Uchiha Setsuna

The servant looked surprised upon seeing Uchiha Yan, then respectfully said, "Lord Yan, are you here to see Elder Setsuna?"

Uchiha Setsuna was the spokesperson for the Uchiha Hawk Faction.

It was he who had designated Uchiha Yan to serve as the future leader of the Hawk Faction.

Therefore, Uchiha Yan would often stop by to visit him.

Uchiha Yan nodded. "It is about the future of the Uchiha."

Upon hearing Uchiha Yan's words, the servant was visibly surprised.

He nodded hurriedly and said, "No problem."

The servant led Uchiha Yan through the antique wooden corridor, pushed open the inner door, and walked toward the room.

He knocked gently on the door.

A raspy, aged voice came from inside.

"What is it?"

"Elder Setsuna, Lord Yan is here to see you," the servant said respectfully.

"Come in." Uchiha Setsuna's voice was hoarse and old.

Uchiha Yan pushed the door open and entered.

The room was dimly lit, with only a single lamp flickering.

Uchiha Setsuna sat in a recliner.

This living fossil, who had crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood from the Warring States period, radiated a terrifying sense of oppression even while sitting perfectly still.

He opened his eyes and looked at Uchiha Yan, his gaze filled with appreciation. His talent was higher than Fugaku's, and he was more ruthless than Fugaku; this was the true future leader of the Uchiha.

As for Fugaku, he could only be described as the tallest among the short—a matter of necessity.

Because those of Fugaku's generation were the ones most deeply influenced by Uchiha Kagami and the most severely brainwashed by the Will of Fire.

By comparison, Uchiha Fugaku was already considered decent.

In truth, Uchiha Setsuna hadn't been particularly optimistic about Uchiha Yan at the very beginning.

Because Uchiha Yan was too ruthless—or, to be precise, too insane.

When he was sixteen or seventeen, he had challenged Root more than once in public.

He had even killed quite a few members of Root.

If it hadn't been for Uchiha Setsuna leading a group of Uchiha clansmen to force Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand, Uchiha Yan would likely have become a fallen genius long ago.

He sighed with emotion, "Yan, you have truly grown a lot over these past two years."

Uchiha Yan felt a bit awkward hearing Setsuna's sentiment and let out a dry laugh.

"I owe it all to Elder Setsuna's care and guidance."

He meant those words sincerely, for ever since he had displayed his talent, he had received a unilateral influx of resources from Setsuna.

The resources consumed to cultivate him over these years were, conservatively estimated, three times what it took for the Uchiha to train a qualified ninja with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Of course, Uchiha Yan had perfectly repaid the Uchiha for the resources they had poured into him.

After all, Itachi, who posed the greatest threat to the Uchiha in the original timeline, had already been dealt with by Uchiha Yan.

Uchiha Yan did not possess a grand sense of magnanimity.

He did not care what would happen in the worst-case scenario where the Uchiha and Konoha engaged in a civil war.

All that nonsense about Konoha falling into weakness, other ninja villages taking advantage of the situation, and the ninja world descending into war—he didn't care.

He only knew that the old man who usually smiled and bought him breakfast in the Uchiha compound would die.

The Uchiha children who looked at him with worshipful eyes when he went out on patrol would die.

The people who followed him would die.

His childhood sweetheart, Izumi, would also die.

And their deaths would be completely meaningless.

The people who truly oppressed and persecuted them would pay no price at all.

Therefore, in Uchiha Yan's mind, a double loss was better than a single win.

If my Uchiha clan is to be exterminated, don't expect Konoha to fare any better.

However, he had already significantly reversed the precarious situation the Uchiha currently faced.

As long as no accidents occurred, the Uchiha would return to the center of power in Konoha starting tomorrow.

Uchiha Yan looked at Uchiha Setsuna and said solemnly, "Elder, I want the Uchiha Hawk Faction to follow my command."

"Follow your command?" Uchiha Setsuna did not show a hint of anger upon hearing his blatant attempt to seize power.

Instead, he asked with curiosity, "Would you mind telling me why?"

Uchiha Yan did not hide anything. "Orochimaru may have returned. If nothing goes wrong, Konoha will fall into chaos tomorrow."

"Therefore, I intend for the Uchiha to snatch chestnuts from the fire during that turmoil."

Upon hearing his words, Uchiha Setsuna tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair, contemplating the feasibility of Uchiha Yan's plan.

About a minute passed.

He looked at Uchiha Yan and posed a question, "What makes you so confident that Sarutobi Hiruzen won't have any contingencies in place?"

"Besides, Danzo is also lurking nearby, looking menacing."

Uchiha Yan was not angered by Setsuna's interrogation.

He said calmly, "Because not long ago, Danzo visited the Uchiha, as you are aware."

Uchiha Setsuna nodded.

He certainly knew about this matter; Uchiha Yan himself had specifically informed him of it.

Uchiha Yan continued, "He came to win over the Uchiha clan, but the terms were not settled. However, at the very least, with Sarutobi Hiruzen stepping to the forefront, the interests of the Uchiha and Danzo are aligned."

"So, there is no need to worry about that."

Hearing Uchiha Yan's words, Uchiha Setsuna nodded.

"Understood. I will hand over command of the Hawk Faction to you."

Uchiha Yan gave a slight nod.

He also intended to take his leave.

Because after just a short conversation, Uchiha Setsuna's expression was already filled with exhaustion.

It seemed that time would erode everything.

At this moment, Uchiha Setsuna issued a "dismissal" ahead of time, "Very well, Yan, I am a bit tired."

Having said that, he silently closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yan bowed accordingly and then exited the room.

After he left the room, Setsuna opened his eyes once again.

Setsuna's somewhat aged eyes remained remarkably bright.

After a long while, a voice echoed in the room.

"I hope the Uchiha can win this gamble."

Uchiha Setsuna closed his eyes, recalling painful memories.

As an Uchiha clansman who had lived for a long time, he had naturally experienced that choice back then.

However, on that day, not a single person was willing to follow Madara.

Yet, Madara's words were becoming reality step by step.

Following the death of the First Hokage, the Uchiha were assigned to the high-ranking and powerful Konoha Military Police Force.

This seemingly glamorous position, however, caused the Uchiha clan's favorability in the eyes of the commoners to drop to nearly zero.

Furthermore, the arrogant nature of the Uchiha clansmen led to small-scale frictions with other major clans.

This resulted in the Uchiha clan having a mediocre reputation among both commoners and nobles alike.

The oppression from the Second Hokage ended after his death in battle, but the Third Hokage continued the trend.

The Third Hokage did adopt a policy of appeasement toward the Uchiha.

However, his friend Danzo had, from beginning to end, carried out the will of his teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama.

Following the unexpected death of Kagami, Danzo began targeting the Uchiha clan.

Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to placate the Uchiha, indicating that he would allow Fugaku to compete for the position of Hokage.

In the end, the Uchiha clan placed their bets on Fugaku, hoping he could contend for the seat of Hokage.