Chapter 155: The Clan Leader's Sorrow
"Since none of you seem to understand what it means to respect your superiors…"
Uchiha Kei stood still, his gaze sweeping over the riotous group of shinobi before him. His voice was calm—yet utterly cold.
"Then allow me to teach you a lesson."
The moment his words fell, Kei appeared in front of a large, burly Uchiha ninja.
He gave the man no chance to react. Kei's eyes flashed with a strange and dangerous light. At the same time, his ninja blade slid smoothly from its sheath.
Electric-blue chakra coated the blade as he moved soundlessly, the sword landing lightly—but lethally—on the shinobi's body.
In a flash of lightning, the burly Uchiha's mind went blank. The next second, he collapsed to the ground, paralyzed.
All the other shinobi froze in place, stunned. Uchiha Kei's decisiveness was far beyond what any of them had expected.
Watching him calmly re-sheath his blade, the hearts of everyone present began to pound faster.
And when they met Kei's cold, silent gaze—a gaze devoid of warmth—it sent chills down their spines.
It was the look of someone who only saw corpses.
That kind of gaze belonged only on a battlefield. In war, anyone not wearing your forehead protector was your enemy. The protector wasn't just a symbol of your village—it was a means of identifying friend from foe when everything else was chaos.
Kei's eyes told them something chilling: this man had survived true hell.
He had walked away alive from battles that were practically suicide missions.
The oppressive atmosphere spread through the crowd. That faint sweep of Kei's deadly gaze made many feel as though their hearts had skipped a beat.
Then—someone suddenly let out a defiant shout.
In the next instant, chaos erupted.
Every member of the divisions charged forward, many roaring in anger. Some activated their Sharingan, eyes glowing blood-red as they lunged at Uchiha Kei like a furious tide.
There were a lot of them—one full division of shinobi, overwhelming in numbers.
But in ninja combat, numbers aren't always the deciding factor. There are always exceptions.
And this… was one of those times.
"AHHH—!"
The moment they clashed, screams rang out.
Although Kei felt a hint of pressure from the sheer number of attackers, that was all it was—a hint. Pressure. An inconvenience.
His power had grown rapidly. While his chakra reserves still lagged behind, his speed and perception had reached frightening levels.
He'd already felt this during his encounter with the Kirigakure ninja in the Land of Grass.
Now, he was starting to understand why Uchiha Madara's combat prowess was so unparalleled.
The boost from the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan made everything feel effortless.
Kei moved like a shadowy butterfly among the mob. Every motion was graceful, every strike perfectly timed.
Anyone who came into range was immediately dropped to the ground.
Even those with Sharingan activated couldn't keep up with him. The difference in speed and perception was too vast—they couldn't even see his attack lines clearly!
In Kei's hands, combat looked like an art form. Every movement was minimal, efficient, and smooth.
With a subtle sidestep, he dodged an incoming blow, then drove a precise punch into an opponent's weakest point.
That Uchiha ninja flew backward, crashing into several comrades behind him—stopping them cold.
Kei's crimson Sharingan shifted slightly. Without looking, he tilted his body just enough to let a kunai slide past his back.
Since weapons were in play now, he showed no mercy.
His right hand shot up, catching not only the kunai but the attacker's arm as well.
The Uchiha ninja's eyes widened in horror as Kei twisted his arm upward, redirecting him violently.
A wet, metallic sound—steel piercing flesh—followed by an ear-splitting scream.
Kei didn't even glance at the impaled ninja. Instead, with a flick of the wrist, he snapped the captured shinobi's arm like a twig.
Then, ducking low to evade another strike, he launched forward like a panther.
One ninja saw him coming—but his body wouldn't respond. Kei struck like lightning.
The ninja was sent flying, blood pouring from his mouth. His chest had collapsed.
The Sharingan spun again.
Another enemy raised his fist to strike—but froze mid-motion. Kei's left hand, wreathed in lightning, shattered the man's shoulder in a single blow.
Seizing the opportunity, Kei drew his sword.
"Not bad," he muttered coldly. "You really are the so-called elites of the Uchiha Clan."
His blade, now glowing with an ominous blue chakra, gave off a bone-chilling aura.
With those crimson eyes and that eerie sword, Kei looked more like a demon than a man.
"Disobeying orders. Attacking your superior. Today, I'm reminding you—on the battlefield, this kind of behavior would get you killed."
"Enough, Uchiha Kei!"
A voice shouted. One of the other division captains, who'd been silently watching from the side, finally stepped in.
"Are you planning to kill them? They're our clansmen!"
"They're also my subordinates—and disobedient ones at that."
Kei's Sharingan locked onto the speaker.
"You trying to protect these traitors, Uchiha Tsubasa?"
"You…"
Tsubasa was momentarily speechless.
The Konoha Police Force had three main divisions—each with multiple sub-units.
Among the three newly appointed squad captains, aside from Uchiha Kei, the others were Uchiha Tsubasa and Uchiha Chisai.
As for Uchiha Inaho, Uchiha Yajiro, and Uchiha Yakumi—characters familiar from the original series—they were still only team leaders at this stage. In fact, in the original timeline, none of them ever rose to the level of squad captains.
Kei calmly regarded the two squad captains in front of him, whose expressions were dark and unreadable. But inwardly, he couldn't help but sneer.
He knew full well that his appointment had disrupted the internal power dynamics of the Konoha Military Police Force. No matter how it played out, his very presence meant that the "cake" that once belonged solely to others had now been divided.
Uchiha Fugaku wasn't the type to hand out gifts without expecting something in return. And now that he had confirmed Kei was a dangerous individual, he would be even less inclined to give anything for free.
Yes, the positions of vice-commander and squad captain were attractive to Kei, no doubt. But to truly gain something substantial, he had to do Fugaku a favor.
That favor was clear: tear apart the entrenched web of vested interests inside the Police Force.
Fugaku couldn't do it himself—after all, he had helped build that web. As the clan head, he had to compromise with the elders who wielded real power.
But Kei? Kei had no ties to those people. He didn't owe them anything. Nor did they stand behind him. That gave him freedom. He could act without restraint—something Fugaku couldn't afford.
Perhaps that was the real tragedy of being a clan leader.
Sometimes he was like a puppeteer, trying to maintain balance and keep the puppet from tipping too far in any direction. Other times, he was like a puppet himself—controlled by shadows standing behind him, shadows that demanded he stay neutral and never lean too far in any one direction.
Kei's voice was cool and measured, though thick with sarcasm:
"What's the matter? Blocking me from disciplining my subordinates—does that make you feel important?"
His face remained expressionless, calm to the point of apathy.
"If so, then let me remind you both—I'm still the vice-commander. And if not, then take your men and leave. I don't appreciate others standing around watching when I handle my own people."
"You've gone too far, Vice-Commander!"
Uchiha Chisai finally lost his composure.
"We're all members of the Uchiha clan. Are you really planning to judge us by battlefield standards even within the clan? Don't forget who you are!"
"Who I am?" Kei tilted his head slightly. "Weren't you just speaking so boldly about that a moment ago?
And yet now, here you are, questioning my authority. Funny how you conveniently forget your own position. Do you even have the qualifications to speak to me this way?"
"You—!"
Both Chisai and Tsubasa's expressions darkened. But they weren't fools. The anger that flashed across their faces quickly faded as they exchanged a glance.
Then Uchiha Tsubasa stepped forward.
"Vice-Commander," he said evenly, "though your subordinates may have erred, your actions were still too harsh. This can't be swept under the rug. I believe it's best we ask the Great Elder to judge the matter."
The mention of the Great Elder wasn't entirely unfamiliar to Kei, though he didn't know the man personally.
In the clan, high-ranking members who stepped down from leadership often became elders. The idea was to honor those who had once risked much for the clan, to let future generations remember their service.
But reality was far more complicated. Many of those elders had groomed successors during their time in power—young people who now held real authority. Together, these networks of old and new formed powerful coalitions that couldn't be ignored.
And therein lay the true sorrow of a clan leader.
Look at the Hyuga Clan next door: under the banner of "peace," and under the pressure of the village and their own elders, Hiashi was forced to let his twin brother Hizashi die.
It might look like a tragedy for the Hyuga Clan as a whole—but wasn't it Hiashi's tragedy too? He could've said no. He could've protected his brother.
Did Hizashi truly want to die when Neji had just been born?
Situations like that weren't yet common in the Uchiha clan—perhaps because Fugaku had found ways to suppress them. But right now, those conservative forces were still very much alive.
Kei tilted his head again, voice soft but firm.
"The Great Elder? Sorry, but this is the Police Force. And here, things are handled according to our rules. I am the authority here. If you want to talk to the Great Elder, you can do it back at the clan compound."
"Vice-Commander," Chisai said with a sharp edge, "are you refusing to meet with the elders?"
He was looking at Kei now with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"That sends a troubling signal. I suggest you think this through very carefully. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Kei interrupted calmly.
"Otherwise," Chisai said with a thin smile, "we may be forced to offend you."