Chapter 5: Yes, Clan Head
Everyone in the room activated their Sharingan, all of them three-tomoe, except Uchiha Fugaku.
As for Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, Masaki had told him to keep it hidden and not reveal it, saving it as a last trump card.
Seeing everyone activate their Sharingan, Masaki Uchiha immediately used the Mangekyō ability in his left eye:
Everyone in the room suddenly felt the ocular power in their eyes begin to increase.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku felt the ocular power he had lost during the battle slowly recovering. His heart shook violently. Does this mean that as long as Masaki Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan is around, I'll never go blind?
"Masaki, you understand the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan, right?"
"I wonder if your ability cancels out the side effects of using the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Uchiha Fugaku's voice carried a note of hesitation.
"Don't worry, Deputy Captain Fugaku. My ability works on me, too."
Seeing Masaki Uchiha exude such an imposing air, Fugaku wisely held his tongue.
Seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna also asked quietly, "Masaki, what is the ability of your right eye...?"
"Ah! How can I discuss something like that here, Elder Setsuna? Don't you agree?"
Seeing the trace of menace flicker in Masaki Uchiha's eyes, Uchiha Setsuna followed his instincts.
"Y-yes... This old man was inconsiderate. Please forgive me, Clan Head."
Seeing that Uchiha Setsuna knew how to behave, Masaki Uchiha let the matter go.
"All right, everyone, that's enough for today. From now on, I'll increase your ocular power once every half month." With that, he deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Elder Uchiha Setsuna, Elder Uchiha Kusabi of the Dove Faction, and Deputy Captain Uchiha Fugaku, stay behind. Everyone else may leave."
At Masaki Uchiha's words, the clan members deactivated their Sharingan and filed out in small groups.
Masaki Uchiha's guards stood watch at the entrance.
Seeing that only the three men before him remained, Masaki Uchiha got straight to the point and said to Uchiha Kusabi:
"Elder Kusabi, starting now, remove from the Police Force everyone in the Dove Faction who still has ties to the Hokage faction."
Uchiha Kusabi opened his mouth as if to say something, but Masaki Uchiha cut him off with a wave.
"I know this might be a little harsh on some people in the Dove Faction, but I'm doing it for the Uchiha."
"I'd bet that within ten minutes, the Hokage faction will hear that I've become clan head. Within twenty minutes, Anbu will be knocking at our door."
"I won't let a few rotten apples—brainwashed by Sarutobi Hiruzen's Will of Fire—spoil the whole pot of soup that is the Uchiha Clan."
A trace of panic flickered in Uchiha Kusabi's eyes. Masaki Uchiha's gaze turned cold for an instant.
At first, he'd only meant to test the waters and provoke Uchiha Kusabi a little, to see if anyone in the Dove Faction was itching to make a move.
He hadn't expected there really to be some. Every clan had fools, but the Uchiha seemed to have an especially large share.
They would probably pass on the news first, then let Anbu into the clan compound, and finally wait for the right moment to plant their spies.
The result would be that the Uchiha Clan had no secrets from the Hokage faction.
How could I lead the Uchiha well with a bunch of vermin like these around?
"Hmph! If anyone really wants to side with Sarutobi Hiruzen and his people, then hand over their names right away."
"I don't want to be branded a murderer of my own clansmen, but I have no qualms about rooting out traitors to get the results I want. You understand what I mean, Elder Kusabi?"
At that cold snort, the words rang through Uchiha Kusabi's mind like thunder. He immediately panicked, his heart pounding as cold sweat streamed down his face and his body trembled. "C-Clan Head, please rest assured. Only a few people have been brainwashed by the Will of Fire. I'll gather them shortly and have them cut ties with the Hokage faction."
"I'll bring you the list tomorrow morning. Please give me one night to save those lost lambs."
"I beg you, Clan Head." As he finished, Uchiha Kusabi prostrated himself, his manner utterly humble.
"Since you're so sincere, Elder Kusabi, I'll give you the chance. After all, I'm not someone who kills the innocent indiscriminately."
Uchiha Kusabi let out a long breath, as if he'd narrowly escaped disaster.
After finishing with Uchiha Kusabi, Masaki Uchiha turned and fixed his gaze on Uchiha Setsuna.
"Elder Setsuna, I want those stubborn Hawk Faction members who support an armed coup to keep their heads down for the next few months. Don't give the Hokage faction anything to use against us."
"When I boosted their ocular power just now, I noticed those few were especially excited."
"I don't want them ruining my plans. I have a much bigger game in mind. Understood?"
Uchiha Setsuna's mouth curved slightly. "Clan Head, rest assured. I'll make sure those few settle down and don't interfere with your plans."
Hearing this, Masaki Uchiha nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Uchiha Fugaku.
"As for you, Deputy Captain Fugaku, I've decided that you'll lead the Special Operations Unit on its missions for now. Are you willing to take on this responsibility?"
Uchiha Fugaku looked serious. "Clan Head, you can count on me. This responsibility won't crush me. I'd just like to know what the Special Operations Unit's specific mission is, and roughly how many members it will have."
"Put simply, the Special Operations Unit's mission is this: whatever the Hokage can manage, we'll manage; whatever the Hokage can't manage, we'll manage that too."
"We'll start with 300 members. Applicants must have at least a Two-Tomoe Sharingan or be Chunin."
Hearing this, Uchiha Setsuna spoke up. "Clan Head, isn't 300 too few? Why not increase it to 500? After all, the Uchiha Clan has around 1,100 shinobi."
"Only around 500 are officially part of the Konoha Ninja ranks. The rest were trained within the clan. You can rest assured about their strength, Clan Head."
"Heh, Elder Setsuna, I'm not trying to fight the Hokage faction to the death right now."
Uchiha Setsuna's suggestion was exactly what Masaki Uchiha had expected, but now wasn't the right time for that.
"What I want now is to expand the Uchiha Clan's influence."
"Right now, the Uchiha's voice can barely reach anyone in Konoha. We've never made proper use of the Police Force that the Second gave us."
"To make full use of the authority Konoha has granted us, we need to focus on expansion at this stage."
"Of the ten newly established departments, the Legal Department, Tax Department, Press Department, and Special Operations Unit will be the first steps in the Uchiha's advance!"
"I hope you'll all work together with me to build a new Uchiha!"
Hearing Masaki Uchiha's words, the other three immediately brought their feet together, stood straight, and bowed their heads slightly. "Yes, Clan Head!"
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Uchiha Tetsuya hurried inside.
"Clan Head, Anbu is here to see you."