Colorless... odorless... formless... traceless... born only from the heart's voice, answering only to Roy's command.
Compared to the Aburame clan's manipulation of physical insects for combat, these Heart Insects were more like illusory, ethereal, and profound entities. They carried Roy's will, splitting from one into two, two into four, four into eight...
In the blink of an eye, thirty-two of them materialized, corresponding to the thirty-two Uchiha clansmen below. Their abdomens pulsed as they followed the karmic lines of the Uchiha bloodline, slipping into everyone's hearts like an all-pervading mist.
Roy closed his eyes slightly, leaning against Fugaku Uchiha with lowered lids. At a single thought, images began to surface in his mind... every frame was shrouded in a murky, dark aura, enough to make one's breath hitch with just a glance.
One belonged to a young Uchiha who had just lost his father; he was shouting loudly, venting his grievances. Others had lost wives... sons... siblings... beloved friends and family...
Roy's consciousness submerged, becoming an outsider as he drove the Heart Insects to devour this dark energy. He walked slowly along a "film strip" formed by a sea of images. His calm heart began to drift toward "distortion," "madness," and "hysteria." Behind the bangs covering his forehead, a tint of blood-red gradually seeped into his eyes.
"Clan Head,"
"Fugaku,"
"Lord Fugaku..."
Seeking justice... complaining... venting... the cries reached a crescendo, forming a storm of "anger and dissatisfaction" that surged toward Fugaku Uchiha.
Shisui sat cross-legged next to Roy. He swallowed hard, his small hand unconsciously grasping the corner of Roy's sleeve.
In the far corner of the hall, Obito sat leaning against a thick pillar. His mouth stayed shut; he knew that speaking up now was asking for trouble, so he scooted even closer to the entrance.
As an orphan, he hadn't lost parents or siblings yet, nor had he lost any beloved friends or family, so he couldn't truly empathize. However, just looking at the surging emotions of his kinsmen made his head throb.
'Being the Clan Head is so hard... is being the Hokage even harder?'
'Do you have to deal with more of this crap every day?'
Obito Uchiha, who aspired to become Hokage, kick his rival Kakashi, marry Rin Nohara, and reach the pinnacle of life, ran a hand through his hair.
"Ahem..." Suddenly, a faint, old cough echoed through the air.
The main hall of the shrine fell silent instantly, the clamor vanishing. Setsuna Uchiha leaned on a cane as he stood. From his imprisonment during the Second War to the current Third War, over a decade behind bars had bent his back and turned his hair white, yet his blood-red eyes and the prestige of a clan elder showed no signs of fading.
The old man coughed again and slammed his cane onto the ground with a heavy thud.
He looked up at Fugaku Uchiha and asked tonelessly, "Fugaku, did you hear all that?"
"Great Elder..." Countless gazes converged.
Setsuna Uchiha stood up shakily with his cane, nodding slightly to Yashiro who came to support him. The two moved slowly toward the rows of coffins.
His white beard was unkempt as he ran his fingers over the lids of the coffins. He rasped, "The lives of Leaf shinobi are lives, but Uchiha lives are lives too. It was like this during the Second War. But... I really didn't expect that after ten years, after so many Uchiha lived and died, it would still be the same. So, Fugaku!"
Setsuna Uchiha stopped abruptly, staring intently at Fugaku Uchiha. "You've always known, haven't you? Those people sitting in the Hokage Building don't want us to prosper. In fact... they'd rather we all died off!"
"Am I right, or am I wrong?"
Fugaku Uchiha remained silent. He was no novice; he had been the Clan Head for several years. He understood the higher-ups' policies and the attitudes of the Third Hokage and the advisors toward the Uchiha better than anyone else here.
For this war, he had done everything possible to preserve the Uchiha's strength, pressuring the Third Hokage to reduce the deployment quota from sixty to thirty. Otherwise, there wouldn't just be a dozen coffins here; there would be twice as many. At that point, even the Police Force wouldn't be able to function, and the Anbu would likely seize some of their authority—something Fugaku did not want.
"Why don't you speak?" Setsuna Uchiha slammed his cane down again. His eyes, which hadn't lost their sharp edge despite years in prison, suddenly shifted from white to red. Three tomoe coalesced around his pupils. Yashiro, who was supporting him, as well as the younger generation like Inabi and Tekka—and even Obito—all froze.
"Three-tomoe!"
"It's a three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"The Great Elder has three tomoe just like the Clan Head!"
Suddenly, the quiet hall was like a pond hit by one of Deidara's clay bombs. It exploded.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
For an Uchiha, the Sharingan was everything. It was the physical manifestation of extreme "love" and "hatred," a reflection of a heart that transcended the mundane. It was a direct boost to combat power, granting Genjutsu, kinetic vision, and the potential for monstrous physical techniques like Susanoo.
With the first tomoe, one could rival a Chunin; the second, a Special Jonin; and the third, a full Jonin. Beyond the three tomoe lay the Mangekyo, the prerequisite for Susanoo, putting one on the level of a Kage or even a Super Kage.
And now... following Fugaku Uchiha, another three-tomoe Sharingan had appeared.
The clamor rose again.
Fugaku looked over, equally stunned. He hadn't expected that over a decade of imprisonment wouldn't fade Setsuna's hatred but instead help him manifest a third tomoe. He was both surprised and delighted, but as he calmed down, he sensed something wrong. This was a situation he hadn't anticipated before the meeting.
A gust of wind blew in, carrying the chill of early spring.
Excitement, agitation, and high emotions spread through the Uchiha ancestral grounds.
Roy sat quietly next to Fugaku with his head down. Using his Heart Insects, he walked through the hearts of the crowd, devouring negative emotions while observing the massive emotional fluctuations caused by Setsuna's eyes. Even Fugaku's loyalists like Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi were wavering. Roy calculated the time; he was still halfway away from gathering enough "negative emotion" to match his visualization object [Sun].
[EMOTIONAL FLUCTUATION ACCUMULATION: 50%→60%]
Red and white intertwined in the boy's pupils. Shisui swallowed hard as he gripped Roy's sleeve.
Unnoticed by anyone, a single tomoe coalesced, followed by a rapid surge toward the second.
Setsuna Uchiha kept his eyes locked on Fugaku, raising his voice as he slammed his cane again. "Look into my eyes and answer me!"
Everyone fell silent. Shisui, Obito, Yashiro, Inabi, and Tekka all looked toward the front.
As the Clan Head, Fugaku was drowned in the gazes of the entire clan. He took a deep breath and looked calmly at Setsuna. "Since you already know the answer, Uncle, why ask me?"
The man stood up tall, facing the surging crowd. He moved to shield Roy behind him and said frankly, "Forgive my incompetence. I have done my best to navigate the situation. If you have a better way, Uncle, will you teach me how to solve this deadlock?"
After speaking, Fugaku bowed to Setsuna.
Hearts wavered once more. Roy continued to walk through the Uchiha bloodline's karmic lines, connecting the dots within their hearts.
[EMOTIONAL FLUCTUATION ACCUMULATION: 60%→80%]
Behind the bangs, Roy's eyes began to form the shadow of a second tomoe.
The Heart Insects, carrying the boy's will, extended their proboscises and accelerated the absorption of the dark aura.
Inside the hall.
Faced with Fugaku's humble posture, Setsuna's momentum faltered. He fell into a rare silence. Indeed... what could he do? Hadn't he tried to rebel before?
Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and the rest were using a dull knife to slowly carve them up. Whether they resisted or submitted, the end seemed to be a dead end.
Setsuna looked up at the rafters of the shrine. This place had survived the Warring States period, the First War, the Second, and now the Third. It still held the stone tablet left by their ancestors.
The old man was silent for a long while. Around him, Yashiro, Inabi, and Tekka—who all knew the Uchiha's current plight—remained silent as well.
Everyone looked at Setsuna. The old man snapped back to reality as if he had made a momentous decision. He looked at the crowd and finally at Fugaku, saying tonelessly, "The only way is to defect!"
"Defect?!"
Yashiro's hand trembled. Inabi, Tekka, Obito, Shisui—everyone was stunned, looking at each other in disbelief.
"Yes, only defection!" Setsuna said decisively. "Rather than staying here to die, it's better to leave. Maybe then we'll find a way to live!"
Setsuna narrowed his eyes at the group. "We are Uchiha. We possess the Sharingan. If we want, we can carve out our own territory. Even if it can't compare to the Leaf, we won't be weaker than any minor village."
'If you seek peace through struggle, peace survives; if you seek peace through compromise, peace perishes.'
As Setsuna's words landed like bombs, sparking more emotional turmoil, Roy's consciousness remained submerged in their hearts.
[EMOTIONAL FLUCTUATION ACCUMULATION: 84%→90%]
The boy paused. He passed through the hearts of Inabi, Tekka, and Yashiro, reaching the center of Setsuna's heart. He saw the old man's past unfolding like a scroll. Remembering the quote, he couldn't help but feel a spark of respect for the man.
This was a wise man truly trying to find a way out for the Uchiha clan! Perhaps as early as the Second Hokage's era, when he chose to rebel, he had already foreseen the Uchiha's future predicament.
But it was easier said than done. The Leaf was not just the Leaf; it had the Land of Fire behind it. Defection meant treason against the country. They would face being hunted by the Leaf and the Land of Fire forever. Roy wasn't sure if it could succeed; he thought of the Kaguya clan, who were wiped out by the Mist, leaving only Kimimaro.
95%... 96%... 97%... 100%...
The Heart Insects continued their work.
In the main hall.
After the waves caused by Setsuna's declaration...
Fugaku remained silent for a long time. He looked deeply at Setsuna, then scanned the faces of Yashiro, Inabi, Tekka, and the rest. He slowly shook his head. "Defection leads only to death. I do not agree."
"Yeah, isn't defection a bit too radical?"
"Elder, it hasn't come to that yet, has it?"
"Uncle," Yashiro grabbed Setsuna's arm, saying worriedly, "You've just been released, and you've awakened the three-tomoe. With you and Fugaku leading us, we might still have a chance. Calm down and think. Maybe there's a better way?"
"There is no other way! Staying here means death!" Setsuna had seen through it all. He ignored the others and focused solely on his three-tomoe Sharingan, locking onto Fugaku. "Fugaku, I will ask you one last time. Think carefully... do you agree or not?"
Fugaku did not flinch. His eyes also bled into red, revealing three tomoe of his own. He said firmly, "Let it be known, Uncle... I am the Clan Head!"
"You!" Setsuna's blood pressure spiked. "You will regret this!"
He turned to the crowd, shaking off Yashiro's hand and slamming his cane down. "Those who want to leave, follow me! From today on, the Uchiha clan is split!"
The old man began to push through the crowd toward the exit.
Suddenly, the ring of a blade echoed, followed by a flash of snow-white light.
Under the horrified gazes of Fugaku, Yashiro, Inabi, Tekka, Obito, and Shisui...
[SWAMP · GOD SPEAR]!
A massive blade suddenly extended, stretching across the space. It spanned a hundred meters in an instant, piercing the air and pinning itself into a corner pillar. It sliced across the entire shrine, blocking Setsuna's path!
The old man stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.
A pair of toneless three-tomoe eyes appeared before him, causing his pupils to shrink as he gasped!
[NOTICE: EMOTIONAL FLUCTUATION ACCUMULATED... SHARINGAN AWAKENED!]
Roy stood up slowly, his blood-red eyes spinning with three tomoe. He spoke calmly, "My father didn't say you could leave. Let's see who dares to take a step."