Fucheng's tone turned slightly cold. "What you're seeing is my Mangekyō Sharingan.
The clan shrine has records of this. The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had been dead for only a few years. I'm sure your elders may have told you about the history between Hashirama and Madara.
Uchiha Madara, the former Uchiha Clan patriarch, and his younger brother, Izuna, both possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Fucheng poured more of his ocular power into his Mangekyō.
The pressure emanating from his Kekkei Genkai made the Uchiha Jonin feel a distinct shiver.
The force of his will swept repeatedly through everyone's minds, compelling them to submit!
Seeing that some wanted to speak but didn't quite dare, Uchiha Fucheng drew in the Kekkei Genkai's oppressive force.
Many felt as though they'd been drowning, then finally managed to breathe again.
Fucheng looked at them and spoke in a cold voice. "I don't care whether you follow the Great Elder or obey the Second and Third Elders. In the Uchiha Clan, only the strong have a say."
Seeing the discontent on the faces of several Jonin, Fucheng looked directly at them with his Mangekyō.
Only after they lowered their heads and fell silent did he sneer. "I don't know what you're thinking. Senju Tobirama has killed an Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan—Izuna.
"He's a top genius of the Senju Clan.
"Even Uchiha Madara, who once rivaled the God of Shinobi, couldn't kill the Second Hokage, Tobirama, on the battlefield.
"And the Great Elder, with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and nothing but courage to recommend him? He actually thinks he can kill Tobirama. He's got quite the imagination."
Uchiha Fucheng said with a touch of mockery, "What right does a stubborn radical like Uchiha Setsuna have to dictate what my branch of the clan head's family should do, when he doesn't even have the talent for the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
The Jonin in the tent who belonged to the Great Elder's faction stared at the ground, their faces resentful.
Though they were deeply dissatisfied, faced with the ironclad facts Uchiha Fucheng laid out, they could only keep silent.
Among the thirty-odd Uchiha Jonin, some were excited, some worried and anxious, and others resentful and unwilling.
But when it came to Uchiha Fucheng, "the strongest Uchiha of the moment," the Jonin could always find a way to save face before bowing their heads and obeying.
Other clans followed whoever had the strongest fists. The Uchiha followed whoever had the fanciest eyes.
At last, Uchiha Qingming, a Jonin from the clan head's branch, spoke first. "Can every Uchiha ninja awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
His question had touched on what everyone wanted to know.
Fucheng's expression was stern. He didn't beat around the bush, giving them a straightforward answer.
"Unfortunately, only clan members with exceptionally strong Kekkei Genkai talent have a chance of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"It's been nearly thirty years since Uchiha Madara left the clan grounds, and no one in the clan has awakened the Mangekyō since."
The Uchiha Jonin looked frustrated.
Fucheng continued, "The Mangekyō Sharingan's evolution is different from the natural progression from One-Tomoe to Three-Tomoe.
"Simply accumulating ocular power and chakra is useless. You could spend your whole life accumulating them and still never reach the Mangekyō.
"Elder Uchiha Setsuna is the perfect example.
"His strength is on par with the Kage of the great ninja villages, but even his powerful ocular abilities can't make his eyes evolve any further.
"From what I know, the Mangekyō mainly depends on bloodline talent and extreme emotions.
"As I experienced myself, a Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan and sufficient talent will naturally awaken the Mangekyō when confronted with intense emotional stimuli, such as the death of loved ones, overwhelming anger, or profound grief.
"I'll warn you now: deliberately trying to make it happen won't work. For example, killing your loved ones on purpose or trying to create corresponding negative emotional scenarios through genjutsu."
As he spoke, Uchiha Fucheng gave a faint, icy smile.
"It's perfectly normal for you to have such ideas. Some of the clan's secret scrolls even mention them. Every Uchiha who tried it failed.
"The only advice I can offer is to return to the village after the campaign and have a few more children while you're recuperating.
"With enough children, some of the talented ones are bound to be born with an exceptional bloodline."
Having said all this, Fucheng didn't bother with the Jonin who had lowered their heads in thought. He rose directly from his seat.
Only when he reached the tent entrance did he continue in an almost commanding tone.
"From today onward, as the strongest Uchiha, I expect you to watch your words and conduct yourselves properly, just as you would when obeying the clan head!"
At Fucheng's words, the Uchiha Jonin stood frozen.
They remained stunned for a full second before kneeling with their hands clasped to the ground and bowing in unison.
"Yes, Lord Fucheng. We will obey the clan head's orders."
Though he hadn't formally taken the position of clan head, after uniting the Uchiha Jonin behind him, Uchiha Fucheng had effectively become the clan's true leader.
Under the pressure of the Mangekyō Sharingan, even with Fugaku still first in line to inherit the position of clan head, everyone from the Uchiha Jonin commanders to the Chunin and Genin under them recognized Uchiha Fucheng's supreme command.
Now that he had enough manpower, the first thing Fucheng did was root out all the Root shinobi who were secretly watching and observing him in the camp!
During the brief two-day rest period for Konoha's shinobi on the battlefield, the Uchiha Clan mobilized in full force. They found as many as eight suspicious individuals in the camp.
Three of them were caught red-handed sneaking out Ninja Hawks to send messages to Konoha under cover of night.
Night fell over the distant edge of the camp, where wooded terrain gave way to wasteland.
In an underground space expanded by Earth Release, eight Konoha shinobi who had gone missing from the battlefield one by one were being held.
With more than thirty Uchiha Jonin working together, their combined strength was nearly unmatched. Capturing these people in secret had been no trouble at all.
They opened with Sharingan Genjutsu, and since their targets were ambushed by shinobi from the same side, the Root shinobi were practically sitting ducks.
Looking at the eight people bound to wooden frames, Fucheng couldn't help shaking his head.
He didn't know whether these Root shinobi had been brainwashed too thoroughly or were simply too naive.
One by one, they'd been captured and brought here, yet they still loudly threatened to exact brutal revenge on the Uchiha Clan.
The strangest ones even swaggered around, spouting lines like, "You have no evidence! What gives you the right to arrest me?"
That made Uchiha Fucheng feel he might have overestimated them.
Fucheng knew that Root shinobi all had the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, so they certainly wouldn't talk under physical torture.
But all eight had seals on their tongues and marks on their bodies, and some even carried Root masks.
There was no need for him to look for evidence. He could easily identify them.
"Quiet down. Keep shouting and I'll rip out your tongues, triggering the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals."
Fucheng held a Kunai and casually pointed it at several of the loudest men.
His words made several Root shinobi's eyes widen.
They were surprised that Uchiha Fucheng knew so much about the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
A shinobi with chestnut hair reacted especially strongly.
He seemed to know that the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal could destroy the brain of anyone whose memories were extracted.
Fear made him shout furiously at Fucheng. "You have no right to interrogate us, Uchiha Fucheng! This is treason against Konoha!"
"You've got quite the righteous speech prepared. Didn't you hear what I said? Keep shouting and you'll lose your tongue," Uchiha Fucheng said calmly.
But his body didn't hesitate for even a second.
His figure blurred in place. When he appeared again, the Kunai was already inside Yamanaka Otsuki's mouth.
He twisted it hard!
A tongue marked with Sealing Jutsu formulas was torn from the root of Yamanaka Otsuki's mouth and pulled out with the Kunai.
"You—!"
"Ugh, ugh!"
Yamanaka Otsuki spat blood.
A mass of black Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal markings quickly spread across his forehead. A sharp series of cracking bones rang out.
The Root Jonin of the Yamanaka Clan died in agony on the wooden frame.
A system prompt appeared:
[Changed Yamanaka Fu's fate]
[Reward: Yamanaka Fu's Fate Dice]
"I didn't expect him to be a direct relative of Yamanaka Fu."
Fucheng's expression didn't change when he saw the prompt, though the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
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