The Outcome

"Begin!" the referee beside them called, swiftly chopping his right hand down from above his head.

Naraku pulled out a shuriken and hurled it at Fugaku. Uchiha Fugaku made the same move, and their shuriken collided midair.

The sharp clinks of shuriken striking rang out. Both of them could defend with pinpoint precision, intercepting every single projectile their opponent threw.

Naraku ran out of weapons. He channeled chakra into his feet and sprang backward, then rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands, ending on the Tiger Seal. In moments, he had formed a Fire Style technique.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Almost simultaneously, Uchiha Fugaku unleashed a Fire Style technique of his own. The two fireballs collided head-on!

Red light enveloped the scene, and the temperature soared. Fortunately, everyone attending the clan meeting was a Chunin or a Jonin, so they could withstand the heat.

Naraku and Fugaku puffed out their cheeks and spewed flames.

In the end, Naraku began to lose ground as his younger age took its toll.

Uchiha Fugaku remained impassive, his expression and tone as flat as ever. But he poured in more chakra, making the flames burn even stronger.

The referee opened his Sharingan and carefully watched the situation, ready to intervene if either fighter needed help.

"As expected of Wicked Eye Fugaku."

"He's really strong."

The clan members watching nearby murmured among themselves.

"As expected of Big Brother Fugaku!"

Naraku gritted his teeth, putting particular emphasis on "Big Brother." He had simply been at a disadvantage because of his age.

"People outside the clan call me the Copy Ninja. Today, I'll show you a technique of my own creation!"

As soon as Naraku finished speaking, he stopped channeling chakra, and his fireball went out. He leaped onto the wall, stuck to it with both feet, and dodged Fugaku's flames as he swiftly formed Hand Seals.

After completing several seals, Naraku grabbed his right wrist with his left hand. A visible mass of chakra gathered in his right palm.

Blue light flickered through the chakra as it crackled, sounding like a flock of chirping birds!

It was the technique Naraku had been the first to trademark: Chidori!

"He's gathering lightning in his hand!"

"Has he mastered lightning itself?"

"Why does it sound like birds are chirping?!"

Every ninja present gasped in shock. They opened their Sharingan and studied the Chidori.

For Uchiha with the Sharingan, copying a ninjutsu was nothing unusual. Nearly every Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan could do it. Yet they couldn't easily copy Naraku's Lightning Release technique.

That meant the technique was extremely complex! It required dedicated practice to master.

Thanks to his all-element affinity, Naraku could counter any technique his opponent used by unleashing the same kind of ninjutsu.

For the person he defeated, losing to a technique they excelled at was truly cruel.

Yet Uchiha Naraku, who was known as the Copy Ninja, had now developed a unique technique of his own.

That was something only a true genius could do!

The elders onstage glanced at one another, exchanged looks, then nodded slightly.

"Big Brother Fugaku, I can't guarantee I'll hold back against the Chidori. You should surrender!"

"So this technique is called Chidori? That's fine. Bring it on." Fugaku replied in an utterly calm voice, his face composed.

Naraku held nothing back. The lightning chakra stimulated his cells, greatly increasing his speed and strength.

He pushed off with both feet and shot toward Fugaku in an instant.

Naraku didn't aim for Fugaku. Instead, he thrust toward the ground beside him.

Thud! A huge hole split open in the ground.

Fugaku broke into a cold sweat. At that speed, his Sharingan could only track Naraku's movements; his body couldn't react quickly enough to dodge.

"You lost," Naraku said calmly.

Seeing that Naraku had clearly held back and struck the empty ground instead, Fugaku's usually impassive face showed a trace of unwillingness.

"I lost," Fugaku replied bitterly.

Uchiha Naraku's father, Uchiha Sanzang, had also been watching from the platform. At the sight, he nodded slightly, clearly approving of his son's talent.

"Big Brother, it makes no difference which of them takes the position. Don't let this hurt their relationship. Naraku rescued the people of Uzushio Village from the border and earned great merit. Sarutobi Hiruzen has praised and recognized him highly. Besides, Fugaku is a few years older than Naraku. Let him yield to Naraku just this once."

Uchiha Sanzang spoke to his elder brother, Uchiha Okura, beside him.

"Mm." Uchiha Okura nodded, his face impassive.

Uchiha Naraku received the votes of five more elders, winning with 60 votes to Fugaku's 56. He was successfully elected clan leader.

"Uchiha Naraku is the winner. The ceremony to formally appoint him clan leader will be held in three days. From now on, Uchiha Naraku will lead the Uchiha Clan toward glory."

Uchiha Okura stood and spoke calmly. He didn't seem to use much chakra, yet every ninja present heard him.

The Uchiha elites below broke into applause.

At the Naraku residence

Uchiha Okura, Naraku's uncle, and Uchiha Sanzang sat in the main seats in the living room. Naraku sat below them, like a subordinate giving a work report.

"Naraku, you've achieved your wish and won the election. From now on, you'll lead the clan. Do you have any plans for the Uchiha Clan's future?"

Uchiha Okura asked calmly. Perhaps the family had passed this trait down: from Okura to Fugaku, and then to Uchiha Itachi in the future, they all had that cool, unruffled air of someone who thought they were incredible.

"Uncle, the Uchiha Clan has repeatedly faced discrimination and suppression from the Konoha High Command. Big Brother Fugaku and I had only just earned merit and made a name for ourselves when we were sent to the East Coast of the Land of Fire to guard against the Land of Water.

"The Land of Water is in the midst of turmoil. It has neither the ability nor the motive to invade the Land of Fire. That's enough to show how wary the High Command is of our clan's military achievements.

"But our clan controls the Military Police Force and holds power. Konoha pays our salaries, yet we use them to support our clan's ninja. The Military Police Force has done some good in maintaining order in Konoha, but the Hokage Faction only sees the Uchiha living peacefully and unthreatened inside the village,

"while ninja from other clans are risking their lives on the battlefield. We Uchiha, on the other hand, collect a fixed salary and stay in the village. Our strength isn't being weakened; in fact, the number of our ninja keeps growing.

"If I were the Third Hokage, my next move might be to send the Uchiha Clan to face the regular forces of other nations."

During the Third Shinobi World War, Uchiha ninja really had faced off against the Land of Water alone, with one clan defending against an entire country. The name Body Flicker Shisui had also become known during that time.

Uchiha Naraku paused briefly, then continued:

"The Military Police Force's duty is to maintain public order and arrest people and ninja with criminal tendencies. As an organization responsible for maintaining order, if the Hokage summons us to the battlefield, should we go or not?"

Naraku's question left Great Elder Uchiha Okura and Sanzang, the Police Force captain, deep in thought.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the Uchiha Clan had sent many ninja to the front. Body Flicker Shisui had earned fame there, but even more clan members had died. Uchiha Obito had fallen in the war in the Land of Earth. (Konoha records listed Obito as having died; his true identity wasn't revealed until much later.)

Naraku continued, "If we obey the order and go to war, casualties will be unavoidable. We won't be able to stop our clan's strength from being weakened. But the Uchiha are a clan of fighters. Only through war can we evolve our Kekkei Genkai... the Sharingan.

"But the Hokage's call to arms is a political matter. If we obey this summons, will we have to obey the next one too? If we refuse, the conflict between the High Command and the Uchiha may erupt outright. How should we handle that?"

Uchiha Naraku spoke at length. He understood the Uchiha's predicament and the High Command's thinking perfectly.

Perhaps the Third Hokage had once considered resolving things peacefully. But because of the Police Force's authority, Danzo's provocations, and the other advisers' efforts to smear the clan, he eventually resorted to a brutal crackdown.

"The most important thing is that the Police Force has a poor reputation in the village. The villagers and ninja alike criticize it constantly."