"Don't think we have no one left!"
The middle-aged man's words were loud and resolute, but to Yuhara, they sounded more like the defeated howls of a man who had no better options.
Yuhara had once only guessed how overwhelming the Mangekyō Sharingan's suppression was against regular Sharingan.
But now he was certain.
The gap was unfathomable. Whatever a regular Uchiha could do, a Mangekyō user could do better—and more.
Abilities they didn't have? The Mangekyō granted them.
On top of that, even without activating its unique powers, the Mangekyō enhanced the three-tomoe Sharingan's base capabilities to terrifying levels.
In essence, the Mangekyō Sharingan and the regular Sharingan might as well belong to different worlds.
No wonder Itachi and Obito had wiped out the Uchiha clan so effortlessly. Sure, Root's secret support played a role—but even so, it was staggering.
Yuhara had no intention of letting history repeat itself. Everything he was doing now was to cut that possibility off at the root.
He raised his head slightly and locked eyes with the man in front of him.
"You're not wrong," Yuhara said, shaking his head. "But are you the one who can back those words?"
With that, he casually stabbed the bamboo staff into the ground. His chakra surged once more.
"Power isn't just talk. No matter how good it sounds, empty words mean nothing.
"From what I've seen, you can't even push me far enough to use my Mangekyō."
His tone sharpened.
"And you think you're ready for a coup?
"You haven't even tried to find real allies. You haven't managed your image, defined your goals, or unified your people.
"How do you plan to rebel with a divided clan?
"You think you're lions—but in my eyes, you're sheep. Probably Konoha sees it that way too. Otherwise, they wouldn't have targeted me already.
"You've argued for days, but can't you see? Konoha's baiting you into making the first move.
"The moment you act, they'll have a reason to wipe us all out."
He took a deep breath.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly—and with it, a suffocating, destructive energy spread through the bamboo grove.
"That's why I've always said—being aggressive isn't wrong.
"But too much aggression is just stupidity!
"It's no different than Sō's side being too passive. You'll both lead us to extinction.
"Strength must be wielded with wisdom."
He paused, then added coldly:
"You wanted to see my Mangekyō?
"Then look closely—feel it with everything you've got."
As his words fell, the tomoe in his eyes fused together into a single eerie pattern.
A sinister, burning aura surged from him. His chakra, now a luminous blue, wrapped around his body, gradually forming the shape of massive skeletal ribs.
"Susanoo…"
The whisper spread through the crowd.
The moment Yuhara's strange Mangekyō pattern appeared, even the hardliner elders felt a jolt of excitement.
They were witnessing it with their own eyes—a young Uchiha wielding the Mangekyō.
Sure, Shisui had one too, but he stood behind Uchiha Sō and rarely even appeared at clan meetings. Most of them had never actually seen Shisui's eyes in action.
It was frustrating—this feeling of alienation within their own family.
Maybe that's what Yuhara meant earlier when he said: How can you rebel when the clan itself isn't even united?
Even if he wasn't on their side, even if in some ways he was far more direct and ruthless than Shisui, Yuhara had earned the right to be this blunt.
Because he didn't just awaken the Mangekyō—he could already use Susanoo.
Many of the older members had lived through the era when Uchiha Madara left the village and through the internal chaos caused by four different Mangekyō wielders fighting each other.
Even if they never awakened it themselves, they knew well—each Mangekyō came with a unique ability, but its ultimate power was Susanoo.
Yet not every Mangekyō user could manifest it.
Doing so required tremendous mastery—and even then, it came at a cost. Prolonged use damaged the user's eyes.
But Yuhara had summoned it effortlessly, like it was second nature.
That alone said everything they needed to know about his control.
Facing even the skeletal, incomplete form of Susanoo, the middle-aged man from earlier found himself overwhelmed—his breath shallow, legs heavy.
The elder who had spoken earlier stepped forward, walking between Yuhara and the man.
"That's enough, Yuhara-kun. It's enough."
"…Elder," the man murmured, ashamed, lowering his head to avoid Yuhara's gaze.
No one else might have sensed it, but he knew.
He had looked straight into Yuhara's Mangekyō. And in that moment, he felt what true despair was.
He didn't even know how he found the courage to keep standing.
If he had to face that again, he didn't think he could.
"That's enough, Tomoya. If you're outmatched, you're outmatched. And Yuhara-kun didn't humiliate us—he showed us the truth."
The elder shook his head and turned to Yuhara with a solemn expression.
"Yuhara-kun has strength beyond us. He stands at a height we cannot reach.
"He looks down from above—because he's earned the right to.
"He can do whatever he wants."
Then he looked over his shoulder.
"Let everyone leave. By now, you must understand just how wide the gap truly is."
The elder ignored the dazed Tomoya and stepped closer to Yuhara, meeting his eyes.
Yuhara frowned. In that old man's gaze, he saw something strange: reverence… and longing.
It was almost unsettling.
The elder seemed to realize how out of line he was being and quickly composed himself.
Once he had regained his calm, he spoke softly.
"Yuhara-kun, I believe it's time we had a proper conversation."
"Oh?" Yuhara raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly. "You sure you don't want to take another look? You haven't even seen everything my Mangekyō can do."
"No need," the old man replied, shaking his head. "This is more than enough."
He added earnestly,
"You should deactivate it. Staying in this state is not good for your eyes."
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