"Elder Setsuna, Uchiha Keizumi has returned to the Uchiha compound!"
Upon hearing this news, Uchiha Setsuna, who had already been uneasy, grew even more on edge.
But with over a dozen Uchiha shinobi standing at his side, he quickly masked the flicker of unease on his face.
"Hmph."
Leaning on his cane, Uchiha Setsuna let out a cold snort and said in a deep voice, "A certain someone, for the sake of his selfish ninja way, has placed the entire Uchiha clan in a position it may never recover from. Someday in the future, his name will surely be nailed to the pillar of shame in Uchiha history."
"That someone commits such deeds without the slightest awareness, and now he even dares return openly to Konoha, back to the Uchiha clan. Perhaps it is his so-called Absolute Justice that has brainwashed him instead!"
At these words, several of the Uchiha shinobi exchanged uneasy looks. Some seemed as if they wanted to say something, but couldn't.
After all, Uchiha Setsuna was still the leader of the radical faction.
Just as Setsuna was about to continue speaking—
A sudden voice from outside nearly made his breath stop.
"Uchiha Keizumi? What are you doing here?"
"Hiss—!"
Setsuna drew in a sharp breath, his face finally betraying the fear and unease he could no longer suppress. 'That brat… he really came?'
Never before had Uchiha Setsuna wished so desperately that his clansmen were simply playing a cruel joke on him.
But in that same instant, Keizumi's cold, detached voice echoed in from outside: "Police Force executing justice. All unrelated persons, withdraw at once. Otherwise—killed without mercy."
Uchiha Setsuna: "!!!"
Impossible!
Had he truly spoken his own curse into reality? Had that extreme brat really traced the line from Hayata's dealings back to him?!
All he had done was allow them to bring contraband drugs into the Uchiha compound—
And given them a few conveniences here and there.
Such a small matter… In that brat's eyes, did this also make him an evildoer?
One who had to be purged by his Absolute Justice?
Uchiha Setsuna's face grew increasingly ugly. He clenched his teeth, forcing words out between them: "Tell the men outside—not to let that brat in!"
Setsuna refused to believe it!
If they simply blocked him and didn't let him in, would that brat really strike down innocent clansmen?
And yet…
"Elder Setsuna…" one of the Uchiha radicals hurriedly reported, "The shinobi outside… they didn't stop Uchiha Keizumi. They let him in!"
Uchiha Setsuna: "???"
What?!
I called you all here to protect me from that brat's extreme justice!
And instead, you let him in?!
Are you mocking me?!
Just as rage twisted Setsuna's face, he suddenly lifted his head. His clouded eyes sharpened, locking firmly onto the young man standing before him.
"Uchiha…"
"Keizumi!!!"
Uchiha Keizumi's gaze was fixed on Setsuna as well.
Above the elder's head, a red frame hovered, glaringly conspicuous.
Keizumi's cold voice rang out—like the judgment of an emotionless arbiter of Hell—as he advanced step by step, unhurried yet unstoppable, speaking aloud one shocking crime after another: "Uchiha Setsuna. Sixty-one years ago, in order to awaken your eyes, you killed your own younger sister."
"Fifty-eight years ago, to evolve from two-tomoe Sharingan to three-tomoe Sharingan, you took a wife—and on the very night she bore you a son, you strangled her to death."
"Fifty years ago, because an Uchiha clansman's ideology clashed with yours, and you were unable to win the argument, you flew into a rage, killed him, and disposed of the body, fabricating it as a 'missing persons case.'"
"Forty-seven years ago…"
"Forty-four years ago…"
Though Keizumi's voice was not loud, every word reached Setsuna's ears with piercing clarity.
Countless memories long buried, memories even Setsuna himself had nearly forgotten, were being dragged to the surface one by one.
And only now did Uchiha Setsuna hazily recall…
Yes. Before being thrown into prison by the Second Hokage, he had indeed committed these acts.
Those eyes of the brat—could they really see this far back into the past? These were things from decades ago!
What terrified him even more—Setsuna realized that with every crime Keizumi recited, the gazes of the surrounding clansmen grew stranger and colder.
At last, he began to understand—things were turning against him.
...
Some members of the Uchiha Clan, in order to awaken their eyes, had indeed committed extreme acts. For example, Uchiha Fugaku once threw the four-year-old Itachi onto the battlefield so that he could awaken his eyes.
That was already the most extreme method. At the time, Fugaku's action left many of the Uchiha deeply shaken.
But it was precisely because of this act that Fugaku consolidated his position as clan head, showing the clan the scope of his resolve.
What none of them expected was that there existed an even more extreme method than what Fugaku had done back then.
That person was Elder Uchiha Setsuna!
If what Uchiha Keizumi said was true, then Setsuna's actions could no longer be described merely as "resolve."
He was nothing less than a beast that should not exist in this world!
Because of this, more than a dozen radical Uchiha members around him now stared at Setsuna with strange eyes.
"Uchiha Keizumi!" Setsuna knew he could not remain silent any longer. Otherwise, even if these radical young Uchiha did not oppose him outright, they would hardly be willing to stand on his side.
Setsuna cut Keizumi off with a cold voice, barking, "That so-called eye of yours that can see the evils of the past— even if it really can see something, who can guarantee that what you speak is truly what you saw?!"
"If you cannot prove it yourself, then what you are doing now is nothing more than slandering me, an elder of the Uchiha Clan! Trying to use such absurd excuses and lies as a weapon against me!"
His words did make some of the other radical Uchiha shinobi pause in thought.
If Keizumi alone in all of Konohagakure possessed such a power…
Then he could indeed use it to falsely accuse anyone he wished, and others would have no real way to prove whether what he said was true.
Keizumi, cut off, spoke with icy indifference: "Cut off your head and send it to the Yamanaka Clan for examination. Then we'll know whether it's a lie or not."
Setsuna: "???"
For some reason, Setsuna noticed several clansmen suddenly show an expression of realization.
No way!
They were actually agreeing with such an outrageous proposal?!
Damn it!
If my head is cut off, even if it proves I'm innocent, I'll still be dead!
What's more, Setsuna didn't believe he was innocent at all.
That made it all the more fatal.
Before Setsuna could say anything more, Keizumi continued, "Will you protect such a villain?"
His thumb pressed against the guard of his blade. With a light push, the bright silver edge slid out several centimeters.
Keizumi's tone grew colder still, and the air thickened with killing intent: "I have no patience to wait. Twenty seconds. Step aside. Twenty… nineteen…"
The cold, unhurried countdown struck the ears of everyone present, sending chills through their bodies.
Behind him, Uchiha Izumi placed her hand on the hilt of her blade.
The moment Keizumi-senpai acted, she would follow without hesitation.
Even with so many enemies before her, she would not take a single step back.
Perched on her shoulder, Tachibana Jirō arched his back, fur bristling slightly, baring a pair of sharp fangs.
At the very back, Mitarashi Anko couldn't help but take a deep breath. At last, she understood why the name "Uchiha Setsuna" had sounded so familiar—she also understood exactly what Uchiha Keizumi intended to do at this moment.
—He was going to kill his own clan's elder!
—In the name of executing justice!
Anko grew more serious than ever before. She realized this was a trial Keizumi had set for her.
And standing before them were all elite shinobi of the Uchiha Clan.
With the tension drawn this taut…
There was no doubt a bloody battle was about to erupt!
"Uchiha Keizumi!" Just as Keizumi's countdown reached "fourteen," one shinobi who staunchly supported Setsuna's coup plan could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, gritting his teeth.
"Elder Setsuna is the one who will lead the Uchiha Clan into a brighter future. He is the one who will topple the Hokage and let the Uchiha rule Konohagakure, so that our clan will no longer suffer discrimination!"
"Your Absolute Justice is nothing but your personal justice. You've never once thought of the Uchiha Clan. I don't understand why anyone would recognize your so-called justice, but I am certain that I do not!"
At those words, a faint look of relief finally flickered across the dark, weathered face of Uchiha Setsuna.
All these years, he had tirelessly cultivated the younger generation of radicals within the clan, naturally building immense prestige among them.
In turn, many of these young radicals deeply admired him.
Such respect and devotion could not be shaken by a few hollow phrases about [Absolute Justice].
Those among the radicals swayed by Absolute Justice…
They were simply not loyal enough!!!
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