'Kotoamatsukami.'
The sheer horror of Shisui's Mangekyo ability—the power to silently rewrite a person's free will—sent a shockwave of revulsion through the room. The Elders' expressions twisted into fury. For the first time in centuries, the Uchiha possessed three active Mangekyo Sharingan simultaneously. It should have been an era of unmatched dominance. Instead, two of those divine eyes were pointed at their own kin.
Fugaku remained silent, but his internal defenses were crumbling.
'He is holding the clan hostage,' Fugaku analyzed, staring at Jin with a mixture of terror and grim realization. 'Jin has established a perfect nuclear deterrent. If I use force to stop his rebellion, he will abandon the clan, slaughter Mikoto and Itachi, and wage an endless guerrilla war against Konoha. I cannot protect my family twenty-four hours a day from a Mangekyo assassin.'
Fugaku loved his family far more than he loved his political position, the clan, or even the village. Jin had accurately identified his one fatal weakness and pressed a blade against it.
With a heavy, defeated sigh, Fugaku's rigid posture collapsed.
"I am the Clan Head, but I will not raise my hand against the Uchiha," Fugaku stated, his voice hollow. "I surrender my authority. I will no longer interfere in the conflict between the clan and the village. Jin, you may take the mantle of leadership, provided you swear to leave my wife and children out of this."
The Elders gasped at the sudden abdication, but Jin merely nodded, his expression placid. As a strategist who understood Fugaku's psychological profile, Jin had expected this exact compromise.
"I accept your terms," Jin replied smoothly. "I guarantee the safety of your family. In fact, if my plans fail and the Uchiha face extermination, I have already established a secure evacuation route to the Land of Snow—an isolated nation far beyond Konoha's military reach. Your family will be evacuated there."
Fugaku blinked, genuinely surprised by the tactical foresight. A profound sense of relief washed over him. He was no longer the captain of a sinking ship. "I... see. Thank you."
Without another word, Fugaku turned and walked out of the room. The crushing burden of leadership was gone. If Jin had an escape route prepared, perhaps it was best to simply step aside and spend his remaining time with his sons.
Shisui watched Fugaku leave, his mind spinning in absolute panic.
He was entirely alone. Jin had weaponized the entire clan, and the only man with the political authority and optical power to help Shisui stop it had just surrendered.
"Jin, please," Shisui pleaded, a bitter taste in his mouth. "Can we not negotiate a peaceful solution?"
"I am perfectly willing to negotiate," Jin countered, his tone rational and unyielding. "Provided the village ceases its covert operations against us. Can you order Danzo to stop hunting our people? No, you cannot."
Jin leaned forward, systematically dismantling Shisui's idealistic arguments. "You claim the Third Hokage will solve everything if we just integrate. Let us review the empirical evidence of our 'integration.' When the village was founded, the Uchiha were promised the Hokage seat. We compromised and stepped aside. Then, we asked for equal political rights. We were denied and placed into the Police Force to be isolated. We compromised again."
Jin's eyes narrowed. "Now? Our veterans die on the battlefield, yet their families receive no pensions, and their names are barred from the Memorial Stone. Our ancestral lands were stolen. Our civilians are monitored by Root assassins. We have compromised until our backs are against a cliff. You ask us to take one more step back. That step is our extinction. I refuse to take it. If the village demands our lives, I will drag the village down with us."
Shisui was silenced. He could not refute a single historical fact Jin presented.
Desperate, Shisui tried another angle. "But a civil war is meaningless! It will only destroy Konoha's military strength. If we bleed each other dry, the other Hidden Villages will invade and slaughter everyone. We must compromise for the stability of the village!"
"Why is the burden of choice always placed on the Uchiha?" Jin asked, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "This time, I am forcing the 'village' to make the choice. If the administration truly values Konoha's stability, let 'them' take a step back and compromise."
Shisui froze.
The concept shattered his worldview. He had been so heavily indoctrinated by the 'Will of Fire' that he had only ever considered how the Uchiha should sacrifice for the village. He had never once considered demanding the village sacrifice its pride for the Uchiha.
Realizing he had lost the ideological debate, Shisui asked the only question left. "What is your next move? What are you planning to do?"
"I am waiting for you to die," Jin stated flatly.
Shisui flinched. "What?"
"You are going to be assassinated by the administration," Jin explained, his eyes deep and calculating. "Given your naïve loyalty, I deduce you have already informed the Third Hokage about your Kotoamatsukami. Think about how Hiruzen has acted around you recently. Does he make direct eye contact? No. He is terrified of you."
Jin outlined the political and biological reality of Shisui's impending doom. "Hiruzen cares too much about his public image to kill a loyal hero himself. He will utilize Danzo as his executioner. Danzo has illegally implanted Hashirama Senju's cells into his body to gain physical vitality—Yang chakra. To prevent those cells from consuming him, he desperately needs the powerful Yin chakra of the Sharingan to balance it. Furthermore, Danzo desires the Hokage seat above all else. Your Kotoamatsukami is the perfect tool to quietly force Hiruzen to step down."
"Danzo 'will' ambush you," Jin continued relentlessly. "And because you refuse to suspect your own superiors, your guard will be down. You will be killed, and your eyes will be stolen. Hiruzen knows this. If Danzo succeeds, Hiruzen removes a threat. If Danzo fails, Hiruzen claims ignorance."
Shisui shook his head in denial, unable to accept that the leaders he swore to protect were plotting his murder.
"I know you don't believe me," Jin said, a cold smirk touching his lips. "The Uchiha are famously stubborn. That is why I am telling you this openly. This is an inescapable trap. Your death is politically necessary for my plans."
Jin revealed his terrifying endgame. "Stealing another clan's Kekkei Genkai—their bloodline limit—is the ultimate taboo in the shinobi world. Every clan in Konoha fears having their unique jutsu stolen by the administration. When Danzo murders you and steals your eyes, I will expose it to the entire village."
Jin stood up, looking down at the young prodigy. "Your corpse will become my 'casus belli'—my righteous justification for war. Once the other clans see that the Hokage's faction is murdering loyal shinobi to harvest their body parts, they will absolutely refuse to assist the administration. They will stand aside while I tear Danzo and the council apart. So yes, Shisui. My next operational phase is simply waiting for your blind loyalty to get you killed. Is that perfectly clear?"