Fugaku's face turned livid after hearing all that.
He braced both hands on the desk, his chest heaving.
"He's afraid the clan will get too full of itself?"
"Can't he see that the Higher-Ups already have a knife to our throats?"
"That Masked Man came right into the Drill Ground today and threatened to wipe out our clan!"
"And he's still worrying about whether our people will cause trouble?"
The more Fugaku spoke, the angrier he became. He grabbed the scrap paper on the desk, crumpled it into a ball, and hurled it at the floor.
"That bastard!"
"His grandfather, Kagami Uchiha, swallowed his pride for the village back then, too."
"And what did he get in return?"
"The Second Hokage's suspicion, and our clan being pushed to the margins!"
"Now he wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps!"
Chikage understood Fugaku's anger all too well.
"Uncle, now you see it, right?"
"That kid Shisui has long since adopted the Higher-Ups' way of thinking."
"Don't expect him to stand with the clan when it counts."
"If things really come to an open break, we should count ourselves lucky if he doesn't turn his Mangekyō against us."
Fugaku slumped into his chair, utterly dejected.
The joy of learning that the clan had a second pair of Mangekyō had vanished without a trace.
In its place came a profound sense of helplessness.
A prodigy with top-tier combat strength, yet a traitor who sided with outsiders.
That was even more despairing than having no Mangekyō at all.
"Then what should we do?"
Fugaku looked up at Chikage.
"If Shisui won't work with us, I still can't change the situation on my own."
Chikage picked up his teacup and drained the cold water left inside.
He stood and walked over to the study window.