The Uchiha cn prided itself on control.

  On hierarchy. Legacy. Tradition.

  But Ken had never bowed to that.

  So when the ultimatum came again—this time formal, binding, and backed by the full pressure of the Council—he didn’t argue.

  He simply wrote his reply.

  To the Uchiha Elders,I challenge Instructor Uchiha Noburo to a sanctioned duel.Death-match. No interference.If I win, you release me from all cn authority, obligations, and rights.I will no longer bear the Uchiha name.If I lose, I die your tool.You want to make me part of your legacy. I’d rather be your ghost.

  —Ken

  It shook the compound.

  No one challenged the instructors—veterans selected by the Council to uphold tradition and enforce bloodline purity. And no one demanded exile from the cn as if it were a privilege.

  But Ken wasn’t bluffing.

  And the Council, in their pride, called it.

  The duel was scheduled for one week ter.

  The official location: Uchiha Cn Grounds, Arena Circle.Witnesses allowed.Terms sealed by the Hokage’s office.

  The match would be legal.

  And final.

  Word spread faster than fire in summer.

  By the next morning, the entire vilge was whispering about the boy from the branch family who challenged his own blood to a fight to the death—not for glory, not even for survival—but just to be left alone.

  “Is he insane?”

  “Some say he beat a bandit leader alone.”

  “He fought beside Itachi st month—maybe he’s trying to prove something.”

  “Or maybe he’s just tired of the cn.”

  Daen read the notice with his jaw tight.

  He didn’t say anything until he found Ken standing alone behind Training Ground 14.

  “So,” he said. “You’ve decided to start a war.”

  Ken turned. “Just trying to end mine.”

  Daen lit a cigarette. “You picked a deathmatch.”

  “Only way they’d listen.”

  “And if you lose?”

  Ken’s voice didn’t waver. “Then I’m already what they wanted.”

  Daen blew out smoke and looked to the sky. “Quiet time’s over, huh?”

  Ken’s mouth lifted—just slightly.

  “Let’s make some noise.”

  The day before the duel, Shisui appeared.

  He found Ken at the vilge perimeter, training alone. Ken had been running chakra through water-soaked cloth wrapped around his sword, refining a technique he hadn’t named yet. Something quiet. Lethal. Final.

  Shisui nded in front of him, eyes sharp, voice low.

  “You sent a death duel to the Council?”

  Ken didn’t stop moving.

  “I did.”

  “They accepted.”

  “They did.”

  Shisui stepped closer. “Why? Why push it that far?”

  Ken finally stopped.

  He met his cousin’s eyes.

  “They used my parents. They tried to break my team. They threatened everyone close to me to drag me back into a system that hasn’t changed in decades.”

  Shisui said nothing.

  Ken added, quieter now, “They fell lower than Orochimaru’s standards. And he carved children open.”

  That nded.

  Shisui actually stepped back, stunned.

  For a second, all his words died.

  Ken turned back to his bde.

  “I won’t be molded. Not by them. Not by anyone.”

  “You’ll be exiled.”

  “I’ll be free.”

  Shisui watched him for a long time.

  Then nodded.

  “I’ll be there.”

  That night, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Ken privately.

  The boy arrived at the tower with no hesitation, shoulders square, gaze calm.

  Hiruzen sat behind his desk, smoke curling zily from his pipe.

  “They’re furious,” he said pinly. “The Elders say you’ve disrespected a sacred structure. They want you restrained. Silenced.”

  Ken didn’t sit.

  “Then why didn’t you stop the duel?”

  Hiruzen gave him a long look. “Because I believe in earned choices. Even if they lead to pain.”

  He set the pipe aside.

  “You understand the political fallout if you win.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll be cnless.”

  Ken nodded. “They’ll never own me again.”

  Hiruzen watched him carefully. “You’re walking a dangerous line. Between pride… and principle.”

  Ken’s voice was steady.

  “I’ve buried one life already. I won’t waste this one becoming someone else’s weapon.”

  Hiruzen exhaled slowly. “Very well. I’ll attend.”

  Ken blinked.

  “You’ll watch?”

  “I’ll witness. So no one rewrites what happens tomorrow.”

  By dawn, the entire Uchiha compound knew.

  So did half of Konoha.

  People lined rooftops, alleyways, and even trees surrounding the elevated dueling ring. Shinobi of every rank murmured to each other, unsure whether to admire the boy’s resolve or mock his arrogance.

  In the center stood the arena—stone tiles marked with old Uchiha seals, untouched since the cn’s st formal duel over a decade ago.

  On one side: Instructor Uchiha Noburo. Mid-40s. Battle-hardened. Fire affinity. Sharingan fully matured. Known for brutal enforcement of cn doctrine.

  On the other: Ken. Ten years old. Branch blood. Sharingan—two tomoe. No Fire Release. No cn jutsu.

  Just conviction.

  Daen stood near the edge of the crowd, arms folded, mouth tight.

  Daisuke and Reina stood beside him, both silent, both afraid to ask what might happen.

  Even Reina whispered, “He’s serious about this. Isn’t he?”

  Daen nodded. “Dead serious.”

  Shisui arrived te—cloak fpping, face unreadable. He didn’t speak to anyone. He just stood at the ring’s edge and waited.

  The Elders sat high on the balcony, silent and smug, sure this spectacle would crush the rebellion they saw in Ken.

  Then came Hiruzen.

  The Third Hokage arrived fnked by two ANBU, walking straight into the ring’s northern overlook. His presence silenced the crowd instantly.

  He wasn’t there as the Hokage.

  He was there as the witness.

  Ken stepped into the ring with no fanfare.

  No armor.

  No headband.

  Just a simple grey-bck tunic, his bde sheathed across his back, and the Uchiha crest missing from his attire entirely.

  He looked across the ring at Noburo.

  The older man cracked his neck.

  “You think dying makes you free, boy?”

  Ken drew his sword.

  “I think killing the lie makes me free.”

  Noburo scoffed, drawing twin kunai.

  And Ken said one st thing, soft but clear, to the watching crowd:

  “Well... enough of the quiet life.”

  He stepped forward.

  “Let’s make some noise.”