Disaster Comes from the Mouth

"Uchiha Akira, I—"

Uchiha Itachi gritted his teeth, but before he could finish, Uchiha Akira had already released him and reached toward Uchiha Shisui beside him, giving his hand a firm shake.

Forget it.

He and Uchiha Akira hardly spoke under normal circumstances anyway.

"You should learn more from Shisui. Then fewer people would call you a dead-fish face."

Akira's voice came again.

Uchiha Itachi: "..."

Damn it!

Was he going to keep chasing him down like this?

He had never seen such a detestable person!

"Alright, alright. We're all from the Uchiha Clan. There's no need to argue over such a minor matter." Uchiha Shisui smiled helplessly as he tried to smooth things over. "Akira is just a little too enthusiastic when he speaks."

A thoughtful look flickered through his eyes as he swept his gaze over every person Akira had greeted just now.

There were members of the Dove faction, as well as the Hawk faction.

In other words...

Akira was not one of the Hawk faction. The Hawk faction would never take the initiative to greet members of the Dove faction. Sure enough, Akira possessed the magnanimity to hope the village and the Uchiha could get along peacefully!

With that thought, the warmth in his eyes deepened.

"It's been a long time, Akira. The last time you came to the clan meeting seemed to have—" Uchiha Shisui faltered.

"I've never attended a clan meeting. I was too young before, and later I was too busy."

Akira kindly reminded him.

Why the hell would he come to a clan meeting?

They could talk all night. With that time, he would rather go to the Senju Clan and grind for progress!

"Uh... alright. At the last clan meeting, Senior Xianren firmly believed that the Uchiha should not continue enduring things, while Senior Yashiro believed that the Uchiha should coexist peacefully with the village."

A trace of concern surfaced in Shisui's eyes. He sighed and gave Akira a meaningful glance.

"The two of them argued fiercely last time. I'm afraid it will be the same this time. What do you think, Akira?"

Akira knew these two well.

One represented the Hawk faction.

The other represented the Dove faction.

They could be said to represent the differing views within the Uchiha Clan, though there were more Uchiha in the Hawk faction.

"What opinion could an ordinary clansman like me possibly have?"

Akira lazily clasped his hands behind his head and leaned against a wooden post used for training, looking utterly indifferent.

Shisui's brows knitted slightly.

Back in the Hokage's office, Akira had not said that.

Could it be... Akira had been deceiving Lord Hokage then?!

"The wheels of time roll relentlessly onward. They will not shift for anyone's will. Without absolute power, everyone is nothing but an ant."

Akira gave a soft laugh, his dark eyes suddenly settling on Shisui. "Just like you right now."

His words were light and airy.

But to Shisui, they were like a needle piercing the most sensitive place in his heart!

Shisui's eyes trembled slightly.

That was right. That was exactly how he felt now. No matter how he tried to mediate the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha, there had been no progress at all. Instead, the conflict between the village and the Uchiha had only grown worse!

"Akira, do you have a solution?"

As he stared into the youth's dark eyes, Shisui somehow felt as though he had been seen through.

Both the mission Lord Hokage had given him...

And his current state of mind!

Akira said nothing.

He was waiting for the right moment.

[Ding! Uchiha Shisui has fallen into confusion between the village and his clan. Lord Hashirama! Hurry and help Shisui escape his confusion! Mission issued: Shisui's Confusion!]

[Please help Shisui escape his confusion and provide a practical solution to the Uchiha Clan's problem!]

[Mission reward: Sage Body!]

The corner of Akira's mouth curved up. The moment had arrived.

Before a System Bro reward, even the slightest hesitation would be disrespectful to System Bro!

At that moment.

The middle-parted, square-faced Clan Head who claimed his name was Fugaku stepped onto the center of the stage.

As an Uchiha clansman, you could refuse to show the Hokage respect.

But you could not refuse to show the Clan Head respect.

"Shisui, no rush. We can discuss it in detail after the clan meeting ends."

Akira was not in a hurry, but Shisui was so anxious he wished the clan meeting would end immediately. In truth, it made little difference from what Akira had said. Once the meeting began, after Fugaku delivered a few formal remarks...

Uchiha Xianren of the Hawk faction and Uchiha Yashiro began spraying insults at each other.

One was practically itching to rebel right away.

The other was so furious that he started cursing, calling him shameless, while their followers below became even more worked up.

Uchiha Akira watched with great interest, but then, as if Uchiha Xianren had suddenly lost his mind, his cold gaze landed on Uchiha Akira.

A flash of delight appeared on his face.

No.

What the hell were you so happy about?!

I barely even know you! Akira paused with the sunflower seeds in his hand.

"Yashiro, let's not go too far back. The Senju Clan also meekly obeyed the Third Hokage, but what was the result? How many members of the Senju Clan are left now?"

Uchiha Xianren snorted coldly. "The only pure-blood, Princess Tsunade, has already run off. The entire Konoha now has only one mixed-blood Uchiha Akira left!"

Hey!

Hey!

No, say whatever you want, but why drag me into this?

Akira's face instantly darkened, and he looked deeply displeased!

"Hmph! That was because of the First Hokage's 'Senju Village Integration' plan. The Senju Clan may indeed be gone, but they have also integrated into all of Konoha!"

Uchiha Yashiro retorted without yielding an inch.

"Quit spouting bullshit!"

Uchiha Xianren sneered as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "The First Hokage's 'Village Integration' plan was meant to integrate part of the Senju into Konoha, not the entire Senju Clan."

"Once the clan itself is gone, the Senju's current situation will be our future!"

"Who knows? The Uchiha might even end up worse off than the Senju!"

His gaze toward Uchiha Yashiro brimmed with pity and contempt.

He only felt that the old man who had competed with him for decades had to have gone insane to actually trust the Third Hokage and Danzo.

"Impossible!" Yashiro responded firmly. "The Uchiha Clan is an important part of Konoha's strength. Without the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's power would be greatly diminished. The Third Hokage would never do such a thing!"

The only things in his gaze toward Uchiha Xianren were helplessness and confusion.

When would this old man, who had competed with him for decades, finally understand the importance of the Uchiha Clan?

"Tch!" ×2.

The two glared at each other in unison, then turned away, stomping about in anger.

The people below kept arguing noisily, never quiet for even a minute.

Uchiha Fugaku had listened to these long-winded arguments until his ears had nearly grown calluses. He was starting to get sleepy.

"Hey, say whatever you want, but why are you insulting me?"

The sunflower seeds in Uchiha Akira's hand no longer tasted good. He stood up and glared at Uchiha Xianren. "Old bastard, don't think I won't hit you just because you're older!"

"Xianren, you're not young anymore. Don't you understand that disaster comes from the mouth?"

The tone of the first half of Akira's sentence was even more arrogant than the most arrogant Uchiha.

The latter half was even more solemn than the most solemn Uchiha, as though their roles had somehow been reversed.

Huh?

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. Pair after pair of red eyes appeared among the Uchiha Clan.

They were terrified of missing anything.

Uchiha Izumi clutched the hem of her clothes, her heart pounding wildly. She was mixed-blood too and was usually not well regarded by the clan. Hearing Akira's words, she was even more excited than Akira himself!

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened, and he was no longer sleepy at all.

Whoa!

There was a new plot today!