Dove Clone Technique!

Clang!

The sound of a Ninja Blade being drawn rang out.

"Clan Head Fugaku, I wasn't joking just now!"

White Dove's firm tone and unwavering gaze made it clear he was serious about founding the New Uchiha.

"White Dove, are you really going to betray the Uchiha?"

Uchiha Fugaku slowly rose to his feet.

" No. I just want to found the New Uchiha!"

White Dove shook his head.

Betraying the clan would naturally mean certain death. No Uchiha would allow it. But founding the New Uchiha was different; it was basically just creating another branch of the clan.

Well... like the difference between a parent company and an independent subsidiary. Though if the subsidiary did too well, it might turn around and swallow the parent company.

"I won't allow it!"

For once, Uchiha Fugaku stood his ground.

"Is that so?" White Dove sneered. "I wish you were this forceful with the village leadership. Since you refuse, then let's settle this by clan rules!"

What was the Uchiha's greatest rule?

"Strength makes right!"

If you won, whatever you said was right. If you lost, even the most reasonable argument was wrong.

Just like the First Hokage and Madara, or Prince Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Before being defeated, the latter pair had been arrogant and carried themselves with great pride. But once they were beaten and formed a bond, it was as if they'd been brainwashed.

"With your strength, you're nowhere near ready to fight me!"

Fugaku shook his head slightly.

The other man wasn't especially talented. People followed him because of his ideas and abilities, not his strength.

But someone had already made the first move.

"Impudent! How dare you insult the clan head!"

A figure shot toward Uchiha White Dove like lightning.

Uchiha Yakumi!

He was Fugaku's trusted aide and right-hand man, and he'd long been fed up with White Dove. Now that he had the chance, he would teach him a lesson in respect and hierarchy.

Right!

Uchiha White Dove knew an interesting rule of the Shinobi World.

Before your secrets were exposed, you seemed invincible. The moment they were exposed, your aura vanished. Even someone weaker than you could easily beat you.

That was why he kept his abilities closely guarded. The strength he usually showed was only at the "Special Jōnin" and "Two-Tomoe" level.

That was decent by clan standards, but nowhere near genius. That was why Uchiha Yakumi was confident he could take him down, while Fugaku looked on as if watching a child play.

Uchiha Yakumi dodged White Dove's counterattack, then pulled a Kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch and pressed it to White Dove's neck, grinning smugly.

"You lose!"

But then a voice rang out abruptly from behind him.

"When did you decide that you were the one who won?"

Only then did Uchiha Yakumi realize there was no "White Dove" in front of him—and that a cold Kunai was resting against his neck.

"When...?"

He understood now that everything he had just seen was an illusion.

"My eyes make your strength meaningless!"

White Dove's eyes had turned crimson, three black Tomoe emerging in each.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

"Impossible!"

"How can this be?"

"When did he get Three Tomoe?"

"Isn't he only fourteen?"

"Another genius?"

Voices rose around them.

Their shock was understandable.

He still hadn't surpassed Itachi, the clan head's son, let alone Shisui, but he was undoubtedly among the clan's top five geniuses.

In the Uchiha's eyes, an ordinary clan member and a talented clan member with real strength were worlds apart.

So even Uchiha Fugaku's expression grew serious.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan guaranteed at least the strength of an Elite Jōnin. Even the Uchiha Clan had only a dozen or so. After all, anyone with three Tomoe was an Elite Jōnin at minimum, but not every Elite Jōnin had three Tomoe.

"I never thought you'd been hiding your strength so well, White Dove!"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice was grave.

He hadn't expected this "troublesome" clan member, who had seemed merely capable, to be so strong.

And the fact that the other man had knocked Yakumi out with a single illusion meant only one thing.

His ocular power had overwhelmed Yakumi's!

To the Uchiha, ocular power was everything.

If your ocular power was stronger, you could easily suppress your opponent.

That was why White Dove could control Yakumi with a single illusion. Against another Elite Jōnin, the technique would never have worked so effortlessly.

"I've never hidden anything!"

White Dove denied the accusation.

He usually brought powerful teammates along or avoided dangerous missions. Even his Ninja Academy grades had been unimpressive. He was nothing like the Uchiha who were desperate to outshine everyone, so he really hadn't deliberately concealed his strength.

But if he faced danger, he wouldn't worry about revealing it.

Still, if he had exposed himself, there was no telling whether an orphan like him would have been allowed to grow up.

A genius without connections would be welcomed either by the "Will of Fire" or the "Pot King Combo."

"If you want to found the New Uchiha, then show me enough strength to convince me!"

Uchiha Fugaku changed into his battle gear.

That was right—the standard Uchiha way of talking.

If you wanted someone to listen, the best way was to first "convince" them with strength.

Soon, the two of them reached an open clearing beside the Naka River, outside Naka Shrine.

White Dove wasn't foolish enough to let his opponent strike first.

After all, his opponent was "Wicked Eye" Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head.

Anyone who had earned a title in the Shinobi World was no ordinary person. Fugaku might even have the Mangekyo.

White Dove dared to challenge him because he knew that even if Fugaku had the Mangekyo, he wouldn't dare reveal it.

The village leadership already feared the Uchiha so much. If they learned that the clan had another Mangekyo, they might decide to attack outright.

So White Dove had already put himself in an unbeatable position before he even struck.

He could go all out, but even if Fugaku had Kage Level strength, he couldn't show it. Besides, there was a chance he wasn't Kage Level at all.

With chakra surging through him, White Dove blurred forward like a streak of light.

Clang!

The Ninja Blade and Kunai collided.

"As expected of the Uchiha Clan's head. He's nothing like the useless character from the anime!"

As White Dove retreated, the thought crossed his mind.

Even after just one exchange, he could tell that Fugaku was truly strong.

He couldn't say whether Fugaku was Kage Level, but he was certainly stronger than an ordinary Elite Jōnin—at least on the cusp of Kage Level.

Still, as long as Fugaku didn't use the Mangekyo, White Dove couldn't lose.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

He formed Hand Seals with one hand and quickly unleashed the C-rank Fire Release technique that was supposedly incapable of killing anyone.

Whoosh!

A massive fireball hurtled toward Uchiha Fugaku.

The scorching waves of heat were enough to distort the air around them.

If it hit, whether its target was a Genin or a Kage Level expert, they would die. After all, ninjas were high-offense, low-defense fighters.

But as someone who had crossed over, White Dove knew that Fire Release's greatest weakness wasn't its power. It was that it could never hit anyone. So he was only using it to limit Fugaku's movements and block his vision.

Boom!

The fireball swallowed Uchiha Fugaku, raising a towering pillar of flame.

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly appeared behind Uchiha White Dove and drove a Kunai through his lower back.

"I admit you're strong, but the Uchiha must never split!"

Uchiha Fugaku intended to give him "a little" lesson and teach him to respect the clan head.

"Is that so?"

As White Dove's calm voice rang out, his body, pierced by the Kunai, began to stir.

Coo! Coo!

One white dove after another burst from his body and scattered in every direction.

"What...?"

Uchiha Fugaku was taken aback.

He hadn't been able to tell at all that his opponent wasn't the real one.

It wasn't hard for an experienced ninja to spot a regular Clone Technique. A Shadow Clone could be tested, too, and it would vanish as soon as it was injured.

But the body he'd stabbed had felt completely real. That was why Uchiha Fugaku hadn't realized what was happening right away.

"Doesn't it look familiar?" White Dove's body re-formed from the scattered doves more than ten meters away. He spoke proudly. "Dove Clone Technique. A technique similar to the one used by your eldest son, the one you're most proud of!"

That was right. He had developed this technique based on Weasel's "Crow Clone Technique." Whether it was strong or not, it was definitely cool.

It was incredibly useful, too!

White Dove had come to understand that with chakra, an all-purpose energy, inspiration was the most important thing in developing ninjutsu.

Precise chakra control could be improved, and a lack of chakra could be compensated for. But inspiration was something you could only stumble upon.

And as someone who had lived through an information deluge, White Dove had no shortage of "inspiration." Several of his finishing moves had even been developed from such ideas.

The only requirement was being tough enough to survive!

If you weren't, you could die at any moment while developing a new technique.

Over the years, he had spent most of the money he earned on developing ninjutsu.

Those trump cards were why he dared to make his move today. He wasn't truly relying on the hope that Uchiha Fugaku had Kage Level strength but would be afraid to use it.

Even if Fugaku really was Kage Level, White Dove had to win today.

Because... he had no way back!

If he couldn't seize this chance, he might have to think about escaping Konoha and becoming a wandering ninja.

The kind hunted by every major ninja village, at that.

After all, those villages were far too interested in Uchiha bloodlines.