Mud That Wouldn't Stick to the Wall!

Uchiha Fugaku sat at the head of the table, flanked by four white-haired elders: Great Elder Uchiha Kuteng, Second Elder Uchiha Tetsusai, Third Elder Uchiha Zhihuo, and Fourth Elder Uchiha Kiyoshi.

Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi, the clan's two young prodigies, sat at opposite ends of the table. One looked gentle but could not hide his worry; the other was expressionless, as cold as ice.

Everyone was waiting for Yongye.

They had waited since dawn, long enough for three rounds of tea to go cold. Even Shisui, the most even-tempered among them, had begun to frown.

When the secret chamber's door opened and Shisui went out to intervene, everyone inside heard what had caused the commotion.

They also heard Yongye's scornful jab: "I didn't see any of you being that brave."

But no one stood up to say a word.

The four elders stared straight ahead as though they had all entered meditation. Itachi remained expressionless, though his dark eyes narrowed slightly when Yongye entered.

Shisui returned to his seat and sighed without a sound.

Fugaku watched Yongye walk up to the stone table and sit down. His expression darkened.

He had not wanted to call this secret meeting in the first place.

The ANBU and Root had nearly come to blows last night. Tension in Konoha was stretched as tight as a bowstring; the slightest disturbance might be the last straw.

Gathering the Uchiha Clan's core members for a secret discussion now would be like pouring oil on the fire if an ANBU or Root spy discovered them.

But he had no choice.

Last night's mysterious enemy—the Man in Black who had forced him to reveal Susanoo with Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere—had shattered the disguise Fugaku had carefully maintained for years.

His Mangekyō Sharingan had been exposed. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō surely knew about it by now.

Those two old bastards had already feared the Uchiha Clan. Now that they knew its chief had been hiding a Mangekyō Sharingan as his trump card, they had to be beside themselves!

He needed a new strategy at once. He needed the clan's most important members to act in step with him, advancing and retreating together.

Uchiha Yongye's attitude rubbed Fugaku the wrong way.

I'm the head of the Uchiha Clan. I call you to a meeting, you show up this late, beat someone up before coming in, then insult everyone here...

Do you really think you're the strongest Uchiha?

I have the Mangekyō Sharingan!

Fugaku swallowed his anger and decided to let it go for now. More important matters needed his attention.

"Sarutobi Shinnosuke was assassinated."

His voice was low and grave. "Danzo is the prime suspect. Last night, the ANBU and Root came within a hair's breadth of all-out fighting!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across every face in the room.

"I called you here to discuss one question..."

As he spoke, he quietly watched Yongye's reaction. Everyone else had already heard the news.

"If they do start fighting, should the Uchiha Clan join the battle?"

The chamber fell so silent that only the faint flicker of the ever-burning lamps could be heard.

Fugaku's gaze settled on Yongye's face.

He had deliberately stressed the words "Sarutobi Shinnosuke was assassinated." He knew the news would come as a shock to Yongye.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eldest son, the ANBU commander, had been wounded by Yongye only recently. Then someone had assassinated him!

News of that magnitude would have caused an uproar no matter who heard it.

But Fugaku had miscalculated!

Uchiha Yongye sat in his stone chair without the slightest change in expression. No shock, no surprise, no excitement, no gloating.

Nothing. It was as if he had known all along, or simply did not care—as if the dead man were a nobody.

Fugaku's pupils contracted slightly.

He found this young clansman, who had suddenly risen to prominence, harder and harder to read.

Fugaku pushed down his misgivings and was about to continue when Shisui became the first to stand.

He moved so quickly it seemed he had prepared his answer and was only waiting for a chance to speak.

His face bore its familiar gentleness and sincerity. His brows were faintly furrowed, his eyes heavy with worry.

"The Uchiha Clan must not join the battle!"

Shisui's clear, firm voice echoed through the chamber.

He planted both hands on the stone table and leaned forward slightly, as though putting his full weight behind his words.

"If Root and the ANBU really fight, that alone will be a devastating loss for Konoha! If we get involved too..."

His voice rose, urgency edging close to a plea.

"Konoha... will be finished!"

Uchiha Fugaku cast Shisui a sidelong glance.

There was neither approval nor rejection in that look, only a complicated feeling he could not quite put into words.

It was like a farmer looking at his beautiful wife, pleased with how lovely she was but regretting that she insisted on spending the occasional night at the neighbor's house.

"We need to consider this from the Uchiha Clan's interests."

Fugaku spoke slowly, enunciating every word so that everyone in the chamber heard him clearly.

He deliberately stressed "Uchiha Clan," as if reminding Shisui that he belonged to the Uchiha Clan, not Konoha.

Uchiha Shisui answered at once, as though the matter were obvious.

"If Konoha suffers, how can the Uchiha Clan prosper?"

His voice remained gentle and firm.

To him, he was stating an unquestionable truth:

Konoha is the Uchiha Clan's home. If Konoha falls into chaos, the clan suffers with it. If Konoha falls, the clan goes down too... Isn't that obvious?

Join the battle? That would only add fuel to the fire. It wouldn't help the Uchiha Clan—it would harm us!

Fugaku fell silent for a moment but did not argue. Not because Shisui had convinced him; he had expected that answer.

He knew Shisui too well. The boy had everything going for him—talent, strength, an open mind—but he cared far too much about Konoha.

Or rather, he saw himself too much as a Konoha shinobi and not enough as a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Fugaku looked away from Shisui and surveyed the others.

"Itachi, what do you think?"

Uchiha Itachi stood. His movements were unhurried, his tone calm. He seemed prepared, sure of what he was about to say.

"I agree with Shisui."

He glanced at Shisui and nodded slightly, then turned to Fugaku and continued.

"Even if the Uchiha Clan manages to seize power, the other great nations will use the opportunity to attack.

"The Land of Fire has the richest territory and is the strongest nation. The Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind have coveted Konoha for years.

"Once word of Konoha's internal strife gets out, they won't stand by.

"By then, we'll have no way out. We'll have to clean up the aftermath of the fighting while fending off foreign invaders. The Uchiha Clan doesn't have the forces to fight on two fronts."

His reasoning was sound and orderly, every point striking at one of the Uchiha Clan's vulnerabilities.

Insufficient strength, enemies on every side, no way out... Any one of those was enough to give them pause.

Uchiha Fugaku gave no indication of his own view. "Elders, what do you think?"

Great Elder Uchiha Kuteng nodded slowly.

The white-haired old man leaned on his cane. His voice was hoarse and slow, as if he had chewed over every word before letting it out.

"Itachi is right. The risk is too great. Best to leave it alone."

He paused. A faint glint passed through his clouded eyes.

"The Hokage and Danzo have already turned on each other. Whoever wins, they won't be able to join forces against us again.

"For the Uchiha Clan, that's already a great victory. Knowing when to stop is the only way to endure!"

The other three elders nodded in agreement.

Second Elder Uchiha Tetsusai stroked the sparse hair on his chin and chimed in:

"Kudeng has a point. We've been under so much pressure all these years because the Hokage and Danzo worked together against us.

"Now they're fighting each other, that pressure will ease on its own. Why take a risk by getting involved?"

Third Elder Uchiha Zhihuo was a gaunt old woman. Her voice was thin and cool:

"Besides, if fighting breaks out, who'll be at the front? These old bones of ours, leading our clansmen to risk their lives.

"If we win, the young enjoy the rewards. If we lose, the entire clan dies with us. I've lived long enough to see plenty of gamblers... Few came to a good end!"

Fourth Elder Uchiha Kiyoshi was the youngest, though he was already over fifty.

He glanced at Fugaku and said quietly, "Now that the clan chief's Mangekyō Sharingan has been exposed... it may be a good thing.

"With that threat hanging over them, neither the Hokage nor Danzo will dare oppress us as they did before, no matter who wins.

"We can sit back and watch them fight. Offend neither side, help neither side, and let them wear each other down while we reap the benefits."

All four elders held the same view: stay put and watch the fight.

Fugaku listened as they spoke one after another. His expression did not change, but an uneasy feeling stirred within him.

The conflict between the Hokage and Danzo had indeed relieved much of the pressure bearing down on the Uchiha Clan.

These elders held power and owned land, property, shops, and servants. They lived comfortably. Why would any of them want to risk their lives?

For them, avoiding war was obviously the best outcome.

Yet their confident insistence on playing it safe left Uchiha Fugaku with a trace of regret.

Why had he endured all these years? Why had he hidden his Mangekyō Sharingan for so long?

He had been waiting for a chance to make his mark!

Now that chance had come. The Hokage and Danzo had turned on each other, Fugaku had been forced to reveal his trump card, and the clan had a hothead like Yongye who dared to fight and kill—someone they could put at the front.

If they seized the chaos to wage war and take power, the Uchiha Clan might yet rise to the top.

But the enormous risk that came with it made Fugaku hesitate:

Itachi was right. Enemies surrounded them, and they lacked the forces. Failure would mean the destruction of the entire clan.

He was a clan chief, not a gambler. He could not stake thousands of his clansmen's lives on a remote possibility.

And so that regret remained only a trace!

Yongye sat in his stone chair, watching them declare their positions one by one.

From Shisui to Itachi, from the Great Elder to the Fourth Elder, each offered a string of lofty arguments. Every argument boiled down to the same thing—

Don't fight. Don't take risks!

He shook his head and thought, You can't build a wall with mud this soft!