I am old, and can no longer see through human hearts. But Danzo... you are old too. Do not blame me; the future of Konoha cannot be ruined in the hands of us decaying old things.
Minato... sigh!
Hiruzen frowned deeply, taking a deep drag from his pipe.
Someone come!
An Anbu Ninja appeared in the office, dropping to one knee, "Lord Hokage!"
"Where is Jiraiya currently?"
"According to the report from three days ago, Lord Jiraiya is lingering near the Land of Grass!"
"The Land of Grass..."
Hiruzen's eyes turned profound, and he sighed.
"Forget it, let him come back. In addition, notify Tsunade and have her make a trip back as well. Her vacation this time is a bit too long; it is time for her to shoulder some burden for the village."
"Yes!!!"
The Anbu left.
Hiruzen leaned back in the chair, gazing blankly at the ceiling, "Shinji Uchiha... seventeen years old. The next Madara Uchiha... is he?"
"No... perhaps he is even more terrifying than Madara Uchiha!"
Hiruzen's murky eyes suddenly regained clarity, incomparably sharp.
Yesterday.
He was infected by Shinji's eloquent speech about the Will of Fire, as if he had returned to the passionate era when he followed the Second.
Yet... that was merely an illusion!
After a night of contemplation.
He abruptly discovered that this seventeen-year-old brat, Shinji Uchiha, not only possessed unfathomable character and strength, but also demonstrated leadership capabilities...
If he were truly allowed to lead the Uchiha, what kind of unpredictable deviation would the future of this clan undergo?
Hiruzen stood up abruptly from the chair.
He waved his sleeve.
"Someone come! Go tell Danzo that I agree to half of his proposal—surveillance, control, guidance, but absolutely no taking action. Wait and see how things develop!"
"Warn him! Once there is any abnormality, report to me immediately. He is not allowed to act without authorization again!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu departed, and Hiruzen paced back and forth alone in the office.
Suddenly, he stopped, "Kakashi, has Itachi Uchiha returned?"
Kakashi pushed the door open and entered, "Yes! Lord Hokage! Itachi Uchiha just returned to the ANBU headquarters and completed his mission assignment!"
"Have him come see me!"
"Yes!"
"Sorry for the trouble!"
Shisui lowered his head in a bow.
He reached out to take the teacup from Mikoto.
"Aunt Mikoto, you don't need to busy yourself. We can just sit and wait." Shinji narrowed his eyes, glancing toward the direction of the stairs.
Uchiha Mikoto pouted, "Honestly! The children have been waiting for so long. Why is he still dawdling? I'll go rush him."
"No need!"
Thud, thud, thud.
Fugaku walked down the stairs, giving Shisui a surprised look before casting his gaze onto Shinji.
"Shinji, do you need something?"
Mikoto stood up to excuse herself, "I'll go prepare some snacks for you all."
Shinji nodded in a polite farewell.
Once Mikoto left his field of vision, he finally looked toward Uchiha Fugaku in the main seat, "Clan Head."
"Clan Head."
In fact, viewed from this perspective, Fugaku truly was quite a dignified individual.
Short black hair, a square face, a poker face, and regular facial features gave him an indescribable sense of oppression—serious and upright.
Fugaku smiled, "How rare. The two major geniuses of the clan, just back from the border, yet they come to pay me a visit."
Shisui took a sip of tea. He came here to escort Shinji.
Even though.
He did not agree with Shinji's phrasing of "escort"; this guy was much stronger than him... The only difference between them was a so-called Mangekyo Sharingan.
Shinji skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point, "Clan Head, please abdicate!"
Fugaku, "..."
Shisui, "...Pfft!"
Uchiha Sasuke, who was squatting at the top of the stairs eavesdropping, "???"
Uchiha Mikoto, who had just approached the doorway holding a tray of pastries, "..."
Uchiha Itachi, leaning against the outside wall, "!!!"
Silence reigned.
Only the sound of the midwinter wind passing through the corridor let the few of them know that time had not stopped.
"Reason."
After a long silence.
Fugaku picked up his teacup, his tone neither salty nor sweet, "I need a reason."
The smile vanished from Shinji's face, "Your incompetence is the biggest reason. There is no need for any other high-sounding pretexts!"
"What right do you have to talk about my father like that!"
Sasuke jumped out abruptly, pointing downward at Shinji like an angry little lion.
Pity.
A little lion was still just a little lion.
Shinji merely stared at Fugaku.
"Go back!" Fugaku frowned.
"Father!" Sasuke wore a look of disbelief.
Mikoto walked in quickly, put down the tray, trotted up the stairs in a hurry, and disappeared into the stairwell holding Sasuke.
Fugaku withdrew his gaze and chuckled, "Incompetent?"
Shinji wore a deadpan expression of earnestness, "Yes, incompetent!"
"Tell me, then, exactly how is your clan head unqualified, to the point that it leads to such excessive remarks from you as calling me incompetent?"
Shinji shook his head, "I remember that after the Nine-Tails' Attack, you seemed to reveal the intention of launching a coup d'état and seizing the Hokage Position."
"That's right."
Even though Fugaku at the time was swept along by the will of the clansmen and half-heartedly agreed, as a responsible man, he would not deny it.
"The death of the Fourth Hokage was a huge blow to the Uchiha. He was not only my friend, but the future hope of the Uchiha. However, after that night, the hope of the Uchiha completely vanished. The actions of the Hokage Building—surrounding the clan and relocating the clan lands—aroused the dissatisfaction of the clansmen, who successively demanded that I make a statement. I had no choice but to agree..."
Outside, Itachi's expression tightened.
"Then, may I boldly ask Clan Head, after all these years, to what extent has the coup work progressed?"
Fugaku shook his head, "Regarding this matter, I am still hesitating."
"What are you hesitating about?"
"You brat... A coup requires the entire clan to be of one mind. The strength of Konoha is not as simple as you think: the Hyuga, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Kurama, and Inuzuka, not to mention the Senju Clan hidden among the civilians, and the Sarutobi Clan with the greatest influence."
"You are too young."
"Ah la!"
Shinji looked astonished, "So you knew that a coup required the entire clan to be of one mind, and you also knew that with the strength of the Uchiha Clan, it would be difficult to contend against the whole of Konoha? You knew that even if a fight broke out, it would only end in mutual destruction, and that the worst outcome would be the complete annihilation of the Uchiha? So you knew everything all along!"
Fugaku stared at Shinji with a piercing gaze, "You brat! Stop with the sarcasm, say what you mean!"
"Hah!"
Shinji shook his head, "Since you knew everything, did you not know that the clan had long since been divided into two factions—a peace faction and a hawk faction? Oh no, there was even a faction that betrayed the clan from within, whose main theme was surrender!"
"Leaving aside the surrender faction, the numbers of the hawk and peace factions were roughly equal, and the conflicts between them almost reached a critical point, as irreconcilable as fire and water! Did you know?"
"I know, but..."
"Yet you made no intervention whatsoever!"
Shinji did not back down, pressing aggressively, "Before the Night of the Nine-Tails, you fantasized that the Fourth Hokage could place the Uchiha fairly in the position where they rightfully belonged, but the Fourth Hokage died, and your fantasy fell through!"
"After the Nine-Tails' Attack, whether you were coerced or acting from the heart, you released signals of 'dissatisfaction' and even a 'coup' to the village. Regardless of how the village reacted for the moment, you set the tone for a coup, yet you remained endlessly hesitant, unable to make a resolution, dragging it out until now, and in doing so, you actually split an originally united clan!"
Shinji's words grew increasingly fierce, "You perhaps did not truly wish to launch a coup; you merely fantasized about using the collective will of the Uchiha Clan to pressure the village and make the Third Hokage afraid. But threats cannot solve problems; they only make the other party more vigilant and fearful of you, driving them to completely eradicate you from this world!"
Shinji stared straight into Fugaku's eyes, "Clan Head Fugaku, your fantasy has fallen through once again, and furthermore, you have caused the Uchiha to no longer be strong, to no longer possess a deterrent force!"
"Last night's assassination is clear proof!"
A trace of astonishment surfaced on Fugaku's stern face.
He tried to pick up his teacup several times, only to put it back down, "Yet... you are too young. At seventeen, you are not enough to command respect."
Shinji let out a breath, "Clan Head, I originally thought you belonged to the younger generation, but looking at it now, you are quite old-fashioned as well."
"Heh."
Fugaku let out a laugh.
He finally raised his teacup and said dismissively, "Since that's the case, do whatever you want. The clan meeting is convening soon."
"I'll be right here, waiting for you!"
Outside the house.
Uchiha Itachi let out a deep breath, his gaze complex.
Big Brother Shinji...
Before you continue