Uchiha Clan's Useless CP!

"I'm Uchiha Jin. Pay up!"

His words were unruly, with a hint of wildness, and that wildness, in turn, carried a touch of arrogance. In the already quiet meeting hall, they naturally grated on everyone's ears.

As expected!

The moment they confirmed that the newcomer was Uchiha Jin, both Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna—old rivals—darkened in unison. Their bodies trembled with an almost rhythmic intensity.

Huff... huff...

Don't get angry. Don't get angry. There's no point getting mad at this hothead...

After a few deep breaths, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna quickly calmed themselves and fixed wary looks on Uchiha Jin, the unwelcome guest.

That was right!

It was the only thing they could do. Surely they weren't actually going to fight Uchiha Jin?

Besides, it wasn't as if they'd never fought him before. As the Uchiha Clan Head and Uchiha Great Elder, both already at Kage Level, they were absolutely confident they could defeat even an elite Uchiha jōnin with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

But Jin didn't fight fair...

Sometimes, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna even wondered whether Jin was really an Uchiha at all.

The Uchiha Clan was a place where the strong ruled, and its members accepted defeat when they were outmatched. Yet somehow, this stubborn bruiser had come along, refusing to be beaten into submission. Worse, he was genuinely ready to fight to the death.

How were they supposed to deal with that...?

All Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna wanted was to defeat each other. Surely they weren't really going to kill Uchiha Jin on the spot?

If Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna ever lost their minds and did something like that, the man known as the "Darkness of the Ninja World," the Hokage Assistant, would probably laugh himself to death.

But if they held back...

Even powerful men like Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna found it hard to handle an elite Uchiha jōnin who only wanted to fight to the death.

Well...

"Exposing the Mangekyō Sharingan I've kept hidden all these years over a hothead like him would be even less worth it..."

That was especially true for someone like Uchiha Fugaku, a member of the Moderate Faction with a powerful trump card he kept hidden, yet whom Uchiha Jin looked down on the most. The sense of frustration in his heart was doubled, and in ordinary moments, he could only comfort himself with thoughts like that.

Of course!

The most important reason Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna were both unwilling to kill Jin was his unique talent for teaching.

It wasn't just the Uchiha children at the training grounds. Over the past year or two, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna had both clearly felt that, under Jin's subtle influence, the overall strength of the Uchiha Clan had improved considerably.

At this,

Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna felt relieved, but also couldn't help feeling an indescribable sense of gratitude.

That was right!

Even though Konoha had been established for decades, truly powerful ninjutsu instruction still only existed within a clan's traditions—or, to be more precise, within the traditions of individual families.

The so-called Ninja Academy had appeared, but to families with genuine traditions, it was little more than a formality. The only thing with any real value was the master-apprentice tradition passed down through jōnin squads.

But none of that mattered much to the Uchiha Clan. With the excellent traditions passed down through their families and the body of knowledge the clan had gathered on training methods suited to their people, that was already enough for the Uchiha Clan, brimming with talent, to look down on Konoha's many other clans. They had no interest in the Ninja Academy or master-apprentice traditions.

But if they compared themselves with Konoha Village, the strongest force in the Ninja World at the time, the Uchiha Clan's accumulated strength was clearly far from enough.

And Uchiha Jin's arrival changed all that.

He was willing to teach every Uchiha everything he knew, without holding anything back. What's more, he seemed born with an extraordinary imagination, and could always sum up the training methods best suited to the Uchiha Clan.

On top of the family and clan traditions the Uchiha already had in place, he added a new, systematic tradition.

A new path that built on physical conditioning, centered on the Sharingan, and developed ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu together!

Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna couldn't even imagine this way of thinking, so utterly different from that of ordinary ninjas. It all seemed so simple—how had the clan failed to pass it down over the past several centuries?

By improving physical conditioning, they could increase their chakra reserves. By using the Sharingan's most basic copying ability, they could train in Taijutsu and ninjutsu at incredible speed. And with the Sharingan's natural boost to genjutsu, they could practice all kinds of powerful illusions.

He'd even come up with all sorts of ways to spur the Uchiha to train harder.

Tsk, tsk...

At the thought of future enemies facing one elite Uchiha after another, each well-rounded in ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna couldn't help feeling sorry for them.

Who could have imagined it...?

In the past, only a few Uchiha geniuses could manage these things. Now, thanks to Uchiha Jin, they were gradually becoming commonplace, accessible to everyone.

But after thinking it over, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna understood.

That was right!

Perhaps others had realized it before, but anyone who did might not have been willing to pass the knowledge on. And those who were willing might never have realized what they were passing down. At the very least, that was how it had been for Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna.

After all, what were ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and genjutsu? Weren't they just a matter of glaring with the Sharingan, firing off a Great Fireball Technique, and then swiftly wiping out the enemy?

Uchiha Setsuna thought of the orphan Body Flicker Shisui, while Uchiha Fugaku thought of his own clever Uchiha prodigy, Itachi.

Did they really need to teach any of this?

But one thing was certain: Uchiha Jin's existence was a powerful asset to the future political goals of both Uchiha Fugaku, from the Moderate Faction, and Uchiha Setsuna, from the Radical Faction.

That was why, back then, they'd made an exception and promoted Uchiha Jin to the youngest clan elder. They'd even joined forces to pressure the Hokage and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

That said...

There was just something about Jin that made him so annoying. He showed no respect at all for the Uchiha Clan Head or the Great Elder!

Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna exchanged a glance. Their eyes were full of the same helplessness, but then they remembered their respective positions and, in unspoken agreement, each gave a huff before turning away and ignoring the other.

Uchiha Jin was at a loss too. He'd been ignored for quite a while, and had clearly seen the subtle interaction between Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna.

"What's with this intense CP vibe!"