At the thought of the Great Fireball, which had seemed almost like a forbidden technique, Uchiha Fugaku smiled wryly.
"I thought I'd hidden myself well enough. I never expected you to be even better at hiding your abilities. Not only have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, but you also have such extraordinary talent that you can perform ninjutsu to this degree."
"But there's something I want to find out. It concerns the survival of the Uchiha Clan."
Qin Yu wasn't going to correct Uchiha Fugaku's misunderstanding.
He couldn't very well grab Fugaku by the hand and earnestly explain that the original Uchiha Qin Yu was already dead.
That he had come from another world and, with the help of the One-Click Max Level System, had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan only days ago.
If he really said all that,
Qin Yu would probably be taken for a mental patient.
"Are you asking whether I've ever met Uchiha Madara?" Qin Yu looked at Uchiha Fugaku.
For an instant, a flicker of shock crossed Fugaku's face, and his eyes filled with disbelief.
Though Fugaku quickly concealed his expression, Qin Yu still noticed.
From the change in Uchiha Fugaku's expression,
Qin Yu surmised that the Original Work had never explained why Fugaku awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan because the main reason was probably Uchiha Madara.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, Uchiha Madara's intended pawn in his plan to overthrow Konoha hadn't been Obito Uchiha.
It had been Uchiha Fugaku instead.
After helping Uchiha Fugaku awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan,
Madara had found Fugaku's ocular technique too powerful to control, especially in his old and frail state. In the end, Fugaku had slipped beyond his grasp.
That was why Uchiha Madara had later shifted his attention to Obito Uchiha.
Then, step by step, he had first directed his revenge toward the Uchiha Clan.
He had gotten Obito Uchiha to join forces with Danzo and had Itachi Uchiha wipe out the clan.
"So you really do know Uchiha Madara exists. Did he help you awaken your Sharingan too?" Uchiha Fugaku blurted out anxiously.
Qin Yu patted Fugaku on the shoulder. "Uncle, don't worry. My Mangekyō Sharingan awakened naturally. I didn't need his help."
"Besides, do you think someone who dares to kill Yamanaka Tatsuya would become that old bastard's puppet?"
Seeing Qin Yu act so casually despite their difference in age, Uchiha Fugaku glared at him, then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even he had found Qin Yu's domineering behavior just now a little too much.
There was little chance Uchiha Madara could make Qin Yu submit.
"Qin Yu, hearing you say that puts me at ease. I won't press you for details, but don't tell anyone about Uchiha Madara. That man's crazy," Uchiha Fugaku said gravely.
"But now that you've appeared, I think he'll come looking for you soon. When he does, I hope you'll stand by what you said today."
In Uchiha Fugaku's eyes,
the rumors said Uchiha Madara had been gravely wounded and killed by the First, Hashirama Senju, in the Valley of the End.
Afterward, the First had died from complications caused by too many old wounds.
When Uchiha Fugaku had seen Uchiha Madara appear before him alive, he had indeed been utterly shocked.
But in the face of the temptation of power, he had still boarded that ship with no return.
"Don't worry, Uncle Fugaku. I'm not as wishy-washy as you." Qin Yu rolled his eyes, then looked down at the forest. "The world is vast. Have you ever thought about taking the Uchiha Clan away from Konoha?"
"Qin Yu, what are you talking about?" Uchiha Fugaku was stunned.
He hurriedly glanced around, then said anxiously, "You mean leaving the village with the entire clan? That would only make the conflict worse. No hidden village would ever allow it."
Uchiha Fugaku had placed all his hopes on Minato Namikaze.
Once Minato became the Fourth Hokage, given the friendship between them,
he would do everything he could to ease the tension between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan.
Now Qin Yu had suddenly brought up this idea. In Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, it was probably the extreme thinking of the younger generation.
"I know you've placed your hopes in Minato Namikaze. But rather than leave your fate in someone else's hands, you'd be better off holding on to it yourself," Qin Yu said calmly.
He had only happened to cross over into this body, and he didn't feel a deep attachment to the Uchiha Clan.
But he didn't want to stand by and let them die, which was why he had said all this.
Uchiha Fugaku's expression shifted, and he fell silent.
After a long while, he said, "I don't want the Uchiha Clan to bear the blame. Qin Yu, you're still young. You don't understand what duty means."
"Duty?" Qin Yu gave a dry laugh. "That sort of thing can crush a person."
"But since that's what you think, I won't meddle. If the people of Konoha leave me alone, I don't want any trouble either."
"But if anyone picks a fight with me, they shouldn't expect me to spare them out of old times' sake."
Looking at Qin Yu's calm expression, Uchiha Fugaku felt a little as if he were a stranger.
If the old Qin Yu had seemed timid and unremarkable,
the Qin Yu standing before him now felt like a blade with its edge bared.
And a double-edged blade, at that.
"Enough. Let's stop wasting time," Qin Yu said, patting Uchiha Fugaku on the shoulder. "As clan leader, Uncle Fugaku, try to get in touch with Shisui if you have the chance. He's awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan too."
"And pay more attention to Itachi. If they both grow up safely, they'll certainly become two of the strongest shinobi in the Ninja World."
With that, Qin Yu turned and left.
For a while, Uchiha Fugaku was left alone on the rocky ledge, lost in thought.
If he had fought Qin Yu earlier to figure out what he was capable of,
now he was even more confused.
He had been keeping an eye on Uchiha Shisui.
He had even suspected Shisui might be someone Uchiha Madara had approached.
But he had never imagined Uchiha Shisui would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan at such a young age.
And Uchiha Madara had indeed overlooked Itachi, who had only just begun to show his talent.
"Qin Yu, who are you really? You've hidden yourself so well. What are you after—the position of Hokage?" Uchiha Fugaku murmured to himself.
After parting from Uchiha Fugaku, Qin Yu couldn't help frowning.
He had already anticipated Uchiha Fugaku's choice.
Besides, the Uchiha Clan was riddled with rot.
Leaving aside the persecution by Konoha Hidden Leaf Village, even some of the younger generation had the mindset of thugs.
They often abused their status in the Police Force to collect protection money or engage in other thoroughly disgraceful behavior.
Uchiha Fugaku had tried to crack down on them, but the problem had taken root in their thinking and grown into something deeply malicious.
To a certain extent, there was no changing the way some clan members thought.
Even if Uchiha Fugaku really did lead the entire clan in abandoning the village, these people would never pass up a chance to take revenge on Konoha.
And when that happened, Konoha would have an excuse to wipe out the Uchiha Clan.
Before you continue