Facing the dense crowd of clansmen outside the door with their swords drawn, Uchiha Akahiro, under Fugaku’s stiff gaze, stepped out of the dilapidated tea room with a calm expression.
He stood on the veranda, looking down at the sea of blood-Red Sharingan in the courtyard.
Meeting the countless fervent and worried gazes, Akahiro wore a playful smile, his hands casually tucked into his trouser pockets, and spoke in a languid tone: “Everyone, put your swords away. The commotion just now was nothing more than a whim of mine, pulling the Clan Head aside to test our strength in the courtyard. The old man is quite sturdy; he couldn’t do anything to me.”
Hearing Akahiro’s calm and composed explanation, the originally tense atmosphere instantly stalled.
The fully armed Ninja looked at each other, and the biting killing intent that had shrouded the compound instantly dissipated.
Upon learning that this was all just a misunderstanding, the anxiety that had gripped everyone finally subsided.
Immediately, the ferocity originally intended for a coup attempt instantly transformed into uncontrollable worship and fanaticism when facing Akahiro.
Several elite members of the Konoha Military Police Force sheathed their swords, bypassed the frozen Fugaku, and surrounded Akahiro directly.
“So it was just a spar… Lord Akahiro, that power just now was simply astonishing!”
“Exactly, we thought the Clan Head was…
ahem, we thought the Clan Head was trying to conduct some kind of secret trial!” Before leaving, several radical clansmen even grabbed Akahiro’s hand right in front of Fugaku’s darkened face, patted their chests, and loudly urged, “Akahiro, if you ever suffer any grievances in the clan or if anyone dares to suppress you behind your back, just tell us!
Whether it’s the Village or within the clan, everyone will always stand by your side!”
Amidst the noisy clamor that sounded almost like an oath of allegiance, the fanatical clansmen gradually dispersed, retreating from the mansion like a receding tide.
When the figure of the last clansman disappeared into the night, Uchiha Fugaku let out a deep sigh as he looked at the empty, somewhat dilapidated courtyard.
That feeling of defeat, of being collectively rejected by his own clan and defied by subordinates, made him feel as if he had aged several years.
“How ironic…” Fugaku turned his head to look at the relaxed Akahiro, his tone filled with undisguised loneliness and bitterness.
“If… if that rebellious son Uchiha Itachi hadn’t been brainwashed by Hiruzen Sarutobi’s hypocritical ‘will of fire’ and hadn’t betrayed the family, this treatment—being the center of attention and sworn to be protected by the entire clan—should have belonged to him. He was once the pride of the entire clan.”
Mentioning Uchiha Itachi, Akahiro just gave a noncommittal sneer.
In this world that valued strength and iron-bloodedness, a pacifist who tried to beg for peace through self-mutilation was destined to be nothing more than a tragic plaything.
The two returned to the tea room one after the other.
Five-year-old Uchiha Sasuke was standing timidly beside his mother.
Everything that had happened tonight—the roar of the terrifying giant beast, the collapsed house, and the sight of the entire clan besieging his father—had terrified the young child.
Seeing Akahiro, the culprit, walk in, Sasuke, influenced by the oppressive atmosphere within the family during the day, stared at Akahiro with intense hostility in his still-immature eyes, despite his pale face.
Akahiro’s steps paused slightly.
He raised an eyebrow, observing the stubborn-faced Sasuke with great interest.
This was the first time he had seen this so-called “Indra reincarnate” with his own eyes since transmigrating to the Ninja world.
Fugaku noticed the strange atmosphere and gave Uchiha Mikoto a look.
Uchiha Mikoto understood, took the unwilling Uchiha Sasuke by the hand without a word, led the bystanders out of the tea room, and closed the door tightly behind them.
As the tea room became sealed off again, Fugaku took a deep breath, casting aside those messy, negative emotions.
He humbly cupped his hands to Akahiro, his tone sincere, already implicitly placing the other in the position of a strategic decision-maker: “Akahiro, my thinking has now completely changed, and the clan’s hidden cards are far beyond what they used to be. Next… what are your plans for the Uchiha’s next specific move?”
Facing the old clan head’s humble inquiry, Uchiha Akahiro sat back on the tatami, his fingers tapping lightly on the cold tabletop.
Then, he raised his head, the arrogant curve of his mouth widening, and threw out a shocking plan that would turn all of Konoha upside down.
“Specific move? It’s very simple.” Akahiro’s voice was flat, yet it sounded like a thunderclap on a clear day.
“Clan Head, I want you to represent the Uchiha Clan and compete for the position of ‘Fifth Hokage’.”
“What?! Fifth Hokage?!”
Fugaku stood up abruptly, his eyes bulging, his face full of disbelief.
Competing for the position of Hokage?
For the Uchiha, who had always been suppressed and marginalized, this was nothing short of a fantasy!
“This… how is this possible?” Fugaku swallowed hard, his previous cowardly instinct making his voice tremble.
“The higher-ups in the Village guard against us like thieves. Besides, apart from the Uchiha, no one in the entire Konoha—the villagers, the major secret clans—would support us! They set the rules; how are we supposed to compete?”
Akahiro smiled disdainfully, his eyes filled with a condescending strike against the Konoha higher-ups: “Clan Head, broaden your horizons. It has been seven years since the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died in battle. That old thing Hiruzen Sarutobi has long since grown old and frail, his vitality exhausted. Now, whether in terms of energy, spirit, or political maneuvering, he is no longer fit to govern Konoha. Konoha today has a generational gap in its higher-level power; there is no successor!”
Akahiro stood up, looking down at Fugaku, his voice carrying a bewitching magic:
“Look at the entire Konoha Village now; high-end combat power is withered. Jiraiya and Tsunade are wandering outside, and Kakashi Hatake is still too young. Now, besides our Uchiha Clan, with our intact foundation, two Mangekyo Sharingan, and my Tailed Beast-level combat power, who else in all of Konoha has the qualifications and strength to sit in the position of the Fifth Hokage? As long as you spread the word, backed by absolute force, and initiate a political conspiracy within the rules, guess what? Will Hiruzen Sarutobi dare to go to war with us completely, or will he have no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the challenge?”
Boom!
This dissection of the situation, which peeled back the layers to tear apart the weak essence of Konoha’s higher-ups, completely ignited the raging ambition in Fugaku’s heart.
That’s right!
The Uchiha were not rebelling; the Uchiha were simply competing for their own Hokage position within reasonable and legal rules!
Under the deterrence of absolute force, any suppression by the higher-ups would become a joke!
Just as Fugaku was being stirred to boiling passion and his ambition was expanding wildly by the arrogant blueprint painted by Akahiro—
“Bang!!”
The closed door of the tea room was suddenly violently pushed open by someone using explosive Chakra!
Uchiha Itachi stood at the door, his face so gloomy it seemed like it was about to drip water, his violently heaving chest indicating his extreme inner turmoil.
Having rushed back on the orders of the Third Hokage, he had been subjected to the cold shoulders and scorn of his clansmen all the way into the clan territory.
Those clansmen who usually respected him even spat in his face and mocked him unbridledly, calling him a “Hokage’s running dog” and a “traitor to the clan.”
Bearing immense repression and humiliation, as soon as Uchiha Itachi stepped into the mansion, he happened to use his keen hearing to hear, through the broken paper window, Akahiro’s wild words inciting his father to usurp the position of Hokage.
What made him break down even more was that as soon as he entered, he saw his own father, who had always been steady and focused on the big picture, looking flushed and eager, seriously considering this treasonous plan!
At that moment, the “greater good” and worldview in Uchiha Itachi’s heart completely collapsed.
Looking at Uchiha Akahiro, who sat in the seat of honor like a rebel leader, Uchiha Itachi could no longer suppress the anger and shock in his heart.
The veins on his hand, which was pressing on the hilt of his Ninja sword, bulged as he shouted sternly at Akahiro:
“Uchiha Akahiro! What do you mean by this?! Do you want to lead the Uchiha Clan into the abyss of destruction!!”