It wasn’t just the clan head’s faction.
Even members of the dove and hawkish factions looked at Uchiha Mikoto with a trace of bewilderment.
If Uchiha Ren had said those words, no one would have found it strange.
The hawkish faction had always been blunt and never hesitated to confront the clan head.
But you had only just taken over as the leader of the dove faction.
Why were you tearing away the tacitly maintained fig leaf between the clan head’s faction and the dove faction?
Uchiha Yashiro likewise wore an astonished expression, but he knew exactly what was going on.
The person who had always been providing those “reliable reports” was none other than Uchiha Mikoto.
Through the information exchanged between the two sides, he had even noticed that Uchiha Kagami was aware of this.
What he couldn’t understand was why Kagami had not stopped it and had instead tacitly allowed it to continue.
Uchiha Yashiro had reported this matter to the young lord of the hawkish faction as well.
The only reply he had received was four words:
“Continue making contact.”
Later, during a chance encounter, Uchiha Hazuki, who had awakened her Sharingan, was invited back into the clan by Uchiha Mikoto.
Within just a few years, she had already developed a three-tomoe Sharingan.
And because they were both women, Uchiha Hazuki became one of Uchiha Mikoto’s closest confidantes, taking over her interactions with Uchiha Yashiro.
A moment of silence descended upon the shrine hall.
It was as though even the light pouring down from the ceiling had become frozen in place.
The old clan head’s aged gaze slowly swept across Uchiha Mikoto’s composed face.
He had no choice but to accept the reality that after the transition from the old generation to the new, the dove faction’s position had shifted outright.
The young Uchiha Mikoto was redefining the voice of the “dove faction” in a way he had never anticipated.
He replied frankly.
“Mikoto, there is nothing inherently wrong with what you said.”
The old clan head paused slightly.
His gaze became distant, as though it had pierced through time and returned to those dust-covered memories of the past.
“The real problem has never been the principles themselves. It lies in the deep-seated grudges and tangled grievances between the Uchiha and the Hokage faction—conflicts that have been intertwined since the very founding of Konoha.”
“There is no need to dwell on the grievances from before Konoha was established. Several years after its founding, our clan head, Uchiha Madara, left Konoha.”
“When he returned, he was already commanding the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, and engaged the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, in a world-shaking battle to the death at the Valley of the End.”
“In the end, Clan Head Madara died, while the First Hokage was gravely wounded and passed away several years later. His younger brother, Senju Tobirama, succeeded him as the Second Hokage.”
“Our clan’s Elder Uchiha Setsuna raised an army in rebellion…”
“He was suppressed shortly afterward.”
“Even when the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, succeeded to the position, our clan openly expressed its dissatisfaction.”
The old clan head’s gaze swept across every face in the hall before finally returning to the present.
“Now, all we can hope for is to rely on time to demonstrate the Uchiha’s sincerity and gradually wear away this deep-rooted conflict.”
His sincere words caused many members of the clan head’s faction to straighten their slightly hunched backs.
They looked toward the hawkish faction with dissatisfaction.
—The Uchiha of today were already paying the price for their mistakes.
The balance of the confrontation suddenly shifted.
Uchiha Mikoto did not panic.
She merely glanced instinctively at Uchiha Ren, her lips parting slightly.
“History was indeed as you say.”
“But what if Konoha’s leadership is merely using the name of ‘acceptance’ while actually weakening us, forcing our clan to give up pieces of itself and bleed again and again…?”
“What then?”
A faint chorus of sharply drawn breaths sounded throughout the hall.
This was something the old clan head worried about as well.
But could worrying about it mean refusing to act?
An ordinary Uchiha could avoid the issue.
But as the clan head, he absolutely could not.
He understood better than anyone.
Some roads had to be walked even if they were covered in thorns.
“I understand your concerns.”
Under the gazes of countless Uchiha, the old clan head answered decisively.
“But are we going to stop holding swords forever simply because we fear that the blades might hurt someone?”
He looked around the hall.
His gaze passed over Uchiha Fugaku’s tightly furrowed brows, Uchiha Ren’s deep eyes, and the flickering gazes of the many clansmen.
“Whether we succeed or not is something to consider only after we have given it everything we have.”
“If we refuse to move forward simply because we fear the risks, if we merely make declarations without taking actual action—”
The old clan head’s voice suddenly rose, echoing through the solemn shrine.
“Then on what grounds would the Hokage faction ever believe in the Uchiha’s sincerity?!”
“The fact that we are still allowed to fully control the Military Police Force is already rare goodwill from Konoha’s leadership!”
His thunderous questioning left the inexperienced Uchiha Mikoto frowning in deep thought.
She wanted to find a strong argument against the old clan head through her interactions with Uchiha Ren.
In the silence, a clear and resolute voice suddenly cut through the heavy atmosphere like a sword.
“The clan head’s words aren’t without reason.”
“But why should our Uchiha clan be the one forced to endure this humiliation?!”
Amid the interwoven gazes of everyone present—
Some concerned.
Some dependent.
Some annoyed.
And others filled with expectation.
Uchiha Ren slowly rose to his feet.
He swept his gaze across the entire hall, his voice carrying clearly into the ears of every clansman.
“Indeed, the Uchiha are not entirely without fault.”
“But isn’t the true root of the problem the Hokage faction itself?”
“If the Senju clan had not betrayed its promises and played political games and schemes, Clan Head Madara should have become the First Hokage, protecting Konoha.”
“Then why would he have left in anger?”
“If Konoha had upheld justice from the moment it was founded, how could all the events that followed have happened one after another?”
“We are merely taking back, with our own hands, what should have belonged to us in the first place.”
“What is wrong with that?!”
At the end, a trace of cold mockery swept across Uchiha Ren’s lips.
“What’s more, after Clan Head Madara defected from Konoha and attacked the First Hokage, after Elder Setsuna attacked the Second Hokage, and after we challenged the Third Hokage, we can still control the Military Police Force and live within Konoha.”
“That has never been because of the mercy of Konoha’s leadership.”
“It is because of everyone here.”
“It is because of the strength forged through blood and fire by every single Uchiha!”
“They don’t dare truly move against us.”
“But every compromise we make will only invite them to test us again and again!”
If Konoha were compared to an imperial dynasty, the Hokage would be the emperor, while the Uchiha would be a prince commanding an army of hundreds of thousands along the frontier.
If the Uchiha were just a little stronger—if they possessed even a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan—Uchiha Ren genuinely dared to lead only the hawkish Uchiha in a purge of the court, completely suppressing Konoha from top to bottom.
Unfortunately, the hawkish faction had the will but not the strength.
But if the entire clan united…
Uchiha Ren drew a deep breath and swept his gaze across the hall before dropping a bombshell.
“Take today, for example.”
“If our entire clan were to march on the Hokage Building and kill our way there, how many people in all of Konoha could withstand the edge of the Uchiha’s blades?”
The moment those words fell, everyone in the hall was left utterly dumbfounded.