Facing the suspicious and uncertain gazes of his clan members, Hiromi's expression was calm. "Naruto has been captured by Danzo. He is framing our Uchiha clan, and now all the ninjas in the village are coming to encircle and suppress us."
The clan members' eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?!"
"Encircle and suppress us?!"
"Danzo! It's him again!"
"Screw him!"
The clan members were all furious, the Sharingan in their eyes spinning wildly, filled with bloodthirsty light.
"I'm going to the Root base to kill Danzo. Who is coming with me?"
The orange flames on Hiromi's body gradually dissipated, finally vanishing completely.
He seemed very calm, no one could hear the violent excitement hidden within his calm tone.
"This..."
The clan members hesitated for a second, then saw Shisui step forward, appearing behind Hiromi.
"Let's go." Shisui said calmly.
The clan members were stunned.
"Clan head..."
Danzo is the Hokage's advisor!
Just going to kill him like this?
Is this appropriate?
Wouldn't that be too reckless?
Before they could finish thinking, Hiromi walked forward and Shisui followed quietly behind him.
The clan members watched blankly. For some reason, they recalled that day, the scene of Shisui carrying the unconscious Hiromi back.
Slap!
A crisp sound rang out.
The clan members turned their heads blankly to look, only to find a young man with a clear, burning slap mark on his face.
"This time, even if I die, I will follow!"
He gritted his teeth and took a step to follow.
The other clan members glanced at Fugaku. Last time, it was he who gave up. This time, he didn't speak, but even if he had...
They clenched their fists, their expressions becoming firm. No longer looking at Fugaku, they walked toward Hiromi.
Fugaku watched Hiromi and Shisui, who were walking at the very front, with a cold and calm gaze.
Finally, his gaze fell upon Shisui. 'Even if it means death, you'd rather have the entire Konoha buried with us than let the clan members suffer grievances. Is this your choice, Shisui?'
Fugaku naturally knew of the threats outside the village. He was forced by his clan members to stage a Coup d'état, so he wanted to have Itachi control the high-ranking officials.
As for the villagers' lack of trust... future troubles could be solved in the future.
After all, as an Uchiha, he couldn't possibly wipe out the Uchiha clan with his own hands, right?
In the original story, on the night of the Uchiha clan massacre, Fugaku knew that Itachi had taken action to wipe out the clan, yet he did not resist. It was because he couldn't bear to kill his own son.
But wasn't that also a form of evasion?
This father and son both wanted to escape the fate of being part of the Uchiha clan but neither could escape. Both were forced to make choices they didn't want to make.
Fugaku was forced by the clan members. Itachi had even more.
First, he was forced by Shisui to protect the village and safeguard the Uchiha clan's reputation.
Then the threats from outside the village, Hiruzen's tacit consent, and Danzo's subtle influence about "the big picture".
Then the clan members' lack of trust and their narrow-mindedness.
The pressure pushed by countless people made him choose to wipe out the clan in order to protect the most important younger brother left after his best friend's death.
From this perspective, they were the same type of people as Hiruzen—weak and following the trend.
Now, Shisui's choice showed him a different kind of Uchiha clan head—strong and uncompromising.
...
"Fugaku didn't follow." Shisui said softly, following behind Hiromi.
"It doesn't matter." Hiromi said.
In his view, it made no difference whether Fugaku came or not, because Fugaku would never take the initiative to act.
And now, the time was ripe.
"From today on, Root belongs to the Uchiha."
...
Momentum is a very mysterious thing. Hiromi's calm appearance did not make the clan members feel worried. Instead, it gave people a feeling of becoming increasingly excited and impassioned.
Thump! Thump! Thump...
The sound of each heartbeat sent hot blood rushing to their hearts, driving away the chill of the deep night, filling their bodies with wild fervor and high spirits.
Just as they were about to leave the clan grounds, they happened to encounter a large group of people led by Hiruzen, who had come to annihilate the Uchiha clan.
Hiruzen's wartime attire made all the Uchiha clan members grip their weapons tightly, filled with hostility and determination.
Hiruzen's gaze was cold, as if he were looking at dead people. However, he was very careful not to look into the eyes of Shisui.
At this moment, a ball of orange flames erupted with intense heat, yet it made people feel very calm—a strange contradiction.
He turned his head and noticed Hiromi leading the way.
Six-year-old, 1.2-meter-tall Hiromi stood there. Though short in stature, his presence was imposing, and no one dared to underestimate him.
The orange flames burning calmly on his body emitted a scorching high temperature, making many ninjas feel parched and causing their eyes to tremble slightly.
They were reminded of a nintaijutsu from Kumogakure—Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Under that Chakra mode, the previous Third Raikage was entangled by ten thousand Iwa ninjas and fought for three whole days and nights before he died.
This is a technique so terrifying that it is horrific. A forbidden technique powerful enough to make the user comparable to a Tailed Beast.
Thinking of this, they recalled the flames that wrapped around the terrifying skeletal giant from that day.
That's it, it's this flame!
They suddenly felt a chill. Unknowingly, the momentum of Hiruzen's side grew weaker and weaker.
Even though they outnumbered the Uchiha clan several times over.
Even though they had surrounded the Uchiha clan like dumplings in a wrapper.
Even so, they felt inexplicably fearful.
In contrast, the Uchiha clan knew they would die but seeing Hiromi in the Fire Release Chakra Mode, along with the calm Shisui, the sense of security in their hearts was almost overflowing.
It was as if a voice was laughing wildly in their hearts: "Hahahaha! If we die, we die! Who's afraid of whom!"
They became increasingly excited, and their grip on their weapons grew stronger.