Uchiha are Wolves

Some were conflicted, some shocked, some fervent...

All kinds of gazes converged on Uchiha Mirai by the Naka River.

Though Uchiha Fugaku's voice was not loud, it struck the surrounding Uchiha's minds like a thunderclap.

"How is this possible? The clan head actually admitted defeat..."

Uchiha Zhiyin seemed to have lost his soul as he trembled and muttered.

As Clan Head Fugaku's most diehard fan, he simply could not accept this outcome.

The younger generation of Uchiha snapped out of it and erupted into deafening cheers.

"Brother Mirai is the clan head! Brother Mirai is the clan head!"

"Long live Brother Mirai!"

In stark contrast to their cheers were the ugly expressions of the other Uchiha.

Especially Fugaku's direct followers, such as Uchiha Yashiro and Inabi. It was as if they had swallowed a hundred duck necks whole, their faces turning the color of pig liver.

Uchiha Fugaku had actually admitted defeat? Did they truly have to acknowledge Uchiha Mirai as clan head?

Uchiha Setsuna stared deeply at Uchiha Mirai.

Behind him, a clansman lowered his voice.

"Lord Setsuna, should we..."

At this crucial turning point, Uchiha Setsuna displayed a boldness that did not match his age.

He chuckled softly.

"Since Fugaku has already acknowledged Mirai, and Mirai possesses the power of the Mangekyo as well, what is wrong with recognizing him as clan head?"

"Besides, I truly look forward to seeing whether the Uchiha's future will become different under his leadership."

A strong look of anticipation appeared in Uchiha Setsuna's eyes.

Nearly every word Uchiha Mirai had used to rebuke Fugaku struck straight at his heart, shaking his very soul.

The hot blood within him, which had gradually cooled with age, showed signs of boiling once more.

Yan, was this why you chose Uchiha Mirai?

He suddenly began to understand his grandson's choice.

Upon hearing Uchiha Setsuna's words, many clansmen revealed expressions of relief.

At this critical moment of changing clan heads, if Uchiha Setsuna, as the Great Elder, had sincerely chosen to make trouble, another round of bloodshed would likely have been unavoidable.

The current Uchiha truly could not withstand much more internal strife.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression was complicated. After a long while, he sighed.

"Mirai, you are now the clan head. What do you intend to do about the village and the Uchiha?"

Uchiha Mirai gazed deeply into the distance.

"Just as I said in the shrine, it is time for the Police Force to change. The Uchiha are not dogs that submit for a bone with scraps of meat clinging to it. I will prove to those higher-ups that the Uchiha are wolves—wolves with fighting spirit and pride."

The Uchiha were wolves...

Uchiha Fugaku murmured as he fell into thought.

He suddenly seemed to understand something. Over the past few years, regarding both the Uchiha and the village, he had kept compromising and compromising...

But the Uchiha were wolves in the end.

Wolves could not retreat without end. That would only stir up their fighting spirit.

Perhaps he had been wrong from the very beginning.

"Mirai, will you use a coup to oppose the higher-ups?"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice had softened considerably. At this moment, he had already begun to accept Uchiha Mirai's ideals.

But a coup remained his final bottom line.

If Uchiha Mirai truly intended to use a coup and turn both the Uchiha and Konoha into rivers of blood, he would still stand against Mirai.

"Unless we are left with no other choice, the Uchiha will never launch a coup. That is my promise to you."

Uchiha Mirai looked at him calmly.

Uchiha Mirai was very fond of a saying: war was the continuation of politics.

By the same logic, a coup was also the continuation of politics.

Uchiha Mirai would only use a coup under two circumstances.

The first was when the pieces on his chessboard had run out, and he needed a coup to obtain greater political leverage.

The second was when the Uchiha had become strong enough to steamroll everything in their path, and it was time for Konoha to change its surname.

Neither of those circumstances applied now.

He still had many pieces in hand, and the Uchiha were not yet powerful enough to completely disregard all of Konoha.

As the greatest ninja village in the ninja world, Konoha possessed a formidable foundation. Attempting a coup without enough allies meant practically standing against all of Konoha.

Division, recruitment, alliances, pressure... those were the measures of maturity.

"That's good..."

Uchiha Fugaku let out a long breath, and the pent-up tension in his heart dissipated.

"With you leading the Uchiha, I can leave without worry."

???

Uchiha Mirai froze in bewilderment.

"Leave? Clan Head Fugaku, why are you leaving?"

Uchiha Fugaku sighed helplessly. "Didn't we agree before our fight that the winner would receive the clan's cheers and glory, while the loser would leave the Uchiha?"

At the time, he had believed that Uchiha Mirai was challenging the clan head's authority. With his strength and experience, suppressing Uchiha Mirai should not have been a problem.

Yet reality had slapped him hard across the face!

As the loser, he could only swallow the bitter fruit of the rules he had set himself.

"Ah! That?" Uchiha Mirai wore an expression of realization. "Clan Head, you only admitted defeat. That doesn't necessarily make you the loser, does it?"

Admitting defeat didn't count as losing?

What kind of logic was that?

Uchiha Fugaku was somewhat taken aback.

"Hmm..." Uchiha Mirai pondered for a moment. "Clan Head, we agreed that the winner would be determined by the outcome of the battle, right? But our battle never even ended. So how could there be a winner or loser?"

"Clan Head, you merely submitted to my personal charm. If we had truly kept fighting, we both have Mangekyo Sharingan. It would have been hard to determine who would win or lose!"

Uchiha Mirai's eyes curved into smiling crescents.

That roundabout argument left Uchiha Fugaku feeling dizzy and speechless.

Still, there was one point he agreed with: since both sides possessed Mangekyo Sharingan, the outcome truly would have been difficult to determine.

His Mangekyo controlled the power of time, one of the most mysterious powers in the ninja world.

But what exactly was Uchiha Mirai's Mangekyo ocular technique?

Uchiha Fugaku could not help but feel curious.

However, ocular techniques concerned one's greatest personal secret, so he could not possibly ask outright.

"But..." Uchiha Fugaku still hesitated. "You are already the Uchiha clan head. If I stay, what identity should I have..."

"That's easy!"

Uchiha Mirai smiled.

A Mangekyo Sharingan wielder!

There was no way he would let such a powerful asset as Uchiha Fugaku slip away for nothing.

"Within the clan, you call me Clan Head. Outside the clan, I call you Clan Head. We'll each address the other our own way."

The corner of Uchiha Fugaku's mouth twitched.

Each our own way?

What the hell?