Night.
The Uchiha Clan grounds.
Naka Shrine.
In the pitch-black darkness of the night, the Uchiha had held who knows how many clan meetings.
From the initial discussions on how to make the Clan Head the Hokage, to the current topic of how to overthrow the Konoha regime and take control of the village.
It seemed that the Uchiha present were extremely enthusiastic about this topic.
Dozens of prominent Uchiha ninja squeezed into the modest shrine, debating with fervent heat.
"If you ask me, we should just swarm up and kill that Kakashi. Then the position of Hokage is ours!"
"That's right! Not just that Kakashi, but all the higher-ups too!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Danzō Shimura—they are all our enemies!"
"And those villagers who usually look at us with displeasure... Damn it, looking at me with those eyes all day and night, I've really had enough!"
"Clan Head, let's do it!"
"Yeah, Clan Head! Take the brothers and let's pull off something big!"
The Uchiha ninja inside the shrine argued incessantly, but their spearhead pointed at only one target.
That was the Hokage.
They had truly had enough.
This was already the Fifth Hokage, and there still hadn't been an Uchiha Hokage.
The current Fifth Hokage was only twenty years old. If they waited for him to abdicate or retire, wouldn't they have to wait decades?!
Many of them were already in their thirties or forties; they simply couldn't wait for the day the Fifth would step down.
And even if he did step down, the Sixth Hokage wouldn't necessarily be an Uchiha.
They were the Uchiha, the proud Uchiha Clan; how could they endure such grievances?
"Let's wait and see a little longer."
Fugaku Uchiha, seated at the head of the room, watched the scene before him. He took a leisurely sip of tea, brushing off his clansmen as perfunctorily as always.
"Still wait and see?"
"How long has it been? Clan Head, why don't you just give us a straight answer?"
"Yeah, Clan Head. It's depressing when I'm on patrol every day. Those damn villagers look at me like I'm their enemy."
"Isn't it just that last time I caught someone setting up a stall illegally and beat him up in prison a few times?"
"I was just doing things by the book."
Listening to his clansmen speaking one after another below him, Fugaku Uchiha felt a headache coming on.
Did he not want to become Hokage?
He did!
He wanted it more than anyone!
But...
What if the coup failed?
Although the current Hokage had Hikari Uchiha—known as the Uchiha's Ultimate Weapon—by his side, Fugaku Uchiha believed he would not lose to her.
Because his Mangekyō Sharingan was invincible.
Seeing through the future—that was the ability of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Using a specific person, event, or object as a medium, he could activate his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Thereby seeing the timeline of the future.
He could find the single most correct choice from countless timelines.
This was the capital upon which he claimed invincibility.
He had seen the result of using the Nine-Tails to subvert Konoha: Konoha and the Uchiha would destroy each other, leading the other four great ninja villages to swarm in.
Konoha, glorious for decades, would be completely annihilated.
That was not the result he wanted.
Three years ago, in a fleeting glance at Hikari Uchiha, he had also seen the outcome of fighting her.
Out of seventy-two outcomes of certain death, he had found the method to kill Hikari Uchiha.
Later, he had looked toward the current Fifth Hokage.
But...
It was chaos.
A fog shrouded him.
He could not see any timeline at all.
This was the reason Fugaku Uchiha had hesitated until now.
Fugaku Uchiha didn't know if his Mangekyō Sharingan—which allowed him to make the correct choice in the face of any event—was born from his own hesitation.
Or if he hesitated because of his own nature.
Because he could see the correct choices, when these eyes suddenly couldn't see the direction ahead, he fell into hesitation.
Fugaku Uchiha clearly knew his own weakness.
But he was unable to correct it.
Whenever he faced a decision, he would always worry: What if he succeeded? What if he failed? How would he handle himself if he failed?
Just like now, facing the indignation of the clansmen below, he started using that same immutable rhetoric again.
Wait, wait again, continue to wait a bit...
At this moment, the hesitating Fugaku Uchiha did not know that his son was sitting silently below, watching his surroundings with cold detachment.
Itachi Uchiha committed the names of every person urging Fugaku Uchiha to stage a coup to the bottom of his heart.
These people... were all narrow-minded individuals who ignored Lord Hokage's grace.
Protected by Konoha's shelter and benevolence, yet instead of seeking progress, they wanted to usurp the host's role.
A clan with such capacity—it was truly laughable.
And while Itachi Uchiha was memorizing everyone's names, a pair of eyes was watching him from behind.
Shisui Uchiha, known as Shisui of the Body Flicker.
He silently observed Itachi Uchiha.
Shisui Uchiha knew clearly that the current Itachi Uchiha had joined the Anbu.
Working under that Lord Hokage.
He didn't know what Fugaku Uchiha, the Clan Head, was thinking.
But he knew that the Hokage would absolutely not let go of this opportunity to make contact with Itachi Uchiha.
And in Shisui Uchiha's view, Itachi was a good child—pure-natured and helpful.
An Itachi like that shouldn't be staying with someone like Kakashi.
With the end of the Uchiha clan meeting, the crowd dispersed one by one. Fugaku Uchiha kept his son behind alone.
"Father."
Itachi Uchiha sat on his knees in front of Fugaku Uchiha, his expression unusually calm.
"Itachi, has there been any movement from the Hokage recently?"
Fugaku Uchiha rubbed his somewhat sore eyes as he spoke.
This was the reason he had arranged for Itachi to enter the Anbu in the first place.
A spy.
A spy to gather intelligence for the Uchiha Clan.
As his biological son, Fugaku Uchiha had complete trust in Itachi Uchiha.
"Today, Lord Hokage merely went to the office to look through recent government affairs. Due to the resignation of the Anbu Commander, Lord Hokage is having a bit of a headache over it, unable to find a suitable candidate."
Itachi Uchiha's answer made Fugaku Uchiha somewhat satisfied.
"Since that is the case, then Itachi, you should put in good effort. You are already a Captain; push a little harder to become the Commander."
"That way, our clan's situation will improve significantly."
Listening to Fugaku Uchiha's gentle words, Itachi Uchiha simply nodded in agreement.
As for what he was thinking inside, that was unclear.
"You may go. You've been tired all day; it's time to rest."
Fugaku Uchiha waved his hand, and Itachi Uchiha immediately stood up and excused himself.
He walked out of the Naka Shrine, a pair of scarlet eyes looking exceptionally piercing in the night.
Family.
Capacity.
Konoha.
Hokage.
Even Father is just like this.
Lord Hokage is right. Only by pruning these narrow-minded clansmen can the Uchiha Clan welcome true glory.
It is a pity that Lord Hokage is truly too kind-hearted, only wanting to remove the hawks.
What if the remaining people hold a grudge because of these people's deaths?
I should...
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