Uchiha's Idiot Elders

Hashirama Cells!?

Was that something an Uchiha like him could even touch?

Back home, Uchiha Jin still could not believe it.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, would he just kill him outright?

But he had not done it willingly!

They would not listen.

Well, that settled it.

Still, thinking of what he had seen on the fourth floor, along with the Hashirama Cell research materials and some ninjutsu he had selected in the backpack on his back...

He was still incredulous, with a faint trace of worry.

He could not tell whether this was a pleasant surprise or a terrifying shock that had just landed on his head.

"If I awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and add Hashirama Cells, I'll be at least Kage-level."

Unfortunately, Jin's greatest hurdle was the Mangekyō Sharingan.

He had not even awakened his Sharingan yet.

The moment Jin opened his door and stepped inside, he saw someone he did not want to see sitting upright beside the tea table in the reception room.

What a buzzkill.

"The Young Clan Head sure has plenty of free time, coming all the way to visit a nobody like me."

Jin immediately began mocking the unexpected visitor.

Who else besides Fugaku Uchiha could have entered his home without making a sound?

"Next time, could you not break into an empty house? People who know better might understand, but anyone else would think you were a thief."

Did he really think Jin's door was just for decoration?

Fugaku Uchiha remained calm, his expression unchanged by Jin's sarcasm. He waited until Jin had finished spewing trash talk before speaking.

"I heard Lord Jiraiya has taken you as his disciple?"

Jin let out a cold laugh.

"You already know, so my status may not be much lower than yours now, Young Clan Head."

Being Jiraiya's disciple seemed to grant no special privileges on the surface, but in reality, everything was hidden beneath the surface.

Being directly connected to a Hokage was no joke.

It also represented a pass leading to the position of Hokage.

Unfortunately, his surname was Uchiha.

"You really became Lord Jiraiya's disciple."

Fugaku Uchiha's voice trembled. Even now, he could not believe it.

How many years had it been?

Ever since Kagami Uchiha's death, no Uchiha had been able to enter the Hokage's circle.

This had completely pushed the Uchiha out of Konoha's leadership, and they had gradually become targets.

Yet the Uchiha often produced geniuses, so Fugaku would not have found it strange if one had been taken as a disciple.

But why did it have to be this useless disgrace to the Uchiha?

Fugaku looked at Jin with a complicated expression.

He could have accepted anyone from the Uchiha Clan, but not Jin making a comeback.

After all, Uchiha Jin was like a stain smeared across the Uchiha crest.

Even he could not accept it, much less anyone else.

He could already imagine the uproar it would cause within the clan.

"The facts are right here."

Jin sat down across the table, propping up his chin with one hand as he looked at Fugaku.

"What? Does me becoming Jiraiya's disciple get in your way? If you have the guts, go complain to Konoha. Do not come looking for trouble with me."

Fugaku looked down on him, and he looked down on Fugaku.

Why bother making trouble for himself?

"Young Clan Head." Jin's voice dripped with mockery.

Fugaku fell silent. As long as the clan could return to the center of Konoha, he did not mind being cursed a few times.

It was just that having Uchiha Jin as the central figure made things troublesome.

Fugaku said nothing, and neither did Jin. They simply stared each other down.

They would see who could hold out longer.

In the end, Fugaku was the first to crack.

"The elders want to see you."

"When?"

"Now."

Jin frowned. He had never interacted with the Uchiha elders, so he had no opinion of them.

But since they had allowed Fugaku to smoothly become clan head, they probably were not very bright.

He had not expected his direct connection to the Hokage's faction to trigger such a strong reaction from the current Uchiha.

They had not even been driven to the point they would reach in the future.

"Then lead the way."

Jin raised his head.

He would have to meet these elders eventually.

Hopefully, they were not as he imagined.

A bunch of idiots.

Naka Shrine.

Flame pillars lit the braziers on both sides, illuminating several elderly men seated in chairs.

The dancing flames obscured their faces.

All Jin could see were their scarlet eyes, each with three tomoe spinning within them.

The Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.

Jin stood in the middle, subjected to their gazes.

The pressure from those sharp stares was even greater than Orochimaru's, but there was no killing intent, and they did not restrict his movements.

The elderly man seated at the front spoke.

"Uchiha Jin, you still have not awakened your eyes at twelve?"

Jin endured the pressure and replied indifferently.

"How could something like that be so easy to awaken?"

The usual age for awakening the Sharingan was between twelve and sixteen.

After sixteen, the possibility of awakening it was basically cut off.

The earlier one awakened it, the better one's talent naturally was.

Awakening it before the age of twelve meant one was an Uchiha genius.

To the Uchiha, what other talent could compare to the Sharingan?

"How presumptuous!" an elder beside him shouted angrily.

That was the Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai, not some "thing."

Jin did not bother responding. He only looked at the man seated in the place of honor before him.

Everyone else was merely there to fill seats. The one in charge was the man before him.

The Great Elder, Uchiha Kagami.

An old man who had survived since the Warring States Period. He had even protected himself wisely during the Uchiha's past rebellion, eventually taking control of the greatest authority within the Uchiha Clan.

That was what Jin had heard from other Uchiha Clan Members.

The current Uchiha had no clan head. Jin did not know why the former clan head had died; he only knew that Fugaku had been designated as the next clan head from the moment he was born.

Forget Konoha. Wasn't the Uchiha Clan the same?

They had even prearranged their heirs.

"Enough." Kagami stopped the Third Elder, who had wanted to continue berating Jin.

His scarlet Sharingan gazed calmly at Jin.

"Uchiha Jin, I hope that, for the sake of the Uchiha Clan, you will monitor the movements of the Hokage's faction."

Kagami Uchiha's death was full of doubts, and Kagami did not trust Konoha's upper ranks.

Unless...

An Uchiha became Hokage.

As for Uchiha Jin, a blemish on the Uchiha Clan.

He was unworthy.

"I refuse!" Jin rejected him without even thinking. This was the kind of thankless task where he would end up in trouble on both sides.

The Uchiha Clan would learn about the Hokage faction's movements, but he would lose the Hokage faction's trust as well.

Why should he!?

"Hm?!"

Kagami's face darkened. Even though Jin could not see it clearly, he knew the old man's expression could not be pleasant.

"Do not forget that Uchiha blood flows through your veins."

"Well, sorry about that. I'm selfish by nature, and I won't make selfless sacrifices for the clan."

Jin's cold voice rang in everyone's ears.

It was like tossing a spark into a fire.

"Bastard! You dare forget the glory of the Uchiha Clan!"

"Expel this useless trash from the clan registry!!"

"Bastard! A selfish person like you is unworthy of calling yourself an Uchiha!!"

Jin turned a deaf ear to their furious shouts.

He had never felt any warmth from the few Uchiha Clan Members he had encountered.

If one was an Uchiha praised as a genius, one could feel the warmth of spring within the Uchiha Clan. These elders would be kind and approachable.

Unfortunately.

He was "useless trash."

Within the Uchiha Clan, even the dogs would step on "useless trash."

Jin wore a cold smile.

Kagami remained silent. Looking at Uchiha Jin's cold smile, he seemed to understand something and asked, "Do you resent the Uchiha Clan?"

Jin rubbed his brow, organizing his thoughts.

"Old man, you really have grown senile. Resentment? Do you think you deserve it?"

"A bunch of useless trash that only knows how to brag?"

Jin did not hold back in the slightest. He had never been someone who liked currying favor with others.

He was cowardly, but that did not mean he would swallow his anger when his life was not in danger.

Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi standing before him, as long as it did not threaten his life, he would dare to curse him out.

Why would he play along with these shameless old Uchiha?

It could be said that with those words, he had offended the entire Uchiha Clan.

But he did not care.

They did not dare do anything to him. Being directly connected to the Hokage's faction was no joke.

If anything happened to him within the Uchiha Clan, Shimura Danzō would be the first to charge into the clan and avenge him.

He understood this, and so did these elders.

At that moment, Kagami felt a surge of anger rush straight to his head. Decades of calm self-restraint shattered in an instant.

"You!!"

He pointed at Jin furiously, but for a moment, he was too speechless to say anything.

"If that is all, I'll be leaving."

Jin curled his lip, looking as though he did not take them seriously at all.

If they had even a little sense, he would not have treated them this way. Did they really take him for one of those foolish ninjas who would obediently listen after being sweet-talked a few times?

Then they were gravely mistaken.

"Uchiha Jin!" Kagami shouted sternly, stopping him.

Jin turned sideways and looked back at him. The firelight illuminated only half his face as he waited for Kagami's next words.

Kagami took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Do not forget that everything you have was given to you by the Uchiha Clan. Your abilities, your... smooth upbringing, even becoming Jiraiya's disciple—those were all because your surname is Uchiha!"

He had wanted to say talent, but unfortunately, he could not see any talent in Jin at all.

Jin was so angry that he laughed.

"My abilities were trained by me. My upbringing was given to me by my parents. Just because you did not interfere, you think that counts as a favor? What the hell does becoming Jiraiya's disciple have to do with the Uchiha Clan?"

"And let me remind you of one thing: the Uchiha Clan is the Uchiha Clan, but you do not represent the Uchiha Clan. You are merely a bunch of useless trash throwing your weight around under the Uchiha name."

With a crack, Kagami crushed the armrest of his chair. The three tomoe in his pupils spun rapidly.

"If there is nothing else, I'll be going. Do not call for me next time. I'm afraid Teacher Jiraiya might misunderstand."

Crack. Crack. Crack. One chair armrest after another suffered the same fate.

Jin left.

All that remained was a group of Uchiha elders raging in helpless fury.

"Outrageous!!" the Third Elder roared.

Never had an Uchiha dared insult elders like them so brazenly—except Madara Uchiha.

"Rest assured. Jiraiya took him as a disciple because of the Uchiha. Once he truly understands the boy's talent, Jiraiya will naturally abandon him."

"Then we'll make him understand that he's nothing but worthless trash who can't be propped up. Does he really think he has what it takes to become Jiraiya's disciple?"

They would wait and see.

When that time came, what grounds would Uchiha Jin have left to face them?