It had to be said that Uchiha Setsuna's proposal was extremely tempting. Many Uchiha showed signs of wavering.
After all, they were already being suppressed at every turn within the village. If fighting was impossible, then leaving might also be a viable option.
"Bullshit!"
Seeing the shift in the crowd, Uchiha Ya exploded in anger, glaring at Setsuna.
"Let's not even talk about whether we could establish a new village. Where would we even go?"
"Our clan compound is here. Our ancestral grounds are here. If not here, where else could we possibly go?"
"And do you think founding a new village is as simple as opening your mouth and saying it?"
"Where would the money come from? Where would the land come from? Who would support us?"
"And if we truly broke away from Konoha, do you think Konoha would just sit by and watch us create a New Konoha?"
"Don't talk about how other villages would restrain them from acting. Everyone in the village survives under the banner of Konoha. If we create a 'New Konoha,' we'd be smashing everyone else's livelihood!"
"At that point it wouldn't just be the village leadership coming after us—"
"The entire village would attack us!"
"They would strike us with everything they have!"
"And don't forget the other villages watching like wolves circling their prey. Who can guarantee they wouldn't take the opportunity to bite us as well?"
"The fate of the Uzumaki clan is right there as a warning!"
"This is no longer the Warring States Era. A clan without the protection of a village is simply a piece of fat meat waiting to be carved up!"
Ya shouted himself hoarse.
He truly did not want to see the Uchiha clan walk down a path of destruction.
But Uchiha Setsuna refused to yield in the slightest.
"So fighting isn't allowed, and leaving isn't allowed either?" he demanded sharply.
"Then what exactly do you want us to do?"
"Keep hiding in the village like turtles with their heads tucked in their shells?"
"Let the village leadership come stomp on us whenever they please, carving away piece after piece?"
Ya argued back just as fiercely.
"It's not that I don't want to fight—it's that we can't win!"
"The main people targeting us in the village right now are those old men led by Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"But how many more years do they have left to live?"
"Let's endure for now. Once they die, the Uchiha's situation will naturally improve!"
"Heh. How foolish."
Setsuna sneered coldly.
"Wasn't the first person to target us that inherently malicious white-haired Senju, Tobirama Senju?"
"When Tobirama was in power, you told us to endure—even when he took our children for human experimentation!"
"Then Tobirama died, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others came to power. They continued suppressing the Uchiha—and you still told us to endure!"
"But after Hiruzen dies, there will simply be another Hiruzen!"
"That blond brat Namikaze Minato hasn't even taken office yet, and he's already planning to reclaim the Konoha Military Police Force from us!"
"Are we supposed to keep enduring even then?!"
"How long do you expect us to endure?!"
"From the very day this village was founded, every ruler has targeted the Uchiha!"
"Back then, we should have followed Lord Uchiha Madara and left this corrupt village behind!"
The more Setsuna spoke, the angrier he became, as if decades of accumulated resentment were finally bursting out.
Uchiha Ya was also losing his temper.
"Yes, we were short-sighted back then!" he roared.
"We were blinded by the peaceful life in front of us and failed to see the dangers Lord Madara foresaw!"
"But what meaning is there in saying that now?!"
"If you had the strength of Uchiha Madara, then no matter what you wanted to do, I wouldn't oppose you!"
"If we must fight—"
"I, Uchiha Ya, will be the first to charge into battle!"
"And if we must leave—"
"I'm willing to donate all my wealth and possessions to help establish a new village!"
"But you must face reality!"
"I understand reality too clearly!"
Setsuna shot back.
"If we continue retreating like this, the Uchiha's strength will eventually be worn down by the village!"
"And by the time we want to resist, we will no longer have the strength left!"
"So we might as well take advantage of the fact that we still have the power to fight and gamble everything!"
"If we win—"
"like a caged bird finally taking flight or a caged bird finally taking flight, the world will be wide open before us!"
"And if we lose—"
"Even in death, I'll tear a piece of flesh from Konoha!"
"With the blood of the Uchiha, we'll nail Konoha to the pillar of eternal shame!"
"You've gone mad… truly mad!"
Looking at Setsuna's almost frenzied expression, Ya shook his head.
"The situation hasn't even reached that point yet, and you're already determined to drag us toward destruction!"
The two elders argued more and more fiercely.
Neither could convince the other.
In truth, neither of them was entirely wrong. Both were acting for the sake of the Uchiha clan.
But their personalities and worldviews were completely different, which meant their methods for solving problems were also fundamentally incompatible.
Thus the argument only grew more intense.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha gathered in the chamber gradually shifted from merely listening to joining the debate themselves.
Some openly supported First Elder Setsuna, declaring that they would rather die than submit and were ready to fight the village to the bitter end.
Others supported Second Elder Ya, believing the situation had not yet reached that point and that the clan should endure for now and observe how things developed.
And a small group—led by Uchiha Yashiro—remained silent.
On one hand, they had not yet decided what position to take.
On the other hand, they were Fugaku's direct supporters, waiting for the clan head to voice his stance.
"Enough! I have nothing more to say to you!"
Seeing that reconciliation with Ya was impossible, Uchiha Setsuna no longer wished to waste time.
He turned toward Uchiha Fugaku.
"Clan Head Fugaku, you are the leader of the Uchiha clan."
"What is your position?"
"Will you support me, or will you support Uchiha Ya?"
The chamber gradually fell silent.
All eyes turned toward Uchiha Fugaku.
Regardless of what Setsuna and Ya thought, the one who would ultimately decide the clan's course was the clan head himself.
Fugaku stepped forward slowly.
The timing was just about right.
He coughed lightly before speaking:
"First Elder, Second Elder…"
"This time, I will support neither of you."
Hearing this, Uchiha Ya quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Fugaku claimed neutrality, as long as he did not support Setsuna, that was effectively a victory for Ya.
But Setsuna immediately glared.
"No!"
"Fugaku, today you must make your stance clear!"
"You can't keep smoothing things over like you always do!"
"You have no independent opinion and only try to please both sides. At this rate, what right do you have to remain the clan head of the Uchiha?!"
His words were extremely harsh—deliberately so.
He wanted to force Fugaku to declare his position.
Fugaku swept his gaze across the gathered clan members.
"First Elder, you misunderstand me."
"I said I don't support either of you—but I never said I wouldn't state my position."
He took a deep breath.
"However, there is one thing you said that is correct."
"I am no longer suitable to remain the clan head of the Uchiha."
In an instant—
The entire chamber erupted into an uproar.
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