Who Supports, Who Opposes

Countless eyes watched as the heads of the major clans followed Uchiha Fugaku into the Hokage Building. The atmosphere was so quiet that a pin dropping to the ground would have seemed deafening.

The Uchiha Clan, Ino–Shika–Cho, Hyuga Clan, Aburame Clan, and Inuzuka Clan were Konoha's foremost noble clans. It would not have been an exaggeration to say they held Konoha in their grip.

Of course, the Sarutobi Clan and Shimura Clan could have been included as well.

But now that the two most important figures of those clans were dead, they were nothing.

When Uchiha Fugaku proposed that the clan heads meet to negotiate, they simply did not dare take part. What if the Uchiha Clan slaughtered them too? They would not even have a place to cry afterward.

The clever head of the Sarutobi Clan had already seen that a fight was impossible and secretly led the clan's ninjas away. They were preparing to flee.

He knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen had used his authority over the years to funnel money into training Sarutobi Clan ninjas outside the village. As long as the Sarutobi Clan's upper ranks survived, they still had hope of rising again.

Even Lord Hiruzen had been unable to handle the Uchiha Clan. He had no confidence in resisting them. Running was the best strategy, and he was heading out to join the Sarutobi ninjas outside.

Uchiha Ryoichi watched the members of the Sarutobi Clan and Shimura Clan in the crowd. When he noticed the Sarutobi Clan members slipping away, he immediately reported it to the Grand Elder, Uchiha Sihu. The clan head had previously instructed them to wipe out both clans completely.

Uchiha Sihu did not hesitate. He left only ten clansmen behind and led the remaining twenty-odd Three-Tomoe clansmen to intercept and kill the Sarutobi Clan ninjas.

The clan head was so powerful that he did not need his clansmen here to support him anyway.

The ninjas surrounding the Hokage Building so tightly that not even water could pass through it saw the Uchiha Clan make a move and immediately tensed as if facing a great enemy. They wanted to stop them, but the heads of the major clans had just entered the Hokage Building, and these Uchiha were leaving the area. After some thought, they chose not to intervene and merely watched what would happen.

Nara Shikaku followed Uchiha Fugaku into the lobby of the Hokage Building and saw familiar headless corpses scattered across the floor.

He gave them a quick glance.

Their injuries showed that they had all been decapitated in a single strike. The battle seemed to have ended not long after it began.

Uchiha Fugaku had kept such a low profile. Had he actually become this powerful?

Nara Shikaku was secretly alarmed, but he did not show it. His expression remained unchanged.

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza, however, did not possess his composure. Their concern was practically written across their faces.

The other clan heads also had a trace of worry flash through their eyes.

Uchiha Fugaku was too powerful. That was not good news.

Takuya did not go upstairs. Instead, he found a room on the first floor and took the seat of honor first.

Nara Shikaku and the others had no objection. In this world, strength was everything.

Uchiha Fugaku had effortlessly killed the Third Hokage, proving that he had become Konoha's strongest man.

Coupled with the Uchiha Clan already being Konoha's foremost great clan, none of them objected to him taking the seat of honor.

"Take a seat," Takuya said.

He had no fundamental conflict with these noble clans. The moment Nara Shikaku took the lead in agreeing to peace talks, he knew they would not stubbornly fight to the death to avenge Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other three.

Four years ago, during the Cloud-Konoha Peace Talks Incident, the Hyuga Clan had been forced by Sarutobi Hiruzen into causing the head of the Hyuga Branch House, Hyuga Hizashi, to commit suicide. If anything, the Hyuga Clan would be applauding Sarutobi Hiruzen's death.

As for the remaining clans, Danzo had demanded talented members from each of them for Root. Though it had no direct connection to Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had protected Danzo. These clans presumably bore resentment toward him as well.

That was precisely why he chose peace talks rather than using force to suppress and slaughter them all.

He could kill them, but there was no need.

After all, he still wanted to experience being Hokage. If he killed them all, there would be no one under him to command. What kind of Hokage would that make him? What would be the point?

Nara Shikaku and the others took their seats one after another, then looked toward Uchiha Fugaku, intending to hear how he planned to negotiate.

Takuya coughed a few times and said, "Konoha was founded jointly by my clan's ancestor, Madara, and Senju Hashirama. After the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, took office, Konoha only grew weaker. Even when we won wars, we ceded territory and paid reparations like the defeated side. The White Fang committed suicide, and the Sannin left the village. Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo had their hands in all of it. As a member of Konoha, I could not bear to watch it decline, so I decisively eliminated those treacherous villains."

He first set the tone by finding a reasonable pretext for the Uchiha coup, then got straight to the point.

"I will be the Fifth Hokage. Who supports it, and who opposes it?"

Takuya's expression was cold and stern, his gaze deep and sharp. His words were brief and direct, leaving no room for doubt.

Hyuga Hiashi nearly cried out. The instant he saw Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, he was dazed by the feeling that he had seen Madara himself.

Takuya had activated the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan at that moment to display his strength.

Hyuga Hiashi suddenly understood, resolving several doubts that had puzzled him.

Why had the Third Hokage been killed in a single strike?

It turned out Uchiha Fugaku possessed the same eyes as Madara!

The Hyuga Clan had a long history, so it naturally knew secrets that others did not.

Hyuga Hiashi's mouth twisted bitterly. Why could the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan evolve without end, while the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan had stopped here...

Heaven was unfair!

Each evolution of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan brought a qualitative leap in strength. Once someone awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they could immediately rival a Jonin. Since Uchiha Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, he was surely at least Kage-tier.

The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, on the other hand, could at most give someone the strength of an Elite Jonin. That was its limit.

Hyuga Hiashi's heart bled with envy.

He had seen Madara defeat enemies when he was young and understood just how powerful Uchiha Fugaku's eyes were. Therefore, he did not voice any objection.

The heads of the Aburame Clan and Inuzuka Clan wore traces of dissatisfaction. Did he think he could just claim the position of Fifth Hokage because he said so? Where were the rules?

But when they saw that Nara Shikaku, known as the strategist, and Hyuga Hiashi had both remained silent without objecting, they also chose not to speak.

Nara Shikaku quietly waited for what came next. They had come to divide up Konoha, and he knew Uchiha Fugaku would definitely take the largest share. It would already be quite good if their clans could drink a little of the soup.

Sure enough, Uchiha Fugaku continued, "Clan Head Nara may serve as the Hokage's assistant, and Hyuga Hiashi may serve as a Hokage advisor. The industries held by each clan will remain untouched, and everything will continue as before."

Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume looked at each other. That was it?

Nara Shikaku could become the Hokage's assistant, and Hyuga Hiashi could become a Hokage advisor. What about them?

Were they being dismissed with a single sentence about their clans' industries remaining untouched?