elders all exclaimed at once.
They had always thought Uchiha Kai's talent was just average. They never thought he would awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"When did you awaken it?" the Fifth Elder asked, his body shaking a little. He had wanted this power his whole life but never got it. He couldn't believe this old man in front of him had it.
Seeing their surprised faces, Uchiha Kai felt only sadness and bitterness. "Twelve months ago," he said, "it cost me my grandson."
"What!" the elders asked, not believing it. "Setsuna is dead? What happened?"
Uchiha Setsuna was known as a genius in their group. No other young person had as much talent. These elders had basically all helped teach Uchiha Setsuna, and they had big hopes for him. How could he have died so suddenly?
Uchiha Kai sighed. Even though he looked calm, he was actually the one hurting the most.
"Setsuna went to get revenge for Kyo, but he never came back. That kid is a student of the Hokage. He must have run into a trap the Hokage left."
The Sixth Elder immediately understood. "Doesn't this mean the Hokage is targeting us?"
The Uchiha clan was split into two sides: one that wanted war and one that wanted peace. The Hokage had to know about this! If Setsuna really was killed by a trap from the Hokage, then they must have been noticed a long time ago.
If Torifū had heard these old Uchiha men, he probably would have laughed for three days straight. A trap from the Hokage? Being noticed by the Hokage? Were they just making things up?
Uchiha Setsuna wasn't that strong; why would anyone need to set a trap for him? They really thought too highly of themselves.
"That's why I'm saying we need to strike as soon as we can! A year has been long enough; we can't wait any longer!"
Uchiha Kai had suffered for a whole year. Every day, he dreamed of his grandson playing on his shoulders when he was little. And every time he woke up from that dream, anger burned in his heart.
The Eighth Elder spoke up first. "Stop being so slow! I agree with what the Fourth Elder said! I really regret not following Madara back then!"
"I agree too. The Uchiha clan has to make the Senju clan feel pain again!" the Ninth Elder said, his voice shaky. He was very sick and didn't seem to have much time left. That's why he wanted to do this one last thing before he died.
Seeing that the Eighth and Ninth Elders both agreed, the Fifth and Sixth Elders who were unsure could only nod.
Uchiha Kai felt very determined at that moment. If his two grandsons hadn't died one after the other, he wouldn't be so obsessed with revenge. This was all the Leaf Village's fault! And Uchiha Madara's too!
Yes, he hated Uchiha Madara! If Madara hadn't insisted on bringing the clan into the village, maybe this wouldn't have happened!
But all of this was just Uchiha Kai making excuses for his own failures. He had plenty of chances to leave the Leaf Village. But Uchiha Kai was already the Fourth Elder of the Uchiha clan back then. He had a high position and some power in the clan. He didn't want to give that up to follow Uchiha Madara and take a chance on an uncertain future. Now that his two grandsons were dead, he started to complain, just finding a reason for his own lack of action.
Uchiha Kyo had died five months ago. Even though they gave him life-force restoring drugs like they were water, his body was like a sieve with too many holes. The life force would just drain away as soon as it went in. He stubbornly held on for more than half a year, but he still died.
Torifū knew about this too; Naori had told him. After all, he was part of the Uchiha clan, and Naori still had to go to Kyo's funeral. But the way Uchiha Kai looked at her that day made her feel a little uneasy.
In the room, the elders talked about how to start their plan three days later. They got ready to secretly gather trustworthy members of the clan to join them.
And their first target wasn't anyone else; it was the Uchiha members who wanted peace. They would defeat them first and then take them over. This way, Uchiha Kai and the others could use the strength of the whole Uchiha clan to start a rebellion against the Leaf Village!
But they didn't know that on their roof, a young man with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was listening to everything. Even with someone as strong as Uchiha Kai, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, in the room, he didn't notice the young man at all.
And this young man was Kagami! The young leader of the pro-peace group, the strongest of the younger Uchiha generation, and someone highly respected in the clan.
Besides the five elders in the room, the other elders—First, Second, Third, Seventh, and Tenth—all wanted peace. Even though none of them had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, they weren't afraid of Uchiha Kai at all.
A few months ago, Kagami had noticed that the Fourth Elder was secretly planning something, and he had been secretly watching him. Uchiha Kai had always shown that he really disliked the Leaf Village and its leaders, and he often talked about how to get revenge on the Leaf Village. But in the end, these were just words and casual talk, not to be taken too seriously. Without proof, Kagami couldn't just warn everyone.
But today, Kagami finally found the proof that these people wanted to hurt the Uchiha clan and the Leaf Village.
Kagami wasn't panicking right now because he had known this day might come, so he wasn't surprised. But he couldn't stop this by himself. He still needed to tell the Great Elder before making any plans. After all, this was a family problem for the Uchiha clan. If it became public, it would be a scandal for the whole clan! At that point, Naori's hopes and wishes would never come true.
Then, Kagami jumped up lightly without making a sound, and in an instant, he disappeared into the dark night.