A Midnight Meeting with Fugaku! Revealing the Crisis, the Uchiha Clan Head's Shock and Choice!

Night had fallen over the Uchiha Compound.

Kamizuki Yu appeared before the compound gates, making no effort to conceal his presence.

"Chief Advisor Kamizuki Yu requests an audience with the Uchiha Clan Head." The guarding Uchiha clansman spoke with a trace of barely perceptible vigilance and surprise.

The announcement was quickly delivered.

Uchiha Fugaku paced within the study of his residence, his brows tightly furrowed.

Why had this young chief advisor come to visit so late at night?

He had heard many rumors about the man. His strength was unfathomable, and his actions even more difficult to predict.

"Show him in," Fugaku instructed the people outside.

Before long, Kamizuki Yu entered the study.

The room was simply and solemnly furnished, carrying the Uchiha Clan's usual style.

Fugaku dismissed all the servants, including his own trusted aides.

"Advisor Kamizuki, what important matter brings you here at this late hour?" Fugaku spoke first, striving to keep his tone even.

Kamizuki Yu studied the Uchiha Clan Head. He was steadier than Yu had imagined, yet the worry between his brows was impossible to hide.

"Clan Head Fugaku, let's not beat around the bush." Kamizuki Yu sat down in a nearby chair, his posture casual.

"The Uchiha Clan's current position in the Hidden Leaf—I'm sure you understand it well enough."

Fugaku's pupils contracted slightly.

He had not expected the other man to be so direct, tearing away the most sensitive veil right from the start.

"What do you mean by that, Advisor Kamizuki? The Uchiha Clan has always been loyal to the Hidden Leaf. The Police Force carries out its duties diligently. How can you claim our situation is difficult?" Fugaku's voice deepened, carrying the authority of a clan head.

An instinctive resistance made him try to argue back.

Kamizuki Yu's expression remained impassive.

"Loyalty? You can say those words to the Third all you like, but with someone like Danzo, they're nothing but empty talk."

"Elder Danzo..." Fugaku trailed off.

"Have you truly never noticed his little moves against the Uchiha Clan?" Kamizuki Yu tapped the tabletop with his fingers. "Or have you noticed, but lacked the power to stop him, so you could only pretend not to know?"

Every word was like a small hammer striking Fugaku's heart.

Fugaku's expression darkened.

"Advisor, these are baseless speculations. Elder Danzo's actions are naturally subject to Lord Hokage's judgment." He tried to steer the conversation toward the upper ranks.

Kamizuki Yu gave a soft laugh.

"Speculation?" He slowly raised his eyes, and a flash of crimson flickered deep within them.

The pressure of the [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan] swept through the study like something tangible, then vanished as soon as it appeared.

Fugaku's entire body jolted.

That power far exceeded every Mangekyo Sharingan he had ever known!

That brief instant of contact alone made his heart palpitate, as if his soul had been seen through.

Cold sweat seeped from his temples, soaking the clothes on his back.

What kind of terrifying existence was this chief advisor?

All the words Fugaku had meant to use in rebuttal stuck in his throat.

He knew that Kamizuki Yu's words were likely not baseless. The Uchiha Clan's circumstances might be even worse than he had imagined.

"Clan Head Fugaku, do you still think it's mere speculation?" Kamizuki Yu's tone remained calm.

Fugaku fell silent.

The atmosphere in the study was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Only after a long while did he force out the words, "Advisor... what exactly are you trying to say?"

Kamizuki Yu leaned forward slightly.

"I'm saying that the Uchiha Clan is under suspicion not merely because of the aftermath of the Nine-Tails Attack, nor merely because of Danzo's selfish motives."

"There is another, deeper reason—a fuse that could doom the Uchiha Clan beyond redemption."

Fugaku abruptly raised his head.

"What reason?"

"A masked man." Kamizuki Yu slowly uttered the words.

"A masked man?" Fugaku frowned, searching his memories for any relevant information, but finding nothing.

"This man possesses a space-time ocular technique, and he also possesses the Sharingan," Kamizuki Yu continued. "The Nine-Tails Attack was orchestrated by him."

"What?!" Fugaku blurted out.

The news struck like a bolt from the blue.

The true culprit behind the Nine-Tails Attack was actually an Uchiha clansman with the Sharingan?

How could that be possible?!

"He used the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan to plot evil and stir up chaos." Kamizuki Yu watched Fugaku's shocked expression. "Clan Head Fugaku, when this fact is exposed before the Hidden Leaf's higher-ups, how do you think they will view the entire Uchiha Clan?"

Fugaku's face instantly turned deathly pale.

He did not need to think long.

If all of this were true, the Uchiha Clan would inevitably be treated as accomplices to the mastermind, as traitors to the Hidden Leaf.

The disaster of clan extermination...

The words surfaced in his mind like a nightmare.

The worst outcome he had always feared seemed to be closing in, step by step.

"This... this is impossible... I've never heard of anyone like that within the clan..." Fugaku's voice trembled.

"He hid himself very deeply. Perhaps he has long since left the clan." Kamizuki Yu's tone was calm. "But that isn't important. What matters is that his existence has already tied the entire Uchiha Clan to a powder keg."

"Once it explodes, you will be shattered to pieces."

Fugaku fell completely silent.

Pain, resentment, anger, fear... all kinds of emotions tangled within him.

As clan head, he bore the honor, disgrace, rise, and fall of the entire clan upon his shoulders.

Kamizuki Yu's words were like the sharpest blade, cutting apart every fortunate delusion with which he had deceived himself.

The Uchiha Clan had truly reached the edge of a cliff.

"Advisor..." Fugaku's voice was hoarse. "You told me all this because you want to..."

"To give you—and the Uchiha Clan—a chance," Kamizuki Yu interrupted.

Fugaku suddenly looked up, a flicker of hope flashing through his eyes.

"The radicals within the Uchiha Clan must be purged." Kamizuki Yu raised one finger.

"Take the initiative to show the Fourth Hokage your sincerity and loyalty, rather than defiance and complaints." A second finger.

"I will guarantee the Uchiha Clan in my capacity as chief advisor." A third finger.

"In exchange, I need the Uchiha Clan's genuine cooperation to help me root out that masked man and stabilize the Hidden Leaf's situation."

Kamizuki Yu looked at Fugaku. "Well? Is this deal satisfactory to you, Clan Head Fugaku?"

Fugaku stared intently at Kamizuki Yu.

Every one of the other man's conditions struck at the heart of the matter.

Purging the radicals would mean turmoil within the clan.

Showing loyalty to the Hokage would mean setting aside the Uchiha Clan's pride.

But Kamizuki Yu's guarantee was like a ray of dawn.

This young man, whose strength was unfathomable and whose status was exalted, had seen through every crisis facing the Uchiha Clan—and had extended a hand to help.

This might be the Uchiha Clan's only path to survival.

His clenched fists turned white at the knuckles from the force he used.

Sweat slid down his cheeks.

This decision was too difficult.

It concerned the fate of the entire Uchiha Clan.

Kamizuki Yu did not urge him. He simply waited quietly.

He had already given him a choice.

Whether the Uchiha Clan would head toward rebirth or stubbornly march toward destruction now depended on Fugaku's decision.

Only the faint sound of the two men breathing remained in the study.

Fugaku slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were bloodshot.

"I..."