Eye That Glimpsed the Future

After closing the gates to the clan compound.

Fugaku dismissed the many indignant Uchiha.

He kept the higher-ups behind: Third Elder Takuya, Fourth Elder Yohei, Natsuki, Itachi, and Shisui, who was still lying on a stretcher.

Unlike the other indignant Uchiha, Third Elder Takuya admired Fugaku's performance today to the utmost.

He had pushed Natsuki forward to play the reckless fool while he himself directed matters from behind the scenes.

Though he was a hawk, anyone who could become an elder was hardly brainless.

Just now, they had been tightly surrounded by Konoha's elites.

Shisui, one of their clan's strongest fighters, was also grievously wounded. It was simply not the best time for a coup d'état.

At the very least, they should wait until Shisui recovered.

When Fugaku saw Third Elder Takuya's admiring gaze, his head began to ache. Would you believe me if I said none of this was my arrangement?

Fugaku did not pay Third Elder much attention. There was something he needed to confirm.

That was—

"Natsuki, have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Several people were utterly stunned! Natsuki had awakened the Mangekyō!?

Natsuki nodded. The Three Tomoe in his eyes instantly transformed into a triangular pinwheel. His pattern differed from everyone else's: blades on the outside, a flower within.

The surging ocular power made even Fugaku feel oppressed.

How was this possible!?

Fugaku could not hide his shock! Natsuki had possessed exceptional talent. At nineteen, he was already an elite with the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Aside from being poor at genjutsu, he was outstanding in every other respect.

Later, because of a wager, Fugaku had sent Natsuki to complete a difficult mission and promised to give him the position of Acting Elder when he returned.

He had never expected Natsuki to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Hahaha! Good, good, good!"

Fugaku was so excited he could barely contain himself. He too possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he knew just how difficult it was to awaken one.

For so many years, he had walked on thin ice and kept his Mangekyō Sharingan hidden, all to add another trump card to the clan.

He had never expected another member of the younger generation to awaken the Mangekyō.

Fugaku excitedly patted Natsuki's shoulder.

"Everything I said before still stands. You are now the Vice Clan Head. In a few years, once you are familiar with clan affairs, you will become Clan Head."

Fugaku's excitement was not without reason. During the bloody Third Shinobi World War, the major ninja villages had fought one another into a complete mess.

Konoha possessed the most fertile land and had fought Cloud Village, Stone Village, and Mist Village in turn, suffering heavy losses. The Uchiha Clan had also lost many talented people.

The clan now urgently needed a young Kage-level powerhouse like this to hold the fort.

As for the Hokage faction's oppression from within, Natsuki also looked like someone with plenty of ideas.

Natsuki's earlier move of using him as a weapon instead made Fugaku feel that Natsuki possessed courage and strategy.

After all, one wrong step could lead to internal strife that might wipe out the Uchiha Clan entirely.

Yet Natsuki had used Shisui's matter to challenge Danzo and taken the righteous side.

Not only had he made Danzo suffer, but he had also caused the Hokage faction to lose trust.

The more Fugaku looked at Natsuki, the more pleased he became.

What he did not know was—

Natsuki had acted this way because he was certain they would not fight.

If Shisui exposed the matter, then the Uchiha Clan would be the victims. The other ninja clans could not possibly kick them while they were down.

Besides, if a fight did break out, Fugaku, Shisui, Itachi, and himself—

Four Mangekyō Sharingan in total could completely sweep through the major ninja clans, whose hearts were not united.

Seeing how happy Fugaku looked, Natsuki really wanted to complain.

So what if I have one Mangekyō? You have no idea that your son and Shisui both have Mangekyō too.

For the sake of his own life, he still had to complete the mission.

Natsuki put away his Mangekyō and cleared his throat.

Then he said to everyone, "The Uchiha Clan is currently beset by storms. Since the Clan Head thinks so highly of me, I will not decline."

"I have a few small ideas regarding the Uchiha Clan's future."

The smiles vanished from their eyes as they waited to hear what Natsuki had to say.

"First, let me explain the Mangekyō ocular technique I awakened."

"It is called Heaven's Gap, and it can glimpse the future."

Natsuki's words were like oil thrown into cold water, making everyone's eyes widen. Glimpse the future!?

Natsuki opened his mouth and began making things up. In truth, his Mangekyō ocular techniques had not awakened yet.

"If we rebel tonight, the Uchiha Clan will surely perish!"

The two elders' expressions changed drastically. Fourth Elder Yohei wanted to say something, but Natsuki stopped him.

"Fourth Elder, even the peace you desire cannot be achieved, because in ten years, all of Konoha will be destroyed!"

"What!?" Even the normally cold-faced Itachi's eyes widened.

"Vice Clan Head, is what you said true?" Fourth Elder asked hoarsely.

Natsuki nodded. "Fourth Elder, Third Elder, Clan Head, do not resist. I will take you to see the world of the future."

Natsuki's Mangekyō spun rapidly. Ripples spread outward, and the three of them seemed to enter a painting.

All kinds of scenes appeared within. There was a scene of Fugaku using the Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, only for the coup d'état to fail in the end.

There was a scene of the entire Uchiha Clan being exterminated.

There was a scene of a massive Shockwave destroying all of Konoha.

Natsuki selected several scenes from the future and showed them to the three.

Of course, Natsuki's Mangekyō could not glimpse the future. He had merely used Fugaku's ocular technique, Illusionary Realm.

This was only his own speculation and might not necessarily be real.

But Natsuki knew the plot, so there was no problem passing it off as scenes from the future.

There was no better way to win their trust.

Natsuki stopped his Mangekyō. Though the scenes had been few, the three were still deeply shaken.

The Clan Head also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan? The two elders looked toward Fugaku, who nodded lightly.

The reason Natsuki had skipped over Shisui and Itachi was because what Itachi had done was not suitable for others to see.

After all, the current Itachi had not yet considered destroying the clan.

Once Fugaku and the two elders recovered from the genjutsu—

Natsuki said, "Both elders and the Clan Head want the Uchiha Clan to prosper, but the path we took before was undoubtedly wrong."

The three fell silent. From the scenes they had seen, the Hokage position no longer seemed so important.

As they pondered, Natsuki turned to Shisui and Itachi.

"Shisui, you are far too naive. What you did was utterly foolish."

Shisui opened his mouth, but Natsuki cut him off before he could speak.

"Itachi, how old is Sasuke?"

Itachi was somewhat confused, but he still lowered his head and answered, "Sasuke is five, Vice Clan Head."

"Both of you, look at me!"

Itachi and Shisui raised their heads. Sure enough, Natsuki had activated his Mangekyō.

Neither of them resisted and instantly entered the painting.

After Shisui's death, Itachi exterminated the entire Uchiha Clan. Even Itachi's childhood sweetheart, Izumi, died on the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

The village had completely left Sasuke to fend for himself, seized more than half the clan's assets, and then Sasuke defected.

Because of Itachi's death, he became dark and twisted, obsessed with avenging Itachi, before dying at the Five Kage Summit.

Natsuki deliberately showed only up to the Five Kage Summit, making Itachi and Shisui think Sasuke had died there.

They saw Itachi kill his parents and destroy the clan, only to receive Konoha's cold-blooded indifference in return, while Sasuke died and the clan was wiped out.

Shisui and Itachi were both stunned and unable to speak for a long time.

After what happened to Shisui, Itachi had already been deeply disappointed in Konoha's higher-ups.

Now that he had seen scenes of the future, without the pressure of The Death of Shisui—

His mindset had completely shifted to the clan's side.

Only then did Shisui feel how laughably naive he had been, to the point of being too cowardly to do anything but commit suicide.

Natsuki watched as the ocular technique in his status panel, Illusionary Realm, slowly disappeared. Sure enough, it vanished after all its uses were spent.

Natsuki said slowly, "The Uchiha Clan is first our family, and only then are we members of Konoha. Without the Uchiha Clan, what does Konoha have to do with us?"

"We have always wanted the Hokage position merely because we needed recognition. But the strong do not need recognition!"

"If our entire clan is wiped out, where will the Uchiha Name remain?"

The others mulled over Natsuki's words. Yes, if every Uchiha died, where would the Uchiha Clan's glory come from?

For so many years in the shinobi world, there had been countless powerful ninja clans. But once a clan was exterminated—

No matter how mighty its reputation had once been, it would scatter into the wind with time.