Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

In an instant, he refined the right amount of chakra, opened his mouth and spat out a lifelike fire dragon with prominent horns and head, which grew longer in the wind. Instead of crushing through in a straight line, it circled in an arc in mid-air like a swimming fish, easily swallowing the randomly shooting Phoenix Fire with its grown body.

Immediately afterward, the fire dragon slammed into the ground, destroying all the rock spears that had sprung up from the earth, even scraping off a layer of wooden floorboards and topsoil. Just as the surrounding tribespeople were preparing to intervene to rescue the two people who were about to be swallowed by the fast and fierce fire dragon...

The fire dragon spun around in place and then spontaneously annihilated itself.

"Great!"

Uchiha An, the only female elder among the six elders of the clan, unconsciously blurted out her praise.

"Absolutely brilliant, Zongxian boy! Your Fire Release technique has three-tenths of my own when I was young!" Elder Huowan also let out a hearty laugh, clapping his hands vigorously as if nothing else could express his excitement.

"So handsome! No wonder he's Zongxian's older brother."

Uchiha Hokuto jumped up; if Uchiha Arashiyama hadn't been holding him down, the little guy would have been dancing with joy.

It wasn't just one or two people praising Sogen's superb Fire Release technique; the entire Uchiha clan were experts in fire manipulation, especially the Jonin in this secret room, who were all masters of fire. Therefore, they understood better than even the Mist Ninja how powerful Sogen's Fire Release technique was.

That clearly transcends the conventions of ordinary fire-style techniques, reaching a level of complete freedom.

Unless it's an S-rank Fire Release technique, the rest of the Fire Release techniques have lost their meaning in the hands of Muneaki. For example, the C-rank Great Fireball Technique can be adjusted in Muneaki's hands according to his needs, and he can change from A-rank to C-rank at will.

"Can you really play with Fire Dragon like this? I've been trying to release four fire dragons all this time, but it seems my vision was too narrow! Increasing the number isn't the only way to become stronger..."

"Is this the [Flame Demon]?"

"Does any of you have the ability to do that?"

"How is that possible? If I had such a cool fire jutsu, I wouldn't be single now!"

"Get lost! Your being single has absolutely nothing to do with how cool your Fire Release is."

The topic had unknowingly veered off course, but Zongxian had indeed achieved his goal. The previous genjutsu and taijutsu, plus this fire jutsu that shocked the clansmen... even the veteran Jonin in their forties and fifties had their mindsets subtly changed.

Their hostility and resistance towards Zongxian instantly diminished.

This is the Uchiha.

A race that worships the strong to the core!

They are proud of their bloodline, their talent, their eyesight, and their strength, and therefore respect those stronger than themselves. In the face of true powerhouses, age, seniority, and so on are no longer issues.

Amidst the enthusiastic discussions of the clansmen,

This battle has now come to an end.

You've lost!

Behind each of the two men, a Zongxian was holding a small dagger to their kidneys; if the dagger were to penetrate, they would surely die.

"When?"

The two turned around in disbelief.

"Just when your vision was blocked by the Haolong Fire," one of the Zongxians said with a smile, answering the other's question.

"We lost! You... certainly have the right to be arrogant."

The proud Uchiha finally bowed his arrogant head before another Uchiha.

They were too embarrassed to renege on their promises; with so many people watching, they couldn't bring themselves to do something so shameful! Furthermore, as direct opponents, Zongxian's exquisitely beautiful fire jutsu left an insurmountable sense of defeat in their hearts.

At this point, it's really impossible to put on any airs of a senior figure.

The two middle-aged men sighed and helped their defeated companion up, retreating to the left side of the secret room. The [Shackles Technique] on one of them was also removed by Zongxian. Uchiha Yatsuho and the unlucky guy from before, Uchiha Kohei, were also freed.

but,

At this moment, everyone clearly understood the power of the [Flame Demon], and they all kept their mouths shut, refraining from uttering any harsh words.

"Anyone else want to play with me?"

Zongxian waved his hand, and the two water clones shattered, turning into two puddles of clear water that fell to the ground. Speaking of which, the secret room really needs a major overhaul. With earth-escape and fire-escape techniques, the wooden floor has been ruined. If it's not cleaned up properly, everyone will have to sit on both sides at the next gathering.

Zongxian's voice echoed in the secret room.

This time, no one stepped forward. Four against one was already shameless enough, and they had already lost. Moreover, judging from Zong Xian's nonchalant attitude, he had clearly not reached his limit yet. Stepping forward now would most likely only bring further humiliation upon himself, so there was no need to make a fool of himself.

Zongxian waited for about ten seconds.

Seeing that no one responded, it stopped asking questions and simply exerted force with its wrist to send a signal, suppressing the erect spikes on Samehada.

then,

He turned to look at the clan chief, whose expression was not pleasant.

"Since no one is willing to play with me... then let's get down to business. I, Uchiha Munen, am here today to impeach the current clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, for being a useless and incompetent official who has made one foolish move after another. He bears an unshirkable responsibility for the clan's current predicament. As things stand, he is no longer fit to be the clan head."

Emboldened by his victory, Zongxian launched a fierce attack on Uchiha Fugaku.

[Chapter 26 Impeachment (Seeking votes! Seeking investment!)]

Is the impeachment of the current clan chief incompetent?

The clansmen were stunned. Had such a thing ever happened in the history of the Uchiha clan?

Even Madara Uchiha's position as clan leader was automatically revoked after he left Konoha. However, given Madara's strength, no one dared to impeach him. The Uchiha clan wasn't stupid. While arrogance and stupidity can be equated at times, no one could ever be arrogant in front of Madara Uchiha.

"Zongxian-kun, impeaching the clan leader... Do you even understand what you've said?"

An elder stepped forward.

The old man with white hair and beard is named Uchiha Shinzaburo.

Among the six elders, his stance can be considered truly neutral. He neither unconditionally supports the clan leader nor has any interaction with Zongxian. All his words and actions are based on the interests of the clan.

“Elder Shinsaburo, I know exactly what I’m saying. If the clan leader weren’t unworthy of his position, hadn’t completely failed in his responsibilities, and had made many wrong decisions in the past… why would I be here to impeach him for no reason?”

"Many may see what I'm doing as nothing more than a power struggle, and in fact, it is indeed a power struggle. However, I can say with a clear conscience that everything I've done is for the sake of the family!!!"

Zongxian said firmly.

"Is my talent unworthy of my position? I admit that my talent is not particularly outstanding, but... Sogen-kun, I would like to ask you about the many decision-making mistakes you have made. What exactly did you do wrong?" Uchiha Fugaku finally stepped forward at this moment.

Being impeached and voluntarily stepping down are two different things.

If Zongxian succeeds in impeaching him here, his prestige within the clan will likely plummet.

Seeing that Fugaku Uchiha had spoken up, Elder Shinzaburo stopped talking. He also wanted to hear what had happened with this decision-making error. He wasn't the only one curious; the surrounding clansmen all perked up their ears.

It's likely that only Elder Xuanshi, Elder Longsi, Shisui, Arashiyama, and others who had heard Zongxian's theories knew what would happen next.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox's Rebellion".

Zongxian uttered this word.

Fugaku Uchiha frowned slightly. "What's wrong with the Nine-Tails' attack?"

"This is a huge problem, okay?" Zongxian frowned and asked loudly, "Why didn't you help the Fourth Hokage back then? Why didn't any of the many Jonin in the clan protect the village that night? To be honest, haven't you all been complaining about the village ostracizing and suppressing us lately? If you ask me, we deserve to be ostracized and suppressed."

His gaze shifted from Fugaku Uchiha to the members of his clan, especially the group of staunch 'coup' members.

as predicted,

Upon hearing Zong Xian's biased remarks, many people's expressions changed, and their gazes towards Zong Xian immediately became extremely unfriendly.

"Why are you glaring at me? Is there anything wrong with what I said? Since the Uchiha are cowardly and hide in their clan's territory when the village is in danger, why should the village treat us as one of their own? Isn't being ostracized and suppressed the treatment we fought for ourselves?"

Zongxian glared at the clansmen who were giving him unfriendly looks and began to berate them without any restraint.

"Who said we're afraid to die and unwilling to work?" a hot-tempered tribesman roared angrily. "It was the chief who ordered us to stay in the tribe's territory and not to go out casually!"

“The circumstances at the time did not allow our tribe to act rashly.”

Before Munen could speak, Fugaku Uchiha immediately explained, "The Nine-Tails was manipulated by someone using the Sharingan that night. Although the manipulator wasn't someone from the clan, we were burdened with indisputable suspicions at the time, and the Third Hokage had ordered us not to leave the clan compound. A large number of Anbu surrounded the clan's territory..."

“Zongxian-kun, you were only ten years old at the time, but you should have been aware of the situation, right?”

"Yes! I was there myself, so of course I know what happened that night. That's why I'm wondering why you, clan leader, obeyed the Third Hokage's orders. Isn't the Fourth Hokage the current Hokage? And since you understand that we are suspected, you should also understand that it was the best opportunity for our clan to clear our names!"

Zongxian retorted sharply,

"Making the wrong decision at a critical moment caused our clan to become completely estranged from the village. It wasn't just the third generation; every family that lost or injured members in the Nine-Tails' attack that night also distanced themselves from and became hostile to our clan. This fate of being abandoned by everyone is what you, Chief Fugaku, brought about."

"Unfortunately, I was too weak to speak up at the time, and even if I persuaded my grandfather, it was to no avail." Zongxian sighed with regret.

"Sōken, the decision to stay and guard the clan's territory was the result of discussions between Fugaku and us." Elder Shinzaburo felt he had to speak up for fairness.

"The problem is, Elder Shinzaburo, you are not the clan head, but Fugaku Uchiha is, isn't he? It is the elders' duty to offer advice and suggestions, and the clan head's responsibility is to make the final decision and bear the corresponding consequences, isn't that what the clan head should do? Clan Head Fugaku, are you going to accuse the elders of misleading your judgment?"

Zongxian's words were barbed and sarcastic, leaving Elder Shinzaburo speechless.

At the same time, Elder Shinzaburo suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a mistake. What he had just said was tantamount to admitting that the clan had made the wrong decision that night. Uchiha Fugaku's face turned completely dark. Elder Shinzaburo's good intentions had backfired, putting him in an extremely difficult situation.

If Elder Shinzaburo hadn't intervened, he could have continued arguing with Zongxian about whether the decision made that night was right or wrong.

But now that things have turned out this way,

His choices were limited to either admitting that he had made a mistake or accusing the elders of misleading him.

"Zongxian, what I mean is that the decision that night was made jointly by us and the clan leader. No, no, that..." Elder Shinzaburo wanted to make amends for his mistake, but found that he didn't know how to explain it clearly.

In fact,

He also felt a pang of regret.

They had often thought that if they had intervened that night, the fourth generation wouldn't have died, and the family wouldn't have fallen to its current state.

“Elder Shinzaburo, I understand that you want to help Chief Fugaku share the responsibility, but this involves the life and death of the clan. This is not the time for mutual assistance. Please forgive me.”

Zongxian made good use of his quick wit and sharp tongue as a young man.

These words left Elder Shinzaburo speechless with anger, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.

The clansmen were also whispering and exchanging their opinions. Uchiha Arashiyama led Uchiha Akitarou, Uchiha Hokuto, Uchiha Jun, and others to quietly join the conversation, guiding the clansmen's views toward regret for not taking action to protect the village on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.

To be honest, they didn't really need to induce us.

The pride of the Uchiha clan makes them particularly contemptuous of cowardly and afraid-to-die individuals. Many of them are not glad that they did not die under the Nine-Tails' claws on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage; on the contrary, they regret that they could not display their divine power in such an occasion.

Furthermore,

They weren't fools who couldn't think; they could naturally judge whether Zongxian's logic was mere sophistry.

People's hearts

Changes began quietly.