Uchiha Inabi held nothing back. He bluntly confessed his entire thought process, including his previous desire to assassinate Jin and violently suppress the Radical Faction to protect Fugaku's regime.
This absolute lack of filter was a fundamental Uchiha trait. They were a clan driven by extreme emotional states, entirely incapable of hiding their true feelings. If they hated you, they tried to kill you. But if you conquered them through superior strength and undeniable logic, they would pledge their lives to you without hesitation. Inabi had accepted Jin's supremacy, and thus, he offered his fanatical loyalty.
"I applaud your rational choice," Jin replied, his eyes narrowing slightly in assessment. "Fugaku lacks the capacity to navigate Konoha's hostile political landscape. Under my command, you will witness the Uchiha break free from this suffocating decline."
Internally, Jin analyzed this rapid shift in clan dynamics.
'My Open Scheme yielded results far faster than projected,' Jin thought. 'I calculated that a significant portion of the clan would need to be harvested by Danzo before the survivors woke up. However, Inabi's defection proves the threshold for pain has already been reached.' The Uchiha were stubborn, but extreme trauma forced them to pivot. Currently, aside from the isolated faction elders and their immediate families, the entire Uchiha Clan was under Jin's absolute control.
Furthermore, Jin was not concerned about Inabi secretly acting as a double agent. The biological nature of the Uchiha's emotionally driven Sharingan made them terrible spies. They simply lacked the psychological makeup for deep-cover deception. Even in the original timeline, Shisui and Itachi's allegiances to the Hokage were glaringly obvious to anyone paying attention. If an Uchiha became a spy, they practically wore the label on their foreheads.
Suddenly, a shinobi stepped into the courtyard. It was Uchiha Ryugan, one of Jin's former squadmates. He dropped to one knee, his eyes filled with unrestrained reverence. "Elder Jin. An Anbu messenger has arrived."
Jin chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Stand up, Ryugan. We bled on the battlefield together; there is no need for this excessive formality. Unless we are in a public, official setting, drop the kneeling. Genuine respect is carried in the mind, not in performative gestures."
Ryugan stood, his admiration deepening. Inabi, watching from the side, was equally stunned. He was accustomed to Fugaku's rigid, suffocating adherence to clan hierarchy. Seeing Jin's pragmatic, relaxed leadership style behind closed doors solidified his decision to defect. Jin commanded respect through competence, not mere titles.
"Elder Jin, you must proceed with caution," Ryugan warned, shifting to a serious tone. "Our operatives stationed in the village reported that Fugaku is currently inside the Hokage building. This summons is undoubtedly a coordinated trap."
Since taking command, Jin had revolutionized the Radicals' operational doctrine. They no longer just hid behind barriers; Jin had deployed an extensive intelligence network of scouts throughout Konoha, monitoring the Hokage Residence, Root headquarters, and major clan compounds. Consequently, Jin possessed real-time situational awareness.
Jin smiled faintly, entirely unbothered. "Do not worry, Ryugan. It is a minor inconvenience."
'Hiruzen's political maneuvers are painfully predictable,' Jin thought dismissively. 'He is operating on a few decades of isolated village politics. Compared to the thousands of years of imperial statecraft and warfare strategies from my past life, Hiruzen's tactics are transparent.'
"Maintain the defensive perimeter while I am gone," Jin ordered. "I know exactly what game the Hokage is trying to play."
***
Fifteen minutes later, Jin entered the Hokage's office.
"Lord Hokage. You summoned me?" Jin asked, his words technically polite, but his execution entirely devoid of respect.
He did not kneel. He did not bow his head. He stood perfectly straight, making direct, unyielding eye contact with Hiruzen. It was a calculated display of equal footing. Both men possessed the means to destroy Konoha—Hiruzen with his army, Jin with his Mangekyou-fueled suicide tactics—making formal pleasantries utterly meaningless in this cold war.
Standing beside the Hokage's desk, Fugaku glared at Jin. His face twisted with suppressed rage.
Fugaku secretly possessed his own Mangekyou Sharingan—the ultimate evolution of their ocular bloodline, granting immense destructive power. However, his crippling fear of escalating the conflict with the village elders prevented him from ever using it. Stripped of his political power and terrified of military retaliation, Fugaku chose his default coping mechanism: he swallowed his anger and remained silent. He simply lacked the courage to strike down his usurper.
Hiruzen, watching from behind his desk, felt his jaw clench in pure frustration.
When Jin entered with such blatant disrespect, Hiruzen had internally prayed that Fugaku would finally snap. If Fugaku attacked Jin in a fit of rage, it would ignite a civil war right there in the office, solving Hiruzen's problem instantly.
Instead, Fugaku just looked away, submitting to the humiliation.
'You utterly useless coward!' Hiruzen cursed internally, his grip tightening around his smoking pipe. 'I set the stage for you, and you still refuse to fight! Fine. If you will not discipline your own clan, I will have to suppress Jin myself.'