The candlelight flickered gently. Aside from the small stir caused by Uchiha Hikaru's arrival, the atmosphere of the clan meeting remained deathly still.
The other clan members entered one by one and sat in silence, waiting for the final person to arrive.
Thump... thump... thump...
Footsteps echoed up the stairs, growing louder with each step.
Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward and took his place at the head of the room.
Two futons beside him remained empty—Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui had yet to arrive.
Time was up. Fugaku had already waited longer than he should have, hoping they might arrive to help diffuse the situation. But he could no longer stall the meeting on their account.
With no other choice, Fugaku began.
"The time has come. Let's begin the clan meeting."
The moment he spoke, several elders from both sides raised their voices.
"Fugaku, the time has come, but where are your two Prodigies—Itachi and Shisui—who joined the ANBU? Everyone else is here except for them!"
"Look at the state of the clan! Living under constant surveillance from the ANBU and the Foundation! As clan head, can't you even control your own sons?!"
"Is this what we get for letting Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui join the ANBU? For bowing to that old monkey Hiruzen Sarutobi and compromising with the Hokage? Is this the result of trying to get close to power?!"
"I'm afraid those two have already become the Hokage's lapdogs! They're probably spying on the clan right now, feeding intel to Danzo and Hiruzen!"
Uchiha Elder #1 grew more and more agitated. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up, pointing a trembling finger at Fugaku.
The pro-war elders seated on the left side of the hall all wore matching expressions of fury.
At the last clan meeting, thanks to Fugaku's support, the peace-favoring faction had gained momentum and influence. They had acted triumphant, as if they alone held the key to the clan's future.
But now, ANBU surveillance had become suffocating. The villagers' suspicion and hostility were growing. The clan's once-proud reputation had been dragged through the mud.
And they had only Fugaku and his peace-loving cowards to blame.
Fugaku remained calm, even as the fire in the room intensified. He knew the tension between the clan and the village had reached a boiling point. But he also knew they didn't have the strength to act recklessly.
Not only the village leadership, but even other clans had started to distance themselves from the Uchiha. The villagers—once wary—now fled at the mere sight of them, filing complaint after complaint to the Hokage behind their backs.
The Uchiha Police Force had been inundated with bureaucratic attacks and resistance from every corner.
"Under my leadership, you say we've chosen the wrong path. Do you war hawks have a better one?" Fugaku's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Do you truly believe the clan can launch a coup with our current strength? How well did the last one go?"
"During the war with the Land of the Dead, half of our elite forces were lost. How many more did we sacrifice during the Second and Third Ninja Wars? What do we have to stage a coup with?"
"There are over a thousand registered shinobi in the Sarutobi clan alone! How many Uchiha do we have left? Are you planning to send the entire clan to die?!"
Fugaku's cold logic left Uchiha Elder #1 momentarily speechless.
The elder sat down again, his face flushed with anger, though he said nothing further.
"But bowing down to Hiruzen and becoming his servant is unacceptable!" Elder #1 spat. "Where is the pride of the Uchiha?!"
"Have you all forgotten the honor of being one of the two strongest clans in the shinobi world?!"
From the sidelines, Uchiha #1 stepped forward, addressing the crowd in a raised voice.
"He's right! The pride of the Uchiha cannot be forgotten!"
"The Senju are gone! We are the last great clan—we will rise to the top!"
"If a coup is out of the question, then we'll abandon the village! Let them fend for themselves! We don't need Konoha!"
His speech stirred the crowd. Anger boiled beneath the surface. Whispers turned into chants. Hateful glares passed from one clan member to the next.
And then—
"Pfft… Hahahahaha! Are you trying to make me laugh to death and then steal my gear while I'm down?"
Uchiha Hikaru's voice rang out loud and clear, his mocking laughter slicing through the tension like a kunai through silk.
The room fell dead silent.
Uchiha Elder #1 shot to his feet, red-faced and trembling.
"You dare mock the pride of the Uchiha?!"
"I admit, you've got some talent, but the way you're behaving now brings shame to our entire clan!"
"Don't think that just because your parents are dead, we have to tolerate your reckless mouth!"
"Are you even worthy of our ancestors?! Worthy of the fan on your back?!"
As his voice rose, the eyes around Hikaru turned crimson. The Sharingan awakened in several clan members—some evolving from two tomoe to three, their rage sharpening their chakra.
Hikaru stood slowly, eyes opening to reveal his fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan. The tomoe spun so fast they nearly formed a ring.
"I ask you—what is pride?" Hikaru said, voice calm but cold. "Is it pride to use the achievements of the dead as a crutch for your own weakness?"
"You live comfortable lives. And even though you're monitored, the worst you feel is inconvenienced. If it bothers you so much, fight back! But no—you just scream about pride. How many of you have actually done anything to earn that pride?!"
"A coup? Treason? Fine, let's say we go through with it. What happens to the sick, the wounded, the elderly, the children? You think Danzo and Hiruzen will spare them once we're gone?!"
"Aren't we supposed to be the Clan of Love? And yet here you are, obsessed with rebellion, obsessed with revenge. Have you forgotten why the Sharingan awakens?"
"Use your damn heads! Just a few angry words are enough to strip away your reason, your calm, your judgment. Are you even shinobi anymore? Are you worthy of calling yourselves Uchiha?!"
The pro-war elders fell silent. Their heads hung low in shame.
Only Uchiha Elder #1 continued to glare at Hikaru, fury boiling behind his eyes—still bitter over mistaking him earlier for Uchiha Madara. The humiliation burned deeper now.
You damned brat... how dare you shame me in front of everyone...!
Meanwhile, Fugaku watched silently.
For the first time, he saw a glimpse of something beyond just raw talent in Hikaru. In addition to Itachi and Shisui, there was another prodigy in the clan's younger generation—one he had overlooked.
The rest of the clan sat quietly. Some clenched their fists in shame. Others shed silent tears. A few even struck their thighs in frustration, regretting their earlier foolishness.
"Uchiha Kura's defense has been broken. Uchiha Kota's defense has been broken…"
"A total of 39 defenses have been broken. Chakra increased by 10%."
Hikaru smirked to himself.
So that's how it works. Copying talents I already possess results in only minor gains…
Still, the feeling was unmistakable. Familiar. This was the rush he remembered!
Sixteen years… sixteen long years since he'd felt this thrill!
It was the same feeling that had once driven him—at the age of sixty—to jump into the online world and become a content creator, dreaming of becoming the oldest viral host on the web.
And though that dream had ended abruptly…
Now, it was all coming back.
But Hikaru wasn't some twisted sadist. In his previous life, when he broke someone's defense—mentally or emotionally—he always tried to offer a solution, a new perspective.
As the saying went: no reconstruction without deconstruction. You had to break the old ideas to build something better.
He wasn't some reckless provocateur. No, Hikaru saw himself as a guide—the first real challenge in the lives of people who had coasted by too easily.
Now that only a handful of the pro-war members had cracked, he was ready to push them harder.
It was time to raise the stakes and drop something explosive.
But before he could, the eighth elder of the peace faction stepped forward to speak.