The First Follower

As time passed, the sun slowly climbed to the very center of the sky.

Konoha, Naka Shrine.

Two Uchiha clansmen stood at the shrine gate, their eyes fixed on the road ahead while their ears strained to catch the sounds of arguing from inside the shrine.

"Tsk, tsk~"

One of them checked the time, then leaned against the gate. Glancing at his companion from the corner of his eye, he said,

"The jonin have been arguing for six hours already."

"Yeah!"

The other leaned against the gate as well, stretching his limbs as he spoke.

"At this rate, they'll probably keep at it all afternoon."

"I don't get it. I actually think that Elder's 'cultivating geniuses' plan is pretty good. Why do they have to oppose it?"

"Maybe they're just opposing it for the sake of opposing it.

I heard yesterday's village meeting was the same. You pulled my leg, I tugged her arm, and she pulled his hair."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two clansmen saw a small figure suddenly appear on the road ahead, racing toward them.

When the person approached, they nodded at him and said expressionlessly,

"Young Clan Head!"

Itachi waved the lunch box in his hand at the two guards, slightly out of breath.

"Is Father still inside?"

At that, one of the clansmen gestured inward with his chin, his words full of warning.

"The Clan Head is discussing matters with the jonin. If the Young Clan Head goes in now, you should be careful."

"Got it!"

With that, Itachi carried the lunch box through the gap between them and entered the shrine courtyard. Before he could even steady himself, a sharp whistle suddenly cut through the air.

Looking up, he saw a chair tearing through the sky, rapidly growing larger in his vision.

Uchiha Itachi leaned backward, braced both hands against the ground, and watched helplessly as the chair grazed the tip of his nose before crashing into the wall behind him.

Bang! Accompanied by a deafening crash, cracks instantly spread across the sturdy white wall.

Looks like they were arguing pretty fiercely inside.

Uchiha Itachi dusted off his hands, bent down to pick up the lunch box, and calmly headed inside.

He had seen this sort of thing plenty of times. He had suffered for it a few times when he was two, but he was four now.

Besides, he did not like clan meetings. They always felt like a waste of time. Often, an entire meeting would end without anything being decided.

A complete waste—"Old man, your ass must be incredibly powerful if you can sit so firmly in the position of Seventh Hokage!"

"Uchiha Asuka.

Plans, plans. Do you even understand what a plan is?

If we follow the plan step by step, why can't an Uchiha become the Seventh Hokage?"

"I want to be the Fifth Hokage.

Why don't you come up with a plan to make me the Fifth Hokage?

The Fourth Hokage isn't even dead yet, and you're already eyeing the Seventh Hokage. You really do have foresight."

The ruckus from inside immediately interrupted Uchiha Itachi's thoughts. He hesitated before the tightly shut door, then clenched his fist and lightly knocked twice.

Knock! Knock! Creak!

As the doors slowly opened, Itachi was just about to step into the room when he felt the air inside freeze. His raised leg instantly stiffened in midair.

Being stared at by so many Three-Tomoe Sharingan was incredibly stressful.

He forced himself to walk to the seat of honor. After placing the lunch box on his father's desk, he took a step back and stood behind him, secretly observing the jonin.

One had a red nose, another had a swollen face. The one beside them had singed, curled hair, while the one near the doorway was still spewing black smoke from his mouth. What a brutal battle.

After taking in the scene below, Uchiha Itachi's mouth twitched, and he retreated another two steps.

It seemed the Second Hokage's assessment had been right. The Uchiha Clan was a mentally abnormal clan. That did not mean there were no normal people in the Uchiha Clan; it meant that normal Uchiha could not become strong.

And at Naka Shrine, all the clan's strongest members had gathered.

Standing on the table, Asuka glanced at Uchiha Itachi before taking a sheet of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and said,

"This is a collection I compiled after reading the clan's history from before and after the village's founding. I gathered together the words and actions involving Lord Madara and his younger brother, Lord Izuna.

By taking the ancients as our mirror, we will not lose our way; by taking the ancients as our mirror, we will understand the future."

Once everyone's attention had fallen on him, Asuka cleared his throat and began reading.

"Uchiha Izuna: If we want to seize power in the village now, we need a plausible pretext and must win over the Senju, so the other clans will join us. After we succeed, we split it thirty-seventy and divide up the other clans' power.

Uchiha Madara: Why only seventy percent? Izuna: The Senju get seventy percent. We take thirty, and even then we have to watch the Senju's expressions.

Madara: Whose expressions?

Izuna: Hashirama Senju's portrait.

Madara: I came all this way just to watch their expressions?

Izuna: Yes.

Madara: And I need a plausible pretext? Izuna: Yes.

Madara: And I have to win over the Senju? Izuna: Yes.

Madara: And I still have to watch the damn Senju's expressions? Just for thirty percent of the benefits in the end?

Izuna: Yes.

Madara: Wouldn't that make me a beggar kneeling for food? Izuna: Going by what you said, Brother, cooperating with the Senju is kneeling for food. Even then, plenty of clans want to kneel but don't have the qualifications!

Madara: Let me ask you this. Why do I activate Susanoo whenever I enter the Senju Clan Land? Because my legs aren't good enough to kneel!

Izuna: So Brother wants to fight for power while standing? Then you should go back to Konoha's rear mountains.

Madara: Hey, then I don't understand. I'm one of the two founders of Konoha. How am I worse off than running a clan on my own? Izuna: In the eyes of the other clans, you're a founder. In the Senju's eyes, you're a beggar kneeling for food. Fighting for power isn't shameful.

Madara: Shameful. Damn shameful!

Izuna: So, Brother, do you want to stand, or do you want to fight for power?

Madara: I want to stand, then fight for the village chief's position.

Izuna: Can't be done!

Madara: Can't be done? Izuna: Can't be done!

Madara: Can this be used to fight for it? [Uchiha artifact]

Izuna: Yes, but you have to kneel.

Madara: Then what about this? [Pointing at the Uchiha clan crest]

Izuna: Yes, with other villages.

Madara: Then can this [artifact] plus this [clan crest] be used to fight for it? Izuna: May I ask where Brother gets such confidence?

Madara opened his Mangekyo."

At that point, Asuka paused. After giving everyone time to react, he continued.

"You all know what happened afterward. Lord Izuna died at the hands of Senju Tobirama. For the peace of the ninja world, Lord Madara buried his brother's death deep in his heart, then founded a village with Hashirama Senju and named it Konoha.

Later, Lord Madara's Mangekyo lost to the First Hokage.

The reason I bring this up today is to tell you all this.

Lord Izuna already found the path for the Uchiha to become Hokage.

That is to win over the Senju and divide up the power held by the other clans."

The Uchiha attending this clan meeting might have had some mental issues, but there was nothing wrong with their brains.

After hearing Asuka's quotes from Lord Madara, their gazes deliberately—or seemingly casually—swept over Uchiha Fugaku.

No one knew whether Lord Madara had truly said such things, but some of the old men here had followed Lord Izuna in their youth.

After awakening his Mangekyo, Lord Izuna had been one of the clan's rare normal ninja.

Back then, Lord Izuna had been firmly opposed to joining forces with the Senju. There was every chance he had said things to provoke Lord Madara and stop the Uchiha Clan from allying with the Senju Clan.

Most importantly, things were different now. The Senju only had one person left.

If they allied with the Senju back then, the Uchiha would have been second-in-command.

If they allied with the Senju now, the Uchiha might become the leaders.

Mm. Better watch a little longer. No need to rush.

Then Asuka continued.

"Everyone, my stance remains the same.

If the Uchiha Clan wants to contend for the Hokage position, we need to win over the Senju Clan and gain the support of most people in the village.

So, Clan Head, for the Uchiha Clan's bright future, when are you getting divorced?"

Fugaku's face darkened at those words.

Damn it. This clan meeting had originally been about discussing the war with the Cloud Ninja. Yet after only a few sentences, it had somehow veered into the Hokage position. After talking about that for half the day, it had somehow veered into his marriage.

These clansmen could not go three sentences without mentioning the Hokage, while Uchiha Asuka could not go three sentences without telling him to get divorced.

Just as he was formulating his response, someone in the row of jonin at the very edge suddenly stood up.

"Ninth Generation, what are you trying to do?"

Seeing his younger brother suddenly rise, Uchiha Eight, seated in front of him, crossed his arms. His brows instantly knitted into a deep frown.

"I'm changing seats."

As he spoke, Uchiha Nine picked up the table in front of him. Looking down at his older brother, he continued,

"I don't hold any hatred toward the Senju Clan. I only care about the clan's bright future.

After hearing those old men's plans, I feel like I won't see any light for the next fifty years.

Since that's the case, why shouldn't I change?"

"Ninth Generation... you..."

Watching Uchiha Nine carry his table over to Uchiha Asuka, Eight suddenly felt a sour ache in his heart. The younger brother he had raised for nearly twenty years was finally leaving him.

He was no longer the Ninth Generation who only knew how to hide behind his brother.

Most importantly, there was no future in following Asuka. Telling people to get divorced was downright immoral.

Asuka looked somewhat surprised at Uchiha Nine behind him, then smiled.

"Oh, Ninth Generation, you really came to the right place. My team was missing someone exactly like you."

"Uh!"

Uchiha Nine froze. His gaze first fell on Asuka, then on himself, and finally turned toward the back. A team made up of just two people was truly a tearful sight.

And so, the clan meeting that had originally been meant to discuss how the Uchiha should participate in the war ultimately returned once more to the difficult question of how to get a Hokage from the clan.

After the clan meeting ended, Uchiha Itachi carried the news discussed at the meeting and ran all the way home.

Screech! Seeing his mother preparing ingredients in the kitchen, Itachi skidded to a stop with his feet together at the kitchen entrance. He poked his head inside and softly said,

"Mother, I'm back."

"Itachi! You're back."

Mikoto glanced at her son, a smile blooming on her face. Then her gaze drifted toward Naka Shrine, and she said pointedly,

"The clan meeting lasted so long today. They must have argued fiercely, right?"

Mm... Uchiha Itachi hesitated. One reason he had spent half the day at the clan meeting was because his mother had asked him to tell her about what happened there.

Otherwise, he would never have wasted half a day at such a boring clan meeting.

Seeing his mother look at him expectantly, Uchiha Itachi organized his words in his mind before recounting everything that had happened at the meeting.

Chop! Chop! The sound of chopping vegetables continuously rang out in the kitchen, but as Uchiha Itachi continued his account, the chopping gradually became heavier.

"Um... Mother..."

Watching the smile on his mother's face slowly turn icy, Uchiha Itachi stood on tiptoe and pointed at the finger she was using to hold down the vegetables, concern in his voice.

"I think you cut your hand."

"It's fine!"

Uchiha Mikoto shook the blood from her hand, then held her finger under the faucet to rinse it. Gritting her teeth, she softly reassured her son.

"It's normal... to get a few cuts while chopping vegetables."