The Old Man Cares About Saving Face

The Uchiha watched Kazuna excitedly.

There were only a little over thirty Jonin in the entire Uchiha clan, and Kazuna had taken down twenty in one go?

Although some had been Special Jonin, and although those ninja could not compare to the Uchiha's Jonin, it still proved Kazuna's combat strength.

The Uchiha counted on their fingers. Was there anyone in Konohagakure who could stand against Kazuna?

The answer was no!

Even the Third Hokage absolutely could not face a combination of twenty Jonin and Special Jonin at once.

Besides, Kazuna possessed the Mangekyo and power such as Susanoo. Fugaku had it too, and even if he was somewhat weaker, the gap could not be that great, could it?

With two ninja this powerful in the Uchiha clan, what was there to fear?

An Uchiha immediately shouted a slogan: "Defeat the evil Hiruzen Sarutobi! Kill the dark Shimura Danzō! Capture Mito alive..."

Kazuna stared at that Uchiha with a face full of black lines and said with a half-smile, "You have some pretty heavy tastes. Go on, go on!"

That Uchiha immediately lowered his head.

"All right, all right." Kazuna waved a hand. "It's such a small matter. Is it worth getting this excited over? It makes our Uchiha look like we've never seen the world. I still prefer that unruly look of yours. Get back to normal!"

The Uchiha all curled their lips.

Show-off!

Just keep showing off!

As if you were not excited when you first gained this power!

"Kazuna is right!" Fugaku suddenly said. "The Mangekyo is forbidden power. Do not use it unless necessary. It is a trump card, not conventional strength."

The Uchiha were astonished.

But Kazuna knew that Fugaku was warning him.

Fugaku must have used the Mangekyo's power many times, so he understood the consequences of using it.

Perhaps Fugaku's eyesight had already been affected.

That explained why Kazuna had so easily risen to Vice Clan Leader and taken control of the clan!

But Kazuna would not suffer that fate!

He could use the Mangekyo's power freely.

He would not be afraid even if he kept Susanoo active every day.

Kazuna lightly covered his eyes. He had thought he would need the Fruit to continuously raise his Dojutsu level until he obtained the Eternal Mangekyo before he could use its power without restraint.

Who would have thought that the awakened Mangekyo had truly given him a pleasant surprise in terms of Dojutsu?

"Back to the topic at hand!" Fugaku said in a deep voice. "If the Hokage Faction has lost twenty Jonin and Special Jonin, they truly will not dare act rashly. After all, the Uchiha still have three pairs of Mangekyo!"

"Three pairs?"

The Uchiha froze.

Fugaku had one pair, and Kazuna had one pair. Where was the third?

Fugaku did not hide it. "Shisui, Uchiha Shisui, has also awakened the Mangekyo!"

He shot Shisui a fierce glare.

Kazuna had been the one to tell him that news.

Every time he thought of it, he felt indignant.

Had he contributed any less to the clan?

Not one of them trusted him!

"Shisui?"

Zongyi's eyes widened.

Even he had not known about this!

Shisui gave an awkward smile and looked at Kazuna.

He had only told Kazuna and... huh?

Shisui froze. He understood a little now.

Kazuna explained, "Shisui has also awakened the Mangekyo, and he has already informed the Hokage and the others. Therefore, the Uchiha having three pairs of Mangekyo is enough to make the Hokage Faction quiet down."

"Heaven blesses the Uchiha!"

The surprise had come too suddenly. Instead, the Uchiha fell silent.

They were at a loss.

So their clan's strength was even greater than they had imagined.

Then what were they still enduring for?

More than one or two people thought that way.

Yet under Kazuna's amused gaze, every one of them fell silent as cicadas in winter.

Fugaku was extremely forceful within the Uchiha. Both the Hawk Faction and the Dove Faction had been suppressed by him before, so quite a few people feared him.

But when it came to Kazuna, the Uchiha felt terror.

Because there was no telling what method he would use to deal with you.

For example, last time, he had used genjutsu to control an Uchiha and make him perform a pole dance!

That was simply more unbearable than death.

That man had fallen directly into depression. Even now, he hid in his room and refused to leave.

"Remember..."

Kazuna pointed at the Uchiha and said solemnly, "You are all high-ranking members of the Uchiha, not green youths. Do not act impulsively, or you'll get beaten down."

Setsuna's face went dark.

He felt as though he had suffered an attack from the Mangekyo.

The gazes landing on him from around the room also seemed to have increased.

"You little bastard, I'll find a chance to teach you a lesson!"

Kazuna continued, "The Uchiha are powerful, but the village is even more powerful. We must avoid civil war. It benefits no one. Moreover, the other villages are eyeing the Uchiha bloodline greedily. You should all understand that very well. Without Konohagakure, could we remain intact under attacks from the other villages? Clear your heads. Our situation is excellent right now, so do not destroy our own hope."

"Yes!"

Kazuna's expression softened somewhat. "Follow the arrangements I gave you. Take things step by step and advance steadily. If you spread your legs too wide, you'll tear your balls off, and you'll be the ones hurting!"

The Uchiha stared at Kazuna speechlessly.

As the Uchiha's Vice Clan Leader and the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Kazuna was far too down-to-earth.

"All right, go handle your own piles of work!"

"Yes!"

Yashiro and the others left one after another.

Only Fugaku, the three others, Kazuna, Shisui, and Itachi remained in the room.

These six made up the further refined core of the Uchiha.

The Clan Leader's faction, the Hawk Faction, the Dove Faction, and the emerging faction.

There was no need to mention Shisui and Itachi. They had automatically changed factions, and their seats had moved closer to Kazuna as well.

"The plan is progressing smoothly," Kazuna said. "The struggle between the Uchiha and the Hokage Faction has been brought into the open. Now it depends on who will step in. I believe most ninja clans are unwilling to get involved."

"No one is stupid, especially not the leaders of major clans. They all know that joining in now would only make them cannon fodder. Besides, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others are no longer trustworthy. In a few days, I'll find a way to drive that point home."

Fugaku said, "We must keep an eye on the major clans. Their strength cannot be underestimated either. The Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, Inuzuka..."

"I can keep most of them neutral. The Hyuga and Ino-Shika-Cho are no exception. I may even get them to stand on our side. That depends on whether Hiruzen Sarutobi is willing to cooperate."

As expected, that statement drew numerous astonished looks.

The Hyuga were one thing, but Ino-Shika-Cho were ironclad supporters of the Hokage.

They could be won over too?

Fugaku glanced at Kazuna and said, "I knew you could not have spent these peaceful years merely winning over people within the clan. Fine, I'll leave everything to you."

Kazuna did not mind Fugaku's lukewarm tone.

The old man had been pulled from his position by him and could not save face. That was understandable.

In truth, he had already given Fugaku plenty of face. Otherwise, why would there have been a need to use the position of Vice Clan Leader as a transition? He would have become Clan Leader directly.

It was just that Fugaku still had considerable prestige within the clan, and the village's attitude also needed to be considered.

Kazuna would first become Vice Clan Leader and take over real authority. In a few years, he would smoothly become the new Clan Leader. That way, everyone would look good, so Fugaku had better not make trouble for him.

Everyone knew it perfectly well!

"Are your eyes all right?" Fugaku suddenly asked.

Setsuna and Zongyi also turned their gazes toward him.

They were all among the Uchiha's core members and knew some of the clan's secrets.

For example, the side effects of the Mangekyo.

Even Madara Uchiha had encountered such a predicament back then. What about Kazuna?

Taking out fourteen Jonin in one battle sounded incredibly powerful, but how much of the Mangekyo's power had that consumed?

Kazuna covered his eyes and smiled faintly. Rather than answering, he looked toward the other side and slowly said, "Friend, you've been here for so long and listened for so long. Don't you want to say something?"

At those words, Fugaku and the others' expressions changed drastically.

Someone was here?

They turned and looked where Kazuna was pointing.

There.

After the space twisted, a Person in a spiral orange mask appeared.

"Yo, greetings, everyone of the Uchiha!"