"Mumyo Sandan-tsuki: Step Supersonic!"
As he spoke in a low voice, White Dove vanished from where he stood, leaving only the sound of air being torn apart.
Several dozen meters away.
Uchiha Fugaku had just retreated there when a sudden sense of dread gripped him. His three-tomoe eyes abruptly changed, and then he vanished from where he stood.
At the instant he disappeared, a gleaming blade of light slashed through the spot where he had been.
Whoosh!
Only then did the sound of air tearing, like cloth being ripped, ring out.
"...A precognitive ability, or a space-time one?"
Looking at the empty spot, White Dove guessed what Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo ability might be.
Facing a trump card he'd never used before, his opponent had still managed to dodge... It had to be because of his Mangekyo ability, and it could only be either precognition or space-time manipulation.
In White Dove's opinion, the former was more likely.
After all, judging by how his opponent had practically lain down and waited to die in the original story, he must have seen no hope of saving the Uchiha Clan. That was why he chose to let that White-Eyed Wolf have his way, while also ensuring his second son survived.
But that only made White Dove angrier.
Yes!
Your two sons survived, but every other Uchiha was wiped out.
You had essentially sacrificed the lives of your clansmen to ensure your two sons survived. That wasn't just selfish; it was downright shameless.
As clan head, how could you do that and not be shameless?
So it was no wonder White Dove had always looked down on him, even though he had fulfilled his duty as clan head by looking after White Dove, an orphan.
"That was some terrifying swordsmanship!"
Uchiha Fugaku appeared a hundred meters away, facing White Dove across the Naka River.
Clearly, he had realized how terrifying White Dove's swordsmanship was.
Especially with the Lightning Cloak boosting his speed, strength, and reflexes, it made this S-rank technique all the more formidable.
Keeping his distance was naturally the best tactic.
"Do you really think keeping your distance will be enough?"
White Dove had naturally noticed his opponent's strategy. The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately gave chase.
"Mumyo Sandan-tsuki: Second Step Avici!"
He spoke in a low voice as he vanished from where he stood, appearing in a flash behind Uchiha Fugaku, in White Dove's position, with his Ninja Blade at his opponent's throat.
That was where the summoned doves came in handy.
The sight stunned the people watching from the opposite bank.
"Impossible! There's no way!"
"Could it be the Fourth Hokage's..."
"No, he doesn't have a special Kunai. It can't be that!"
"What kind of technique is that?"
"If we had a technique like that, maybe the Uchiha could have a 'Blue Flash' of our own!"
They were all powerful shinobi, so they could tell that White Dove's second thrust hadn't been a simple burst of speed. It was a space-time jump, just like the Fourth Hokage's world-shaking Flying Thunder God Technique. That was why they were so stunned.
Namikaze Minato had swept through the Shinobi World during the Third Shinobi World War with the Flying Thunder God Technique. That alone showed how terrifying it was.
Space-Time Ninjutsu!
No technique involving space-time was ever simple.
And now White Dove had one too. How could that not be thrilling?
"Clan Head, I should be qualified to start the New Uchiha now, right?"
White Dove slowly lowered his weapon.
The winner had been decided!
As long as his opponent wasn't willing to reveal his Mangekyo, the fight could go no further.
A Mangekyo user and a non-Mangekyo user were in completely different leagues. It wasn't just about activating a giant avatar.
Put simply, the Mangekyo state brought a qualitative change to one's vision, judgment, reaction speed, chakra quality... and much more. Even without summoning a giant avatar, a user was a Kage Level fighter; with one, they were at the very peak of that level.
So Uchiha Fugaku wasn't truly weaker than White Dove. He simply didn't dare use his Mangekyo.
With only Shisui among the clan's Mangekyo users, the Uchiha dared to talk about rebellion. If Fugaku revealed that he had one too, there'd be no way to keep the clan in check. The Dove Faction might even change its mind.
So Uchiha Fugaku forced down the urge to use his Mangekyo and silently swallowed the taste of "defeat."
Just then.
Whoosh, whoosh!
One Anbu after another came flying in from the distant, pitch-black night.
The village's top brass had arrived!
It was the night of the Uchiha Clan meeting, so the village leadership was already on high alert. Add Shisui's sudden report, and it was no wonder the Konoha F4 had rushed over with Anbu in tow.
After all, Uchiha White Dove was a somewhat famous advocate of the "Ninja Supremacy" doctrine.
That was also why Sarutobi Hiruzen had kept him at arm's length.
The "Will of Fire" didn't allow for such ideas. So even though White Dove had demonstrated his abilities, Sarutobi Hiruzen had made no effort to approach him.
He hadn't expected White Dove to make a move today.
What Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't expected most was that White Dove would try to establish the "New Uchiha" and openly challenge Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head.
The question that mattered most to the Konoha F4 now was... who had won?
On the opposite bank of the Naka River!
White Dove watched the Konoha F4 arrive, surrounded by Anbu, then spoke to Uchiha Fugaku beside him, his tone loaded with meaning.
"Looks like the village leadership is really 'concerned' about our clan meetings. I wonder if your daily discussions about rebellion have made it into their reports!"
Indeed, if they hadn't received a report in time, how could they have arrived so quickly?
And the most likely suspect was, of course, Uchiha Shisui, who stood beside Sarutobi Hiruzen with "I'm with the Hokage Faction" practically written across his face.
After all, the Uchiha's biggest source of confidence in their plans for rebellion was their trump card, "Body Flicker Shisui."
But now?
He wasn't even pretending anymore. He had openly sided with the Hokage Faction.
Of course, that was Zhao Hao's perspective.
From Uchiha Fugaku and the clan leadership's perspective, their own pawn planted in Konoha's Anbu had clearly succeeded, and they could use him to obtain a steady stream of intelligence.
All White Dove could do was wish them luck.
As they thought this over, the two of them crossed the Naka River back to the opposite bank.
Their priority was dealing with the village leadership, not their internal affairs.
Still, Uchiha Fugaku and everyone else understood that White Dove was serious about establishing the "New Uchiha."
After all, defeating Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, in front of so many people had badly damaged his standing. If White Dove stayed with the clan, wouldn't he just be setting himself up to be pushed around?
Note: he wanted to establish a New Uchiha, not "leave the Uchiha Clan." The distinction mattered.
The former would make everyone take action; the latter would only mean a redistribution of power, while everyone would still be Uchiha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just arrived wearing his Hokage hat, spoke up.
"Fugaku, what happened here?"
He was obviously pretending not to know.
After all, Fugaku didn't look like he'd been relaxing at home. He looked as though he'd come straight from the Hokage Building.
And the only reason he and the other leaders would have been at the Hokage Building was that they were keeping a close watch on the Uchiha Clan meeting. That was how they had received the report and arrived so quickly.
"Lord Hokage, we were holding a clan sparring match!"
Uchiha Fugaku answered. He wasn't about to leak the clan's intelligence to the village leadership.
No matter how badly Uchiha White Dove had damaged his standing, as clan head, he couldn't possibly harm the Uchiha Clan's interests.
"Is that so..." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly, though the corner of his eye remained fixed on Uchiha White Dove, who stood lazily off to one side.
He knew White Dove's background well. After all, his "Ninja Supremacy" doctrine was famous throughout the village.
But that doctrine went against the "Will of Fire" and was downright heretical, so Sarutobi Hiruzen had naturally kept an eye on him.
He had originally thought White Dove was just a rebellious young man. He hadn't expected him to have been hiding his true abilities so well.
Only after giving White Dove a long look did Sarutobi Hiruzen turn back to Uchiha Fugaku and speak warmly.
"If anything happens, you can always come to the village. The village will never let the Uchiha down!"
Life was just a play, and it all came down to acting.
By that standard, Danzo had no acting skills whatsoever. No wonder everyone was wary of him.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to rise to power, but at the very least, you had to win over the villagers and the major shinobi clans. Danzo didn't even bother to pretend. No wonder everyone disliked him.
"Sorry for the trouble, Lord Hokage!"
Clearly moved by the performance, Uchiha Fugaku's tone softened a little.
Just as the two were getting along splendidly, someone could no longer sit still.
Before you continue