Sougen was determined to assert his authority.
Even if no one picked a fight with him, he was ready to provoke one himself.
If he couldn't make these unruly clansmen submit to him, there would be no point in becoming the clan leader. What he wanted was a clan as obedient and loyal as *Samehada* (Shark Skin), not a Uchiha clan that only paid lip service, followed orders half-heartedly, and made mistakes like catching chickens while chasing dogs.
"Chihaya, Lanshan, and Shisui, stay out of this. This is my fight."
Sougen stopped his companions from getting involved.
At this moment, he couldn't rely on others.
He needed to establish his own authority.
Uchiha Genji stood up and, with the help of Uchiha Lanshan, restrained Sougen's supporters. He commanded the group to move to the right side of the chamber, leaving the center space for Sougen and the clansmen who were dissatisfied with his domineering attitude.
"Sougen, what exactly do you intend to do? The position of clan leader…"
Uchiha Fugaku frowned deeply. The situation was completely out of his control, and this was not what he had envisioned.
In his heart, he asked himself whether he had planned to make Sougen a puppet while he controlled the clan from behind the scenes. The answer was, of course, no. He simply thought Sougen was too young and feared his impulsiveness would lead to irreparable mistakes.
Fugaku truly believed he was trying to help Sougen, unless Sougen proved to be hopelessly incompetent.
A shuriken flew across the short distance like a cannonball, grazing Fugaku's temple and embedding itself deep into the stone wall behind him. Large chunks of rock fell from the impact, and the mural of the Tengu was destroyed.
Sougen lowered his left hand after throwing the shuriken, his crimson eyes fixed on the clan leader.
"Clan leader, I think I made myself clear. I believe you lack the ability and courage needed. When facing the village's increasing pressure, you've done nothing but ask the clan to endure. You've repeatedly made poor decisions, and the clan has fallen to this state because of your failure."
"So don't even talk about stepping aside. I'll clean up this mess, but don't think your past mistakes will just be forgotten."
"Sougen Uchiha, do you even realize what you're saying?"
Uchiha Yatsushiro stood up.
"I know exactly what I'm saying!"
"Do you understand what the clan leader has done for the clan—" This text is hosted at n0velfire.net
"Shut up! Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what I just said?"
Sougen's voice was cold and commanding.
Without hesitation, he unleashed the *Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique*, easily breaking Uchiha Yatsushiro's resistance. This veteran, well-respected Jonin in the clan, was left completely immobilized.
"Sougen Uchiha, you arrogant brat!"
Seeing Uchiha Yatsushiro defeated enraged his friends, four Jonin, all around forty years old, who moved in unison. Years of fighting together meant they didn't need words to coordinate their attacks.
In this confined space, large-scale ninjutsu wasn't practical. Moreover, with Yatsushiro and Uchiha Kouhei (the other unfortunate soul trapped by the Shackling Stakes Technique) as cautionary tales, they knew fighting Sougen with genjutsu was a bad idea.
That left taijutsu as the only viable option.
*SWOOSH, SWOOSH, SWOOSH!!!*
A rain of shuriken and kunai came flying.
"Shuriken jutsu? Don't forget, I also have the Sharingan, uncles."
Sougen saw through the steel wires attached to the shuriken and kunai, cleverly camouflaged with non-reflective paint. With a light flick of his wrist, Samehada (Shark Skin) swelled, the sharp spikes rising. A casual sweep deflected all the shuriken and kunai, giving the wires no chance to get close.
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword."
"Uchiha Style: Sword of Leaping Flames."
Two attacks came at him from the front and back. Clearly, the shuriken attack was a diversion, meant to cover the real assault. Of course, if Sougen hadn't noticed the wires on the shuriken, the diversion would have turned into a genuine attack.
"Samehada: Energy-Eating Slash."
Sougen reacted swiftly.
They had all survived the battlefield, and while these uncles had more experience, Sougen wasn't going to lose easily. The title *Flame Demon* was earned on the corpses of hundreds of elite Mist shinobi.
He swung Samehada, which extended to almost twice its original length, striking both swords with immense speed and force. The powerful impact, combined with the momentary weakness caused by chakra absorption, forced both attackers to retreat.
"Samehada: Flying Chain Slash!"
As soon as Sougen fended off the four-man team's attack, he counterattacked instantly.
Samehada's handle extended like a long snake.
The blade, covered in spikes, opened wide like a beast and bit into one of the retreating Uchiha clansmen. He didn't have time to use substitution or body flicker techniques. Everyone had underestimated, or perhaps failed to realize, that Samehada was a living weapon, not just a tool.
The bitten Uchiha screamed in agony as his chakra was ruthlessly absorbed.
The remaining three tried to help, but Sougen had already used the body flicker technique to get close to another. In that split second, their eyes met, and before the elder Uchiha could react, Sougen hit him with another *Shackling Stakes Technique*.
In an instant, two of the four were down.
Even without using lethal force, Sougen had shown his superiority. Everyone knew it was far harder to capture someone alive than to kill them. Yet Sougen had managed to capture two while being outnumbered.
This display immediately intimidated many of the other clansmen who were thinking of joining the fray.
The Uchiha weren't blind. By now, everyone had activated their Sharingan and clearly saw the battle between Sougen and the four veteran Jonin.
And they all felt the overwhelming strength of Sougen.
By all accounts, they were all Jonin with three-tomoe Sharingan. These four veteran Jonin had decades of experience over Sougen. Even if he was a prodigy, this shouldn't have been such a one-sided battle. Yet Sougen had swiftly defeated two of them.
The reason was clear:
*Flame Demon* wasn't just famous for his fire release techniques, but also for his taijutsu, which allowed him to decisively defeat two Jonin. And now, with his genjutsu, he had subdued a third veteran. In short, he was a master of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Even Shisui, standing off to the side, began to feel uneasy.
"Has Sougen… really not awakened the Mangekyō?"