"Before this, you recruited men to expand the Hawk Faction, embezzled the clan's cash reserves, and bought ninja tools, Explosive Tags, and so on!"
"I can pretend none of that ever happened."
Fugaku looked straight at Setsuna and said sternly, "But now! You must stop! Then disband your Hawk Faction!"
Setsuna understood the resolve in Fugaku's voice, but he was puzzled.
It was only natural that Fugaku, as clan leader, knew about his little moves in the shadows.
After all, Fugaku was the strongest and most prestigious member of the Uchiha Clan still alive. He was no powerless figurehead.
But that was precisely why Setsuna was puzzled.
His covert activities had not been all that well concealed. He had mostly been trying to hide them from the Anbu and Root ninja monitoring the Uchiha Clan outside their compound.
So Fugaku's continued inaction and lack of interference had led Setsuna to believe he approved of the Hawk Faction's ideals.
Securing a voice in the village through overwhelming strength!
Setsuna asked in confusion, "Why? I thought you supported us, Fugaku!"
"Continuing down this path will only put the Uchiha Clan in danger of extermination. There's still time to stop."
Fugaku said solemnly, "I allowed your previous actions to go unchecked as a precaution against a surprise attack from Konoha High Command."
"But things are different now!"
"Different? How are they different?"
Setsuna scoffed. "Don't tell me you still expect those hypocritical Sarutobi and that treacherous Danzo to keep allowing our Uchiha Clan to exist?"
"Stop being naive! Those hypocrites fear our clan's power! If they weren't afraid of mutual destruction drawing other nations' attention, we would have gone to war long ago!"
Fugaku shook his head. "Of course I don't think the village leadership will show us mercy!"
"But I've already found a more reliable approach. So your Hawk Faction must settle down. We cannot give the village an excuse to move against us at this stage!"
"A more reliable approach?"
Setsuna frowned. "Given the current situation, our only options are to fight or flee! Peaceful coexistence is no longer possible!"
"And I won't be a coward who flees before fighting!"
"I can't tell you the specific plan yet!"
After all, Fugaku himself still had no idea what the specific plan was.
All he knew at the moment was that they needed money and stability!
But he couldn't tell Setsuna that!
For one thing, he needed to keep Haruma's existence hidden. For another, he didn't want Setsuna questioning whether his clan leader was mentally sound.
Fugaku continued sternly, "But I can guarantee, in my capacity as leader of the Uchiha Clan, that this plan will be more reliable and effective than your so-called approach of starting a war!"
Silence.
It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and the eerie silence lasted quite a while.
As the two stared at each other, they seemed to be probing something without a word.
"Understood!" Setsuna spoke first, then turned and left without looking back.
"Ah."
After a long while, Fugaku sighed softly and walked out as well.
Setsuna had agreed readily enough, but Fugaku could still sense the resolve in his eyes! And his expression showed no intention of giving up!
"My dear clan leader, now that the meeting is over, shouldn't you..."
Haruma rubbed his fingers together, repeatedly hinting at something.
Fugaku shot him an irritated glare, once again beginning to question whether this fellow really was the Uchiha Clan's hope.
He felt more like a money-grubbing charlatan.
He opened his mouth, about to ask that sneaky bastard for a more detailed plan.
But then he remembered the conditions Haruma had raised yesterday, along with that ten percent chance.
Fugaku silently took a scroll from inside his clothes and tossed it to Haruma.
"Twenty-four million in total. Aside from the clan's necessary expenses, I'm leaving everything else to you."
"Rest assured!"
Without another word, Haruma stuffed the scroll into his clothes at lightning speed.
Then he stood, cupped his hands toward Fugaku, and said, "Farewell!"
Fuck!
My fists are itching!!!
The moment you get the money, you won't even call me clan leader anymore!
Seeing Haruma act like this, the veins on Fugaku's forehead bulged. He was just about to scold him when he saw the brat turn around and sit back down.
Fugaku gritted his teeth. "What!? Do you have any other instructions for me!?"
"Oh, not at all."
Having sat down, Haruma patted his forehead and said somewhat sheepishly, "My dear clan leader, this humble one almost forgot. There's one more important matter I need your help with."
Fuck!
Now that you need me, I'm your dear clan leader again!
"Speak!!!"
Seeing Fugaku's rather impatient expression, Haruma asked cautiously, "The clan should have quite a few Sharingan in storage, right?"
Shit!
I was so eager to get back and upgrade that I almost forgot to get that blind guy a pair of eyes!
Fugaku frowned deeply at his words. "We do, but what do you want Sharingan for?"
"Has your eyesight already started deteriorating?"
After saying that, Fugaku seemed to understand something. He nodded and murmured to himself, "Of course. An ability that lets you look directly into the future must consume an astonishing amount of ocular power and have equally severe side effects."
At this, Fugaku's expression softened a little as he looked at Haruma.
To help the clan escape its predicament.
Despite being such a young genius ninja, he had been contributing quietly, without recognition...
And now, even his eyesight...
One could only imagine how many times he had used his ability in private to find a way forward for the clan.
Fugaku looked at Haruma with considerable concern. "Don't leave just yet. Wait here while I get one of the clan's medical-nin to replace your eyes with a pair of Mitsudomoe Sharingan."
"Although they fall quite far short of the Mangekyō's abilities, they're the best the clan has!"
Fugaku's gentle tone gave Haruma goosebumps.
He quietly shifted backward, then asked, "Can't you just give me the eyes and let me put them in myself?"
Fugaku said in surprise, "Put them in yourself!? Without a professional medical-nin performing the procedure, what you put in won't be eyes. They'll just be two useless light bulbs!"
"How could that be?!" Haruma was equally surprised. "I've seen someone pluck out his own eyes with a swish, then pop them right back in!"
"They recovered completely in just a few seconds!"
At this, Fugaku's brows began twitching wildly again.
What the fuck do you mean, pull them out with a swish and pop them back in?
Are you talking about eyes or light bulbs?!
"You saw it yourself!? Where did you see that?"
"With my own eyes!" Haruma answered without batting an eyelid. "In the future I saw."
In the anime I watched in my previous life, didn't Madara Uchiha keep taking eyes out and swapping them around like light bulbs after he was revived?!
Why get a medical-nin for something that heals in a few seconds?
And that sneaky bastard Danzo had so many Sharingan implanted that he almost gave people trypophobia!
He would not explain the specific circumstances and was once again brushing him off with visions of the future. Fugaku was speechless.
After frowning in thought for a long while, Fugaku said gravely, "Unless that person was an exceptionally skilled practitioner of Medical Ninjutsu, he must have possessed a special Kekkei Genkai!"
Oh, right!