The speech of Uchiha Kei was like a torch thrown into dry firewood, igniting the fighting spirit in the hearts of all the high-ranking members of the Uchiha clan within the secret chamber.

The anger and unwillingness that had been suppressed for decades were now burning intensely, making the air in this underground space grow scorching hot.

A flush mixed with excitement and determination appeared on the faces of every elder, their chests heaving violently, and a look of burning their boats shone in their eyes.

Fear was burned away, replaced by a madness born from being backed into a corner, preferring to be broken jade rather than intact tile.

All gazes converged simultaneously on one person.

Uchiha Fugaku.

As the nominal patriarch of the Uchiha clan and the helmsman of this giant ship about to crash into an iceberg, everyone needed him to issue that final order that would decide the fate of the entire clan.

Uchiha Fugaku slowly stood up.

Veins bulged on his tightly clenched fists.

As he stood up, the aura belonging to the patriarch once again enveloped the entire secret chamber, suppressing all the clamor and restlessness.

He did not speak immediately, but instead cast his gaze toward Uchiha Kei beside him.

That face, still carrying a hint of youthful naivety, appeared incomparably calm under the reflection of the candlelight.

Those Mangekyō Sharingan were rotating calmly, as if they could see through the past and future, burning with a raging fire capable of incinerating the old world.

In Fugaku's eyes, there were incomparably complex emotions.

There was relief, there was pride, but more than anything, there was an unprecedented determination.

He saw the path he had spent his whole life pursuing but could never reach, and he saw the only possibility for the Uchiha clan to escape its curse.

He took a step forward and walked to Uchiha Kei's side.

This action itself contained a silent declaration.

Then, he turned around to face all the elders, facing the entire power core of the Uchiha clan.

His voice was low, yet carried a majesty capable of suppressing all noise.

"I declare in the name of the Uchiha clan patriarch!"

"From this moment on, the Uchiha clan enters the highest level of war alert status!"

As the words fell, all the elders, including the most unruly Great Uchiha Setsuna, subconsciously straightened their spines, their faces showing solemn expressions.

This was the highest-level mobilization order of the Uchiha clan. Once issued, it meant the entire clan would transform into a precision war machine, with all resources and manpower serving this purpose until the war ended or the entire clan perished.

However, Fugaku's next words far exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Project Divine Concealment will serve as the only, highest operational guideline for our clan's future!"

Fugaku's gaze, like the sharpest blade, slowly swept across everyone present, taking in their shock and confusion.

"All clan members, all clan assets, including the Military Police Force, including all shops, all secret technique scrolls..."

His voice paused, he took a deep breath, and with a tone bordering on sacrifice, he spoke the words that would change the history of the Uchiha clan.

"...including myself! From this moment on, everything is handed over to the chief designer and supreme commander of the plan—Uchiha Kei, for unified deployment!"

The entire secret chamber instantly fell silent.

The crackling of the candlelight seemed exceptionally harsh at this moment.

If the previous war alert status was still within the elders' range of understanding, then Fugaku's words at this moment were equivalent to dropping a real bomb into everyone's minds!

This was not authorization.

This was abdication!

It was handing over the entire fate of the Uchiha clan, and the supreme power possessed by the patriarch, completely into the hands of a teenager! This was a rare precedent in the history of the Uchiha clan!

"His orders are my orders!"

Fugaku's voice rang out again, every word like a heavy hammer, striking hard at everyone's hearts, shattering the last shred of doubt in their minds.

"They are the supreme will of the Uchiha clan!"

The elders who had previously harbored small schemes, calculating how to secure benefits for their own factions within the plan, could no longer conceive any such deviant thoughts.

They stared blankly at Fugaku and Uchiha Kei standing side by side, looking at the two generations of figures who seemed to symbolize the past and future of the Uchiha clan, with only endless shock remaining in their hearts.

Fugaku reached out and patted Uchiha Kei's shoulder heavily.

This action was full of the patriarch's entrustment and trust in his successor.

He looked at the elders before him and spoke in a tone tinged with a bit of relief and a bit of expectation.

"In my era, the Uchiha clan walked step by step toward decline amidst endless compromise and concession."

"I once thought that as long as we were loyal enough, we could earn the village's trust. I once thought that as long as we were forbearing enough, we could wait for fair treatment. Facts have proven that I was wrong, terribly wrong."

There was a hint of self-mockery in Fugaku's voice, a negation of his own half-life of persistence.

"Now, I will hand over the future of the Uchiha clan into his hands."

In Fugaku's eyes shone an unprecedented light, a fire of belief that bet everything.

"I believe that in his era, the Uchiha clan will... be reborn in the raging fire!"

As the words fell.

Led by Great Uchiha Setsuna, all the elders stood up in unison.

They no longer looked at Fugaku, but instead bowed deeply and solemnly toward the tall, straight-backed teenager, toward Uchiha Kei.

Their waists bent to ninety degrees; this was the highest etiquette of a subordinate to a superior, of a soldier to a commander.

This bow represented the final handover of power.

This bow represented the complete unification of thought.

The long-dormant war machine that was the Uchiha clan was finally endowed with the most powerful "brain" at this moment.

It began to operate at full capacity with unprecedented efficiency toward a clear goal.

Project Divine Concealment was officially launched.

Uchiha Kei calmly accepted everyone's salutations; he did not dodge or decline, because he knew this was the weight he had to bear.

After they straightened up, he slowly opened his mouth to issue the first order of the new regime.

"Elder Inabi."

"Present!" Uchiha Inabi subconsciously stood to attention, as if returning to the moment he listened to orders on the battlefield in his youth.

"I need you to inventory all of the clan's liquid funds, fixed assets, ninja tool reserves, and a detailed list of all supplies within three days, accurate down to every single Kunai and every single military rations pill. Then seal them up and await my orders."

"Yes!"

"Elder Yashiro."

"Present!" The elder in charge of security responded loudly as well, his expression solemn.

"From now on, the Military Police Force enters Level 1 alert, and all leave is canceled. Block all non-essential contact between the clan grounds and the outside world. At the same time, using squads as units, secretly draw up a detailed action route map for all members within the clan grounds. I want to know where every single person is, and at what time."

"Understood!"

"Everyone."

Uchiha Kei's gaze swept across everyone, his Mangekyō Sharingan seemingly able to see through human hearts.

"Our first step is to inventory our assets, prepare for internal purging, and'solicit alms' externally."