"Sharingan Activate!"
After Tiehuo activated his Sharingan, Youhu calmly opened his Three Tomoe Sharingan as well, gripped his katana, and charged at Tiehuo.
The Sharingan possessed powerful abilities, including observation, copying, and hypnosis. It was one of the Uchiha Clan's most important assets in earning their fame throughout the Ninja World.
Chiyo, the retired five-star Jonin of Sunagakure, had once said that if you encountered an Uchiha one-on-one on the battlefield, running was your best option. Even if you outnumbered them two to one, you couldn't afford to let your guard down.
However, when it came to an Uchiha civil war, activating the Sharingan was somewhat comical.
According to the Ninja World's theory of relativity, if both sides had activated their Sharingan, it was as good as neither side having activated theirs. That was also why the Uchiha rarely used the Sharingan in their civil wars.
"Youhu, I knew you weren't that simple!"
Seeing Youhu's Three Tomoe Sharingan, Tiehuo was both surprised and delighted. He held his sword, formed hand seals, and called out, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
In an instant, a gigantic fireball burst from Tiehuo's mouth and rumbled toward Youhu.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Youhu followed suit, performing the Great Fireball Technique at the same time.
Boom!
The two enormous fireballs collided in midair, merged, and exploded. Countless sparks scattered in every direction, illuminating the darkness above the Nanka River.
Using the flames as cover, Youhu used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Tiehuo.
After reading Tiehuo's moves, Youhu slammed the scabbard into his back. The sharp pain nearly made Tiehuo drop his short sword. Then Youhu's Sharingan met his gaze, and a demonic whisper reached his ears.
"Illusionary Technique!"
Even among Three Tomoe Sharingan, there were differences in strength.
Tiehuo's Three Tomoe Sharingan could offer little resistance against Youhu's, which was on the verge of evolving into a Mangekyō Sharingan.
Once the defense formed by Tiehuo's chakra was overwhelmed, he quickly fell under the Illusion Technique and saw a vision that felt real.
In the illusion, Tiehuo saw the outcome of the Uchiha Coup: Clan Head Fugaku and Elder Yachiyo were dead, the entire Uchiha Clan had been wiped out, and its members had fallen at the hands of Konoha Anbu.
When Tiehuo broke free of the illusion, he was utterly weak. He had no strength left to care that Youhu's chakra was stronger than his own. Gasping for breath, he asked,
"Youhu, what did you do to me? Why did I just see the clan being slaughtered?"
"That is the Uchiha's future."
Youhu's tone was perfectly calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"The Uchiha's future?"
Tiehuo froze, then shook his head frantically. "The Uchiha's future can't be like that. We have more than ten Jonin and over a hundred Chunin and Genin. The Uchiha can't be wiped out."
Youhu walked over to Tiehuo and said lightly,
"Konoha has several hundred Jonin, and more than ten thousand ninja in total."
"Are you confident you could defeat ten Jonin?"
"No."
Tiehuo shook his head without thinking. The answer was obvious: there was no way.
There were few weaklings among Konoha's Jonin. At most, an Uchiha Jonin could suppress an ordinary Jonin one-on-one. Against two, they would be hard-pressed to cope; against three, they could only run.
And ten went without saying. They would have a hard time even escaping.
Then Tiehuo seemed to remember something. Grabbing at a lifeline, he said, "Youhu, our enemy isn't the whole village. It's just the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō. If we take them out, Konoha will belong to the Uchiha."
Youhu chuckled and crouched in front of Tiehuo. "Why would the other clans in the village trust the Uchiha Clan? Because of the Guard Division's notorious reputation?"
"You thought I was lying when I told the Clan Head to offer himself?"
"If the clan really had the strength to fight back, I wouldn't have said something like that."
"As things stand, I can't see any hope of the clan defeating the Hokage Building, and I don't want to see the clan launch a coup only to be wiped out."
Youhu's words left Tiehuo silent. He had never seen Youhu this composed before.
In his mind, Youhu was merely an unremarkable junior, mediocre in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu alike. Other than being handsome, he had nothing going for him.
Everyone had treated Youhu's speech at the clan meeting as a joke. They might believe that the First Hokage and Clan Head Madara had shared some sort of bond that went beyond friendship, but it was just an entertaining story.
Tiehuo, at least, had never been willing to believe it.
But after seeing Youhu's formidable strength, Tiehuo began to waver.
If Youhu had been hiding his strength, then perhaps the secret behind successive Hokage's preference for men wasn't impossible, either.
The thought that the Hokage, so radiant in public, could be so dark and sordid in private made Tiehuo feel sick.
And when he remembered Youhu's suggestion that Clan Head Fugaku offer himself, it felt as if the sky were collapsing.
"Youhu, you say the Uchiha are on the verge of extinction. Do you have a way to save the Uchiha Clan?"
[The host's fabricated lie, "Secrets Behind Successive Hokage," has won Uchiha Tiehuo's approval. He believes it without a doubt.]
[Deception Points awarded: 100]
Youhu didn't answer Tiehuo right away. Instead, he put on an inscrutable expression and silently began spending his points.
He invested all his Deception Points into rewriting his Three Tomoe Sharingan. His eyes were elevated, transforming in an instant from Three Tomoe Sharingan into Mangekyō Sharingan.
With the Mangekyō Sharingan, he could at least protect himself in the Ninja World.
With these eyes, he should be able to convince Tiehuo.
With a thought, Youhu revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan to Tiehuo. Its pattern resembled a four-leaf clover, appearing right before Tiehuo's eyes.
"Is that Four Tomoe? No... the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
The instant he saw the Mangekyō Sharingan, Tiehuo's eyes widened. He was too stunned to speak. After a moment, he said in a hollow voice,
"So that's it. You awakened the Mangekyō. No wonder you could see the clan's fate."
"My perspective and understanding were far too narrow."
"But even with those eyes, you can't change the clan's fate?"
Tiehuo's voice turned desolate. The Hell Viewing Technique had shaken him deeply. He hadn't expected the clan's ultimate fate to be total annihilation.
Youhu deactivated the Mangekyō and held out a hand to Tiehuo.
"Senior Tiehuo, what do you think I was doing at the clan meeting? I've always wanted to save the clan, and I've always been working toward it."
"The clan is always caught up in unrealistic fantasies about the Hokage Position. It clings to fantasies about the Will of Fire, too."
"Do we really need the Hokage Position? Why can't the Guard Division hold authority over the Hokage?"
"To defeat the Hokage Faction, we have to stop viewing it through a rose-colored lens. The Hokage isn't perfect, and he isn't more noble than the Guard Captain."
"If you really want to change the Uchiha, bring a few clansmen you trust to Naka Shrine tomorrow. Wait for me there."
Tiehuo found himself agreeing wholeheartedly. How had he never thought of this before?
The Uchiha had unrealistic fantasies about the Hokage, but they wanted the honor of holding that position so badly that they couldn't bear to shatter the Hokage's myth.
But the Uchiha now stood at the brink of life and death. Things were no longer as they had been.
With that thought, Tiehuo bowed to Youhu and said, "Youhu, when I get back tonight, I'll contact some clansmen I trust and bring them to join you."
"But, Youhu, there's one more thing I want to ask. About the Third Hokage's preference for men..."
Youhu was momentarily at a loss for words. How would he know the Third Hokage's sexual orientation? But to maintain his earlier lie, he could only put on an innocent expression and say,
"Since the Third Hokage hasn't remarried, he probably does prefer men. Maybe he likes both men and women."
Tiehuo nodded, then used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared into the night.
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