Koji Nara listened to his younger clansman and slowly nodded, his previously calm expression darkening little by little.
He was right.
After Shikaku Nara's analysis, he too could sense the Sarutobi Clan's decline. This family, which had once stood at Konoha's summit, now seemed to be nearing its sunset no matter how he looked at it.
But the whole affair was a real headache.
Given a choice, Koji Nara truly would not have wanted to concern himself with such troublesome matters. The Nara Clan had always preferred to stay behind the scenes and do the thinking. They avoided taking the lead whenever possible; a peaceful, steady life was the most comfortable way to live.
Unfortunately, that was no longer an option.
At this turning point, with the survival of the entire clan at stake, he could no longer pretend he knew nothing. Not if he wanted the Nara Clan to endure and avoid the storm about to sweep through Konoha.
After a long silence, Koji Nara finally spoke. "Of course the Uchiha have more than what they've shown in the open."
"After Kazama wrote to me and asked me to secretly enter the Uchiha's circle, I did hear some incredible things there."
At this point, his expression grew rather strange.
"That fellow Fugaku... I honestly don't know what to say about him."
"If you call him an idiot, he certainly is a complete idiot."
"But if you say he's incapable, that's absolutely wrong."
Once Jin Uchiha had given his approval, Koji, an outsider, had been admitted into the Uchiha's circle. They had exchanged a few words, then shared drinks several times afterward. One day, perhaps to reassure him, or perhaps to seize the chance to truly win him over, Uchiha Fugaku had actually volunteered a secret.
"He said he'd awakened