Uchiha Kagami's words were like a basin of ice water poured from above, instantly cooling all the agitated hearts in the Naka Shrine.
The Hokage's sword.
Those three words carried too much weight.
So much so that the elder's guards, who had been so aggressive just moments before, couldn't help but take half a step back.
Uchiha Genchou stared deadly at Uchiha Kagami, the muscles on his face twisting in anger.
"Uchiha Kagami!"
He practically squeezed the words out from between his teeth. "Get your identity straight! You are also an Uchiha! Are you now bringing outsiders to interfere in our clan's internal affairs? You are betraying the clan!"
"Elder Genchou, I think you are mistaken."
Uchiha Kagami's expression did not change in the slightest, his tone still gentle, but his words were as sharp as a knife. "First, I am not here to interfere, but to observe. This is the final courtesy Lord Hokage has granted the Uchiha, to let us clean our own house."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Tekka, then over the indignant young clansmen.
"Second, who exactly is betraying the clan? Is it you, who for the sake of personal power and desire, would not hesitate to drag the entire clan into the abyss of treason? Or is it Tekka and the others, who have stood up to protect the clan from destruction?"
"You!"
Uchiha Genchou was choked speechless.
He tried to use his status as a clan elder to suppress Kagami, only to find it completely useless.
The Uchiha Kagami before him was no longer the junior they could manipulate at will. He represented the will of the Hokage.
What made his heart even colder were the ten Uchiha ninja behind Kagami.
It was Uchiha Tokko and the Hokage's Direct Guard that he led.
The existence of this team was no longer a secret within the clan.
They were elites handpicked by Lord Hokage himself, enjoying the best treatment and undergoing the most rigorous training.
At this moment, these ten individuals stood like silent statues behind Kagami.
They hadn't even drawn their swords, but the killing intent honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood made all the members of the Military Police Force present feel suffocated.
Ten pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan spun in unison, cold, indifferent, without a trace of emotion.
Their gazes were fixed firmly on Uchiha Kagami's back from beginning to end.
It was as if in this world, only Uchiha Kagami's command was the sole principle for their actions.
No, to be more precise, it was the command of that Third Hokage, conveyed by Kagami.
Hiruzen... that Hokage they had always considered too young, too merciful, had, without them realizing, extended his reach into the very heart of the Uchiha clan.
And they, like fools, were still plotting a ridiculous impeachment.
"Kagami... you... are you really going to make an enemy of us for an outsider?" another elder shouted, putting on a brave front in his last-ditch effort.
"Lord Hokage is not an outsider."
Uchiha Kagami shook his head, correcting him. "He is the Hokage of Konoha, the leader of us all. To be loyal to the Hokage is to be loyal to Konoha, which is to be loyal to the future of the Uchiha."
"Well said!"
Uchiha Tekka loudly agreed. He looked at Kagami's back, his heart filled with gratitude and admiration.
He knew he had made the right bet.
"That's right! We Uchiha are Konoha's Uchiha!"
"We will not allow anyone to destroy the relationship between the village and the clan!"
The young clansmen were ignited by Kagami's words and responded one after another, creating a powerful momentum.
The tide had turned.
Uchiha Genchou watched this scene, his heart turning to ice.
However, his years of being in a high position made it impossible for him to accept this fact.
A crazed thought rose in his mind.
Since reasoning wasn't working, he would solve it the Uchiha way.
"Uchiha Kagami! Uchiha Tekka!"
Elder Genchou shot to his feet, his eyes instantly turning into a three-tomoe Sharingan as a powerful chakra erupted from his body.
"You two traitors to the clan! Today, in the name of the Great Elder, I will clean house!"
He quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A massive fire dragon roared out of his mouth, carrying scorching heat, and instantly engulfed Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Tekka, who were standing at the front.
He actually dared to make a move.
Everyone was stunned.
To use such a deadly attack on a fellow clansman in a place like the Naka Shrine was no longer a simple conflict, but a complete break!
A civil war was about to erupt.
Uchiha Tekka's pupils contracted violently. He wanted to dodge, but the fire dragon was too fast, its range too wide; it was simply unavoidable.
However, just as he thought he was about to be burned to ashes, Uchiha Kagami's figure stood in front of him.
Facing the roaring, massive fire dragon, there was not the slightest hint of panic on Uchiha Kagami's face.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A towering wall of water rose from the ground, like a giant blue shield, steadily blocking the fire dragon.
Hiss—!
The collision of water and fire produced a massive amount of steam, which instantly filled the entire shrine.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
A hand-seal-less jutsu.
And it was a powerful Water Release that could instantly suppress the elder's Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Lord Kagami's strength had actually reached such a level?
The steam gradually dissipated.
Uchiha Kagami still stood in the same spot, not even the hem of his clothes wet.
Opposite him, Uchiha Genchou was panting heavily due to the intense consumption of chakra.
"Elder Genchou, do you wish to continue?" Kagami's voice was still calm.
"You... you..." Elder Genchou pointed at Kagami, trembling with anger.
He couldn't understand how Kagami's strength had grown so quickly.
"Stubbornly refusing to see reason!"
Just then, a cold voice sounded.
It was Uchiha Tokko.
He and the nine team members behind him had also moved the instant Elder Genchou attacked.
Ten black shadows, like ghosts, vanished from their spots.
In the next second, a series of screams rang out.
The guards who had just drawn their swords, preparing to obey the elder's command, were subdued in an instant before they could even see their opponents' movements. Their weapons were disarmed, and they were pinned firmly to the ground.
The movements were clean and decisive, without any hesitation.
This was not a battle on the same level.
The elites of the Military Police Force were as green as Ninja Academy students in front of these members of the Hokage's Direct Guard.
"Stop! What do you think you're doing!" another hawkish elder, seeing the situation, was both shocked and angry, and was about to form hand seals.
"Pfft!"
A cold light flashed.
Uchiha Tokko's figure appeared behind him like a ghost, the short sword in his hand already plunged into his back.
The elder's eyes widened in disbelief as he slowly collapsed.
"The Hokage's sword only kills traitors."
Uchiha Tokko pulled out his short sword, flicked off the blood, and his cold voice echoed in the deathly silent shrine.