Koharu Utatane narrowed her eyes. "I heard Fugaku also revealed his Mangekyo Sharingan last night. He's been hiding that secret until now. Do you think he's got something devious up his sleeve?"
Homura Mitokado shook his head. "One uncontrollable Uchiha Akainu is already enough to give us headaches. Since Fugaku is outwardly on our side, let's not question him."
"Oh, and speaking of which..." Homura stood up, gazing out the window at the widespread destruction. "The Land of Fire Daimyo's envoy should be arriving in Konoha soon. We absolutely cannot let him cross paths with Uchiha Akainu. After all, those high-and-mighty types surely have some unspeakable, embarrassing things they've done in secret."
"And Uchiha Akainu's eyes can see through the evils of the past and the future. If he runs into the Daimyo's envoy, I'm afraid... it could cause a huge disaster."
Koharu's heart skipped a beat. "You're right, we definitely need to be wary."
"The Mangekyo Sharingan... it was my trump card to maintain balance between the Uchiha and the village. If I hadn't seen Akainu awaken his Mangekyo, I wouldn't have revealed it."
Fugaku gazed at Itachi Uchiha, who was wearing an Anbu mask, his voice sinking slightly. "Itachi, do you actually think... I would use these eyes against the Konoha you cherish?"
Fugaku had anticipated this day ever since he exposed his Mangekyo. After all... this child, Itachi, would never allow a powerful force that threatened Konoha and was potentially uncontrollable to exist. This... perhaps it was the very reason for his incredible resolve.
"If you don't trust me, would you turn your kunai against your own father, Itachi?" Fugaku's tone remained mostly even, despite the chilling nature of his question. Yet, the atmosphere felt like just another everyday conversation between a father and son.
"Yes," Itachi replied with complete honesty.
Fugaku continued, "But you haven't moved against me yet, which means that, at least for now, you believe I won't move against Konoha. Perhaps you should also believe that I can completely resolve the conflict between thechiha clan and Konoha. That way..."
A flicker of complexity crossed Fugaku's usually stoic face. "There would be no need to fall into the tragic future Akainu spoke of."
Itachi was silent for half a second before speaking. "Father, you might understand your own position. But... you don't understand the positions of the other Uchiha clan members."
"They are already too far gone, beyond saving. In this situation, how many people do you truly believe can have a change of heart?"
Suddenly, Itachi changed the subject, forcing a slight smile. "Has Sasuke woken up yet?"
Fugaku nodded. "Yes, he's awake. He's awakened his Sharingan. What you said to him that day had a huge impact."
Itachi slowly said, "It was for his own good."
Father and son fell into silence once more.
Hidden from view in the blind spot of the hallway corner, Mikoto Uchiha stood pressed against the wall, two streams of tears slowly flowing from her beautiful eyes. Her eldest son... had become so unfamiliar she barely recognized him.
"As the leader of the Uchiha clan! As the head of the Uchiha family! He possesses the legendary power of the Sharingan yet hides it from his own clan members, instead wanting to use this immense power to suppress them! By what right does Uchiha Fugaku lead the Uchiha clan?!" Uchiha Setsuna fumed, gritting his teeth. "He, the clan leader, has completely shamed our Uchiha clan!"
Other ninja clans, even if they had members who 'strayed' from the family, it was usually just some younger generation characters. But in their Uchiha clan? The two members who were openly 'straying' were their clan leader, and the clan leader's eldest son!
In the eyes of a hawkish elder like Uchiha Setsuna, those two were nothing short of parasites on the Uchiha clan! They were making the Uchiha a complete laughingstock.
"And then there's that Uchiha Akainu..." If Fugaku and Itachi merely filled Uchiha Setsuna with intense hatred, making him wish he could replace their positions within the clan, then Uchiha Akainu was someone he wanted to kill as quickly as possible! Because he could feel that the kid wanted to kill him too! That day, the killing intent in Uchiha Akainu's eyes... Uchiha Setsuna was absolutely certain he hadn't misread it!
However...
"Elder Setsuna, Uchiha Akainu has already awakened the legendary power of the Sharingan, and he's a double Kekkei Genkai genius! We could completely support him to become the new leader of the Uchiha clan!"
When he heard this suggestion from a young, radical Uchiha ninja, Uchiha Setsuna's old face immediately darkened. But before he could even speak, other Uchiha members chimed in, agreeing.
"Uchiha Akainu even dared to use a Sharingan genjutsu on Danzo Shimura right in front of the Third Hokage last night! Many Anbu ninja had him completely surrounded at that time. That kind of resolve proves he has what it takes to lead the Uchiha clan!"
Uchiha Setsuna's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Another radical Uchiha ninja pondered, "Although Uchiha Akainu's stance is a bit different from ours, compared to the 'straying' Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi, he should be the unique choice, right?"
Someone else grumbled indignantly, "Damn it, that ungrateful Uchiha Itachi has been missing lately, can't find him anywhere!"
"Hmph! That bastard is going to kill us in the future, so he's probably afraid we'll kill him first!"
Uchiha Setsuna, seated at the head of the table, clenched the armrest of his chair, making several cracks appear in the wood. These guys... don't they even consider me? I've been toiling away for the Uchiha clan for who knows how many years! Even if we're going to force Fugaku out, even if we're going to elect a new clan leader, shouldn't it be Uchiha Setsuna who steps up to the plate?
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Meow, rookie, what's taking you so long?" Kinjirō had practically made Izumi's shoulder his second home these past few days. As soon as he saw Izumi, he leaped directly onto her left shoulder, making it visibly sink a bit.
Kinjirō added, "If you're late, Akainu-sama might give you a negative score."
Izumi, clutching a ninja blade in one hand and a sandwich in the other, stuffed the sandwich into her mouth while rushing along. Her cheeks puffed out as she mumbled an explanation. "As soon as I got back last night, I was surrounded by a lot of clan members. They made me tell them all about Akainu-senpai..."
"So I ended up chatting with them until late at night, which means I only got less than two hours of sleep."
"Of course!" Izumi quickly added, "I didn't reveal any of Akainu-senpai's secrets to them. I noticed those clan members seem to really look up to Akainu-senpai..."
"I was just thinking about trying to pick out some promising individuals from among them, since Senpai said last night he wanted to expand the 'Absolute Justice' faction."
As she ran, Izumi suddenly noticed that throughout Konoha, from ninjas to civilians, many people were discussing what happened last night. Listening closely, it all seemed to be related to Akainu-senpai. It seemed Akainu-senpai had become famous once again.