The night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre was an unchangeable tragedy.
It meant that sooner or later, Uchiha Gen would have to face Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi—two prodigies, both Dragon and Phoenix of the clan—who had directly set the events in motion.
When it came to Uchiha Obito, Gen regarded him as nothing more than a fool driven insane by love.
Yes, Obito had been manipulated by Uchiha Madara, but killing his own master and turning his blade against his clan—no matter the reason—was both incomprehensible and unforgivable.
Moreover, if Gen's memories from his previous life were correct, his younger sister, Izumi, had perished at Obito's hands that night.
The thought ignited a fierce light in his eyes.
Anyone who dared lay a finger on his sister would learn the depth of a brother's wrath.
As for Uchiha Itachi, Gen's feelings were far more complicated.
Itachi was, without question, a genius—his talent and combat prowess unmatched even among the Uchiha.
The devotion he showed toward his younger brother, Sasuke, was almost saint-like, the kind of love few shinobi ever demonstrated.
But in terms of political judgment, Itachi was a complete fool.
His justification for slaughtering his entire clan—that their rebellion might spark a war and lead to Konoha's destruction—was absurd to Gen.
A child soldier who had witnessed death since the age of four, Itachi had come to despise war, yearning for peace above all else.
By seven, even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had praised him for his "Hokage-like" mindset—an idealism that transcended clan and village alike.
But to Gen, that idealism was a delusion.
How ironic that in his eyes, the parents who raised him and the clan that loved him were less important than the very village that ostracized and surveilled them.
That kind of devotion was terrifying.
To Gen, a shinobi was, at his core, merely a tool—a blade wielded by the village.
If Itachi truly sought peace, he should have sought to become the hand that wielded the blade, not the blade itself.
Instead, he chose to become Danzo Shimura's weapon, cutting down his own people.
The Uchiha tragedy happened precisely because the village elders realized that Itachi and Shisui cared more for Konoha than for their clan.
They were both wrong from the start—always trying to make the clan adapt to the village, never demanding that the village accept the clan.
If Itachi and Shisui had stood firmly with their people from the beginning—if they had shown their Mangekyō Sharingan to the Konoha Council, making them fear the consequences of oppression—perhaps the elders would have thought twice.
And if the elders had chosen to trust Itachi and Shisui instead, bringing them into the village's inner power circle, perhaps that gesture of goodwill might have dispelled the clan's resentment.
Then maybe… the massacre would never have happened.
As Gen thought of Itachi, his mind drifted to Izumi again, and a faint sigh escaped his lips.
That little girl hadn't spoken to him in days.
So this was what it meant for a brother to lose to a crush.
When the night of the massacre came, he could easily cut down Obito without hesitation—but when it came to Itachi… the image of Izumi's tears stayed his hand.
---
"Uchiha Gen!"
A loud voice pulled him from his thoughts.
A burly boy stomped toward him, his face twisted in anger. He stood a head taller than most students.
Gen frowned slightly. "Uehara Yu. What do you want?"
Yu clenched his fists, his voice trembling with rage.
"It's because of you Uchihas! If your Police Force hadn't sat on their hands when the Nine-Tails attacked, my uncle would still be alive! It's all your fault!"
With that, Yu threw a punch straight at Gen.
"Pathetic."
Gen's tone was flat, his expression unreadable. Hands still in his pockets, he shifted aside effortlessly, letting the punch miss by inches, and walked past him toward his classroom.
"Damn you, Uchiha Gen!"
Yu, humiliated, spun around and threw another wild punch at Gen's back.
Smack.
A hand caught his wrist mid-swing, followed by a sharp bark:
"Kid, attacking from behind? Do you want a beating?"
It was Uchiha Eiji.
Gen turned to see Eiji and a group of Uchiha youths standing behind him.
Yu's eyes widened at the sight of the dozen Uchiha boys—faces cold, Sharingan symbols gleaming on their backs.
Panic flashed across his face, and he bolted, fleeing down the corridor.
Eiji sneered. "A coward dares to raise his fist at an Uchiha? Not everyone has the right to challenge our clan's dignity."
Then he turned to Gen. "When he tried to hit you, you should've dropped him with one punch. The Uchiha name can't be insulted."
Gen shook his head. "He's just another villager blinded by rumors, venting his grief on the Uchiha. Let him be. But… thanks for stepping in."
He turned and walked away.
The other Uchiha boys watched him go, frowning.
"Who was that guy, Eiji? So arrogant—I've never seen him at our gatherings."
"I know him," one boy said. "Uchiha Gen from Class Nine. Always keeps to himself. Never shows up at clan meetings."
"His name's never on the strength rankings either. Probably weak."
"Yeah. Didn't even fight back. Disgraceful for an Uchiha."
Eiji said nothing, his expression tight. He couldn't tell them that he'd once been flattened by that same "weak" boy in a single punch.
The confrontation between Uehara Yu and Uchiha Gen, though brief, hadn't gone unnoticed.
To the onlookers, it looked like a lone boy being surrounded and threatened by a dozen proud Uchiha, before fleeing in fear.
From afar, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, observed the scene quietly before turning to Uchiha Shisui beside him.
"Shisui," he said softly, "the Uchiha are becoming increasingly overbearing. If this continues, the rift between them and the village will only deepen."
Shisui's brows furrowed. His gaze lingered on the group of young Uchiha in the distance as he answered quietly,
"Lord Third… I will change the Uchiha Clan. I swear it."
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