Fugaku turned around and stared at Chikage, his eyes wide.
"Can't you see what that old bastard Danzo is plotting?"
"He's trying to get you out of Konoha so he can murder you on the way!"
Chikage closed the gate and turned around unhurriedly.
Before he could speak, Fugaku's voice caught in his throat.
Fugaku's gaze settled on Chikage's face.
More precisely, on his eyes, which glowed red.
The courtyard was dimly lit, but the red irises and black tomoe were perfectly clear.
Fugaku froze.
He rubbed his eyes hard, then stepped closer.
"Chikage, your eyes..."
Only then did Chikage remember that he had been so focused on opening the gate that he had forgotten to deactivate his Sharingan.
He raised a hand and pointed at his eyes.
"Oh, you mean these?"
"I'm not sure what happened. They just awakened all of a sudden."
"Maybe I ate too much three-color dango tonight and got a little overheated."
Fugaku didn't take in a word Chikage said.
He stared fixedly at that pair of One-Tomoe Sharingan, his mind already in turmoil.
He knew better than anyone what it took for a member of the Uchiha Clan to awaken those eyes.
It was a kekkei genkai that could only awaken after intense emotional upheaval and tremendous psychological trauma.
What sort of person was Chikage?
Seventeen years old and still a genin.
He had spent five years working as a clerk in the Konoha Military Police Force, arriving and leaving right on time every day.
When others argued, he drank tea. When others fought, he clocked out.
He was so emotionally stable that even the clan elders couldn't find fault with him.
Yet now, someone this emotionally stable had actually awakened his Sharingan!
Fugaku's breathing grew heavy.
He knew Chikage had accepted a high-risk mission assigned by Danzo that afternoon.
Investigating a smuggling case at the Border was plainly a death trap with no return.
Chikage might not say it aloud, but he must have been suffering tremendous pressure and fear.
He was merely a clerical worker in the Konoha Military Police Force, with an unremarkable service record and little combat experience.
Faced with assassination by Root and the threat of death hanging over him at every moment.
How terrified must this boy have been to be forced into awakening his Sharingan!
Fugaku's eyes reddened.
He reached out with both hands and gripped Chikage's shoulders tightly.
"Chikage..."
"You've suffered so much!"
Fugaku's sudden gesture left Chikage rather bewildered.
"Clan Head, what are you doing?"
"I'm perfectly fine."
Looking at Chikage, Fugaku could only think that the boy was putting on a brave smile.
To keep the clan from worrying, to avoid worsening the conflict between the Uchiha and the village's higher-ups.
Chikage had actually swallowed all this mistreatment alone.
Even being forced into awakening his Sharingan was something he tried to cover up with a flimsy excuse about eating too much three-color dango and getting overheated.
Fugaku clenched his teeth, cursing Danzo a thousand times in his heart.
Look what he's driven our boy to. He's even awakened his Sharingan!
That old bastard Danzo has gone too far!
Fugaku released Chikage, abruptly turned around, and strode toward the courtyard gate.
"No!"
"You absolutely cannot go on this mission!"
"I'm going to the Hokage Building right now to see Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
"If it comes to it, the Uchiha will break with them!"
"I will not stand by and watch one of my own clansmen go to the Border to die!"
At those words, Chikage hurried forward and grabbed Fugaku's arm with both hands.
Was he kidding?
He had finally gotten Danzo to complete the paperwork and secured another 200,000 ryo in mission funds for the Konoha Military Police Force.
He had even triggered a hidden achievement in the system that doubled his business trip check-in points.
If Fugaku went there and made a scene, and the mission was canceled...
Not only would the 200,000 ryo in special-purpose funds have to be returned, but he might also lose the double check-in points during his trip.
Absolutely not.
"Clan Head, calm down!"
"I have to go on this mission!"
Fugaku turned to look at Chikage, his face full of confusion.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Danzo must have Root elites lying in ambush at the Border."
"Going there means certain death!"
"Listen to me. Leave this to me."
"I am the Uchiha Clan Head!"
"If I can't even protect my own clansmen, what right do I have to lead the clan?"
"Clan Head, it's the middle of the night. You're getting far too worked up."
Chikage gripped Fugaku's wrist with both hands and desperately tried to drag him back into the courtyard.
Fugaku was strong. He was, after all, the Uchiha Clan Head who had spent years on the battlefield, and the veins in his neck were bulging.
"Let go of me!"
"What do you know, boy?"
"Danzo clearly wants you dead, and you're foolishly jumping straight into his trap!"
"I'm going to the Hokage Building right now to throw that Official Dispatch in Hiruzen Sarutobi's face!"
Seeing that he couldn't hold Fugaku back, Chikage simply hung his entire weight from Fugaku's arm.
"No!"
"We can't send that Official Dispatch back!"
"The 200,000 ryo in special-purpose funds is already in the Konoha Military Police Force's account!"
"We've already taken the money. If you go there and make a scene now, what will that make us Uchiha?"
Fugaku stopped and turned to stare at Chikage.
"Money?"
"Can 200,000 ryo buy your life?"
"Do you have any idea how difficult Root's Assassination Unit is to deal with?"
"They're experts in poison, traps, and all sorts of underhanded methods."
"You're a genin who does clerical work. What could you possibly fight them with?"
Seeing Fugaku stop, Chikage quickly released his arm and pushed him toward the house.
"Don't get worked up. Come inside and have something to drink first."
"Let's go through this carefully and talk it out."
The two returned to the living room.
Chikage poured Fugaku a cup of warm tea and pushed it toward him.
Fugaku was in no mood for tea. He slammed his palm onto the table, shaking more than half the tea out of the cup.
"Talk!"
"Let's hear how you plan to talk your way out of this!"
Chikage pulled over a chair and sat down, his expression turning serious.
"Clan Head, have you considered why Danzo sent me this Official Dispatch?"
Fugaku snorted.
"Does that even need thinking about?"
"He suffered a major defeat in the Hokage's Office. You forced him to sign a Payment Receipt for 350,000 Ryo."
"He couldn't swallow that humiliation, so he wants to send you out of the village and eliminate you."
Chikage snapped his fingers.
"Exactly."
"He wants to eliminate me."
"But why is he following official procedure?"
"The Hokage Mission Seal, the Military Police Filing Receipt-everything is there."
"He even gritted his teeth and approved the 200,000 ryo in mission funds."
Fugaku's brows knitted tightly, uncertainty entering his expression.
"What are you trying to say?"
Chikage leaned forward and lowered his voice.
"He's waiting for us to disobey orders."
"If you storm into the Hokage Building tonight and demand that the mission be canceled..."
"Danzo will immediately jump out and accuse the Uchiha Clan of disregarding the village's laws."
"He'll accuse the Konoha Military Police Force's deputy captain of shirking a mission out of fear and refusing to carry out the Hokage Advisor's lawful orders."
"Then we'll be the ones in the wrong."
Fugaku's chest heaved violently. Chikage's words had clearly struck a sore spot.
The Uchiha's current predicament was that the higher-ups were constantly looking for excuses to suppress them.
If they really disobeyed orders this time, they would indeed be handing Danzo the perfect weapon against them.
"But even so, I can't let you go to your death!"
"You saw it yourself just now. Even your Sharingan..."
Before you continue