Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan

Uchiha Fugaku's residence, study.

The tea on the desk had long since gone cold, without even a trace of warmth, much like Uchiha Fugaku's state of mind.

As the head of the Uchiha Clan and captain of the Konoha Police Force, he should have been the unquestioned authority in this clan territory.

Yet now, Uchiha Fugaku felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

His authority was slipping away.

Shisui's death had shattered the Dove Faction's last illusions, along with the paper-thin understanding between Uchiha Fugaku and the village's higher-ups.

What unsettled Uchiha Fugaku even more were Uchiha Yao's subsequent actions.

Swift and decisive, unstoppable.

That young man had, in ways Uchiha Fugaku had never considered and never even dared to consider, forcibly molded the Hawk and Dove Factions, long burdened by mutual resentment, into one within just a few days.

The Uchiha still outwardly respected him as their clan head, but Fugaku knew full well that the true voice now belonged to the elder named Uchiha Yao.

He was being sidelined.

No, aside from a small number of trusted subordinates, he had already been excluded from the Uchiha's center of power.

What was laughable was that even now, deep down, Uchiha Fugaku still harbored illusions about the village, about the Third Hokage.

Uchiha Fugaku had always felt that matters had not yet reached the point where they had to tear off all pretenses.

Perhaps the Third Hokage would offer the Uchiha a way out next, allowing both sides to ease their relationship.

But the strength Uchiha Yao had displayed, as well as his ever-growing, nearly fanatical influence within the clan, shattered Uchiha Fugaku's illusions.

Because under such circumstances, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village would only grow more tense.

Uchiha Fugaku gathered the elders and trusted subordinates from the clan head's branch to discuss a response.

"Lord Fugaku... we..."

One elder wanted to say something, but in the end, it became only a long sigh. His clouded eyes were filled with dejection.

The other elders and trusted subordinates lowered their heads, not daring to meet Fugaku's gaze.

"Most of the younger members of the clan now regard Elder Yao as their role model!"

"Even Elder En and Elder Yashiro... have chosen Elder Yao."

The remaining elders could only sigh helplessly.

Their morale had long since vanished.

Fugaku understood that these old companions were not disloyal. They simply did not dare.

Most of the clan's power was under Uchiha Yao's control. There was simply no way to resist.

Moreover, Uchiha Yao was powerful. Before absolute strength, any persistence seemed feeble and laughable.

His position as clan head was already in grave danger.

No. He could not keep waiting for death like this.

Fugaku took a deep breath and forced himself to rally.

As clan head, Uchiha Fugaku neither wished to see the Uchiha completely break with Konoha and descend into the abyss of war.

But neither did Uchiha Fugaku wish to place the clan's fate in the hands of a young man so radical and domineering.

It felt like personally handing an incomparably sharp blade to a child whose actions could not be predicted.

Amid his endless frustration, Uchiha Fugaku began frequently consulting the scrolls left behind by the Uchiha Clan's past heads.

He tried to find, within those yellowed pages and the wisdom of his predecessors, a way to deal with the current shift in power within the clan.

Just then, a trusted subordinate from the Police Force delivered a dossier.

It contained the Police Force's recent mission reports and a summary of the clan's finances.

Fugaku had not wanted to read it, but when his gaze inadvertently swept across several figures in the dossier, Uchiha Fugaku's pupils suddenly contracted.

The dossier stated clearly:

Since Uchiha Yao's "Efficiency Optimization Pilot Scheme" had been implemented, the completion rate for D-rank and C-rank missions undertaken by the clan had increased by twenty percent.

The efficiency of resolving conflicts within the Police Force's patrol areas had increased by thirty-five percent.

The monthly profits of the shops under the clan's name had also risen significantly compared to the previous month.

Most crucially, the casualty rate among clan members carrying out missions had fallen to its lowest point in nearly five years.

These tangible figures were more impactful than any eloquent argument.

They proved that Uchiha Yao's leadership was effective, correct, and capable of bringing real benefits to the clan.

Uchiha Fugaku wanted to deny it, but he could find no reason to do so.

The entire clan had already completely swung to the other side.

Uchiha Fugaku realized that all he seemed able to do was wait.

Wait for the moment when all pretenses finally fell away.

Night.

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the fan-shaped clan crest on the wall, a symbol of Uchiha glory.

Deep within his eyes, three black tomoe slowly revolved.

Resist, or yield.

Uchiha Fugaku was caught in a dilemma.

Resistance meant he would have to use his deepest hidden trump card and, in the name of the clan head, forcibly suppress the tide Uchiha Yao had raised.

But at what cost?

The clan would inevitably split apart. Brothers would turn on brothers, and blood would flow like rivers.

An Uchiha Clan ravaged by internal strife would only appear more vulnerable, more easily manipulated, in the eyes of the Konoha High Command.

In the end, he might reclaim his authority, but all he would gain would be a fragmented clan, badly depleted of its strength.

He, Uchiha Fugaku, would become the Uchiha's sinner.

What about stepping down and yielding his position to someone more worthy?

Entrusting the Uchiha's future entirely to that young man he could not see through.

That would avoid civil war and preserve the clan's strength.

But Uchiha Yao's radicalism and domineering nature almost guaranteed that he would lead the clan into its most brutal collision with Konoha.

That too was war. That too was an abyss.

The tragedy Uchiha Fugaku had spent half his life trying to avoid seemed impossible to escape, no matter what he did.

Fugaku's thoughts involuntarily returned to many years ago.

The Third Shinobi World War.

Cold rain mixed with warm blood. Beneath his feet lay countless corpses and severed limbs.

"Fugaku! Run!"

A close friend, also a teammate in Uchiha Fugaku's squad, used his body to stand firmly in front of him and took a fatal blow in Uchiha Fugaku's place.

"Why... why did you do this for me...?"

"Because... you're the captain... you're the Uchiha's future..."

A great deal of blood poured from his friend's mouth, and the breath of life rapidly faded away.

"Live... carry... our Uchiha's... hope..."

Those eyes that had once shone with light completely lost their luster.

At that moment, endless grief and hatred became an overwhelming torrent of emotion that washed over Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.

Agonizing pain struck.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his vision spun wildly, stretched, and merged.

The Mangekyō Sharingan awakened, and the price had been heavy.

It had been born from his friend's death, proof of Uchiha Fugaku's helplessness.

From that day onward, Fugaku had hated war and feared war.

Uchiha Fugaku had hidden those eyes deeply and never mentioned them to anyone.

The candlelight in the study flickered.

Uchiha Fugaku slowly closed his eyes.

Using those eyes to oppose Yao would be equivalent to personally pushing the clan into the mire of civil war and reenacting the tragedy he hated most.

Uchiha Fugaku could not do it.

But if he did nothing and watched as Yao led the clan toward war against all of Konoha, how would that be any different from pushing them over the edge himself?

This thought lingered in Uchiha Fugaku's mind, impossible to dispel.