Who Agrees, Who Opposes

"Izumi?"

Uchiha Hikari remembered—

If she recalled correctly, this girl seemed to be Itachi's age. She had once been saved by him on the night of the Nine-Tails attack, but in the end, she had died alongside the other clan members on the night of the massacre.

"Have you been the one delivering vegetables lately?"

"No. Rikka-senpai came yesterday, and Nanami came the day before... We're all newcomers who just joined the Military Police Force. We patrol this area every day, so the clan asked us to bring these ingredients to you. If there's anything you need, Grand Ancestor, you can tell us anytime, and we'll buy it for you."

Izumi Uchiha answered obediently.

"Rikka, Nanami..."

Uchiha Hikari repeated the names to herself, confirming that neither was familiar to her.

But that made sense. Errands like this would hardly be assigned to the clan's elites, much less Fugaku himself.

"Don't be so nervous. Grand Ancestor isn't going to eat you."

Uchiha Hikari stepped forward and patted Izumi's shoulder with a smile. "Take me to the Uchiha Compound. I have something to discuss with your clan head."

After following Izumi downstairs, Uchiha Hikari met the Rikka and Nanami she had mentioned.

They were both teenagers as well, one boy and one girl. After nervously bowing and greeting Uchiha Hikari, they hurried back to report.

Twenty minutes later, when Uchiha Hikari arrived at the Uchiha Compound on the southwestern side of Konoha under Izumi's guidance, a huge crowd had already gathered there. Clan head Fugaku still stood at the front, surrounded by numerous elders, clan Jonin, and civilians. Sasuke, held by Uchiha Mikoto's hand, was among them too, curiously craning his neck.

Next.

Fugaku solemnly introduced Uchiha Hikari's identity to the gathered clan members, then led her into the compound for a warm and friendly tour.

During that time, several Uchiha elders, intentionally or otherwise, suggested that they wanted to "witness" the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. They even subtly tried to encourage Uchiha Hikari to spar with Shisui.

Fugaku immediately spoke up to reprimand them.

Uchiha Hikari could not tell whether this little episode had been staged by Fugaku or whether those elders genuinely lacked tact. But the first request suited her perfectly—if no one had brought it up, she would have had to consider how to establish her authority without seeming too abrupt.

"Fine."

"Since you insist on seeing it, I'll make a slight move and let you understand the gap between us."

As she spoke, Uchiha Hikari gathered a little momentum, then activated the third stage of Susanoo on the spot. Under the gazes of the Uchiha, she rose into the air and slashed toward the edge of the compound with Hundred Eight Segments · Heavy Cannon Slash.

With a single slash.

Accompanied by an earth-shattering boom, scarlet sword energy tore through the sky and plowed a vacuum strip dozens of meters long through the forest. Everything in its path—trees, shrubs, rocks, rubble, even several startled wild rabbits and sparrows—was instantly shredded to pieces by the crisscrossing sword energy.

After doing all that, Uchiha Hikari casually descended from the air, neither flushed nor out of breath. She also gave each of those elders a dose of Marked Tsukuyomi.

These Tsukuyomi were naturally not like the ones prepared for Danzo. They merely made the elders walk through a desert for several hours. While she was at it, she planted marks on them.

As for why she had done that...

"Disrespecting your elders and treating them as children. This is a small punishment as a warning. Don't let it happen again!"

Once they emerged from the genjutsu space, several elders looked exhausted. Yet their gazes toward Uchiha Hikari now carried a bit more reverence.

"Was that genjutsu just now the Tsukuyomi mentioned in the records? And that Dark Red giant must have been Susanoo! The records say activating such an Eye Technique places an enormous burden on the body, even causing bloody tears to flow from the eyes, but you..."

"...Heh."

Uchiha Hikari swept a cold glance over them. "That level of attack did not even count as a warm-up for me. During the Warring States period, there were at least dozens of Uchiha clansmen capable of doing that. Only a hundred years have passed, and you've already declined to this extent?"

"...We have disappointed you, Grand Ancestor."

The elders, along with Fugaku, all showed ashamed expressions.

Uchiha Hikari was naturally lying.

That slash had not been her full-strength attack, but it had definitely not been an ordinary basic attack either.

And as for Uchiha clansmen capable of that level of power, forget the early Warring States period—even during the Uchiha Clan's most prosperous era under Madara, there probably would not have been more than ten. But because she spoke with such certainty, and because her powerful recovery made it look as though she had suffered no expenditure at all, the elders were genuinely fooled. One by one, they began reflecting on themselves.

As for the suggestion that she spar with Shisui...

Uchiha Hikari pretended not to hear it.

—In truth, sparring once would not have been a problem. After all, Shisui had no reason to suddenly hit her with a Heavenly Hand Power in such a setting. But when facing a Mangekyō whose ability was practically a bug, Uchiha Hikari did not want to take even the slightest risk. If the day came when she had no choice but to meet those eyes, then either she would already be confident that Heavenly Hand Power could not affect her, or it would be time to fight to the death.

Since Uchiha Hikari did not bring it up, Shisui's personality naturally meant that he would not take the initiative to challenge her, an "elder."

After Uchiha Hikari displayed her strength in public and indiscriminately threw out several Tsukuyomi as punishment, the surrounding Uchiha finally began treating her with deference. They corrected their attitudes and spoke to her as juniors.

Fugaku tentatively suggested that she guide some of the clan's promising young talents in her spare time.

Uchiha Hikari agreed casually.

At noon, she was invited to Fugaku's home for lunch. Only after the meal did she discuss the Uchiha's current situation with Fugaku and several elders in her capacity as an "elder."

Shisui did not attend.

His seniority was not yet sufficient to involve him in a meeting of this decision-making level.

"...This is the roster of every Uchiha clansman. Please review it, Grand Ancestor."

"Mm, let me see."

Uchiha Hikari accepted the roster and skimmed through it rapidly. "There are so few clansmen with Three Tomoe? Out of several hundred people, there aren't even twenty?"

"Yes. You know the conditions for awakening the Sharingan. Reaching Three Tomoe is still rather difficult. Among the current clan members, those with Two-Tomoe are the most numerous."

Fugaku explained quietly, "But there are still several outstanding juniors. For example, Inu Zi Itachi awakened Three Tomoe at just eleven years old. And that child named Izumi who brought you here has awakened Two-Tomoe as well. She is very likely to become a Jonin within a few years...

"This time, when I asked the Third Hokage to increase the number of Uchiha allowed into the Anbu, I wanted to recommend Izumi and two other children."

Uchiha Hikari narrowed her eyes slightly.

When she had proposed adding more Jonin team leader positions to Sarutobi Hiruzen yesterday, her main consideration had been opening up exchanges between the Uchiha and other clans. It seemed she had stumbled into this by accident.

"The current Uchiha live a little too comfortably."

"You mean..."

"During our Warring States period, if someone could not awaken Three Tomoe by the age of twelve, they basically would never get the chance, because they would soon die in the chaos of war."

Uchiha Hikari raised her head. "I've already observed it. That Military Police Force of yours is supposedly meant to maintain Konoha's public order, but all it handles are trivial matters. The truly important matters are controlled by the Anbu. Work that even Genin can do not only wastes manpower, but also severely weakens the Uchiha Clan's fighting spirit. Have you ever considered giving up part of the Military Police Force's authority?"

"Ah?"

Fugaku froze.

Before he could speak, Uchiha Yatshiro beside him immediately tried to dissuade her. "Grand Ancestor, absolutely not. The Military Police Force is the foundation of the Uchiha Clan. How could we—"

"Idiot!"

"The Sharingan is the foundation of the Uchiha Clan!"

Uchiha Hikari rebuked him sternly. "Without strength, no amount of authority is anything more than a castle in the air. I never expected that after living to such an age, you still could not understand something so basic... No wonder the Uchiha have become so weak and pathetic!"

"Grand Ancestor, isn't that a little too harsh..."

Several Uchiha elders flushed red as they held back their anger.

In fact, only Uchiha Hikari dared to say that.

If it had been anyone else, even Uchiha Fugaku, calling the current Uchiha "weak and pathetic," they probably would have slammed the table already.

"What, you're still unconvinced?"

Uchiha Hikari tilted her head. "Among a major clan of several hundred people, only Uchiha Shisui has strength that barely catches the eye. The rest are nothing but a disorderly rabble—simple-minded, short-sighted, arrogant, and conceited... With such ability, you still want to take control of Konoha? Even if you were placed in that position, do you really think you could do better than Sarutobi Hiruzen? Could you properly handle Konoha's clans and its relationships with the other ninja villages?"

"..."

The Uchiha elders fell silent.

Their pride made them want to say they could, but the small amount of reason they still possessed told them that perhaps they truly could not.

After a brief silence.

Uchiha Hikari spoke again.

"I have already proposed to Sarutobi Hiruzen that a small number of Military Police Force positions be exchanged for opportunities for Uchiha clansmen to enter the Ninja Academy's teaching staff and the Jonin Class. These two departments have close contact with other clans, offering more opportunities for interaction and combat. The Jonin Class is also one of Konoha's power institutions, with the authority to interfere in the election of the Hokage... Rather than placing your hopes on the Anbu, which is tightly controlled by the Hokage, why not change your approach?"

"I know your interpersonal skills are worrying, but at least spend some effort on appearances. And there must be plenty of people in the clan as stubborn and opinionated as you are. How to convince them is your problem. If you cannot even handle the relationships within your own clan, then stop dreaming every day about becoming the shadow of a village."

After a pause, Uchiha Hikari offered them a reward as well. "From now on, I will set aside time to personally guide your training. Before your strength meets my expectations, put away your arrogance. But... if anyone can meet my expectations, I will give them certain rewards as appropriate."

"I've said my piece. Who agrees, and who opposes?"