Shisui came back killing.
The elders were all dead—but some of the hardliners were still alive.
The ones who had shouted the loudest earlier—he remembered every single one of them.
Now was the time to settle accounts.
Sword in hand, he returned.
"Shisui, you—"
Slash.
A soft sound rang out, and another body fell.
When a person's speed reaches a certain level, ordinary people simply cannot stop them. And Shisui's current state went far beyond mere speed.
His eyes were changing.
His control over motion had become far more precise than before, and the emotional upheaval had pushed him into a delicate, heightened state.
Kill.
Every strike claimed a life.
Fugaku tried to intervene, but every time he was too slow. Looking around, he saw that the elders were already dead—Shisui's current targets were the remaining hardliners.
Every move was deadly precise.
"Stop!"
But—
No one stopped.
Many had already gone mad with bloodshed. At this point, a single shout—even from the clan head—meant nothing. After all, Fugaku's authority had long since been worn away over the years.
Shisui's emotions were frenzied, yet he had not lost control. He simply felt—
This was not the time to stop.
Once killing had begun, hesitation was unacceptable. It had to be finished in one sweep.
A clan could survive turbulence.
What it could not survive was repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
Shisui's resolve hardened.
Though it hurt, he did not regret it. Blade after blade fell upon his own clansmen.
After a few minutes, the others stopped fighting.
Because they realized that, combined, they had killed fewer people than Shisui alone.
His strength had reached an unimaginable level.
"Shisui—you've killed too many!"
Fugaku roared in fury.
He had expected deaths today, but never this many. This was far beyond anything he had anticipated.
"Too many?" Shisui replied coldly. "Compared to a clan-wide annihilation, this is nothing. I've only eliminated the hardliners. And I'm simply telling you one thing—if none of you can even defeat me, what right do you have to think you could fight the entire village of Konoha?"
The stench of blood clung thickly to him. Blood pooled at his feet, staining the ground and the waters of the Naka River red.
His gaze was sharp as a blade.
Many had forgotten that Shisui was once a prodigy known throughout the clan.
He had entered the academy before the age of five, graduated at five, become a disciple of Kanda Kyoichi, and had even served as the de facto leader of their three-man team.
Was it because of his lineage?
Of course not.
It was because of strength.
Yet after the war years, Shisui had rarely taken action. He withdrew into cultivation for seven or eight years, never participating seriously in exams or public missions.
They had forgotten—
That Shisui was once the most dazzling genius the clan had ever produced.
Now they remembered.
Shisui held his sword, his eyes fierce. The tomoe within them formed an unfamiliar pattern, one that forced Fugaku to think of a single word.
Mangekyō.
Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Fugaku was shaken to the core.
"Shisui, if you already possess the Mangekyō, why not help us? Do you really want to see our clan fall into decline?"
Someone shouted indignantly.
Shisui glanced at him. The tomoe in his eyes spun.
Seconds later, the man drew his blade and struck himself.
"He reminded me," Shisui said calmly. "I suppose I really have awakened the Mangekyō. But honestly, it's not that useful. Madara was that strong, yet he still lost to the First Hokage more than once. Even with the Mangekyō, I'm still no match for my sensei. Or do you think…"
He sneered.
"…that controlling the village would make my sensei compromise?"
"A bunch of idiots," Shisui mocked. "Thinking everyone else is as stupid as you are."
Fugaku felt deeply offended.
That was practically calling him out by name.
Damn brat…
No one dared speak anymore.
Shisui was completely blood-drunk.
As a child, Sasuke was utterly terrified. He had never imagined something like this would happen. He had thought it was just another routine clan meeting.
Instead—
Blades were drawn, blood was spilled, and his brother stood on the opposite side.
He had never witnessed anything like this.
And yet—
Despite so many clan members dying, Sasuke did not awaken his Sharingan.
Shisui glanced at him briefly, said nothing, and shifted his gaze to Fugaku.
"Clan Head," Shisui said calmly, "for all these years, you've led the Uchiha. Time and again, you hesitated, retreated, and allowed yourself to be swept along. This time—what was your reason?"
"The Hyūga unified their strength. The Uchiha must also speak with one voice," Fugaku replied softly. "No matter whose voice it is, someone must have the final say."
He sighed.
"But I never expected you to be this ruthless—to kill them all."
Inabi was breathing heavily.
He was not Shisui. Facing multiple elders had pushed him to his limits. If Shisui hadn't killed them later, Inabi would have already been injured.
Even so, he stepped forward.
"A serious illness requires strong medicine," Inabi said sharply. "Dragging things out like you did only sinks the clan deeper into the mire."
Fugaku had nothing to say.
Victory and defeat decided everything. Besides, deep down, Fugaku had always felt both sides had merit—he simply couldn't make a decision.
Now, he didn't have to.
After a few seconds, he sighed.
"I have nothing left to say. Perhaps you're right. I'm no longer fit to be clan head. I resign—choose someone else."
Inabi looked at Shisui.
Shisui merely sheathed his blade and walked toward where the elders lay dead.
Inabi understood.
After killing so many clansmen, Shisui could never become clan head. And from the very beginning, Shisui had never intended to be.
Inabi took a deep breath.
"Everyone, our clan is at a turning point. The hardliners have been eliminated. I understand you may still have doubts about our direction, but please believe this—"
"Shisui, myself, and the village will not betray you. Only by standing with the village can we achieve mutual benefit. As for those who died—did you see how they fought?"
"They talked loudly, but when it came time to fight, it was us risking our lives. That was never normal."
Inabi spoke steadily, persuading the crowd.
Shisui left quietly, without looking back.
On the way, he gathered the bodies, laying them out together.
They were enemies—
But they were also clan members.
"I hope there will be no more strife," he murmured, "that everyone in the clan can live peacefully and enjoy this hard-won peace. Or perhaps… one day, the Uchiha may even become Hokage."