New Clan Head (Please Vote! Please Invest!)

"Sōken, who exactly do you think you're threatening?"

Elder Homaru was so furious his eyes widened.

There was no helping it—his earlier tirade had been one thing, but what was with that final threat?

He believed the Uchiha should be spirited and arrogant, but... wasn't this taking arrogance a bit too far? Was this any way to threaten people into supporting him?

Yet before Elder Homaru could get an answer from Sōken, Uchiha An beside him—the only female elder—stepped toward Genji Uchiha and the others. Uchiha Arashiyama, quick to react, took two steps back to make room for Elder An.

At this point, four of the Six Clan Elders had declared their support for Sōken.

"Elder An... I never expected..."

Sōken glanced at the frosty old woman. This was support he had not anticipated!

"An?!"

Elder Homaru stared in disbelief.

"Opposing the Coup?"

Elder Shinzaburo softly repeated the words twice. He looked at Fugaku Uchiha, whose expression was as grim as ever, and sighed quietly to himself. Still, he stepped forward after Elder An and joined the camp supporting Sōken. Five of the six elders had now made their stance clear.

Only Elder Homaru remained, his eyes wide as bells.

"Shinzaburo, even you... You lot used to argue so much my ears hurt. Who would've thought that this time..." Elder Homaru grumbled under his breath, but his feet moved swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing with his old companions again.

No matter what, as elders, they were still capable of listening to reason.

Sōken's tirade had been harsh to the ear, but it had also made sense. A Coup was something that demanded the utmost caution, not something to be casually spread around in private until everyone knew about it and no one could see any hope of success.

If Fugaku truly supported a Coup, he should have controlled the clan members' words and actions from the very beginning, instead of passively choosing a Coup under pressure from their will.

By comparison, Sōken, who dared to declare his opposition to a Coup in front of so many clan members who supported one, truly possessed more of the bearing of a clan head than Fugaku did.

"[A flock of sheep led by a lion can defeat a pride of lions led by a sheep]. That was something Sōken mentioned when we were chatting. Supposedly, it was a famous saying from some hero of the Warring States period." Elder Ryuji looked at his old companions and sighed softly. "We chose the wrong man back then. Fugaku... he is too easily influenced by others."

Elder Genshi, Elder Jun, and Elder Shinzaburo all lowered their eyes, guilt gnawing at their hearts like insects.

They too bore an inescapable responsibility for the clan's fall to its current state.

Just then, "A flock of sheep led by a lion? An interesting metaphor."

Elder An smiled.

"It seems we old fools really were blind back then. But there's no use talking about the past. As long as we choose the right person this time, that's enough!" This old woman, whose smile carried a chill, was remarkably broad-minded and openhearted. She took the opportunity to lecture her old friends. "We have no ability to change the past, but the future is still worth looking forward to, isn't it? What matters now is supporting Sōken's rise to power. Save your regrets for when you crawl back home and do whatever you old wastes want with them. But don't stand here acting all awkward and disgusting."

"An, you... Sigh!!!"

Elder Genshi shook his head helplessly. He was already old enough to have grandchildren, yet her tongue was still as sharp as ever!

Still, the elders who had been lashed by her sharp tongue did pull themselves together, turning their wordless yet eloquent gazes toward the familiar Jonin.

Thus, the Jonin of the clan began to move. Those who had originally stood on the right side moved as far back as they could, making room for the clan members coming over from the other side. In barely half a minute, aside from the few standing behind Fugaku Uchiha, every other Jonin had chosen to support Sōken.

Whether they had been inspired by Sōken's words, intimidated by his threats, or acting on the elders' instructions, the final result perfectly matched Sōken's expectations.

He had remained wary of Fugaku Uchiha potentially erupting after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, but the former Lord Clan Head displayed remarkable patience. It was hard to tell whether he had never awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at all, or whether he was simply exceptionally good at enduring.

"This is practically Schrödinger's Mangekyo!"

At that thought, Sōken shook his head. Whether that superposed Mangekyō existed or not, Fugaku Uchiha choosing not to cause trouble at this moment was not a bad thing for him!

Impeaching and denouncing Fugaku Uchiha was merely meant to undermine his prestige and prevent him from making certain moves in the future. Sōken had never intended to kill the former clan head as some sort of sacrifice—that was absolutely out of the question. Casting him aside and leaving him idle was about the limit of how far he could go.

Still, as he looked at Fugaku Uchiha's face, calm as deep water and as unsmiling as ever, no different from usual, Sōken felt that this former clan head did not seem particularly dejected over being impeached and removed from office. Instead, he vaguely seemed relieved?

"That can't be possible, right? No matter how lacking in conviction he is, it can't be to this extent, can it?"

Just as Sōken was muttering to himself inwardly, "Sōken-kun, this is the Clan Head's Seal."

Without anyone urging him, Fugaku Uchiha stuffed the seal he carried into Sōken's hand.

This time, Sōken was certain.

Watching Fugaku Uchiha step lightly aside to make room for the elders, Sōken touched the seal in his hand, which still retained a trace of warmth. He was finally certain that Fugaku Uchiha truly had no mind of his own as clan head. If one ignored that fierce-looking face that misled others, it might have been easy to notice the flaws in Fugaku Uchiha's character.

He lacked independent judgment, his will was weak, and he was always unconsciously swept along by others' opinions, causing his stance to swing back and forth between the village and the clan.

Even so, when the clansmen voiced their support for Sōken succeeding as clan head, he felt no resentment or bitterness. He chose to accept it.

And so, under the direction of the six Elders and witnessed by more than forty Jonin of the clan, Uchiha Sōken took over the position and seal of the clan head.

Originally, the Uchiha Clan had no such thing as a clan head's seal.

The Uchiha Gunbai was the symbol of the clan head.

However, Madara Uchiha's defection had caused the Uchiha Gunbai to disappear. After discussing the matter, the newly appointed clan head and the Elders at the time came up with this seal to replace the Uchiha Gunbai as the symbol of the clan head's identity. It could not compare at all to the Uchiha Gunbai, which could be called a divine artifact—it was merely an identifying token.

"Sōken, from this moment onward... you are the new clan head of our Uchiha Clan."

Genji Uchiha looked at his fifteen-year-old eldest grandson with a complicated expression and patted Sōken on the shoulder. "The clan's survival will rest on your shoulders from now on. I don't know whether this is right or wrong... Just do everything you can!"

"Don't worry, Grandfather! Uchiha's glory will surely endure in my hands!!!"

Sōken stood tall, like a straight, ancient pine rooted in mountain rock, and solemnly swore this oath before the former clan head, the Elders, and the many clansmen.

The transition of clan heads was completed smoothly. The Uchiha Clan had inherited the rules passed down since the Warring States period; every succession of clan heads had always been simple, never involving any flashy Rituals. Simple, swift, efficient—full of the style of the Warring States period.

Please vote! Please invest! Please bookmark!!!