The night of the Uchiha massacre was inevitable.
That also meant that one day, Uchiha Yuan would have to face the two men who directly brought it about—Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi, a pair of prodigies as brilliant as they were doomed.
As for Obito, Yuan considered him nothing more than a fool who had lost his mind over a woman.
Yes, he was ultimately just a pawn in Madara's grand design—but no matter the reason, a man who could murder his own teacher and slaughter his clan was unforgivable.
And if Yuan's memories from his previous life were correct, his sister Izumi had died that night—cut down by Obito's own hand.
The thought sent a flash of killing intent through his eyes.
Anyone who dared to harm his sister would learn firsthand just how brutal a brother's wrath could be.
When it came to Uchiha Itachi, however, Yuan's feelings were far more complicated.
There was no denying Itachi's brilliance—his combat prowess and innate talent were extraordinary.
And the sacrifice he made for his younger brother Sasuke could even be called the act of a great brother.
But politically… Itachi was an idiot.
His justification for massacring his clan—that a Uchiha coup would weaken Konoha, inviting attacks from other villages and plunging the world into another war—was absurd beyond belief.
At three years old, he had already been sent to the battlefield and witnessed death firsthand. From that moment, he began to ponder the meaning of life, yearning for peace.
By seven, even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had praised him for possessing the "mind of a Hokage," one that transcended the boundaries of clan and village.
To Yuan, it was laughable. Especially the reason Itachi chose to turn his blade on his own family—it was utterly ridiculous.
In Itachi's eyes, the clan that had nurtured and protected him, the parents who loved him, were less important than the very village that had oppressed and isolated them.
A man like that… was terrifying.
In Yuan's view, a ninja was, at its core, nothing more than a weapon—a tool of the village.
If Itachi truly longed for peace and wished to prevent conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, then he should have sought to become the one who wielded the blade, not remain the blade itself.
Instead, he chose to become Danzō Shimura's weapon—to slaughter his own people at the elders' command.
The tragedy of the Uchiha's annihilation began the moment the village leaders realized that both Itachi and Uchiha Shisui identified more strongly with Konoha than with their own clan.
Their path had been wrong from the start.
They had devoted themselves to making the Uchiha fit into the village—but never once had they thought about how to make the village accept the Uchiha.
If only Shisui and he had stood together—if they had revealed the true might of the Mangekyō Sharingan to the Konoha leadership, forcing them to think twice before suppressing the Uchiha—
If the village elders had truly trusted them, allowing the two gentle, village-loyal Uchiha to enter the power structure and show goodwill toward their clan—
Then perhaps the seeds of resentment might have been dispelled.
Perhaps the massacre could have been avoided.
Thinking of Itachi inevitably brought Yuan's thoughts to his sister, Izumi, and a helpless sigh escaped him.
That little girl hadn't spoken to him in days.
So this was what they called a real brother losing out to a sweetheart.
When the night of the massacre finally came, Yuan knew he could kill Obito without hesitation.
But Itachi… whenever he imagined Izumi's tears, a flicker of doubt crept into his heart.
"Uchiha Yuan!"
A loud, angry voice snapped him out of his thoughts. A heavyset boy was storming toward him, his face twisted with fury.
Yuan frowned slightly. "Uehara Isamu, what do you want?"
Isamu clenched his fists, his eyes burning with hate.
"It's all because of you damn Uchiha! If your Police Force had done something the night the Nine-Tails attacked, my uncle wouldn't have died!
"This is all your clan's fault!"
He roared and swung a fist at Yuan.
"Pathetic," Yuan muttered. "And stupid."
Hands still in his pockets, he barely even looked interested. He had no intention of wasting energy on a fool blinded by rumor.
He simply took a light step to the side, easily dodging the punch, and continued toward his classroom.
"Damn you, Uchiha Yuan!"
Isamu's first swing missed. Stung by humiliation, he let out a shout and lashed out again—this time, a punch aimed at Yuan's back.
Smack!
A hand slapped his arm aside, followed by a sharp voice:
"Kid, attacking from behind—are you looking to get beaten up?"
It was Uchiha Eiji.
Yuan turned and saw Eiji and a group of Uchiha boys approaching, surrounding Isamu.
Seeing over a dozen Uchiha youths advancing on him, Isamu's expression changed instantly—from rage to terror.
He spun on his heel and bolted, running as if his life depended on it.
Watching his retreating back, Eiji sneered. "A coward dares raise his fist at an Uchiha? Not everyone is worthy to challenge the pride of our clan."
Then he turned to Yuan. "When that coward confronted you, you should've flattened him on the spot. The clan's honor can't be allowed to be insulted in our hands."
Yuan replied calmly, "He's just a fool blinded by rumor, venting his grief on the Uchiha. But… thank you, Eiji, for stepping in."
With that, he turned and walked away.
As his figure disappeared, several of the other Uchiha boys frowned.
"Eiji, who is that guy? So rude—never seen him before."
"I know him. That's Uchiha Yuan, from Class Nine. He's always alone—never comes to our gatherings."
"His strength can't be much. I've never seen his name among the top fifty in our year."
"To walk away from a challenge like that—he's disgraced our clan."
"Yeah, if he can't even throw a punch, he's just a cowardly waste of a Sharingan."
Eiji frowned slightly but said nothing, heading toward his classroom.
He didn't want them to know that he himself had once been flattened by Yuan—with a single punch.
The clash between Uchiha Yuan and Uehara Isamu had come and gone in a blink, ending the moment Eiji's group appeared.
But it had still caught the attention of many nearby.
To those watching, however, it looked very different—
A lone boy surrounded and intimidated by more than a dozen Uchiha, before fleeing in panic.
Not far away, Sarutobi Hiruzen withdrew his gaze from the group of Uchiha youths.
He sighed softly and turned to Shisui. "Shisui, the Uchiha clan grows more arrogant by the day. If this continues, they'll only alienate themselves further from the rest of the village."
Shisui's brows furrowed, his voice low. "I understand, Lord Third. I will change the Uchiha clan—no matter what it takes."
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito