Uchiha Fugaku’s mansion was hidden in the deepest part of the compound.
Compared to the coldness of the streets outside, this Japanese-style residence, which symbolized the authority of the Clan Head, appeared exceptionally quiet and spacious.
In the private tea room, the tatami mats emitted a faint, fresh scent of rush grass.
Exquisite bamboo tea sets were arranged in an orderly fashion, and the iron kettle on the stove was making a “gurgling” sound, with white steam rising in curls, making the small room appear somewhat hazy.
The Clan Head’s wife, Uchiha Mikoto, was wearing a simple, elegant dark kimono, her head lowered as she poured tea for the two men with gentle and skillful movements.
Her expression was gentle, but the lingering worry between her brows betrayed her inner turmoil.
The events of this evening were too significant, too shocking—the cold-hearted defection of her eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, the miserable crippling of the Anbu elite, the embarrassing retreat of the Third Hokage…
each incident was battering this woman’s heart.
After serving two cups of steaming green tea to Uchiha Fugaku and Red respectively, Uchiha Mikoto did not say a single word.
She just took a deep look at the young man, who had his hands in his pockets and a relaxed expression, then bowed slightly, maintained absolute silence, and retreated to the dimly lit corner of the tea room.
For a moment, no one spoke in the room; there was only the sound of boiling water rolling in the iron kettle.
The curling tea smoke formed a hazy barrier between the two, and undercurrents surged in the air, creating an atmosphere so oppressive and heavy that it made one feel breathless.
Uchiha Fugaku sat upright in the main seat, his hands pressed on his knees, his broad shoulders tensed.
He stared fixedly at the steaming teacup in front of him, pondering for a long time, seemingly organizing his words.
Finally, he broke the deathly silence, raised his head, and a complex, dark glint flashed in his majestic eyes.
“Red, you were impulsive about what happened tonight.”
Uchiha Fugaku spoke in a deep voice, attempting to use his authority as the Clan Head and his seniority to suppress the young man before him: “You must be aware of the awkward situation the Village and our clan are currently in. The higher-ups have always been wary of our Konoha Military Police Force. By acting so aggressively today in front of the Third Hokage and crippling those three Anbu, I fear it will only make the Village more dissatisfied with our clan, and perhaps… even completely intensify the conflict between the two sides.”
Hearing this expected questioning, Uchiha Akahiro did not even change his sitting posture.
He just calmly picked up the teacup in front of him, took a light sip, and let the bitter taste of the tea spread on the tip of his tongue.
Afterwards, he put down the teacup, looked up at Uchiha Fugaku nonchalantly, a trace of mockery playing with people’s hearts flashing in his eyes.
“Oh? Then if it were you, Clan Head, what would you have done today?” Red asked back, unhurriedly.
Uchiha Fugaku frowned and opened his mouth, just about to say, “Naturally, it would be to detain them first, then apply pressure to the Hokage through official channels to exchange for…”
The young man leaned forward slightly, directly tearing away the mask of hypocrisy that Uchiha Fugaku had maintained for many years; his words were like knives, each one piercing the heart.
“If it were you, Clan Head, you would probably continue to make bottomless concessions and compromises as before, right?
Send them back unharmed, at most asking for a few verbal reassurances.” The smile at the corner of Red’s mouth grew colder, “But facts have proven that your ‘for the greater good’ tolerance is completely useless.
Not only did it not earn the trust of the higher-ups, but it actually made Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura think that the Uchiha are weak and easy to bully, which will only make them push for more!”
Red continued to pour himself a cup of tea, his voice flat but carrying an unquestionable penetrating power:
“Clan Head, you have sat in that position for too long; have you become muddled in the head? What is the essence of that group of Konoha higher-ups, especially the politicians led by Hiruzen Sarutobi? They are nothing but bullies who fear the strong and pick on the weak. The more you show that you are considering the big picture, and the more you retreat, the more they will think the blade in your hand has dulled, and the more unscrupulously they will step on your head!”
Faced with this sharp, harsh, yet incredibly true accusation from Red, Uchiha Fugaku was struck as if by lightning.
He froze in place, the admonitions he had originally prepared were completely blocked at this moment, and he could not utter a single word.
The tea room fell into a long silence once again.
Uchiha Fugaku’s eyes were somewhat unfocused, his thinking torn apart by Red’s words at this moment.
A lantern-like reel of painful memories from these past years began to flash through his mind.
Ever since the Nine-Tails Incident, the Uchiha Clan had been relocated to the edge of the Village.
For the sake of the so-called “big picture” and “peace,” he had withstood immense pressure from the radicals within the clan, constantly compromising and retreating to the higher-ups.
The funding for the Konoha Military Police Force was cut again and again, his clansmen were guarded against and isolated like thieves in the Village, and they couldn’t even touch the core decision-making layer of the Village.
He had thought his weakness would earn the pity of the higher-ups, but what was the result?
What he got in return was intensified surveillance by the higher-ups, and even the Anbu dared to openly capture clansmen as hostages outside the compound!
Look at today in contrast.
Uchiha Akahiro confronted the Hokage with an absolutely strong, even brutal, stance.
What was the result?
That Third Hokage, who was usually high and mighty, not only dared not turn hostile on the spot but was instead forced to talk at length about “the big picture,” and even obsequiously offered to give the Uchiha a “considerable compensation of benefits”!
Most importantly, the dignity of the clan and the hearts of the clansmen, which were about to be stifled to death, were firmly protected by Red alone tonight! You are reading on novelping . com, the official source.
Kind people are bullied, and tame horses are ridden.
The Uchiha Clan possesses the Sharingan, which ranks supreme in the Ninja World, and possesses illustrious war achievements that shake all directions; they are not weak at all!
What exactly are they afraid of?
What exactly has he been enduring for all these years?!
Boom!
It was as if a thunderclap exploded in Uchiha Fugaku’s mind, and those political mists that had plagued him for years were swept away in an instant by Red’s slap.
In his eyes, which had been silent for many years, a flame named “ambition” and “strength” began to burn fiercely.
Uchiha Fugaku exhaled a long breath of stale air, his whole body slumped on the tatami mats, and then he slowly sat up straight again.
When he looked at Red again, the resistance and questioning in his eyes had completely disappeared, replaced by a sense of solemnity and fervor that placed the other person in an “equal,” or even “leader,” position.
“You… are right. It was I who was too cowardly before.” Uchiha Fugaku’s voice was a bit hoarse, but his tone was unprecedentedly firm.
His thinking had undergone the greatest transformation of his life this evening.
The Uchiha should have become strong long ago!
Having completed his ideological awakening, Uchiha Fugaku stared at Red with burning eyes.
Subsequently, he lowered his voice and asked the most core question of the day, the one he was most wary of and most eager to know.
“Red, when you made your move tonight, I saw it very clearly from the side.
That technique…
did not require hand signs at all.” Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath, his expression unprecedentedly serious, “And, that dark green Chakra that erupted from you…
that was definitely not ordinary Earth Release.
What exactly is that completely strange power, filled with a violent will?”
As a powerhouse who had already stepped one foot into the Kage-level threshold, Uchiha Fugaku keenly perceived the terror and generational gap of this power.
It was a kind of otherworldly great power that completely surpassed the conventional Ninja system.
The tea smoke curled, and the gazes of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto in the corner were all fixed tightly on Red at this moment.
And facing the Clan Head’s questioning, Red just raised his eyebrows slightly, the smile at the corner of his mouth becoming increasingly playful.