Hearing Yūto's declaration of a coup, Fugaku sank into thought.
He was pondering who had misled Yūto, an inheritor of the Will of Fire, and turned him into a member of the Hawk Faction.
Judging by Yūto's past behavior, he was absolutely a fine young man who cared about the village and his comrades. He should never have harbored such treasonous thoughts!
The Hawk Faction's members tended to be impulsive and awakened their Sharingan early, so they were generally stronger.
Logically, Yūto, the Uchiha's dead last, should never have had anything to do with the Hawk Faction, should he?
Could it be...
Fugaku understood everything!
He gave Yūto an approving look. This boy really was quick on his feet.
He had deliberately gone to extremes to put the Hawk Faction members on the spot!
Even the stupidest member of the Hawk Faction understood that this was no time for a coup. The village was too powerful, and the Uchiha Clan had no chance of winning.
Yūto had deliberately escalated the conflict, and the Hawk Faction had neither the ability nor the courage to respond.
This move would surely crush their arrogance. For a long time to come, these people would never dare mention a coup again.
What a fine young man. He was so clever!
Meanwhile, the grand elder was thinking as well.
He had never even heard of a dead last like Uchiha Yūto.
Since he had never heard of him, he certainly wasn't a member of the Hawk Faction. That made him a member of the Dove Faction.
A member of the Dove Faction had actually voiced support for a coup. Fugaku must have put him up to it!
Well played, Uchiha Fugaku, resorting to such underhanded schemes!
No!
There seemed to be some misunderstanding here!
After thinking it over carefully, the grand elder discovered an issue with Yūto's words.
Why would a member of the Dove Faction remember the village's oppression of the clan so clearly?
There was only one truth!
Uchiha Yūto was a member of the Hawk Faction hiding among the Dove Faction.
Only if the village's oppression had been seared into his memory would he remember it so clearly!
At that thought, the grand elder felt some regret.
The Uchiha members of the Hawk Faction under his command were too arrogant, paying attention only to the strong. Who knew how many good members of the Hawk Faction like Yūto they had overlooked all these years?
The grand elder's gaze toward Yūto immediately softened considerably, as though he were looking at his own grandson.
The meeting broke up on a sour note. With a cold snort, the grand elder led the Uchiha members of the Hawk Faction out of the meeting room.
With the Hawk Faction gone, the meeting had lost its purpose. Fugaku had sufficient control over the members of the Dove Faction that there was no need for a meeting at all.
After issuing orders to increase patrols, Fugaku declared the meeting over, and everyone filed out of the meeting room.
Yūto walked at the rear of the crowd, pondering how to continue his grand plan to die.
Suddenly, a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.
He looked back and found that it was Uchiha Fugaku. A smile actually adorned his normally stern face, giving Yūto the creeps.
"Yūto, you really are a fine young man."
After that baffling remark, Fugaku turned and left.
Inside the meeting room, Yūto scratched his head, completely at a loss.
After patrolling all day, Yūto returned home and casually tossed his raincoat aside.
He was an orphan. There was no one to tell him what to do anyway.
As soon as he entered, he saw an old man sitting inside. It was actually the grand elder.
A teapot sat before him, its spout still steaming. Clearly, the tea had just been brewed.
Hearing the door open, the grand elder said without looking back:
"You're back?"
"Patrolling all day in this weather must have been hard work. Come have some hot tea to warm yourself up."
The grand elder's tone was unexpectedly gentle, leaving Yūto utterly baffled. But he knew the grand elder was actually difficult to get along with, so he hurried to sit opposite him.
Watching Yūto finish the tea he had poured for him, the grand elder's aged face broke into a satisfied smile.
"Yūto, life must have been hard for you too, facing the village's oppression."
"If there's anything you want to say, feel free to confide in me!"
Yūto's eyes lit up at the grand elder's words. There still seemed to be hope for the coup!
But the example he had given in the meeting room today had been pure improvisation. What did he know about rice prices?
The grand elder should already know all about the other ways the village excluded the Uchiha. What angle could he use to keep fanning the flames?
After racking his brains, he actually found one-and one the grand elder definitely hadn't experienced.
He composed himself, then said through gritted teeth:
"Grand elder, there were things I originally intended to keep buried in my heart forever. But since you asked today, I have to get them off my chest!"
"The Ninja Academy is poisoning our Uchiha!"
The grand elder immediately frowned at Yūto's words. He truly hadn't paid attention to what went on at the Ninja Academy.
"Our Uchiha Clan has always possessed outstanding talent."
"But the village arranges for a bunch of little girls to pester Uchiha boys all day with so-called love. Plenty of Uchiha children have become deeply caught up in it."
"Tell me, if the children start dating so young, will they have any energy left to improve their strength? If this continues, the Uchiha Clan's overall strength will decline year after year, and we'll inevitably fall to a second-rate clan!"
"When I was at the Ninja Academy, I had to give it everything I had to resist that temptation. Even so, it greatly affected my training progress, and I'm still only a Genin!"
"How could such a thing happen!"
"Damn that Hiruzen Sarutobi!" The grand elder slammed the table and sprang to his feet, one curse after another pouring from his mouth.
Only after cursing for ages did he sit back down.
Yūto wiped the flecks of spittle from his face, leaned toward the grand elder, and asked quietly:
"Grand elder, when are we starting that coup of ours? I'll definitely be charging right at the front!"
At the word "coup," the grand elder's fury instantly died out. That matter would have to wait a little longer. He coughed twice and immediately changed the subject.
"Ahem, speaking of which, Yūto, you just said you resisted temptation at the Ninja Academy. That means you still don't have a girlfriend, right?"
"I have a granddaughter about your age. This would be a good opportunity to introduce you."
"Tomorrow, then. I'll have her come see you tomorrow!"
With that, the grand elder immediately stood up to leave.
Before leaving, he also took out a scroll and set it on the table.
"This is a ninjutsu scroll from my treasured collection. Practice diligently and make up for your lack of strength."
With that, he vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
Yūto curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Coward. You're still too scared to stage a coup."
He picked up the scroll and tossed it into a corner without even looking at it.
He couldn't be bothered to improve his strength. If he got stronger, how could he get himself killed easily?
Elsewhere, in the clan leader's mansion, a young Uchiha knelt on one knee before Fugaku.
It was Shisui Uchiha. Because of a mission, he hadn't attended today's meeting.
Fugaku slowly recounted Yūto's behavior that day and his own conjectures to Shisui. After listening, Shisui said tentatively:
"Lord Fugaku, might you be overthinking this?"
"Could Yūto actually be a hidden member of the Hawk Faction?"
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!" Fugaku waved his hand and added:
"On past missions, Yūto always charged at the front and did everything he could to protect his teammates."
"He came back covered in injuries from every mission. An outstanding young man who treasures his comrades like that could never be a member of the Hawk Faction!"
Hearing this, Shisui nodded in firm agreement as well, ashamed of his earlier thoughts.
"I understand, Lord Fugaku."
"But what does Yūto have to do with you calling me here tonight?"
Fugaku said solemnly:
"Yūto is far too weak. I hope you can help him improve his strength and guide him along the way. Don't let him go astray."
"I don't want an outstanding young Uchiha to fall just like that!"
Shisui's expression turned solemn, and he answered loudly:
"Yes, Lord Fugaku!"
Before you continue