"Clan Head Fugaku."
Shibi Aburame got straight to the point, without a trace of a smile. "The Aburame Clan intends to side with the Uchiha. But forgive me for being blunt—I'd actually prefer to speak with Jin Uchiha face-to-face."
He, like the rest of the Aburame Clan, had always been straightforward, with little patience for beating around the bush.
Back in the Jonin Meeting room, the moment Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to remain silent, Shibi Aburame had already made up his mind.
The reason was simple.
The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, the tide had turned.
To the Aburame Clan, indecision was the last quality a Hokage should possess.
The Hokage held the village's highest seat of power, and authority mattered more than anything.
Once a decision was made, even if it proved wrong, he had to grit his teeth and see it through.
A Hokage was not so different from a monarch in another world.
Whoever occupied that seat had to stand by his word.
If you kept reversing your orders and wavering, who beneath you would still trust you?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's hesitation had told Shibi Aburame something—the Hokage himself was beginning to lose his nerve.
Faced with the Uchiha, he could no longer make up his mind.
That was no good sign for someone in power.
If you were uncertain, you either bided your time until you could strike a fatal blow, or you left the matter alone.
Who acted like Hiruzen Sarutobi, wanting to strike but afraid of every possible consequence, wavering back and forth?
There was something even more important.
A ruler needed an air of mystery. He could not let his subordinates see through his thoughts.
But now?
The realization that he could actually guess what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking made Shibi Aburame's heart sink. Something was