As Lu Ming’s voice fell, the entire Naka Shrine basement fell silent.
Lu Ming gave no one a chance to catch their breath.
He turned around, faced the entire clan, and issued a command.
“Now, we will hold a clan-wide vote!”
Lu Ming raised his voice,
“Those who support me taking over as the new Uchiha Clan Head, stand to my right. Those who oppose me, stand to the left.”
The crowd broke into an uproar.
A direct vote?
This was equivalent to a coup on the spot!
Fugaku sat in the main seat, gritting his teeth as he glared at Lu Ming.
“Lu Ming, don’t be too arrogant. The changing of the Clan Head’s position cannot be treated like child’s play.”
However, no one paid any attention to Fugaku’s impotent rage.
Step.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the basement.
Everyone looked towards the sound, only to see Uchiha Shisui, who had just showcased his Mangekyō Sharingan, step forward and stand to Lu Ming’s right.
“I support Lu Ming,” Shisui said.
A collective gasp filled the room.
“Lord Shisui actually…”
“That’s the Mangekyō Sharingan! Even he has completely sided with Lord Lu Ming.”
While everyone was still shocked by Shisui’s choice…
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The sound of clothes fluttering through the air rang out.
Uchiha Tekka led the forty-three young elites who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, stepping forward in unison to stand on Lu Ming’s right.
Forty-three pairs of crimson Three-Tomoe eyes lit up in the darkness, radiating an oppressive aura.
“We will follow Lord Lu Ming to the death!”
Tekka and the others shouted in unison.
The situation began to tilt.
In the crowd, a large number of the Peace Faction, neutrals, and older generation clan members remained where they were, hesitation written on their faces.
They saw Fugaku’s incompetence clearly, but actually taking a side to rebel on the spot still made them feel uneasy.
Looking at the hesitant clan members, Lu Ming remained expressionless.
He didn’t have time to play any sentimental games to win votes.
“It seems some people still haven’t grasped the current situation.”
Lu Ming narrowed his eyes, and a violent killing intent erupted from his body, sweeping through the entire basement!
Crack, crack, crack—
The bluestone floor beneath Lu Ming’s feet began to crack inch by inch, unable to withstand the terrifying Chakra.
He looked at the clan members who were still hesitating.
“I’ll put it simply. Today, anyone who dares not to support me…”
Lu Ming paused and let out a cold laugh.
“…I will personally break their limbs and throw them to the right side as a cripple!”
Hiss—!!!
Everyone in the room gasped in shock.
This was blatant coercion through force!
The peace and Neutral Faction members who were still hesitating were jolted by the terrifying killing intent, trembling with fear.
They looked at Uchiha Yashiro, who had been suppressed by Lu Ming in a single move and was still unable to get up from the ground, then at the forty-three murderous Three-Tomoe elites beside Lu Ming.
Unless they were fools, they all knew which choice to make!
“I… I support Lord Lu Ming!”
An elder from the Peace Faction raised his hand and hurried to the right.
“I support him too. Clan Head Fugaku’s decisions have made us suffer; I don’t want to be buried with him.”
“Lord Lu Ming is the true hope of our Uchiha.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
With someone taking the lead, the remaining clan members flocked to Lu Ming’s right.
In less than a minute, the once-crowded center of the hall became empty.
More than half of the clan members were now standing behind Lu Ming.
On the left, only Uchiha Inabi and a dozen or so Police Force loyalists remained, along with Uchiha Fugaku, who sat slumped in the main seat, his face ashen.
The outcome was decided.
Fugaku’s position as Clan Head now existed in name only.
“The matter is settled.”
Lu Ming withdrew his killing intent and looked at the seven elders on the high platform.
“Now, those who support me exceed half the clan.”
“The attitudes of the remaining riffraff are no longer important. Council of Elders, what is your decision?”
Addressed by Lu Ming, the Great Elder stood up, leaning on his cane.
His cloudy old eyes looked at Lu Ming.
The Great Elder knew very well that Fugaku’s influence was gone, and Lu Ming had met the standards for succeeding as Clan Head in terms of both strength and prestige.
But as the representative of the clan’s highest authority, he had to ask one final question.
“Lu Ming.”
The Great Elder’s voice was low and solemn.
“You impeached Fugaku and pointed out the desperate situation the clan faces.”
“I only ask you one thing: if you are given the position of Clan Head, do you truly have the ability to lead the Uchiha Clan through this unprecedented crisis?”
This question was also the one that all the clan members present cared about most.
Everyone’s eyes focused on Lu Ming.
Lu Ming did not answer the Great Elder’s question directly.
He turned his head and looked at Tekka and the other young elites standing behind him.
Lu Ming waved his hand.
Tekka and the others understood immediately.
The forty-three young elites puffed out their chests and, with all their might, shouted in unison with hoarse voices:
“Make Uchiha Great Again!!!”
“Restore the Glory of Uchiha!!!”
“Stand Proud at the Peak of the Ninja World!!!”
The roar of these forty-three people, combined with their fanatical expressions, swept through the entire Naka Shrine basement.
The extreme pride and ambition contained in this slogan ignited the dormant arrogance in the blood of every Uchiha Clan member present!
“Make Uchiha Great Again!”
“Stand Proud at the Peak of the Ninja World!”
The Peace Faction elders and neutral clan members, who had originally stood there out of pressure, were completely infected by the emotion and began to shout frantically along with them.
The entire basement became boisterous as hundreds of Sharingan eyes lit up with excited red light in the darkness.
Looking at the impassioned and united clan members below, the Great Elder’s hand holding the cane shook violently.
He could no longer remember how many years it had been…
…since he had seen the Uchiha Clan display such terrifying cohesion!
“Good… good!”
The Great Elder’s eyes reddened, and he nodded heavily.
Just as the Great Elder was about to formally announce Lu Ming’s succession…
“Wait!!!”
At this final moment, Uchiha Fugaku, sitting in the main seat, stood up.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his chest heaved violently.
He knew he had lost the support of the people, but as the Clan Head of the Uchiha, he had his own final bottom line and pride!
“Lu Ming!”
Fugaku strode down the steps and stared at Lu Ming.
“You don’t accept it?”
Lu Ming sneered.
“What right do you have left to object?”
“By the fact that I am the current Clan Head!”
Fugaku roared sharply and drew the Ninjatō from his waist.
“Our Uchiha Clan has been a group that respects strength above all else since ancient times.”
“A war of words is ultimately just vanity! To seize the position of Clan Head, you must prove it with strength!”
Fugaku pointed his blade directly at Lu Ming and issued a challenge loudly.
“Lu Ming, in my capacity as the current Clan Head of the Uchiha, I challenge you to a duel of strength.”
“Whoever wins shall be the new Clan Head of the Uchiha!”
Uproar—
The entire hall fell silent.
Everyone looked at Lu Ming.
In Uchiha history, there was a tradition of deciding the Clan Head through a duel.
Facing Fugaku’s desperate challenge, Lu Ming laughed heartily.
“Hahahaha, good. Fugaku, you finally look like an Uchiha man!”
Lu Ming agreed immediately.
“Since you want to settle this with a fight, I will grant your wish! The time is now, and the place is the clan’s Great Arena!”
“It’s a deal!” Fugaku said through gritted teeth.
“I’ll be waiting for you all at the Great Arena.”
Lu Ming left these words, and then he made a move that no one in the audience expected.
Lu Ming casually formed a hand seal.
Accompanied by a dull soft sound, white smoke billowed up from where Lu Ming stood.
A breeze blew, and the white smoke dissipated.
The Uchiha Lu Ming who had been standing there actually vanished into thin air!
Not even a trace of Chakra was left behind!
Everyone’s eyes widened, their mouths hung open, as they stared blankly at the dissipating white smoke.
“This… this is…”
Uchiha Inabi’s voice trembled so much he couldn’t form a sentence, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
“A Shadow Clone?!”
Someone let out a high-pitched scream.
As soon as those three words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in noise.
“How is that possible? The person who was just talking eloquently and lecturing us all until we couldn’t even lift our heads was actually just a Shadow Clone?!”
“He suppressed Captain Yashiro, who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, in just one move.”
“He didn’t even use Ninjutsu, suppressing Captain Yashiro with just one hand until he couldn’t get up—and that was actually just a Shadow Clone?!”
“Good God… if a Shadow Clone has the terrifying power to crush an Elite Jonin, then how strong is Lord Lu Ming’s real body?!”
Every Uchiha Clan member present…
…including the forty-three Three-Tomoe elites, felt their minds go blank.
They thought they had already highly estimated Lu Ming’s strength, but only now did they discover with horror that what they had seen was just the tip of the iceberg!
Uchiha Yashiro, who had finally caught his breath while kneeling on the ground, froze in place upon hearing the words “Shadow Clone.”
He stared blankly at the spot where the white smoke had dissipated, his face flushing red before turning deathly pale.
He, the dignified Captain of the Police Force and a Three-Tomoe Elite Jonin, had actually been insta-killed and rubbed into the dirt by one of Lu Ming’s Shadow Clones!
“Pfft!”
Yashiro wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Uchiha Fugaku stood there, his hand holding the Ninjatō shaking violently.
He looked at where Lu Ming had disappeared, his eyes full of despair and wariness.
But things had come to this; he had no way back.
“Hmph!”
Fugaku snorted coldly, suppressing the shock in his heart.
His figure blurred as he vanished in a flicker of movement.