No Other Choice, the Only Way Out

Genius, like iron, needed to be tempered again and again. Excessive praise would only make one lose oneself.

"Leading a clan doesn't seem to be as happy as I imagined."

A trace of fatigue appeared on Uchiha Kyu's face. His excessive deliberation over the past two days had drained a great deal of his energy.

Uchiha Fugaku, buried in a mountain of clan affairs documents, suddenly looked up at those words. He opened his mouth, wanting to say that he was the one truly exhausted.

"Still, taking charge of the clan has at least stabilized the Uchiha Clan's fate."

Uchiha Kyu stretched, then suddenly turned and asked Fugaku a personal question.

"When are you and Mikoto planning to have another child?"

"Huh?" Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened. Why did that question sound so strange?

Uchiha Kyu also realized there was something off about how he had asked it and gave a fake cough as he explained.

"There are still too few clan members. As the former clan head and current clan head's assistant, you should lead by example and contribute to continuing the family line."

With that explanation, Uchiha Fugaku reluctantly accepted the reasoning and awkwardly spun his pen.

"Actually, Mikoto and I have been planning to have another child during this time. After all, Itachi is really too lonely on his own."

"It's just that we're still working on it at the moment."

"Mm, then work hard." Uchiha Kyu thought of something and casually brushed him off before leaving.

According to the original story, Uchiha Obito summoned the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha when Kushina Uzumaki gave birth.

About two months after Sasuke Uchiha was born, Naruto would be born as well. By that count, there was roughly one year left.

There was far too much that could be done in that year.

Hyuga Compound.

The Hyuga Clan, which had not been targeted by the Uchiha Clan, had also become extremely tense. The entire compound was more heavily guarded than ever.

Hyuga Hiashi sat kneeling on a cushion, his hands properly placed atop his knees. His fierce Byakugan made his already stern face look even more frightening.

"Hizashi, have the Third and Fourth still not sent anyone?"

Hizashi Hyuga shook his head, his expression grave. "Brother, should we send someone to ask what exactly is going on?"

"I suspect Konoha's higher-ups already believe we have secretly joined forces with the Uchiha Clan."

Hyuga Hiashi let out a deep sigh. "No matter what we do now, we're in a passive position. We're trapped between two impossible choices."

"Uchiha Kyu has hidden himself well. Who would have thought that he was a fierce tiger beneath that ordinary exterior?"

"The Uchiha Clan truly never runs out of geniuses." Thinking of his clan's current situation, Hyuga Hiashi felt powerless.

The Hyuga Clan was often compared with the Uchiha Clan over which was Konoha's number one clan.

But only Hyuga Hiashi himself knew that the Hyuga Clan's overall strength was far inferior to that of the Uchiha Clan.

Not wanting to continue troubling his brother with this topic, Hizashi Hyuga hurriedly changed the subject. "Brother, what are the elders' opinions?"

"They only know how to keep compromising. There's no point mentioning them."

Hyuga Hiashi's answer was filled with disappointment toward the elders.

That night, Konoha had been thrown into chaos. Hyuga Hiashi had wanted to lead the clan members to quell the unrest, but the Council of Elders had repeatedly opposed him.

They stubbornly insisted that they needed an order from the Hokage before taking action, claiming that acting without authorization would bring severe consequences.

But they had failed to consider that Konoha's higher-ups had already begun to suspect the Hyuga Clan, the only clan that had not suffered at the Uchiha Clan's hands.

Since that night, Konoha's higher-ups seemed to have forgotten that the Hyuga Clan even existed, neither asking after them nor paying them any attention.

"It seems the Hyuga Clan head can no longer stand this so-called elder system either."

A sudden laugh rang out, startling both Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga into activating their Byakugan at once.

A clearly visible figure appeared in their vision, standing outside the window in a crouching posture by the wall.

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from the Byakugan. What useful eyes."

Uchiha Kyu had not intended to keep hiding anyway. He jumped straight in through the window.

Upon seeing Uchiha Kyu, Hyuga Hiashi hurriedly stopped his brother from calling for help. His face darkened as he said, "Why have you come here?"

Uchiha Kyu moved about the room casually, as though he were in his own home.

"Hyuga Clan head, don't look at me like I'm an enemy. At the very least, we're both heads of two of Konoha's foremost clans."

Even after Uchiha Kyu circled behind him, Hyuga Hiashi did not rise. His all-seeing Byakugan observed Uchiha Kyu's every movement with perfect clarity.

"Whether you are an enemy now is hard to say."

"I doubt the Uchiha Clan head came to someone else's home just to say something irrelevant."

Uchiha Kyu did not waste words and sat cross-legged directly opposite him.

Hizashi Hyuga stood beside Hyuga Hiashi, his veined Byakugan fixed warily on Uchiha Kyu.

Uchiha Kyu poured himself a cup of hot tea and slowly began to speak.

"The Hyuga Clan head is an intelligent man."

"The Hyuga Clan's current situation is dangerous. Hyuga Clan head, you should be able to clearly sense that Konoha's higher-ups have already begun to distrust the Hyuga Clan."

"Trust is like a mirror. Once shattered, it can never be restored."

"This tea is quite good."

Uchiha Kyu calmly took a sip of tea, savoring it as though he were not worried in the slightest.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Hyuga Hiashi could not help but ask. The clan's situation was dreadful, and his usual patience had long since been exhausted.

"The only way to change the situation is to cooperate with my Uchiha Clan."

"Cooperate with the Uchiha Clan?" Hyuga Hiashi gave a disdainful laugh. "I'm afraid your Uchiha Clan can barely protect itself."

From those words, Uchiha Kyu learned that the Hyuga Clan's circumstances were even worse than he had imagined.

That gave him even greater confidence in the purpose of this visit.

"It seems you still don't know that Hiruzen Sarutobi has already compromised with my Uchiha Clan."

"Among the three streets surrounding the Uchiha Compound, your Hyuga Clan owns quite a few shops."

"They didn't notify you? Heh heh."

A sense of foreboding rose in Hyuga Hiashi's heart, and his expression worsened considerably.

"You... You mean those three streets now belong to your Uchiha Clan?"

Hyuga Hiashi forced those words out through clenched teeth. The monthly revenue from those three streets accounted for one-third of the Hyuga Clan's monthly income.

But that was not even the most serious part. Konoha had not sent anyone to inform him.

That was what was truly terrifying.

Under the table, Hizashi Hyuga gripped his own legs so hard that his hands hurt, yet he did not notice.

This news was the most fatal blow imaginable for the Hyuga Clan.

Losing the trust of Konoha's higher-ups was no different from the Uchiha Clan's former predicament.

Yet the Hyuga Clan did not possess the Uchiha Clan's resilience or sufficient confidence to withstand the pressure of Konoha's higher-ups head-on.

"That is only your side of the story."

Hyuga Hiashi's rebuttal sounded pale and powerless.

Uchiha Kyu slowly rose to his feet and looked down at him. His Mangekyō Sharingan stabbed painfully into Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan.

"This is the Hyuga Clan's only way out. I can even help you abolish the Hyuga Clan's elder system."

"You have no other choice."