Uchiha Kai wore a pained expression.
He was just a nominal Uchiha, someone who didn't even know most people in the clan. And now they wanted him to attend a clan meeting? What a joke.
But—whatever.
Even if he didn't want to, a man had to repay the favors he'd received.
That night, at nine.
The surface of the Naka River rippled like liquid silver under the moonlight. The shimmering waves looked like fish scales, glinting one after another.
With the vast forest all around reflecting that glow, the whole scene radiated a breathtaking beauty.
This place, bordering the Forest of Death, was the most important Uchiha territory—
The Naka Shrine.
The shrine itself wasn't large, but the defenses here were nothing less than an impenetrable net.
Even without his Sharingan open, under the sweep of his Observation Haki, Kai could clearly sense every chakra signature, every breath in the area. None of it could escape him.
Five Jounin.
More than thirty Chunin.
Close to a hundred genin.
Perhaps fewer than the Hyuga had on guard, but that wasn't because the Uchiha were weak—it was because they were too proud.
They simply didn't believe anyone would dare make trouble in Uchiha territory.
"Mm, what a beautiful sight."
"If this weren't the dark, twisted world of Hokage, this place would definitely be a protected scenic spot."
"When I finally turtle my way to the very peak, I'll fence this place off and use it as my retirement villa."
Kai sighed with genuine appreciation as he walked, drinking in the scenery.
He had been in this world for a long time now, yet this was his first visit to the Naka Shrine.
Before, his status had been too low. He never even had the qualifications to come here.
At that moment, someone appeared in front of him.
Ah, a familiar face—
Uchiha Tekka, whom he'd briefly met earlier today.
"Elder Kai, everyone else is already here," Tekka said, face stiff and voice begrudging. Still, he bowed. "Please hurry inside. Don't let the other elders and the clan head wait."
Kai blinked in mild surprise, but nodded. Under Tekka's lead, he entered the great hall of the Naka Shrine.
At the head of the room stood a grim, ferocious statue. Directly below it, in the center, a single cushion was placed—where Uchiha Fugaku knelt, sitting formally.
Cushions lined both sides of the hall. Most were already filled. As Kai walked in, dozens of eyes turned to him at once.
Curiosity. Surprise. Doubt. Disdain.
Even a flash of admiration.
Every emotion was there.
"Mm, Kai, you've arrived."
Fugaku smiled warmly. "The seat on my left is yours. Go ahead and take it. You're the last one we were waiting on."
Different from the others, Fugaku treated him with a faint familiarity.
Even if Kai hadn't declared for his faction, he was still Itachi's teacher. That alone created a natural bond.
But the other elders were far less accommodating.
"This isn't appropriate!"
"Even if he holds the elder title, he's the weakest of us."
"He's contributed nothing to the clan."
"I object!"
Voices rose all over the hall.
Sitting on the right side, Uchiha Setsuna cast Kai a look filled with contempt, then said coldly:
"Uchiha Kai, was it?"
"In our clan, strength is everything. That seat on the left has gone empty for twenty years—because no one has been qualified to take it. Not even me."
"And you think you're worthy to sit there?"
His eyes glinted darkly, filled with irritation and disdain.
After all, it was Setsuna who had cut off Kai's support stipend, denied him entry to the orphanage, and pushed his parents to their deaths.
All of that had been his order.
That meant they had been born enemies from the start.
Even if he couldn't stop Kai from becoming an elder, Setsuna had to suppress him. Otherwise, once Kai gained real power, it would be Setsuna's radical faction that paid the price.
Kai, on the other hand, fixed his gaze right back on Setsuna.
Of course he knew who this man was.
The very one responsible for his tragic childhood, for his parents' deaths.
Back then, when he lacked strength, he could only grit his teeth and endure.
Later, when the system bound him and he went off to the Mist battlefield, he had other troubles to occupy him.
And since he was a transmigrant, with no real attachment to his original parents, he had eventually let it slip from his mind.
But now—before he could even go looking for Setsuna—Setsuna had leapt out on his own.
Killing him here and now wasn't an option, not yet. He still needed Shisui to rally the clan for the future, still needed stability if he ever wanted marriage, children, and a faction of his own.
But giving him a little lesson? That was perfectly fine.
Without hesitation, Kai's Mangekyo flared open.
A chilling, oppressive wave of ocular power swept across the hall like a storm.
The intricate yin-yang pattern and outer rhombus of his Mangekyo spun in his pupils, cold and merciless.
Instantly, the noisy chamber fell silent.
All eyes widened, staring in awe at the power of his gaze.
The first time most of them had ever truly seen a Mangekyo Sharingan.
Cries broke out one after another:
"It's Mangekyo—it really is Mangekyo!"
"Our clan has hope again! I support Elder Kai taking that seat!"
"So do I!"
Those who had kept quiet earlier, the neutrals and the moderates, now voiced their support one after another.
This was the Uchiha way.
They respected strength above all.
Before, they had only heard Fugaku's claims. They couldn't help but doubt.
But now, seeing it with their own eyes—there was no room for hesitation.
Only the radicals remained silent, faces pale and bodies trembling.
They had no choice.
After all, they had been complicit in the deaths of Kai's parents. The feud between them was already one of blood and death.
"Six Powers—Tekkai!"
Before anyone could react, Kai moved.
In an instant, his body blurred, his right fist hardened in black steel. He slammed it mercilessly into Setsuna, sending him flying like a rag doll.
The man smashed through the wall, landing sprawled on the cold stone courtyard outside.
And that was with Kai holding back. If he hadn't restrained himself, Setsuna would have died on the spot.
Kai looked back at the stunned, silent hall, his tone utterly calm.
"Uchiha Setsuna? The so-called leader of the radicals?"
"Heh… so that's all you amount to."
"I thought you'd be formidable, but you can't even withstand a single punch from me."
"And I didn't even use my Mangekyo."
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