Chapter 162: Lord Hokage! A Terrible Crisis! The Uchiha Clan Has Returned!
The bone-deep rage radiating from the clansmen in the compound was all too real.
He didn't use his eyes to stop the coup?
Shisui was confused. The information was too chaotic, too lacking. And now, his heart was filled with regret for failing to prevent the tragedy. He kept thinking, if only I had been more decisive back then… if I had successfully used Kotoamatsukami on Clan Head Fugaku… forced him to obey the village elders, to be a compliant tool… would this river of blood have been avoided? Would there be… peace?
It was too late for regrets now. What he needed most was intelligence. The truth! He slowly moved closer to Fugaku and Sasuke, hoping to glean more accurate information from them.
The reactions of the other resurrected Uchiha varied. Some were still curled up, reliving the utter terror of the moment of their slaughter. Others, eyes bloodshot and splitting with rage, cursed Itachi Uchiha's betrayal.
"Itachi! That traitor! I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him!"
"How dare he! How dare he raise a hand against his own kin! Those children—those innocent children! And the unarmed elderly!"
"That animal! He's nothing but a beast!"
Curses and roars rose and fell, filled with desperate malice. However, gradually, some of the calmer shinobi began to point their fingers at a different target.
"Clan Head!" A seasoned jonin pushed through the crowd to Fugaku. "Konoha—Konoha has openly moved to exterminate us!"
"That's right! How much did the Uchiha sacrifice when the village was founded? Konoha belongs to us as much as anyone!"
"And the result? How did they treat us? Ostracism! Suppression! Surveillance! And now, they want to wipe us out completely!"
"Slaughtering us wasn't enough! They have to humiliate our last bloodline like this!" Someone pointed at Sasuke's bizarre outfit, and the implication was clear to everyone.
"Fight them! Since Konoha has no benevolence, don't blame us for having no righteousness!"
"Konoha was ours to begin with! Avenge our fallen kin!"
"Blood for blood!"
For a moment, the crowd was incensed. The cries for rebellion grew louder, drowning out the curses against Itachi personally. To these resurrected Uchiha, Itachi was just a knife wielded by the village higher-ups. The true mastermind was the entire rotten, dark village of Konoha!
Sasuke stood beside his father, listening to the angry roars of his clansmen, his face full of confusion.
Wasn't… wasn't it Itachi who killed everyone? Why do they want to kill Konoha now? Is Konoha… involved in this too?
A terrifying thought began to quietly spread in his young heart. He started to suspect that the "truth" he had always believed might not be the whole picture.
Shisui's face grew even darker. As a shinobi deeply influenced by the Second Hokage's ideology, with the Will of Fire engraved in his bones, Shisui's loyalty to the village was almost innate. He had always believed that the peace and stability of the village were paramount. For this, he was even willing to sacrifice his own interests, and those of the entire Uchiha clan. He had spent his life pursuing peace and balance between the Uchiha and Konoha, trying to bridge the widening rift. He didn't want to see either side get hurt, and certainly didn't want the village to fall into the quagmire of civil war.
Now, the anger of his clansmen had reached a boiling point. They were shouting for revenge against Konoha, for blood to pay for blood. This atmosphere of shared hatred filled Shisui with a deep sense of unease. He understood their pain and anger. Being slaughtered by the village was a hatred strong enough to swallow all reason.
But if this fire of vengeance truly spread, and a full-scale conflict erupted between the Uchiha and Konoha, what a tragic scene would that be? The village would be plunged into war again. Other hidden villages would take advantage of the chaos. Countless innocent civilians would be displaced or killed. This was the outcome he least wanted to see.
Shisui's gaze shifted between the agitated clansmen and the grim-faced Fugaku. Clan Head Fugaku, in order to survive, might choose to defect or rebel right here and now.
Rebelling now: Although the Uchiha would still likely be wiped out, Konoha would be weakened, and the other great ninja villages would pounce.
Defecting: This would undoubtedly increase the leverage of other great nations and ninja villages!
Neither path led to peace for Konoha. He knew the misery of war! Right now, under the double provocation of the hatred of genocide and the humiliation of his youngest son, Fugaku… Clan Head Fugaku was very likely to make an irrational decision.
A thought surfaced quietly from the bottom of Shisui's heart again. Clearer and firmer than ever before.
Perhaps… perhaps I should consider using Kotoamatsukami again. After all, his eyes had returned too!
If, amidst this chaos, he used it directly on… Fugaku Uchiha. If he could use Kotoamatsukami to forcibly twist Clan Head Fugaku's will, make him abandon the idea of revenge, make him choose to lead the Uchiha clan to submit to Konoha once more… Even if it meant leading the entire clan to the slaughter, at least it would avoid a greater disaster. At least the village's peace would be preserved.
Just then, Fugaku's eyes suddenly narrowed.
An Anbu member tasked with monitoring Sasuke's daily movements had been completely stunned by the terrifying sight of the mass resurrection of the Uchiha clan. What a shocking spectacle! The dead returning?! An army of Uchiha ghosts?! After the initial shock and fear, the Anbu immediately realized the gravity of the situation far exceeded any contingency plan or imagination. Without hesitation, he quickly formed hand seals, attempting to use the Body Flicker Technique to relay this news!
"Hmph."
Fugaku let out a cold snort. The moment the Anbu's figure was about to blur and vanish, Fugaku moved!
Fast! Extreme speed!
Fugaku's figure flashed, leaving a faint afterimage.
SPLAT!
Warm blood sprayed. The Anbu attempting to flee was instantly killed. No survivors!
This was the first direct response from the resurrected Uchiha to Konoha! An undisguised, bloody warning!
Shisui looked at the Anbu lying in a pool of blood, his eyes complex and grave. Conflict was now inevitable.
Although the Anbu was instantly killed, such a massive fluctuation of chakra and the sudden appearance of a vast number of life signs had instantly alerted all sensory-type ninja in Konoha and the highest levels of command! Encrypted messages carrying information about the "Mass Uchiha Event" flew through various secret channels to the Hokage's office at breakneck speed!
Hokage's Office.
The atmosphere was heavy as iron, suffocating.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffed on his signature pipe, his brow furrowed as he listened to an emergency report from an Anbu. It was about the Uchiha clan, which had long been exterminated.
Beside him stood Danzo Shimura, his eyes so gloomy they seemed to drip ink. And the two advisors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, looking panicked.
"Lord Hokage!!!"
"The Uchiha clan… suspected mass resurrection at their former compound…"
"Numbers… numbers incalculable…"