It was nearly nine in the morning, and warm sunlight washed over Konoha. The plaza below the Hokage Building had already filled with Ninja and curious villagers.
On the rooftop, all of Konoha's high-ranking officials and core members stood waiting.
Voices rose from the platform and the plaza. The Ninja and villagers tried to guess the reason for a village-wide gathering, while the senior officials quietly shared the results of yesterday with barely hidden excitement.
Before everyone parted the previous day, Uchiha Gen had issued strict orders forbidding anyone from revealing any details to those below their rank.
At the stroke of nine, Uchiha Gen arrived. Wearing the Hokage hat and robe, he drifted toward the rooftop atop a low-floating white cloud, hands clasped behind his back.
The moment he appeared, the rooftop and the plaza fell silent. Every gaze fixed on him.
As he reached the roof, an invisible barrier rose around the entire village, sealing all entry and exit.
Uchiha Gen stepped onto the rooftop and faced the crowd below. His hands remained behind his back as he spoke in a deep voice.
"I called everyone here to announce something significant."
"Since the birth of Ninja, the world has been locked in constant conflict."
"There is no need to revisit the Warring States Period. That is too far back."
"Even after the One Country One Village system was established, the world still went through three Ninja Wars, each more brutal than the last. Even during so-called peacetime, the fighting never truly stopped."
"The younger generation has not experienced the cruelty of war, so their understanding is shallow. But most people in Konoha know what war brings."
"Because of war, countless tragedies occur. Comrades die, loved ones die, families die. The list goes on."
"Some say Ninja are war machines, tools meant only for missions. Is that true?"
"I believe that even if it is not entirely correct, it is not far from the truth."
"I do not believe Ninja should be war machines or mission tools. We should be existences comparable to nobles."
"Why?"
"Because we carry extraordinary power."
"For more than a thousand years, we who wield such power have repeated the same tragedies. Meanwhile, nobles, who are ordinary people, sit safely above it all, watching the world shift beneath them."
"No matter how chaotic things become, no matter how savage the wars, nobles remain comfortable, living indulgent lives."
"Is that reasonable?"
"I say it is not."
"What gives them that right?"
"Their so-called noble blood?"
"Hmph. A bloodline that cannot even condense Chakra?"
"A bloodline capable of Chakra is what should be considered noble."
"Their blood is ordinary. Our blood is extraordinary."
He clapped his hands several times, and four Shadow Clones appeared beside him.
The five Gens formed hand seals at a controlled, deliberate speed. Each then released a different element: flames, floods, lightning, hurricane force winds, and earth.
Five elemental attacks streaked across the sky, arcing toward the forest at the village's edge. They collided midair.
BOOM!
The roar echoed across all of Konoha, and a white mushroom cloud bloomed above the trees.
Ignoring the stunned expressions around him, Uchiha Gen continued.
"These five powers exist within your bloodlines to varying degrees."
"Do you know why ordinary people cannot possess Chakra, yet we can?"
"It is because we are descendants of gods and Sages."
"According to the records I have examined, the origin of Chakra comes from the Goddess of the Tenth Month. She is the progenitor of all Chakra in this world."
"You may not know her name, but you have heard of one of her two sons."
"She divided her power and gave birth to two children. The younger was named Otsutsuki Hamura."
"The elder was Otsutsuki Hagoromo, known as the Six Paths Sage."
Ninja who knew the legend erupted in whispers. Those who did not immediately asked their neighbors.
The Uchiha Clan understood more than most thanks to Uchiha Gen's emphasis on clan history, and many began quietly explaining to the others.
The noise below did not stop Gen from continuing his slow, guiding explanation.
"The Six Paths Sage distributed his Chakra to ordinary people and founded Ninshu."
"Ninshu was the predecessor of modern Ninja. Only the name changed."
"Ordinary people gained Chakra, and it passed to their descendants through reproduction."
"Therefore, all Ninja today are descendants of the Six Paths Sage to some degree. Those with Bloodline Limits are simply the most elite among them."
"The descendants of Ninshu grew, and the Sage and his younger brother had children as well."
"The younger brother inherited the Byakugan of the Goddess of the Tenth Month. The Sage inherited her Rinnegan."
"This means the Hyuga Clan are descendants of the Sage's younger brother, and their lineage can be traced back to the Goddess herself."
Hyuga Hiashi's expression brightened instantly, his pride almost overflowing. He had known the Hyuga bloodline was noble, but never imagined it was this noble."
"The Six Paths Sage had two sons. His power was divided between them."
"The elder son, Indra, inherited the Sage's eyes. Because the power was incomplete, the Rinnegan mutated into the Sharingan."
"The younger son, Ashura, inherited the Sage's body. His eyes were ordinary, but his life force and Chakra reserves were immense."
"Indra is the ancestor of the Uchiha Clan. Ashura is the ancestor of the Senju and the Uzumaki Clans."
"Perhaps you think I am glorifying myself and the Uchiha Clan."
Uchiha Gen rose into the air. Black Chakra poured from his body. Bones, muscles, meridians, skin, armor, and wings formed rapidly.
His complete Susanoo towered above the Hokage Building, blotting out the sun. Its wings stirred a gale that forced everyone to shield their eyes.
When the wind calmed, even those who had seen Susanoo before felt awe settle over them. Those who had never seen it could only stare upward, stunned.
Even Ninja elsewhere in the village froze where they stood.
"This is my proof."
"From the moment a Sharingan awakens, it has five stages of evolution, each step awakening deeper bloodline power."
"One Tomoe Sharingan. Two Tomoe. Three Tomoe. Mangekyo. Eternal Mangekyo."
"This is the power I gained through the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan combined with my own foundation."
"If these were not the eyes of a Sage, how could such power exist?"
"Although your bloodlines are not as noble as mine, you are also descendants of gods and Sages. You are noble as well."
"While we are noble, ordinary people are not lowly. Their ancestors were simply less fortunate."
"As the saying goes, God cherishes the world, and Sages pity the world."
"We, the ones with noble blood, should not bully ordinary people, but protect and support them."
"However, nobles, despite being ordinary themselves, behave despicably."
"They dare deceive us. They dare manipulate us. They dare command us as if they stand above us."
"I cannot accept that. What about you?"