Clan Meeting (5)

It had to be said, Uchiha Yushu's move was indeed effective. After all, being obsessed with looks was a universal truth.

Hovering in the air, his entire body flickering with golden-red flames, the visual impact was even more dazzling than Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode during the Fourth Shinobi World War. With those flaming wings added in, his appearance was simply off the charts.

"Is this the Fire Release Chakra Mode developed by imitating Hidden Cloud Village's Lightning Release Chakra Mode? It's incredibly powerful."

"We finally get to see Lord Yushu's Fire Release Chakra Mode again!"

"If you faced Lord Yushu, could you really survive?"

"..."

The many shinobi discussed among themselves. That was right—Uchiha Yushu had described the Human Torch template ability as Fire Release Chakra Mode, because he really had added Fire Release chakra to it. Though there was very little of it, it was indeed there, which was why he had not been exposed until now.

Of course, not everyone could remain unmoved while watching Yushu act so arrogantly.

A shinobi behind Fugaku stepped directly in front of Uchiha Yushu. This man was Uchiha Yuto, Kento's older brother. As one of the clan's veteran jonin, he not only possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan, but was even more formidable in the way he wielded Sharingan genjutsu with masterful skill.

He was acknowledged throughout the Uchiha Clan as one of the older generation's experts. Both his ninjutsu and taijutsu were exceptionally strong, making him a well-rounded shinobi with no weaknesses and outstanding strengths.

Unlike his younger brother Kento, Yuto was not easily angered. Still, after seeing his brother's miserable state just now, although it had been a fair fight and Kento had simply lost because he was inferior, there was nothing to say about that.

But that was his own younger brother in the end. Inheriting the Uchiha tradition of doting on one's little brother, Uchiha Yuto intended to avenge him. He could tell that Yushu had held back earlier, and likewise, he did not intend to kill Yushu. But he would leave him with a sufficiently deep shadow.

"Kid, your Fire Release techniques may indeed be unmatched within the clan, but we are the Uchiha Clan!"

Yuto's actions had long drawn Yushu's attention. He knew that Yuto's greatest strength lay in his genjutsu. He had no intention of avoiding it. Today, he would defeat his opponent in the very area where he was strongest.

Seeing Yushu listening seriously to him, Yuto activated his Sharingan and said, "We are a bloodline clan. The Uchiha Clan's greatest power has never been Fire Release, but our Sharingan."

At the same time, he had already unleashed the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan genjutsu—the Gold Binding Technique.

In the original story, this was the powerful genjutsu with which Itachi Uchiha had instantly defeated Orochimaru with a single glance. Although it was not the Mangekyō Sharingan, the damage inflicted by the genjutsu was the same. The Mangekyō Sharingan merely made it impossible for stronger enemies to break free.

But the outcome was obvious. At the very moment he unleashed his genjutsu, Uchiha Yushu also activated his Sharingan and cast a genjutsu.

He did not use Mirror Heaven and Earth Transfer, the ocular technique that could reflect genjutsu. After all, enemies who also possessed the Sharingan would not find it difficult to break.

He used the Gold Binding Technique as well. When two shinobi possessing the Sharingan used the same genjutsu at the same time, the only thing being tested was ocular power.

As a special kind of spiritual power, ocular power should ordinarily grow stronger with one's life experience. Yushu, who had transmigrated here, might not have had much chakra, but his experience of transmigration, combined with the boosts from two ability templates, had made his spiritual power among the very best in the shinobi world.

There were no special tricks involved—just sheer suppression by overwhelming magnitude. The instant their gazes met, Uchiha Yuto collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, Yushu remained hovering in the air without the slightest abnormality. Every jonin present was from the Uchiha Clan; even those who did not specialize in genjutsu could easily tell what had happened.

This gave everyone an even deeper understanding of Uchiha Yushu's strength.

Uchiha Yan watched everything with his mouth hanging open, then began showing off to old man Wei beside him.

"See my boy? That Fire Release, that genjutsu—he's already got one or two tenths of my skill from back then. Truly impressive!"

"Oh, cut it out. Aside from being sly and treacherous, what did you have worth showing off back then? Every time we fought, I had to charge in first."

Uchiha Wei mercilessly exposed Uchiha Yan's true nature.

Uchiha Yuto, who had fallen to the ground, soon woke up. Yushu had only restrained him and had not taken the opportunity to use the Gold Binding Technique to harm him.

Having awakened, Yuto clearly knew what had happened. He silently retreated to Fugaku's side.

After witnessing Yushu's strength, none of the Uchiha Clan's shinobi remained unconvinced or came forward to challenge him.

That Fire Release that overturned their understanding, that powerful genjutsu capable of defeating Yuto—and as for taijutsu, seeing the cloak of flames covering Yushu's body, no one wanted to try exchanging taijutsu with him.

After everyone had witnessed his strength, he still looked down at the crowd with that cocky, flashy, punchable expression. Yet the disgust that had more or less filled the clan members' eyes before had already vanished, replaced by looks of respect.

The Uchiha Clan's shinobi were just that adorable. If you had no ability but acted pretentious, they would beat you up while looking at you with disdain. But if you were not only capable but also especially pretentious, they would think you were amazing—powerful, and so good at acting cool. They might even take the initiative to imitate you and act cool in front of others.

It was precisely because he could not bear to abandon such adorable and genuine clansmen that Uchiha Yushu decided to step forward and save the Uchiha Clan.

As for Konoha's so-called Will of Fire, Yushu clearly understood that without a family, there could be no clan, and without a clan, there could be no village. He would never be brainwashed by it. Whether it was the clan or Konoha, he would not sacrifice one for the other.

After waiting a long time without anyone responding, Uchiha Yushu dispelled his flaming wings and Human Torch form, returning to the ground.

Fugaku looked at Yushu before him and was about to say something. "Yushu, regarding the matter of inheriting the clan head position..."

Yushu interrupted Fugaku once again.

"Clan Head Fugaku, I've already said it. I don't want to become clan head because I need your support. I want to save the Uchiha Clan. Now, when people from the clan walk onto Konoha's streets, even children spit at them on their own initiative. We've reached the point where everyone hates and rejects us."

"I don't want to become clan head for power. I want to clean up the mess left behind by you, an incompetent clan head, over the past decade or so!"

Upon hearing this, Fugaku was not overly angry. He was not someone who coveted power, and honestly, he himself knew exactly how unbearable that position was. The village's hostility and exclusion, the clan members' lack of understanding—he had struggled to maintain the balance between the two.

What puzzled him most was why Yushu demeaned him so severely. Was he truly such an incompetent clan head?

"So, Clan Head, this is no longer about whether you will yield the position of clan head. I intend to hold you accountable for the enormous losses your many poor decisions have caused the clan during your years as clan head!"

"Uchiha Yushu, do you know what you're saying?"

At this point, Yashiro, who had been standing beside Fugaku the whole time, could no longer hold back and questioned Yushu.

At the same time, Naoto beside Yushu and Uchiha Shinsuke, another captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, both wore conflicted expressions, as though they wanted to persuade Yushu.

"Of course I know. I am holding Clan Head Fugaku accountable now!"

"Shut up! You have no idea how much the clan head has given for the clan—"

"The one who should shut up is you, Uchiha Yashiro."

Unwilling to continue this pointless dispute, Yushu intended to act directly. But just as he stepped forward, Fugaku stopped him.

Fugaku looked at Yushu, whose expression did not seem false, and merely asked, "Yushu, could you tell me where I have failed as clan head during these years?"

"Fugaku!" Yashiro still wanted to say something.

"Yashiro!!! Enough. This has nothing to do with you now." Fugaku stared at Yashiro darkly.

Uchiha Yashiro eventually returned to where he had been standing and said nothing more.

"Yushu, can you tell me now?" Fugaku truly wanted to know where, in Yushu's mind—where he constantly called him incompetent—he had failed as clan head.

He had become clan head in his twenties and had worked conscientiously for more than a decade. He might not have been outstanding, but he should not have earned the label of incompetent.