Fugaku took a deep breath and announced to the clan members around him.
"I lost."
Fugaku's voice carried a calm unlike anything he had shown before.
"Shinsuke's strength far surpasses my own."
Having said that, in front of everyone, Fugaku removed the black blade at his waist, the blade that symbolized the authority of the Uchiha Clan Head.
Then from within his robes, he produced a seal carved with the Uchiha family crest, forged from a special Fire Stone.
It was the Clan Head's seal.
Fugaku cradled both objects and walked to stand before Shinsuke, then solemnly held them out.
"From this day forward, they belong to you."
Under the gaze of the entire clan, Fugaku leaned his body slightly forward and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Shinsuke..."
"The future of the Uchiha, I leave it to you."
"I hope you can lead the clan to find... a true light."
"Make the Uchiha great again!"
Shinsuke silently received the blade and the seal.
Then he turned to face all the clan members.
At this moment, the invisible aura emanating from Shinsuke inspired more reverence in the clan than any brilliant Dōjutsu ever could.
It was the authority of the new Clan Head.
After a brief silence.
"Lord Shinsuke!"
From somewhere within the crowd, someone cried out with all the strength in their voice.
"Clan Head Shinsuke!"
"Uchiha! Uchiha! Uchiha!"
A roar like surging waves and mountains crashing exploded from every direction across the training ground, deafening to the ears.
The younger clan members raised their arms high, faces flushed red with excitement, and shouted Shinsuke's name with everything they had.
In the midst of this thunderous cheering, many elders pushed through the stirred crowd and came to stand before Shinsuke.
At their head, Uchiha Hachidai and Uchiha En bowed deeply at the waist.
"I, Uchiha Hachidai, pay respects to the new Clan Head."
"I, Uchiha En, pay respects to the new Clan Head."
"We pay respects to the new Clan Head!"
In this moment, Uchiha Shinsuke officially became the new Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan.
Shinsuke slowly raised one hand.
A single simple gesture, and the deafening cheers subsided within mere seconds.
Every clan member held their breath and fixed their gaze upon their new Clan Head with fervent eyes.
Shinsuke's gaze swept across the gathered clan.
"Just now, at this very moment when we Uchiha decided the fate of our clan in our own way."
"Countless pairs of eyes were watching us from the darkness surrounding the Uchiha compound."
"There were ANBU directly under the Hokage."
"And there was Danzō's Root."
Humiliation, surveillance, injustice...
The rage that had been building in every Uchiha heart over these years was ignited in an instant.
Shinsuke watched the anger and shame rise across the faces of the clan members, then shifted his tone, and a note of satisfaction entered his voice.
"However, those rats lurking in the gutter have now received what they deserved."
"Every Root ninja who infiltrated our compound has been killed on the spot by the guard unit under my command."
"Not a single one was left."
Dead silence.
Absolute dead silence.
Then followed disbelief, and wild elation.
"OHHHHH!"
"Well done!"
"It was long overdue! Those cursed Root members!"
The resentment suppressed for decades, even across generations, detonated in this single moment.
Shinsuke watched all of this in silence, and only when the uproar had eased slightly did he continue to speak.
"As for the Hokage's ANBU..."
"Out of consideration for our shared village, I merely instructed the elder guard unit to break their limbs."
"Then, like trash, they were thrown out of our home."
At these words, the entire crowd burst into a round of laughter even more satisfying than before.
Awe, fervor, worship.
The new Clan Head of the Uchiha not only possessed strength that crushed all opposition, but also the supreme dominance they had always longed for, the willingness to draw the blade against all of Konoha.
"Now, as your new Clan Head, I will issue my first order."
Shinsuke's voice rose sharply, filled with an authority that brooked no question.
"From this day forward, I declare!"
"The Uchiha compound is sacred and inviolable territory!"
"Any unauthorized surveillance, any monitoring that comes from the outside, shall be treated as... an act of war and provocation against the entire Uchiha Clan!"
"From this moment on, any rat bold enough to set foot in this forbidden ground..."
Shinsuke activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and a vast and overbearing pressure of ocular power radiated outward in every direction.
"We have the right to arrest them on the spot."
"Or even..."
"Kill on sight."
After a pause, Shinsuke's voice rang out once more.
"This land is our home, but that is not enough."
"The glory of our Uchiha must not, and will never be permitted to, remain confined here!"
"I declare the second order."
"From this day forward, any member of our Uchiha clan, whether walking through the village or carrying out a mission outside."
"If any ANBU or Root agent ever dares to lurk in the shadows to spy, follow, or monitor them..."
Every clan member swelled with surging emotion and watched Shinsuke with expectant eyes.
"The Guard unit will no longer merely be a tool for maintaining order within the village!"
"Their foremost duty is to defend the dignity of the Uchiha!"
"I hereby grant the Guard unit the highest authority!"
"To arrest on the spot any ANBU or Root ninja who dares to surveil our clan members, and bring them back to the compound!"
"If they resist, kill on sight!"
"ROAR!"
An unstoppable howl erupted from the crowd.
Shinsuke raised his hand and once again subdued the surging tide.
"After their arrest, the Third Hokage, or Danzō, must personally come to the gates of our Uchiha compound and give an explanation!"
"Otherwise, those captured will never have the chance to see another sunrise!"
This was no longer provocation.
This was a naked ultimatum issued to the highest levels of Konoha's power.
In a corner of the crowd, Itachi's body trembled slightly beyond his control.
Itachi gripped Sasuke's hand with crushing force.
It was over...
Everything was over...
Shinsuke... he was pushing the clan toward the cliff's edge of a complete and final break with the entire village!
And an Uchiha this dominant and assertive would never again have any possibility of reconciling with the village.
What awaited the Uchiha and the village in the end was destined to be armed confrontation, or even an erupting coup.
"Brother, your grip is really strong..."
Sasuke said in a small, pained voice, but his eyes shone with the purest admiration for the figure in the center of the ground.
'Lord Shinsuke is so cool!'
In this moment, in young Sasuke's eyes, Shinsuke was cooler than Fugaku, cooler even than his brother Itachi.
"Remember what I say today."
"What belongs to the Uchiha, we will take back with our own hands."
"The era of swallowing our pride and bowing our heads..."
Shinsuke raised the black blade in his hand, the blade that symbolized the authority of the Clan Head, and pointed its tip toward the sky.
"From the moment I, Uchiha Shinsuke, stand here..."
"It is completely over!"