Himiko

Happiness never disappeared; it only moved from one person's face to another.

"Hahahaha!"

Uchiha Chen tried his hardest to hold it in, but in the end, he trembled with laughter, earning another eye-roll from Hikari, who was watching TV and eating a tangerine beside him.

Huh? Where's the tangerine I peeled?

Never mind. It doesn't matter.

The Flame Gunbai had a great many uses.

As a weapon, it could absorb Five Elements ninjutsu and reflect it in the form of Wind Style. It could even deflect attacks on the level of a Tailed Beast Bomb. As a part of the complete God Tree, it also held immense research value.

But now, the Flame Gunbai had another crucial use for Uchiha Chen:

Whoever held the Flame Gunbai held authority over the clan!

The Flame Gunbai gave its wielder a "strong claim" to the position of clan head, making their claim to legitimacy far greater than Uchiha Fugaku's succession through backroom handoffs.

Of course, Uchiha Chen couldn't simply take out the Flame Gunbai and expect Fugaku to step down without a fight. Most likely, they'd have to settle things the hard way.

Until now, Uchiha Chen hadn't given much thought to taking the clan-head position from Fugaku for two reasons. First, he'd gone to the Eastern Front not long after acquiring the Prosthetic Eye. Second, he hadn't yet earned enough respect within the Uchiha Clan.

But now, Uchiha Chen had made a name for himself as the Flame Ghost on the Eastern Front, mastered the use of the Prosthetic Eye's Eye Power and its ocular techniques, and returned with the righteous cause of having recovered the Flame Gunbai.

His forces were ready, his wings fully grown, and Heaven's mandate was on his side!

The only things that still gave him pause were Uchiha Fugaku's "Schrödinger's Mangekyō Sharingan" and whatever unknown ocular technique he might possess.

Mangekyō techniques were often strange and unpredictable. If Fugaku had a powerful one, Uchiha Chen really might end up losing.

Still...

Uchiha Chen glanced at the feet beside him, which kept distracting him by shifting back and forth.

"Here, Hikari. Have a tangerine!"

Uchiha Chen peeled two more tangerines, broke them into segments, and began feeding them to Hikari.

At first, Hikari, absorbed in the TV, took the pieces with her hand. But before long, she got tired of that, blinked, and pointed at her slightly open mouth, telling Uchiha Chen to toss them in.

The Uchiha throwing technique had finally found an unexpected new use: fancy tangerine-feeding.

There were two trees in Uchiha Chen's little courtyard. One was a peach tree, and the other was also a peach tree.

"The spring sunshine is beautiful!"

A breeze swept through.

Peach blossoms fluttered through the air in a dazzling shower. Suddenly, they spun rapidly in the breeze, then scattered in all directions, revealing a black-clad boy with a short sword strapped to his back.

"Ah-choo!"

Uchiha Shisui rubbed his big nose, which was a little sensitive to pollen, and gave Uchiha Chen, who was sunbathing in the courtyard, a radiant smile.

"Big Brother Chen, what do you think of this new move I came up with, Flower Body Flicker?"

"Flashy, and it makes a lot of noise."

Uchiha Chen stretched in his rocking chair and pinched up a petal. "But it does look cool. I've copied it already, thanks!"

"Huh?"

Shisui's eyes widened.

Uchiha Chen got to his feet and said unconcernedly, "Relax. At worst, you can copy my techniques later. We'll copy each other!"

"Sure..." Shisui gave Uchiha Chen a look that said it all.

His clan cousin was certainly talented, but when it came to creating ninjutsu... he'd never created one. At most, he'd make "minor improvements" by copying someone else's technique and tweaking it.

"Come on, it's time for the clan meeting!" Shisui got down to business.

"Wait a moment. I'll change."

Uchiha Chen went inside and soon came out dressed in the traditional garb of the Uchiha Clan.

A dark blue, front-opening robe with a long hem, a high tubular collar, and the clan's gunbai crest; wide sleeves; narrow, three-quarter-length shinobi pants, with bandages wrapped around the lower legs; and, finally, open-toed sandals.

Uchiha Chen had asked a tailor to make this outfit as a perfect, one-to-one replica of Izuna's clothes, which he'd seized from Obito. Wearing it, he looked every bit the old-school Uchiha.

"Going all out, huh?"

Shisui grinned, gave it no more thought, and naturally fell in behind Uchiha Chen.

"By the way, Big Brother Chen. Inabi's hand is healed!"

On the way to Naka Shrine, Shisui gossiped, "But lately, he's hardly ever home. Whenever he does come back, he's got dark circles under his eyes. I wonder if fixing his hand cost him too much, and he's busy taking missions to pay for it?"

"Is that so?" Uchiha Chen replied blandly.

"And there's something strange going on in the clan these past few days!"

Shisui's expression turned serious, and a trace of worry appeared in his eyes.

"I can't explain it. I haven't heard anything about the hardliners or the rebels planning anything lately, but something still feels off! I've been out on a few missions, so I don't know much about what's going on. You've been in the clan this whole time, Big Brother Chen. Do you know?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious! I'm just planning to run for clan head."

"That's good—what?"

Shisui's mind went blank, and he stood rooted to the spot. A long while later, he used the Body Flicker Technique to catch up and fall in behind Uchiha Chen again.

"Clan head?"

Uchiha Chen nodded without changing his expression.

"Now, a mysterious Mangekyō and Wood Release dual-bloodline powerhouse is lurking outside the Uchiha Clan, while factions within it are at odds with one another. On top of that, the Konoha High Command has a hostile attitude toward the Uchiha. Isn't this the sign of a storm on the horizon, with the whole clan on the verge of collapse?

"Uchiha Fugaku can't get the job done, so I'll just have to trouble myself and do it!"

Huh? Well... Shisui wasn't against Big Brother Chen becoming clan head, but wasn't this a bit sudden?

"Big Brother Chen!" "Chen!"

While Shisui stood there, stunned, four or five Three-Tomoe clan members who had been waiting by the roadside came over. After greeting Uchiha Chen, they fell into step behind him without another word.

They had all fought on the Eastern Front and knew of Uchiha Chen's achievements. They had also become his first supporters.

What shocked Shisui most was that Uchiha Inabi, who had always been "unconvinced, unconvinced, and still unconvinced" by Uchiha Chen, was among them.

You all supported Big Brother Chen before I did?

Feeling inexplicably rushed, Shisui hurriedly declared, "You know me, Big Brother Chen. I'm definitely supporting you!"

"Shisui!"

An irritated voice rang out.

Shisui turned to see his second grandfather, Uchiha Ryoji, glaring at him. Clearly, he'd heard what Shisui had just said.

Shisui shrank back.

His grandfather Kagami and his father had both died young. Ryoji had raised him, so he was a little afraid of his second grandfather.

Naka Shrine was now visible in the distance.

"Chen." Uchiha Ryoji sighed and looked at him, earnestly trying to dissuade him.

"Don't let all the talk outside about you being the Uchiha's strongest shinobi go to your head. Fugaku has been famous for years, and his strength is absolutely no less than yours.

"Besides, he's been clan head for six or seven years, and he has plenty of clan members behind him. You don't stand a chance!

"Trust me. Be patient and wait ten years. Ten years from now, I'll definitely support you when you run!"

Wait another ten years?

Not a chance!

"Elder Ryoji, don't try to talk me out of it!"

Uchiha Chen straightened his back. His dark blue robe billowed high in the wind, accentuating his confident profile.

"This time, I'm definitely running. We'll see who's better!"