He ignored the hostile stares and searched the crowd for the one Uchiha who mattered to him—Uchiha Shisui. He did not know if Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan yet. That invincible ocular jutsu, Kotoamatsukami, could alter a person's will without anyone noticing. It was terrifying. If Shisui changed his will, it would be no different from killing him. But he did not find Shisui among the clan. Perhaps he was away from the village.
Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, spoke when Ryōsuke arrived. "Uchiha Ryōsuke, you've heard the news spreading through the village."
"Of course."
"Do you have anything to explain?"
Assuming the others did not know the details, Ryōsuke recounted the entire incident. In truth, they had been briefed before the assembly began.
Uchiha Itachi stood first, voice severe. "Uchiha Ryōsuke, do you admit your guilt? You sabotaged the Third Hokage's plan, disrupted the village's peace, and dragged the Uchiha into a whirlpool of war. Do you admit your guilt?"
Ryōsuke had not expected him to attack first. So loyal to the village. His tone cooled. "Didn't I already explain? Cloud's people abducted the Hyuga heiress first, yet you would have the Hyuga hand over a clansman to douse the enemy's anger. You think that is reasonable?"
Murmurs ran through the hall. Displeasure ebbed. Cloud's conduct was vile.
Itachi did not yield. "The Third's advice was correct. Yours was wrong. You should not have incited the Hyuga to oppose the Cloud envoys. Sacrificing one to gain peace and end the war is the most rational course. As shinobi we must be ready to die for the Leaf. That is our resolve."
Faces darkened, especially among the hardliners. If it was for the village, how had the village treated them? Even moderates bristled. They did not support clashing with the leadership, but that did not mean they would gladly die for the village.
Fugaku felt a heaviness at his son's words. He had placed Itachi near the Hokage as a spy, but Itachi now seemed fully persuaded. Would he still pass useful intelligence, or stand against the clan?
Ryōsuke narrowed his eyes. Sacrifice one for peace today. Think a step further and it becomes sacrificing a whole clan for peace. "Uchiha Itachi, if you have such resolve, I have a question. Everyone here knows the state of relations between the village and our clan. By your logic, should the Uchiha be exterminated to safeguard the village's stability?"
The hall froze. What a reckless statement. The Uchiha, exterminated?
In the era after the Senju's decline, the Uchiha had been Konoha's greatest clan, even the greatest in the shinobi world. Voices rose at once. "Uchiha Ryōsuke, you overstep! Clan Head, punish this arrogance!"
Ryōsuke snapped back. "I wasn't asking you. Be quiet, or leave."
Power flared off him. The threat felt real. The room fell silent beneath the pressure. Even Fugaku's eyes narrowed. He did not think Ryōsuke was merely insolent. As clan head, he knew the Uchiha stood in a storm. If a coup failed and the village moved ruthlessly, extermination was not impossible. Had Ryōsuke sensed something? Perhaps he would risk his eyes and use them to glimpse the future.
Itachi's scalp prickled. He had not expected to be cornered by such a question in front of the clan. "I don't need to answer. That will never happen. If the village destroyed the Uchiha, the village would decay. It's impossible."
Ryōsuke sneered. 'Afraid of the village's decline, so you would do the slaughter yourself?'
Itachi caught the scorn and grew more displeased. "Stop changing the subject. Do you still not admit you were wrong?"
Ryōsuke laughed. "By your logic, if Cloud comes again to abduct villagers, we should endure it? Sacrifice our own again to satisfy them?"
"Do not conflate the two. I believe the Hokage will not permit that to happen again."
"Why not conflate them? Cloud started this. Can you speak for Cloud—or have you joined them?"
Itachi's temper frayed. "I only believe the Hokage will not allow a repeat."
A cold smile tugged at Ryōsuke's lips. 'And because he will not allow it, the Uchiha Clan Massacre?'
He faced the room. "Some of you think I shattered Konoha's peace. If next time this falls on the Uchiha, will we soothe the enemy's rage with a clansman's life?"
He pointed at a few in the crowd. They flinched. "Don't point at me. I won't die that way. If I die, I die in war. That's better than this."
Their answers only deepened Itachi's displeasure. What had they learned in the Academy to welcome death in war? Dying in war meant war, and that meant hundreds or thousands dead, not a handful. Shortsighted. There was no point arguing further. His thoughts were on a different plane. Perhaps only Shisui could understand him.
T/n:
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