Doubts

When the seventh tatami mat from the right inside Naka Shrine was lifted, a winding staircase was revealed, leading them down to a mysterious basement.

The three descended the stairs and passed through a blue-green passage more than ten meters long. A spacious secret chamber appeared before them!

The chamber was enormous, large enough to hold a clan meeting with several hundred people in attendance at once.

Koki walked ahead of Shisui and deliberately looked back to check his expression. Shisui looked as calm and composed as ever.

Not bad! Shisui had excellent composure. Koki followed Fugaku for a few more steps at an unhurried pace, then secretly turned his head and whispered in Shisui's ear, "Shisui, if anyone says anything nasty later, don't take it to heart."

"Mm." Shisui hadn't actually heard what Koki said. The warm breath from Koki's mouth made the tips of his ears turn red, and he lowered his head, covered his flushed ears, and responded softly.

Koki found Shisui's shyness quite amusing and wanted to tease him some more, but Fugaku suddenly turned and glared at him. His gaze seemed to say, I saw everything you did! Koki was so startled that he didn't dare say anything else out of line.

Fugaku was a little scary when he got serious!

More than thirty members of the Uchiha Clan had already gathered inside the spacious chamber, but not every clan member was qualified to attend this meeting.

The four elders wore their distinctive kimonos, while the guards they had brought, the upper ranks of the Uchiha Military Police Force, and Fugaku's trusted aides wore the Military Police Force's green flak jackets, with the force's emblem embroidered on the sleeves. They had arrived early and knelt on the wooden floor in their assigned places.

"The clan head is here," someone called out.

Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan's leader, entered with a solemn expression. The previously noisy gathering fell silent in an instant, and all eyes focused on the clan head.

Fugaku walked straight to the head of the room and sat cross-legged, his back straight. "Sorry to have kept everyone waiting. I had some personal matters to take care of at home."

Those personal matters were Koki refusing to get out of bed that morning. Life wasn't easy, Fugaku sighed.

The two children, Koki and Shisui, followed behind him and drew everyone's attention. Strange looks appeared on their faces.

"Why did the clan head bring two children to such an important gathering?"

"Exactly. Isn't this a joke?"

"Even if they're the clan head's children, they haven't contributed anything to the clan, so they aren't qualified to attend the meeting, are they?"

"That's right. What was the clan head thinking this time? Can these two children offer any useful advice?"

"This is too much."

Most people voiced their doubts, while a small number of Uchiha Fugaku's steadfast supporters simply studied the two boys with curiosity.

Hearing the clan members whispering, Fugaku and the two boys remained composed, their expressions unchanged.

The other three elders remained silent, but the fourth elder couldn't help speaking up. "Clan Head, what is your intention in bringing these two young children here? This is a solemn place, not somewhere for them to play!"

Fugaku sat upright at the head of the room, his gaze sweeping over the clan members and the four elders. His tone was calm, and there was a barely perceptible sharpness in his eyes.

"Hmph, everyone, please be patient and hear me out. Everyone present today is among the most important members of our Uchiha Clan, so this is a good opportunity to introduce Shisui to you. Koki is my son and needs no introduction."

Fugaku pointed to Shisui Uchiha beside him. "This boy is Shisui Uchiha. From now on, he is my child. Since they are my children, I will not allow or tolerate any words or actions that insult their status within the Uchiha Clan."

As soon as Fugaku finished speaking, the whole of Naka Shrine fell silent. Everyone was awed by his bearing, and for a moment, no one dared to object.

"As for why I brought the two of them to the clan meeting, the first reason is that they have both awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan." Fugaku changed the subject and narrowed his eyes slightly.

His words struck like a thunderbolt.

"How is that possible? Look how young they are. How could they have awakened the Sharingan?"

"Exactly. Could the clan head be fooling us?"

"I didn't awaken my Three-Tomoe Sharingan until I was twenty! How could they have awakened theirs already?"

"Right, and Koki is the clan head's son. The clan head dotes on him so much-how could he possibly put him in danger?"

The pride of the Uchiha Clan was deeply ingrained in its members' DNA. They were unwilling to believe that these two wet-behind-the-ears children had awakened at such a young age the Sharingan that they themselves had awakened only after long years and much suffering.

Koki and Shisui listened quietly to everyone's doubts without arguing. They exchanged a glance, understanding each other without a word.

They closed their eyes, then opened them again, their pupils turning blood-red! There they were: two pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Nothing they could say would be as shocking as showing everyone directly!

Facts spoke louder than words. Seeing the two identical pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan, the crowd was too stunned to speak.

The four elders were also astonished. They had expected Koki to awaken the Sharingan, but the boy beside him was no more than two years older than Koki, and he had awakened the Sharingan too! His also had three tomoe!

They had heard he was the only one left in his family, an orphan with no one to rely on, yet he had such talent too. The clan head really had an eye for talent...

Seeing this, Fugaku secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you think Koki and Shisui can't participate in clan affairs because they're young?" Fugaku continued. Though his voice wasn't loud, everyone present could hear him clearly.

"That brings me to my second point. Although they're young, both of them have insights far beyond my own!"

How astonishing! Fugaku's words stirred up another commotion.

Who was Uchiha Fugaku?

He was the Uchiha Clan's supreme leader, the Uchiha Clan Head who led the clan forward, unquestionably the most respected person in the clan today and the one its people trusted most!

Fugaku's talent for administration needed no explanation; one only had to look at the Uchiha Military Police Force to see it.

Though people often complained to Lord Hokage about the Military Police Force, Fugaku was always able to shoulder all the responsibility himself and keep the force running in an orderly manner, demonstrating his exceptional leadership.

To receive such praise from a clan head of such outstanding intelligence, who said their insights far surpassed his own-though everyone had their own speculations, they were all pondering the same question: had they truly underestimated these two boys' abilities?