Dan, You're Too Gentle! (Seeking Reads)

Before meeting Dan.

Yashiro and Setsuna had discussed probing Dan's stance, asking him about his thoughts on the clan head, the clan, and the village.

They didn't want to reveal the Radical Faction's agenda right away, lest they scare the kid.

After all, in their eyes.

A military coup might be too radical for a young man like Dan, who was used to a comfortable life.

Only now.

After hearing Dan's statement, the two realized their previous thoughts were completely wrong.

If.

The clan members led by Uchiha Yashiro and Elder Setsuna were the Radical Faction, then Dan was the "Suicide Attack Faction," completely intending to drag the Uchiha and Konoha to their doom.

Compared to such a madman, the Radical Faction seemed mild and harmless.

"I'm radical? You're too weak." Dan dismissed Elder Setsuna's reprimand.

"Please leave, immediately!"

Elder Setsuna's eyes blazed, his cane pointed outside, trembling with anger. "Your ideas are too insane and will only bring destruction to the Uchiha clan!"

Dan shook his head and turned to leave.

Clang.

The door was pushed open.

Inohi and Tekka also stared dumbfounded at Dan's retreating figure, unable to speak for a long time.

After Dan left the mansion, he hadn't taken two steps before Uchiha Yashiro chased after him, shouting at his back:

"Uchiha Dan, I'll pretend today's conversation never happened. If you dare to gather people under our faction's name after you go back, I will personally throw you in jail!"

In Yashiro's opinion.

Dan's ideology was too dangerous, and their Radical Faction must not be associated with him.

Dan ignored Yashiro's roar.

As the leader of the Radical Faction.

Yashiro was just a second Uchiha Setsuna, or even worse.

After interacting with him, Dan was convinced that this group of insects could not succeed in rebellion.

He continued walking, turning the corner.

Whoosh.

Beneath a cherry blossom tree, Uchiha Fugaku appeared silently, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Brother-in-law," Dan said, a little surprised.

"What happened? Why did Yashiro threaten to arrest you?"

Fugaku's eternally unchanging poker face was also filled with surprise, and he asked his brother-in-law about the cause with concern.

Dan answered truthfully, "As you can see, I couldn't see eye to eye with that Radical Faction, and we parted on bad terms."

Upon hearing this, Fugaku couldn't help but show a relieved smile.

He had been worried for a long time, and now he had received a satisfactory answer from his brother-in-law, finally feeling a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

"Dan, you did the right thing. If Yashiro and the others bother you again, just come to me. I, your brother-in-law, will handle it for you."

Fugaku said this while patting Dan's shoulder.

"Thank you, brother-in-law," Dan nodded.

"Hahaha," Fugaku let out a hearty laugh.

Today, he finally felt that his relationship with his brother-in-law had become a little closer.

The two walked along the street lined with cherry blossom trees.

"Dan, I actually knew for a long time that you were also a member of the Moderate Faction, right?" Fugaku asked.

"How did you figure that out, brother-in-law?" Dan was puzzled.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Fugaku crossed his arms, as if he had seen through Dan's thoughts, and analyzed it logically.

"Dan, although your appearance is imposing and fierce, your heart is gentler and kinder than anyone else's. Your sister, Mikoto, told me this.

You are clearly powerful, yet you don't want to be a ninja and prefer to live an ordinary life like a normal person.

You even moved out on your own, abandoned the Uchiha surname, and never caused trouble.

Isn't that enough?"

His gaze sharply fixed on his brother-in-law.

"You are right, brother-in-law."

Dan nodded, too lazy to argue. Instead, he followed Fugaku's words and said, "I believe that everything the Uchiha have today is thanks to Konoha. No matter what happens, we should not oppose the village. We must always prioritize the village's interests."

Upon hearing this, Fugaku suddenly stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing.

"Dan, you are too gentle!"

His expression was serious as he cautioned his brother-in-law, "Remember, being too gentle is a form of weakness. What belongs to the Uchiha, we must strive for. Otherwise, others will think we are easily bullied. Do you understand?"

Fugaku was indeed a neutral party.

He neither wished for all clan members to follow the Will of Fire like Shisui, placing Konoha's interests above the clan's, nor did he want them to be as radical as Yashiro and others, engaging in armed conflict with the village.

As the clan head, he hoped to achieve a balance: while maintaining relations with Konoha, he would try his best to secure power for the Uchiha.

However, this balance was difficult to maintain.

Once either the radical or moderate faction within the clan gained complete dominance, he, as the clan head, would be swept along.

Ultimately.

When the moderate faction had more people, he would be moderate. When the radical faction had more people, he would become radical.

He was essentially a fence-sitter.

"Brother-in-law's teachings are correct."

Facing Fugaku's earnest advice, Dan admitted his mistake.

It was rather amusing.

Dan spoke differently to different people, yet the radical faction thought he was too radical, and the moderate faction found him too gentle.

Fugaku's expression softened upon hearing this.

They chatted for a while longer, and before they knew it, they reached a crossroads.

"I almost forgot the main reason."

Fugaku came back to his senses and said solemnly to Dan, "Tonight is your sister's birthday. She said that rather than receiving a gift from you, she would prefer you, her brother, to come to our home and have dinner together."

"...Alright."

This time, Dan did not refuse his brother-in-law's direct invitation.

"That's great."

Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief.

If he couldn't bring Dan back, he probably wouldn't see his wife's smiling face for the next month.

Suddenly, Fugaku seemed to remember something else.

"Right, Itachi mentioned... your gym has another employee, who lives and eats with you. In that case, bring her along too."

He said this, his expression seemingly full of meaning.

"Okay, see you tonight." Dan agreed, parting ways with Fugaku at the intersection.

Surveillance Post.

Itachi was on duty as usual, staring at rows of surveillance screens, monitoring the Uchiha clan's residential area.

Although he never said anything on the surface, he felt some resistance towards this kind of task internally.

During this time.

He felt lost, his gaze rapidly switching between the surveillance feeds.

Suddenly, he saw his uncle, Uchiha Dan, appear within the clan compound, entering a large house together with Uchiha Inohi.

A short while later.

Dan came out alone, only to be stopped by his father, Fugaku. The two chatted by the roadside for a while, seemingly in good spirits.

What was going on?

Itachi stared intently at the screen, his mind racing.

Before he knew it, it was time to switch shifts.

Itachi stood up and hurried off work, wanting to find out what had happened as soon as possible.

Just then.

Neither Itachi nor any of the other surveillance personnel noticed that the image of Naka Shrine on the surveillance screen suddenly showed a vortex-like distortion.

It flashed and was gone.