"Rēn."
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
Shisui, known as "Shisui of the Body Flicker", had indeed mastered that technique to an extraordinary degree. Among the Uchiha, no one could match him. Unfortunately, the Fourth Hokage—called the Yellow Flash—was already dead. Otherwise, Shisui might have had a chance to challenge the Flying Thunder God Technique and maybe make a legend out of himself.
With a single use of Body Flicker, he bypassed Uchiha Ranzan and the others, appearing beside Rēn.
"What do you want me to say?"
Rēn replied calmly.
"..."
Shisui's mind went blank. He had no idea what to say, yet there was a weight in his chest that he couldn't release. He struggled to form a sentence, stammering, "It's about tonight… the Hokage, he…"
"Alright, shut it. You sound so uncomfortable it's making my teeth ache."
Rēn cut him off with annoyance.
"Shisui, I'm glad you made the choice you did tonight. And I understand your unease. Let me be clear, even in front of Ranzan and the others: I am firmly against using force for a coup. Internal conflict will only hurt the village and the clan. What I want is to save the Uchiha, not destroy them."
"You don't have to worry that I'll go back on my word and resort to force. I won't deny it's a last resort, but as long as other paths exist, I won't choose that dead end."
Following behind, Uchiha Ranzan and the others showed no reaction. They had clearly heard these words before.
Shisui relaxed slightly.
He had chosen to support Rēn, but that didn't mean he fully sided with the clan. Even until death, he wished to stop the conflict between the village and the Uchiha. He supported Rēn because Rēn's words gave him a glimmer of hope—however faint.
Better to struggle once than continue to decay doing nothing.
His intention had always been to see the village and the clan truly united, without division.
"Rēn, that plan you mentioned… when is it happening?"
Just a few seconds later, Shisui brought up the "plan" that Uchiha Chihaya had accidentally let slip.
Before making his decision, he had been torn. But now that he had chosen, his mindset shifted to urgency. After walking alone in darkness for so long without hope, he desperately wanted to see even the faintest glimmer of light.
"We'll talk at my house."
Rēn quickened his pace.
The fully armed clan members stationed at the entrance of the compound were already in view. Standing at the front were three white-haired elders, including his grandfather Uchiha Genshi. These three were the clan's elders.
"Grandfather. Elder Ryūji. Elder Homaru."
Rēn stopped in the middle of the stone road.
"Rēn, what happened?"
Uchiha Genshi, nearly seventy, looked straight at his grandson. Unlike his usual relaxed appearance at home, he now wore black and purple combat armor with a layered violet haori and a katana at his waist. He radiated killing intent, fully ready for battle.
Not just him—the other two elders and the twenty-plus clansmen behind them were all dressed similarly.
Seeing this, Rēn sighed internally.
The tension between the village and the clan had escalated to the point that everyone stayed ready for combat. At this point, talking about peace with the village was just a fantasy. So much anger and resentment had built up among the people… without god-tier persuasion skills, no one could make that vanish.
He glanced at Shisui, whose pale face made it clear he understood that too.
Hmm Good. At least now, reality was doing the work words never could. Sooner or later, Shisui would stop resisting—and follow.
"It's nothing major. Mist shinobi tried to get revenge on me. They sent spies to attack, but I've already taken care of it. Grandfather, elders, you can tell everyone to rest. There won't be any trouble tonight. The situation isn't that far gone. No one's ready for that yet."
Rēn spoke clearly.
His voice rang out not only to the elders but also to all others nearby.
Uchiha Genshi exchanged a silent glance with the two other elders.
Soon after, Elder Ryūji stepped forward and led some of the group back into the compound to spread the news and calm the clansmen. The atmosphere cooled down, and the killing intent that had filled the compound began to fade.
The Uchiha's reputation as Konoha's most powerful clan was well-earned.
Any Uchiha who awakened the Sharingan and didn't die early on the battlefield would eventually reach the three-tomoe stage. That was why the clan had more jōnin than any other in the village or any other village for that matter. It was also the foundation of their confidence in considering a coup.
"Kid, now tell the truth. What really happened?"
Uchiha Homaru, a short man barely over 160 centimeters, was significantly shorter than fifteen-year-old Rēn, who already stood at 180. He was shorter than most people here. But no one dared underestimate Elder Homaru, who was once known as Blazing Flame.
Despite his size, his strength was real. Among the six elders, Homaru was without a doubt the strongest. Even Genshi couldn't beat him.
The short elder raised his chin and stared at Rēn. His Sharingan glinted with killing intent.
"Isn't it obvious? If the Mist really had the ability to plant so many jōnin-level spies in the village, they wouldn't have been pushed back into the sea during the war."
Rēn sneered. "It was that old bastard Danzō. The Third turned a blind eye. But I don't have enough evidence to accuse Danzō directly."
"What kind of bullshit evidence do you need? Find a chance to kill that dog and be done with it!"
Homaru clenched his fist so tight it cracked. His words lacking any refinement one would expect of an elder from a prestigious clan "I knew Danzō was trash from the start. After the Second died, I wanted to take people and wipe him out, but Kagami stopped me."
He glanced at Shisui—Kagami's grandson.
Shisui opened his mouth but said nothing. In the end, he could only smile bitterly.
"Enough about that. Elder Homaru, it's not surprising Danzō opposes us. There's no point getting mad about it now. More importantly… where's the clan head? Is he in the compound managing things?"
Rēn deliberately changed the subject. Even if they really did plan to kill Danzō, it couldn't be discussed in the open.
Homaru's face instantly darkened.
"The clan head is on duty at the police department. He needs to uphold village order and avoid giving the village any excuse to come after us. We elders are temporarily managing clan affairs," Genshi said calmly.
The Uchiha compound had been relocated twice.
The first was under the Second Hokage, who bound the clan to the police force and made them a target of resentment. The second was five years ago. After the Nine-Tails incident, the Third Hokage moved them to a more remote area in the northeast.
This resulted in the Uchiha being separated from the police force.
In the past, the clan head could handle clan matters even while stationed at the police department. That was no longer the case.
"Genshi, stop trying to cover for Fugaku. I never noticed before, but now I see he's got no spine. As clan head, he doesn't protect his people. All he talks about is the village. Does he really think the village needs his concern? He's the head of the police department, but with the ANBU involved, where's his use?"
Homaru ranted angrily. "I don't even know what to say about him… we were blind to support him as clan head."
As he went on, he turned his gaze to Rēn.
"Hey, kid. You said before you wanted to replace Fugaku as clan head. Were you serious?"
"Of course I was."
Rēn nodded without hesitation.