"What grievance? I don't understand what you're saying! Hmm... if you're asking about Hikari, that was Akaseki's suggestion!" Jiancheng could only emphasize that point.
Jiancheng had indeed originally settled on nine people. He had only added Hikari at Akaseki's suggestion.
As for Hikari's strength, Jiancheng only knew that she was "not as simple as she looked." After all, when she had first returned, she had bullied A Jie and A Yang a little.
But...
Jiancheng had no idea exactly how strong Hikari was. He did not even know how many tomoe she had awakened. All he knew was...
Her identity was not. That. Simple!
Otherwise, Chi. Ri. Would never have asked him to take the blame.
Ignorant though he was, since Akaseki had spoken up, Jiancheng would open this "back door" regardless of her strength, so he naturally had not asked any further questions.
After all, among the Uchiha Clan, "favoring the strong" was the fairest thing to do.
"Akaseki..." Fugaku frowned at that, then asked tentatively, "Father, there are plenty of other talented young people in the clan..."
Fugaku had nothing against Akaseki. Although Akaseki's performance had earned Fugaku plenty of prodding over the past few years, even bullying within the clan, now that everyone tacitly accepted Akaseki as the First in Line of Succession to the Clan Leader, Fugaku mostly felt spurred on by it.
There was only one thing Fugaku could not let go of.
Supposedly...
Hikari was his father's Illegitimate Daughter-in other words, his younger sister.
And supposedly...
While Akaseki was "making eyes" at Ranwu from Forest Street, he was also "hitting on" that woman from the Orphanage. He had even "brought home" the Miko from the Land of Demons, and... his relationship with Hikari was ambiguous too!
Although Fugaku had never even met Hikari, he