Below the cliff, the river surged swiftly.
Habara and Uchiha Fugaku stood facing each other atop the river, while every Uchiha shinobi able to watch observed everything silently from the forest above the cliff.
A light breeze drifted by. Neither Habara nor Uchiha Fugaku made a move, yet both of their presences had already reached their peak.
Nearly tangible chakra auras swirled endlessly above the river. Enveloped by such terrifying pressure, the two of them were as fearsome as Asura.
"Habara-kun, I truly never expected my opponent to be you." After a long while, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly spoke. "And you really are someone I find unbelievable."
"Should I thank Clan Head Fugaku for the praise, or feel ashamed?" Habara shook his head lightly, his expression focused as though he were constantly searching for an opening.
"You need not feel ashamed. You merely did what you should have done."
Uchiha Fugaku continued, and his expression grew considerably more serious this time.
"What amazes me is your talent, your restraint, and your vision.
"I have to admit that I always underestimated you. I only ever saw you as a gifted member of the clan who didn't fit in.
"But your actual performance has proven that you are not merely a clan prodigy. You are the kind of genius who can sit in the position of 'Kage.'
"Moreover, your strength is no weaker than Shisui's. You even possess the Mangekyō Sharingan just like him. You would make a qualified clan head."
"Clan Head Fugaku, what do you mean by that?" Habara could not help but frown upon hearing this.
He felt that Uchiha Fugaku's behavior today was truly strange, and what he was saying now was even stranger.
His words sounded so lacking in confidence, as though he had already accepted that he