Usurpation, Begin! (Seeking Recommendations!)

As the saying goes, plans can never keep up with change—life's journey is always full of unpredictable surprises. But Sōken didn't mind such surprises at all; a future that could be seen through at a glance was truly too dull, robbing one of the motivation to act. An unknown, unpredictable, chaotic future was far more worth anticipating and looking forward to!

No matter what others thought, Sōken enjoyed this kind of thrilling, exciting life!

It made him feel truly alive.

"I underestimated you, Lord Clan Head. A three-birds-with-one-stone move, truly masterful..."

Sōken walked briskly along the green stone slab path, with cherry trees in full bloom overhead, their elegant fragrance wafting through the wind and intoxicating the senses. Yet in his heart, a fire was burning—his fighting spirit ignited, his scarlet eyes sharp and bright.

Leaving the clan head's mansion, Sōken didn't head straight home. Instead, he followed the green stone slab path, taking the shortest route mapped out in his mind, and began making detours. Uchiha Arashiyama, Uchiha Chihaya, Uchiha Akitaro, Uchiha Futaba, Uchiha Jun, Uchiha Hokuto... one by one, he gathered his staunchest supporters.

Finally, even Shisui joined the ranks.

"Sōken, now... isn't it too soon?" Shisui was a bit uneasy. Making up his mind didn't mean he could completely cast aside his doubts—he was just born with a worrier's nature.

"Time waits for no one."

Sōken shook his head lightly. "If we let tonight pass, we might all be sent to the border to waste away, either eating sand or seafood."

"I hate seafood."

Uchiha Chihaya, that overly serious yet tragically flawed beauty, furrowed her brow. As Sōken's childhood friend, she had fought alongside him on the Eastern Front, cutting down Mist Ninja by the dozens while choking down all sorts of poorly prepared seafood.

The main problem was the cook's terrible skill.

Rough handling, rough cooking, everyone just made do. After a while, they naturally grew to hate seafood—Sōken was no exception.

"So, to avoid eating seafood, we have to succeed in the coup today! Otherwise, it's either obediently choke down seafood or draw our blades and fight those old bastards to the death." Sōken rallied everyone.

"Then I'll take out that old fossil Danzo."

Uchiha Hokuto, that little thorn, gripped the hilt of his longsword, a gleeful smile spreading across his face. This brat didn't know what fear was—like a fighting cock, always ready to pick a fight with anyone at any time.

"What are you saying? Sōken will definitely become clan head tonight, and then we'll have plenty of ways to deal with that old fossil Danzo."

Uchiha Arashiyama smacked the little thorn on the back of his head, suppressing that brawler.

On the cherry blossom-lined stone path, a group of young people swaggered past, their noisy chatter catching the attention of many clan members at home. When they realized that all these young people were jonin, those in the know immediately sensed that something was about to happen, boldly guessing that these youngsters might be planning to push the clan head to support a coup.

Sōken had no time to entertain the clan's conspiracy theories. After gathering his core team, he led the group straight home. By then, his parents had gone to the workshop, his sister was at the Ninja Academy, and only his grandfather, Genji Uchiha, was sitting alone under the old cherry tree, enjoying the blossoms.

"Grandfather."

Sōken stepped forward.

"Ready to start?"

Uchiha Genji acted as if he hadn't noticed the crowd behind his grandson, calmly pouring sake from a bottle into a Kiyomizu-yaki ceramic bowl. The deep red liquid swirled in the bowl.

"Yes. The clan head gave me a tough problem. If I can't achieve my goal tonight, I'll have to report to the Border Defense Force tomorrow. Knowing the village's upper echelons, if I dare leave the village, they probably won't let me reach the border alive."

Sōken spoke seriously.

"Not a bad move. It seems supporting Fugaku as clan head back then wasn't entirely a blind decision on our part."

"No, the more capable the clan head is, the greater the damage he'll cause the clan if he decides to abandon it." Sōken's stance remained as firm as ever. The cold-blooded monsters Itachi Uchiha and Obito Uchiha managed to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan, down to every last man, woman, and child, directly because Fugaku Uchiha, as clan head, gave up resisting.

There were so many jonin in the clan, veterans of countless battles, some who could match Hatake Kakashi years later. But without the clan head stepping up to coordinate, the panicked clansmen fought separately and were picked off one by one, allowing Konoha's premier clan to be annihilated at almost no cost.

"Sōken, why do you always think Fugaku will abandon the clan?"

"Just intuition!"

Sōken answered frankly.

Even if some things might not happen now, that didn't mean he could set aside his grudges and get along amicably with Fugaku Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha.

To put it bluntly, he didn't like that father and son.

Uchiha Genji held the ceramic bowl, staring at Sōken for seven or eight seconds before finally looking away. He tilted his head back, downed the sake in one gulp, set the empty bowl on the green stone slab beside him, and asked, "What exactly do you plan to do?"

"Grandfather, please go find Elder Ryuji and Elder Homaru. Use your authority as elders to convene a gathering of the clan at the Naka Shrine."

"Not enough."

Uchiha Genji shook his head, raising three fingers of his right hand and waving them.

"Just the three of us isn't enough. If the other three don't support it, and the clan head opposes... the request for an emergency gathering won't pass. We need at least four people—we need to find one more, to avoid any mishaps."

As he spoke, he looked toward Shisui, standing not far behind Sōken.

The Uchiha Clan currently had six elders assisting the clan head in managing affairs. Uchiha Genji was Sōken's grandfather, naturally supporting him. Elder Ryuji was Genji's old friend, and his granddaughter was the tragically flawed beauty Uchiha Chihaya, Sōken's childhood friend.

Adding Elder Homaru, who had expressed support for Sōken last night, that made only three.

"Shisui, I need you to help me convince Elder Jun to support me."

Sōken turned around, looking directly into Shisui's eyes, and made his request.

Though Shisui had few close friends in the clan, he had an elder backing him—Uchiha Jun, the famous Kagami Uchiha's younger cousin. Unlike his short-lived cousin, this old man had not only survived to the present but also served as a clan elder.

"I... I understand."

Shisui hesitated for a second, then agreed.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Shisui."

Sōken didn't waste too much time bickering with Shisui. Convening the gathering at the Naka Shrine was just the beginning; he still needed support from more clan members. A major event like a clan head succession couldn't simply be decided by a few elders on a whim. The Uchiha Clan, with its ancient tradition of assemblies, still placed considerable importance on the opinions of its members.

Of course, every clan member who could attend the gathering was, without exception, a ninja. Those who weren't ninjas wouldn't get involved in this mess.

To gain an advantage at the gathering, Sōken needed to win over as many clan members as possible in the time leading up to it.

Fortunately, his small team could help him reach out to plenty of supporters.

Everyone, if you think this book is decent, please throw in a recommendation vote, even just one! Your votes are my motivation to keep writing!