The Might of the Shadow Clone, Decisive Battle at the Great Arena!

As Lu Ming's words fell, the underground chamber of Naka Shrine fell silent.

Lu Ming gave no one a chance to catch their breath. He turned to face the entire clan and issued an order.

"Now, we vote as a clan!"

Lu Ming raised his voice.

"Those who support me becoming the new Uchiha Clan Head, stand to my right. Those who oppose me, stand to my left."

The entire hall erupted in uproar.

A direct vote? This was practically a coup on the spot!

Fugaku sat in the seat of honor, gritting his teeth as he glared at Lu Ming.

"Lu Ming, don't get too arrogant. How can the position of clan head be changed so frivolously?"

Yet no one paid any attention to Fugaku's impotent rage.

Tap.

Footsteps echoed through the underground chamber.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Uchiha Shisui, who had just revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, step forward and take his place to Lu Ming's right.

"I support Lu Ming."

Shisui said.

The entire hall sucked in a breath.

"Lord Shisui actually..."

"That's the Mangekyō Sharingan. Even he has completely sided with Lord Lu Ming."

While everyone was still stunned by Shisui's choice.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of clothes slicing through the air rang out.

Tekka Uchiha led the forty-three young elites who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan forward in unison, taking their places to Lu Ming's right.

Forty-three pairs of Kurenai Three-Tomoe Sharingan lit up in the darkness, radiating an oppressive aura.

"We swear to follow Lord Lu Ming unto death!"

Tekka and the others shouted in unison.

The balance had shifted.

Among the crowd, a large number of peace faction members, neutral faction members, and older clansmen remained where they stood, hesitation written across their faces.

They had seen Fugaku's incompetence clearly, but openly choosing a side in rebellion still made them uneasy.

Lu Ming's face remained expressionless as he looked at those hesitant clansmen.

He had no time to play some warm and tender vote-gathering game here.

"It seems some people still haven't understood the situation."

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes. Violent killing intent erupted from his body and swept through the entire underground chamber!

Crack, crack, crack—

The bluestone floor beneath Lu Ming's feet began to split inch by inch under the unbearable force of his terrifying chakra.

He looked at the clansmen who were still hesitating.

"Let me make this clear. Today, anyone who dares not support me..."

Lu Ming paused and let out a cold laugh.

"I'll personally break his arms and legs, turn him into a cripple, and throw him straight over to the right side!"

Hiss—!!!

Everyone in the hall sucked in a sharp breath.

This was naked coercion by force!

The peace faction and neutral faction clansmen who had still been hesitating were struck by that terrifying killing intent and trembled all over.

They looked at Uchiha Yashiro, who had been suppressed by Lu Ming in a single move and was still kneeling on the ground, unable to rise. Then they looked at the forty-three murderous Three-Tomoe elites beside Lu Ming.

Anyone who wasn't an idiot understood what choice they needed to make now!

"I... I support Lord Lu Ming!"

An elderly member of the peace faction raised his hand and hurried to the right side.

"I support him too. Clan Head Fugaku's decisions have dragged us into disaster. I don't want to be buried alongside him."

"Lord Lu Ming is the hope of our Uchiha Clan."

With someone taking the lead, the remaining clansmen surged toward Lu Ming's right side.

In less than a minute, the once-crowded center of the hall became completely empty.

More than half the clansmen had gathered behind Lu Ming.

Meanwhile, on the left side, only Zero Uchiha Inabi and a dozen or so diehard Military Police Force loyalists remained, along with Fugaku Uchiha, who sat slumped in the seat of honor with an ashen face.

The outcome had been decided.

Fugaku's position as clan head existed in name only.

"The overall situation is settled."

Lu Ming withdrew his killing intent and looked toward the seven elders on the raised platform.

"Those who support me now make up more than half."

"As for the attitudes of those remaining scraps, they no longer matter. Elders Council, what is your decision?"

Called out by Lu Ming, the First Elder rose with the support of his cane, his cloudy old eyes fixed on Lu Ming.

The First Elder knew very well that Fugaku had lost all momentum. Whether in strength or prestige, Lu Ming had already met the standard to succeed as clan head.

But as the representative of the clan's deepest foundation, he had to ask one final question.

"Lu Ming."

The First Elder's voice was low and solemn.

"You impeached Fugaku and pointed out the desperate situation facing the clan."

"I ask you only one thing. If you take the position of clan head, do you truly have the ability to lead our Uchiha Clan through this unprecedented crisis?"

This was also the question every clansman present cared about most.

All eyes focused on Lu Ming.

Lu Ming did not directly answer the First Elder's question. Instead, he turned to look at Tekka and the other young elites behind him.

Tekka and the others immediately understood. Using every ounce of their strength, they shouted themselves hoarse in unison:

"Make the Uchiha great again!!!"

"Restore Uchiha Glory!!!"

"Stand proudly atop the Shinobi World!!!"

The furious roar of those forty-three people, coupled with their fanatical expressions, swept through the entire underground chamber of Naka Shrine.

The ultimate pride and ambition contained in those slogans ignited the arrogance sleeping within the blood of every Uchiha clansman present!

"Make the Uchiha great again!"

"Stand proudly atop the Shinobi World!"

The peace faction elders and neutral faction clansmen who had only crossed over under pressure were completely swept up by the emotion and began shouting wildly along with them.

The entire underground chamber became deafeningly loud. More than a hundred Sharingan glowed with excited Kurenai light in the darkness.

The First Elder looked at the impassioned, united clansmen below, and the hand gripping his cane began to shake violently.

He could no longer remember how many years it had been.

Since he had last seen the Uchiha Clan display such terrifying unity!

"Good... good!"

The First Elder's eyes reddened with Kurenai as he nodded heavily.

Just as the First Elder was about to formally announce Lu Ming's succession.

"Wait!!!"

At that final moment, Fugaku Uchiha rose from the seat of honor.

His eyes were bloodshot with Kurenai, and his chest heaved violently.

He understood that he had lost the people's support, but as the clan head of the Uchiha Clan, he still possessed his own final bottom line and pride!

"Lu Ming!"

Fugaku strode down the steps and stared at Lu Ming.

"You used words to incite the clansmen and force to coerce them into choosing a side. I refuse to accept this!"

"You refuse to accept it?"

Lu Ming sneered.

"What right do you have to refuse?"

"Because I am the current clan head!"

Fugaku roared sharply as he drew the ninja sword at his waist.

"Our Uchiha Clan has always been a people who revere strength above all else."

"Arguments of the tongue are ultimately empty! If you want to seize the position of clan head, you must prove yourself with strength!"

Fugaku pointed his ninja sword directly at Lu Ming and issued his challenge loudly.

"Lu Ming, in my capacity as the current Uchiha Clan Head, I challenge you to a contest of strength."

"Whoever wins becomes the new clan head of the Uchiha Clan!"

Whoosh—

The entire hall fell silent.

Everyone looked toward Lu Ming.

In Uchiha history, there was a tradition of deciding the clan head through duels.

Facing Fugaku's all-or-nothing challenge, Lu Ming burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha, good. Fugaku, you finally look like an Uchiha man!"

Lu Ming accepted without hesitation.

"Since you want to settle this with battle, I'll grant your wish! The time is now, and the place is the clan's Great Arena!"

"It's a deal!" Fugaku gritted out.

"I'll be waiting for you at the Great Arena."

After leaving those words behind, Lu Ming made a move that none of those present had expected.

Lu Ming casually formed a hand seal.

Accompanied by a dull pop, white smoke rose from where Lu Ming had been standing.

A light breeze passed through, and the white smoke dispersed.

Uchiha Lu Ming, who had been standing there moments ago, had vanished into thin air! Not even a trace of chakra remained!

Everyone's eyes widened, their mouths hanging open as they stared blankly at the dissipating cloud of white smoke.

"Th-this is..."

Uchiha Inabi's voice shook so badly that he could barely form a sentence, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"A Shadow Clone?!"

Someone let out a shriek that cracked on the last word.

The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall exploded into commotion.

"How is that possible? The one who had just been speaking so confidently and scolding all of us until we couldn't lift our heads was only a Shadow Clone?!"

"He suppressed Captain Yashiro, who had activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, in a single move."

"He didn't even use ninjutsu. He forced Captain Yashiro to his knees with one hand, and that was only a Shadow Clone?!"

"Dear heavens... a Shadow Clone possesses the terrifying power to crush an Elite Jonin. Just how strong is Lord Lu Ming's true body?!"

Every Uchiha clansman present.

Including the forty-three Three-Tomoe elites, felt as though their minds had gone blank.

They had thought they had already greatly overestimated Lu Ming's strength, but only now did they discover in horror that what they had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg!

Uchiha Yashiro, who was still kneeling on the ground and had only just managed to catch his breath, froze completely when he heard the words "Shadow Clone."

He stared blankly at the place where the white smoke had dissipated. His face first flushed bright Kurenai, then turned deathly pale.

He was the dignified captain of the Military Police Force, a Three-Tomoe Elite Jonin, yet he had been instantly defeated by one of Lu Ming's Shadow Clones and ground into the dirt!

"Ugh!"

Yashiro wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it on the spot.

Fugaku Uchiha stood where he was, the hand gripping his ninja sword shaking violently.

He stared at the place where Lu Ming had vanished, his eyes filled with despair and apprehension. But things had reached this point; he had no way back.

"Hmph!"

Fugaku snorted coldly, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart. His figure flashed, turning into an afterimage as he used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.