"Then, Clan Head Fugaku, may I ask if you have a better solution?"
Senya had already gotten a good taste of what Fugaku would say next at the previous clan meeting.
At a time like this, if Fugaku started spreading his meddling ideas, it'd be over. Senya had to anticipate it and interrupt him before he could get started!
Fugaku was just about to share the essence of his ideas, stabilize the situation, and get the clan members working together to find a solution.
But Senya abruptly cut him off.
"Ahem. Didn't I just say? That's the whole point of this clan meeting."
"My personal ideas alone won't help. We need everyone to work together."
"I've already proven that my previous decision was a failure."
"That's why I need all the clan members to share their opinions."
Fugaku's tone now was clearly less confident.
Senya had decided to spread the criticism around. He'd "evaluated" everyone else, so how could he play favorites?
As the most important person in the clan, the clan head deserved some extra special attention. It was only right, given his status.
"Clan Head Fugaku, you know now that your decisions were a problem, right? Then why didn't you realize it sooner? The clan lost two geniuses for nothing. What do Itachi and Shisui think of the clan now?!"
"The clan's already got two factions, the pro-war and pro-peace camps, and that's bad enough. Why did you have to create a neutral faction too? Did you resolve the conflict? Now both sides are trying to win you neutrals over!!!"
"Whichever side manages to win over the neutral faction will control the clan's decisions and its future. So much for listening to everyone's opinions and ideas! You're still only looking out for a portion of the clan!!"
"As clan head, not only did you fail to stop the two factions from splitting the clan, you actually made the division worse! Weren't two factions causing enough chaos? Do you need three factions fighting each other to be satisfied?!"
Senya's words kept striking at Fugaku. Looking back, had he really done so many stupid things...
Not only had he failed to ease the clan's conflicts, he'd made them worse. He'd been a truly terrible clan head...
Fugaku could recognize his own mistakes, but the clan members below him couldn't see all that.
All they knew was that their clan head, whom they'd followed all this time, could steer the clan's overall direction and decisions. How could they let some mere Jonin "insult" him?
"Senya! How can you talk to the clan head like that?"
"The clan head has been doing his best, hasn't he?"
"Without the clan head, the Uchiha might have been wiped out long ago!"
Compared to the pro-war and pro-peace factions that Senya had provoked earlier, these remaining members of the neutral faction were even worse.
Some of them had even stood up and were cursing Senya out.
"If you've got the guts, fight me! You're just a young brat, yet you dare run your mouth!"
One man had gone so far as to stand up and challenge Senya.
Senya glanced over his shoulder. Uchiha Chikura, the Police Force's deputy director, was always thinking about how to become Vice Clan Head.
The man's intentions were practically written all over his face.
He rapidly formed Hand Seals, preparing to control Senya with a genjutsu and make him look like a fool.
Senya's Sharingan spun rapidly. In an instant, he cast a genjutsu and took control of the other man instead.
"Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
Uchiha Chikura abruptly stopped forming Hand Seals. His eyes went blank, vacant and lifeless.
Everyone was stunned. They hadn't expected Senya's Sharingan to have reached such a level.
He could even cast a genjutsu instantly—a feat only Clan Head Fugaku could manage within the clan!
After witnessing Senya's strength, the others stopped criticizing him too.
After all, strength ruled within the Uchiha Clan. A weak Uchiha had no right to speak.
Fugaku studied Senya's scarlet eyes, weighing his strength in his mind.
If Fugaku hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he might not even have been Senya's match. He hadn't expected Senya to surpass Itachi and Shisui in strength.
He'd kept his abilities hidden for all these years. What terrifying patience.
Still, it was fortunate that Senya hadn't revealed his strength, or Fugaku would have sent him into the Anbu.
Otherwise, the Uchiha might have had a third "traitor."
If Senya knew what Fugaku was thinking, he would've scoffed.
He wasn't some short-sighted fool like Itachi or Shisui. Join the Anbu? He had no intention of living in the shadows as someone else's lackey.
Senya released Uchiha Chikura from the genjutsu. After all, the more people he could push over the edge with what he said next, the more rewards he'd get.
He couldn't let this guy miss out.
"There are three requirements for becoming clan head. First: you need great strength. You must be one of the clan's strongest shinobi, someone the clan members can respect."
"Second: you need exceptional vision and insight, so you can guide the clan through good times and bad and lead it down the right path. Most clan members lack the capacity for that. Otherwise, there'd be no need for a clan head."
"Third: you have to unite the clan, not divide it! You have to bind the clan together as one! You have to make the whole clan stand united! That's what a clan head is!"
"Clan Head Fugaku, aside from the first requirement, have you fulfilled either of the other two? Have you led the clan to the right choices? Have you brought the clan together? No! You've done neither!!!"
"Uchiha Fugaku has been pushed over the edge. Replication successful. Mangekyō Sharingan awakened."
By now, Senya had "shattered" Fugaku's resolve and broken his convictions.
The patterns in Senya's pupils shifted. The Three-Tomoe design gradually merged and transformed into a completely new shape.
Three thick black lines, spaced evenly apart, extended from the center of each pupil to its edge, joined together by a black circle.
"This is... the Mangekyō Sharingan!!"
"Haha! This is the hope of the Uchiha Clan!"
"What?! Senya's already awakened the Mangekyō!"
"No wonder he could cast a genjutsu instantly and control Chikura! He awakened it even younger than Uchiha Madara did!"
Senya had no intention of hiding his Mangekyō. After all, as long as he had the system, it didn't matter who else knew about it.
In the face of absolute strength, everything else was meaningless.
And now, he had to show his power. Otherwise, how could he earn the clan members' respect? How could he lead the clan?
Fugaku also recovered from the state Senya had pushed him into earlier.
His dejection was immediately replaced by shock and delight. His Mangekyō alone wasn't enough to stand against the Konoha High Command.
But now Senya had awakened the Mangekyō too. This wasn't as simple as one plus one equaling two. The threat they posed would make Hiruzen Sarutobi think twice.
If Konoha wanted to break with the Uchiha, both sides would suffer heavy losses, and the other villages would surely take advantage.
Surely Hiruzen didn't want to see the village besieged by the four great nations of Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth...
Before you continue