Facing the gazes of the crowd, Uchiha Fugaku did not bother with formalities. He spoke directly:
"Recently, many things have happened in the village, and quite a few of them involve the Uchiha clan. I believe everyone here has already heard the full story."
"All of you present are the elites of the Uchiha. The purpose of this meeting is to hear your opinions so that we can make a decision."
"This meeting concerns the future of the Uchiha clan, so I hope everyone will speak freely and hold nothing back."
After speaking, Fugaku glanced at First Elder Uchiha Setsuna and Second Elder Uchiha Ya, then stepped half a pace back and gestured for them to begin.
Seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna stood up immediately. Turning toward the gathered clan members in the underground chamber, he spoke loudly:
"Everyone, over the past few days you've all witnessed what the Uchiha have been subjected to!"
"ANBU shinobi are stationed right outside our clan compound, restricting our daily movements!"
"The malicious intentions of the village leadership could not be clearer. The Uchiha clan has reached its most dangerous moment!"
"Right now, there are only two paths before us."
"First—turn a blind eye, continue to endure the village's oppression, and allow ourselves to be slowly carved up and eroded until we are completely destroyed!"
"Second—stand up and resist! Let the village hear our voices, see our actions, and understand that the Uchiha are not easy to bully!"
"So the question is simple—"
"Will you kneel and wait for death, or stand up and fight your way to survival with your own hands?"
As soon as Setsuna finished speaking, most of the Uchiha present showed furious expressions, shouting that they would resist to the end.
Only a small portion of the clan members remained hesitant, clearly harboring many concerns.
Because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's recent actions, many Uchiha had grown dissatisfied. In just a few days, the balance between the Radical Faction and the Conservative Faction inside the clan had completely reversed.
"Setsuna, stop exaggerating the situation!"
Seeing things turning unfavorable, Uchiha Ya quickly stood up and spoke loudly.
"Everyone, don't be misled by the First Elder. The conflict between the clan and the village hasn't reached such a point!"
With Ya's intervention, although the anger among the Uchiha did not subside much, the crowd quieted down to hear what he had to say.
After all, Uchiha Ya held considerable prestige within the clan.
He paused briefly before continuing:
"The village's recent actions against the Uchiha actually have their reasons."
"The village leadership is not targeting the entire Uchiha clan—they are targeting certain individuals within the clan."
"If some people hadn't developed ideas they shouldn't have had, the village wouldn't have reacted so strongly."
"At the same time, the Third Hokage has made a promise to both me and the clan head. As long as we resolve the problems within our clan, he is willing to let bygones be bygones and will continue distributing the compensation and war merit rewards for our fallen clan members."
Hearing this, the gathered Uchiha showed strange expressions.
One after another, they turned their gaze toward Uchiha Setsuna.
Although Ya had not explicitly said it, everyone knew exactly who he meant by "certain individuals."
Setsuna narrowed his eyes and said coldly:
"Second Elder, if I'm not mistaken… the 'certain individual' you're referring to is me."
Ya hesitated for a moment, but eventually gritted his teeth and nodded.
"That's right. It's you."
"If you hadn't developed those improper ambitions and escalated the conflict between the clan and the village, things wouldn't have reached this point!"
Originally, Ya had not intended to push the matter this far.
But the situation had already deteriorated, and Setsuna was still inciting the clan's emotions.
If Ya did not reveal part of the truth—if he could not redirect the clan's anger from a conflict with the village into an internal clan dispute—he feared he would no longer be able to restrain the enraged Uchiha.
Setsuna merely sneered.
"I admit that some of the village's recent actions against the Uchiha may have been triggered by me."
"But is the root of the problem really me?"
Setsuna had assumed that Ya had leaked the plan to establish a 'New Konoha' to Hiruzen, which caused the subsequent events. Therefore, he did not deny Ya's accusation.
However, if Ya intended to place all the blame on him, Setsuna would never accept that.
He raised his voice.
"Wasn't it the village that first began suppressing the Uchiha?"
"They withheld the pensions and merit rewards owed to our clan members who died on the battlefield!"
"And simply because Clan Head Fugaku didn't immediately accept the village's unreasonable demands, they began spreading rumors throughout the village to smear the Uchiha's reputation!"
"What did the Uchiha do wrong to deserve such suppression and coercion?!"
"Our clan fought bravely on the battlefield, shedding blood and sweat for the village!"
"Is that a crime now?!"
Ya was left speechless.
Because everything Setsuna said was true.
The conflict had indeed begun with the village's suppression of the Uchiha.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha gathered below revealed increasingly furious expressions, their gazes gradually turning fierce.
Setsuna continued:
"Yes, I took certain actions in order to defend the Uchiha clan's interests. And the village responded accordingly."
"But did I do anything wrong?"
Turning toward Ya, he demanded:
"You say that if we resolve our internal 'problem,' Hiruzen Sarutobi will let the matter go."
"But isn't that itself proof that my resistance forced them to compromise?"
Ya's heart sank.
From a certain perspective, that was indeed the truth.
Because of Setsuna's actions, Hiruzen and the others had made concessions to avoid the situation worsening further.
Setsuna looked at Ya with open disdain before turning back to the assembled clan members.
"If I had not resisted, the Uchiha's reputation in the village would have been completely destroyed."
"And the blood shed by our clansmen on the battlefield would have been meaningless!"
"But now, because I resisted, they are willing to compromise."
"What does that tell us?"
"It tells us that the village leadership can worry. They can fear."
"They worry that the Uchiha might flip the table—so they step back."
"They fear that the Uchiha might unite as one—so they make concessions."
"In the past, whenever the village suppressed us, we kept retreating. I understand your concerns."
"But how much room do we have left to retreat?"
"Now you've seen it yourselves—when we stand united and fight back, the village retreats instead."
"So tell me—"
"Do you still intend to keep retreating?"
Setsuna did not immediately reveal his ultimate goal.
He knew that such matters required gradual escalation.
Starting with extreme demands would only backfire.
And just as he expected—
Most of the Uchiha in the chamber now had bloodshot eyes, their breathing growing heavy.
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