Reborn as Uchiha Fugaku

Uchiha Clan, Naka Shrine.

"If this continues, there will be no place left for the Uchiha Clan in Konoha!"

"We must fight back. We absolutely cannot sit and wait for death!"

"That's right, we must fight back. We absolutely cannot sit and wait for death!"

"Launch a coup d'état! Only by launching a rebellion can the Uchiha Clan survive!"

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the clansmen on either side, locked in heated debate, and felt a faint headache coming on.

They wanted to launch a coup d'état with this little strength? Were they tired of living?

He was not the original Uchiha Fugaku. Not long ago, he had transmigrated into Uchiha Fugaku and taken over his body.

Before he had even had time to sort out his thoughts, he had been forced to play the role of Uchiha Fugaku and attend this clan meeting.

Seeing the indignant Uchiha clansmen, he felt utterly speechless.

How much strength did the Uchiha Clan have now?

After excluding a few traitors and himself, a hidden Mangekyō Sharingan user, the strength they had left was not even enough to deal with the Hokage's direct Anbu.

With that little strength, they still wanted to launch a coup d'état? Had their brains gone bad?

If their brains were not working, he suggested they nourish them and eat some walnuts.

Eh, it seemed this place did not produce walnuts. No wonder so many people here did not have enough brains.

"Quiet!"

Considering that he was currently playing the role of Uchiha Fugaku, Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, he could not remain silent at a time like this.

He forced himself to stay calm and shouted to stop them.

Hearing his shout, the clansmen who had been arguing fiercely fell silent and turned their eyes toward him.

Some looked at him mockingly, while others looked at him with contempt...

Clearly, Uchiha Fugaku, as Clan Head, was deeply unpopular.

That was normal. Ever since Uchiha Fugaku had taken charge of the Uchiha Clan, the clan's situation had worsened day by day. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly win the support of his clansmen?

"I wonder what brilliant insight the Clan Head has?"

An elderly man with a thin build and burn scars across the right half of his face looked at Uchiha Fugaku and spoke with mockery in his voice.

He was the Uchiha Clan's First Elder, Uchiha Setsuna, as well as the instigator and leading advocate of the coup d'état within the clan.

He had always looked down on Uchiha Fugaku, who was weak by nature and retreated again and again in the face of Konoha's pressure.

Thus, he had always paid lip service to Uchiha Fugaku's orders while defying them in practice, and sometimes he even deliberately opposed him.

Under Uchiha Setsuna's gaze, Uchiha Fugaku felt his scalp tingle.

In his previous life, he had merely been an ordinary person. Faced with Uchiha Setsuna, an Elite Jonin who had killed who knew how many people and emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he instinctively felt intimidated.

Fortunately, after becoming Uchiha Fugaku, he had inherited Uchiha Fugaku's memories. Having experienced them as if firsthand, it was almost equivalent to possessing the same experiences as Uchiha Fugaku.

Coupled with the fact that he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and was only stronger than Uchiha Setsuna, he managed to remain calm.

With a "stern" expression, he said,

"With the Uchiha Clan's current strength, launching a coup d'état would be no different from striking a stone with an egg. A coup d'état is absolutely inadvisable, at least for now!"

"To say that launching a coup d'état is like striking a stone with an egg—I cannot agree with that."

An elderly man with a hooked nose and a thin frame spoke coldly.

He was the Uchiha Clan's Third Elder, Uchiha Sima. Like First Elder Uchiha Setsuna, he was also a staunch supporter of the coup d'état.

"Third Elder, please speak your mind."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the man warily.

Like First Elder Uchiha Setsuna, this man was also an Elite Jonin who had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Since the Clan Head says so, then I will speak plainly. The Clan Head greatly underestimates our Uchiha Clan. The Uchiha Clan is Konoha's foremost great clan, and our strength surpasses that of every other clan in Konoha."

"With such strength, I do not believe launching a coup d'état would be like striking a stone with an egg."

"Konoha's foremost great clan? Strength surpassing all others in Konoha?"

"Third Elder, I did not expect you to still be living in the glory of the past—and that it has become so severe that you can no longer see reality clearly."

Uchiha Fugaku fixed Third Elder Uchiha Sima with a "stern" gaze.

It was precisely because these older generations, still living in past glory, incited and took the lead that calls for a coup d'état within the Uchiha Clan had grown louder and louder, ultimately leading to the clan's destruction.

"How am I living in the glory of the past? How can I not see reality clearly?"

"I think you are the one who has forgotten the glory of the Uchiha Clan. You disregarded the clan's honor, compromised and yielded again and again, and what did that bring? The Uchiha Clan being suppressed time and time again."

Uchiha Sima snorted coldly.

He was utterly disappointed by Uchiha Fugaku's weak performance over the years.

It was precisely because Uchiha Fugaku had compromised and yielded again and again that the Uchiha Clan had ended up in its current state.

"I admit that my repeated compromises and concessions caused the Uchiha Clan to lose quite a few benefits."

"However, whether you admit it or not, the fact is that the Uchiha Clan is no longer what it once was."

"The three Great Ninja Wars depleted too much of the Uchiha Clan's strength. Although we barely retain the title of Konoha's foremost great clan, in terms of strength, we are not much stronger than the other clans."

"Once we launch a coup d'état, the Uchiha Clan will not only face the Hokage's faction, but the strength of the entire village. Do you think the Uchiha Clan, with our current strength, has the ability to contend with that?"

Uchiha Fugaku asked in a deep voice.

"Our targets are Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, along with their clans. We do not need to make enemies of every clan in Konoha."

Uchiha Sima argued.

"We do not need to make enemies of every clan in Konoha? Don't you think saying that is deceiving yourself?"

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Sima mockingly.

"Given the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the other clans in the village, the other clans will absolutely not allow the Uchiha Clan to rise to power. They will absolutely not allow the Uchiha Clan's coup d'état to succeed."

"If the Uchiha Clan launches a coup d'état, the only result will be being jointly attacked by every clan in Konoha."

"This..."

Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, Third Elder Uchiha Sima was unable to find anything to refute for a moment.

He knew that the Uchiha Clan had poor relations with the other clans in the village.

If they had to choose between the Konoha High Command and the Uchiha Clan, the other clans would most likely choose the Konoha High Command.

"Then according to the Clan Head, should we simply abandon the matter of the coup d'état and continue allowing the Konoha High Command to suppress and restrain the Uchiha Clan?"

First Elder Uchiha Setsuna asked with a cold laugh.

"No. The conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha High Command is not the Uchiha Clan's fault, but the result of the Konoha High Command's suppression of the Uchiha Clan."

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.

Although it was extremely foolish for the Uchiha Clan to talk about a coup d'état every day, he had to admit that the Uchiha Clan was not at fault in this matter. The fault lay with the Konoha High Command.

It was the Konoha High Command's repeated suppression of the Uchiha Clan that had ultimately caused calls for a coup d'état within the Uchiha Clan.

"Then what do you say we should do?"

First Elder Uchiha Setsuna pressed.

"Given the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's High Command, resolving it through negotiation is indeed impossible."

"I support a coup d'état—or rather, the adoption of forceful measures—but not now."

Uchiha Fugaku swept his gaze over every clansman present as he spoke.

"Now, the Uchiha Clan has produced gifted individuals one after another. Shisui and Itachi are even geniuses like Namikaze Minato."

"If we can give them time and let them grow, the Uchiha Clan will gain two more figures like Namikaze Minato. Once that happens, what goal could we fail to achieve? Why rush for the moment?"

He knew that Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi had already become traitors.

However, this could not be made public for now. Instead, it had to be concealed.

He needed to make use of the Uchiha clansmen's expectations for the two of them to temporarily suppress the matter of the coup d'état and proceed gradually.