Back when the Uchiha Clan held clan meetings, most of its members had advocated staging a coup to seize power!
Yet when it actually came time to stage the coup, they started hesitating because they couldn't stop worrying about their families.
Perhaps this was the kind of bond that was so hard to sever!
"This is so frustrating! We can't fight, but we can't just sit back either..."
"Exactly. What are we supposed to do?"
They had discussed it for a long time without reaching a conclusion, and many clan members were growing restless.
Like the others, Uchiha Fugaku stood with his brows furrowed, his mind in turmoil. As clan head, his decision was crucial. One careless move could lead the entire clan to ruin.
So at this critical moment, Uchiha Fugaku didn't offer any ideas of his own. He only listened to the clan members' opinions. Of course, he truly hadn't thought of a good solution to the crisis facing the Uchiha Clan.
"I have a plan that can help the Uchiha Clan resolve this crisis, but it will require everyone in the clan to act."
While the clan members were at a loss, Sasuke stepped out from beside Itachi and walked over to Uchiha Fugaku. Facing all the clan members, he spoke with quiet conviction.
"Hey, what's a brat like you doing up there?"
"Exactly. Why is he allowed at a clan meeting? Get him out of here!"
Seeing Sasuke stand up front and speak so brazenly, the clan members immediately voiced their displeasure.
Uchiha Fugaku was also somewhat angry at Sasuke's sudden action. As a strict father, he not only hoped Sasuke would become an excellent ninja, but also wanted him to be humble and courteous in how he conducted himself.
But speaking up out of nowhere at such an important event as a clan meeting made Sasuke seem very immature. Uchiha Fugaku spoke in a low voice. "Sasuke, go back to Itachi!"
"What...? How... could this be?"
But as soon as Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, disbelief filled his eyes, and he murmured under his breath.
Sasuke, standing beside Uchiha Fugaku, had turned his once-black eyes into blood-red Sharingan!
"My... Two-Tomoe Sharingan?!"
"This kid is incredible!"
The moment Sasuke activated his Sharingan, every clan member in the Dark Chamber except Shisui and Itachi was stunned. Then they all felt a wave of dizziness.
They hadn't expected Sasuke to awaken his Sharingan at such a young age, much less with two tomoe. It was simply astonishing.
It was hard to imagine how shocked Uchiha Fugaku had been when Sasuke activated his Sharingan right in front of him. The clan head was so stunned that he didn't know what to say next.
Ignoring Uchiha Fugaku and the clan members' shock, Sasuke fixed his gaze on a Uchiha clan member with a scarred face, standing in the right corner of the Dark Chamber.
When Sasuke had activated his Sharingan just now, that man's expression had been far too panicked. Sasuke found him suspicious, so he immediately used his Sharingan to examine the chakra inside him. He discovered a thin stream of chakra flowing through the man's body.
If a ninja wasn't using any ninjutsu or deliberately controlling their chakra, yet chakra was still flowing through their body, it meant they were using the Transformation Technique!
Just as I thought!
After a quiet remark to himself, Sasuke looked away from the Scarred Man, then spoke firmly. "I didn't activate my Sharingan to show off. I only wanted to tell everyone not to judge people by their appearance. In the ninja world, strength is everything. Besides, I'm a member of the Uchiha Clan too, so I have every right to attend this meeting!"
The clan members slowly nodded. Sasuke's words were less gentle and more domineering, but no one present felt there was anything wrong with them.
Many clan members hadn't awakened their Sharingan and were only of average strength, yet they were still allowed to attend clan meetings. So why shouldn't Sasuke be allowed?
Uchiha Fugaku was also taken aback. He hadn't expected someone as young as Sasuke to speak with such conviction.
Still, as Sasuke's father, he had to show his support. "Sasuke is still young, and sometimes he doesn't think things through before he acts or speaks. I hope you won't hold it against him. But he is both my son and a member of the Uchiha Clan, so of course he can attend the clan meeting!"
Sasuke smiled slightly at Uchiha Fugaku. With his father's support, he felt even more at ease. He turned to the clan members and continued, "Every Uchiha wants to reclaim our dignity and our power in Konoha. But right now, we're too weak. Fighting the Konoha High Command would be like throwing an egg at a rock—a path to certain death!"
"So an early coup is definitely out of the question!"
After hearing Sasuke's words, one clan member immediately asked, "If an early coup won't work, how are we supposed to deal with the Third Hokage's plan to wipe us out?"
Every eye was fixed on Sasuke, unblinking. They were eager to hear what kind of solution this boy, who looked barely old enough to be a member of the Uchiha Clan, could come up with.
"There's only one way to resolve the predicament we're facing: leave Konoha and build our own ninja village in another country!"
Sasuke looked up at all the clan members, breathed out softly, then spoke with conviction.
"Build our own... ninja village!"
The room fell silent—a deathly silence!
Everyone, including Shisui and Itachi, stared at Sasuke in shock. The expressions on their faces were impossible to describe.
Sasuke's idea was simple, but undeniably effective. As long as the Uchiha Clan left Konoha, it wouldn't be easy for the Konoha High Command to wipe them out.
After all, Konoha needed plenty of ninjas to protect the village. It couldn't send every last one of them out. As long as Konoha didn't commit its full strength, the Uchiha Clan could hold them off.
"That sounds simple enough, but where can we go if we leave Konoha?"
After the shock had lasted for a while, a clan member finally asked, still somewhat astonished.
Sasuke had known someone would ask that. He gave a soft laugh and took out a golden scroll.
Everyone noticed that the scroll in Sasuke's hand didn't look like an ordinary Konoha scroll, and they were taken aback once again.
"This is a request written by the Feudal Lord of the Land of Waterfalls himself. He's dissatisfied with the leader of Takigakure and wants to ask the Third Hokage to send ninjas there. We can use this opportunity to go to the Land of Waterfalls, solve the Feudal Lord's problem, and then build a new ninja village there." He quickly explained, then took out another scroll and continued, "This one contains a map of the Land of Waterfalls and information on all the ninjas in Takigakure. With these, we can take Takigakure without paying too great a price."