They had drawn weapons.
Inside this secret chamber used for clan meetings, a battle had broken out—this was the first time anything like it had ever happened. Even the elders were stunned, watching Uchiha Suo and Rēn suddenly fight in front of everyone.
No one stepped in to stop it.
Although the chamber was meant for clan assemblies, there was no rule saying clan members couldn't fight here, this was simply the first time it had happened. And with the clan head and elders each harboring their own thoughts, they all chose to observe quietly.
"We are Uchiha."
Rēn calmly blocked Suo's strikes with the strange weapon he had taken from his back, a massive, bandage-wrapped blade that looked like a slightly narrower door. Even as he fought, he still had the composure to speak.
"Seniority means nothing in our clan. If you want to be called 'senpai,' then beat me."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Rēn swung the massive blade horizontally. The overwhelming force slammed against Suo's short sword, and with that crushing impact, Suo was sent flying backwards—both man and blade—before bursting into a puff of white smoke.
A shadow clone.
Everyone present was a jōnin, but not all of them caught when Suo had substituted himself with the clone. That alone proved he wasn't some unworthy follower of the clan head.
Suo's real body was now above Rēn.
At some point, he had inverted himself and was standing on the ceiling.
His short sword, crackling with lightning chakra, plunged straight down toward Rēn's head.
The high-pitched clang rang through the chamber.
Rēn raised his giant blade, using it like a shield. Despite the force and the momentum from Suo's weight, Rēn held his ground without flinching.
"You…"
Suo opened his mouth to speak.
But then he noticed the lightning around his blade had vanished. At the same time, his chakra began pouring uncontrollably into the weapon, draining away like a broken dam. Realizing something was wrong, he tried to leap away—but it was too late.
The door-like blade suddenly unraveled its bandages. It writhed like a living thing, extending its long body and coiling around Suo's waist like a snake. The chakra drain intensified.
At this moment, the other clan members finally realized what Rēn's weapon really was.
"Samehada!"
"Why is that sword in Rēn's hands?"
"Isn't that supposed to belong to one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
A wave of shocked murmurs spread through the room.
No one had expected the thing Rēn always carried on his back to be the Great Blade Samehada. The sword had a strong reputation and long history. Its exact origins were unclear, but the name Samehada had appeared in Uchiha clan records before.
It was as old as the lost Uchiha war fan—a legendary ninja tool of the clan.
A weapon that devours chakra was always valuable. Its special properties had caught the attention of the Uchiha long ago and earned it a place in their rough clan histories.
The so-called Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were a more recent creation. If the Mist had acquired a few more weapons like Samehada, they might have been called the Eight or Nine Ninja Swordsmen instead. And their debut had been disastrous—crippled by a single Konoha genin.
Truly pathetic.
"Suo, looks like you won't be hearing me call you senpai after all."
Under Rēn's control, Samehada released Suo. More than eighty percent of his chakra had been drained completely—enough to leave him bedridden for days.
Suo couldn't say a word.
He collapsed to the floor with a dull thud, completely unconscious from the massive chakra loss.
"Next. Who's up?"
Rēn didn't bother looking at the man he had just defeated. He raised Samehada and pointed it at the rest of the Uchiha gathered in the chamber, slowly sweeping the blade in a circle until it landed on Uchiha Fugaku.
It was an open provocation.
"Rēn. Why do you have that sword?"
Fugaku stared at Samehada as it pointed toward him. His brow furrowed.
This was troublesome.
He hadn't stopped Suo earlier because he wanted to see firsthand just how strong this so-called Flame Demon really was—how he compared to what the reports said. He hadn't expected Suo to lose so quickly and so easily. Worse, Samehada hadn't appeared in any report. The gap between expectation and reality was far too large.
A powerful tool in the hands of a powerful ninja could be a force multiplier.
The Uchiha fan, lost along with Uchiha Madara, was the clearest example. According to records, that weapon could reflect ninjutsu. Many had died to it without understanding how it worked. One clan record even described a past leader using it to reflect a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb.
The might of a top-tier ninja tool was self-evident.
"This was spoils of war. I killed the previous owner."
Rēn casually waved Samehada. The sword, infamous for being difficult to tame, responded to him like an extension of his own body. That was the power of Mana Infusion (Flame)—which had let him subdue this unruly weapon with ease.
"This kind of thing doesn't really warrant a question, does it, Clan Head? You should be more concerned with whether you'll fight me yourself or hide behind others. Either way, I suggest you all come at once—it'll save time."
His dismissive attitude struck directly at the pride of the other clan members.
Especially the older jōnin. Being provoked like this by a fifteen-year-old junior ignited their anger. Even if Fugaku had warned them not to act rashly, the pride of the Uchiha was not so easily restrained.
"Young man, a powerful ninja tool is certainly useful, but relying too much on outside weapons isn't a good thing."
The one who stood up was a bearded man in his forties or fifties. He didn't move from his spot. He just activated his Sharingan. The three tomoe in his scarlet eyes stared straight into Rēn's.
"Sharingan, is what we—"
The rest of his words turned into a pained scream.
Sweat poured down his forehead. His body trembled as muscles spasmed. The pain he felt in the genjutsu had fed back into his real body. He had been utterly crushed in this clash of illusions.
They had both used the same genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes.
A favorite of the Uchiha, this illusion bound the victim's limbs with phantom stakes in a mental world. It paralyzed the target and simulated physical pain—making it highly effective for torture. Its overwhelming utility had made it a staple of the clan.
A head-on clash of ocular genjutsu.
Naturally, it became a contest of their dojutsu. The illusion itself wasn't complex; the victor would be whoever had stronger eyes.
And the result was Rēn's absolute victory. There was no deadlock. No balance of power. Just a swift, overwhelming defeat for the older man, who now stood frozen in place, immobilized by the illusion.