Chapter 58: Negotiations
As Yuu's words settled into the air, silence fell over the room.
It was not just Fugaku. Every Uchiha present went quiet.
The Uchiha were undeniably a major clan in Konoha. Even now, despite being weaker than their peak, their overall strength was still formidable.
But one problem could not be ignored.
They lacked anyone they could put forward as a true top tier powerhouse, someone the entire shinobi world would acknowledge without question.
Most importantly, they had no one who could be called Kage class.
The current Uchiha could not even produce a single Mangekyo user. Compared to Orochimaru or Minato, the gap was obvious.
Of course, if one spoke of Uchiha Madara, who still had a lingering breath at this moment, that would be a completely different matter.
"The second point is reputation," Yuu continued. "The Hokage is not only the strongest, but also the one supported by the masses."
"The Uchiha clan's reputation is famous throughout the shinobi world," an elder immediately argued.
If the topic was strength, then yes, they lacked a top tier figure to display right now.
But reputation?
On that front, the Uchiha believed they were second to none.
The Sharingan's name was legendary across the shinobi world, making them the most renowned kekkei genkai clan in existence.
Aside from a few great clans like the Hyuga and the Senju, no one could compare.
"The Uchiha clan's prestige is naturally unmatched," Yuu said first, offering the compliment without hesitation. Then his tone turned steady again. "But to become Hokage, prestige alone is not enough. You must also have popular support."
"And when it comes to that, I believe I do not need to explain the Uchiha clan's situation inside Konoha."
The Uchiha clan's standing in Konoha could not be described as everyone wishing them dead, but it was far from good.
At the very least, the vast majority of Konoha's shinobi did not hold a favorable impression of them.
In that regard, even Orochimaru's public image was stronger than theirs.
Orochimaru's style was cold, and he did not make people feel close to him, but he had a clear leadership presence and a large number of supporters within Konoha.
At least, that had been the case before his human experimentation and his use of Konoha shinobi as test subjects were exposed.
If an Uchiha ran for Hokage, aside from their own clansmen, who else would truly support them?
Everyone in the room knew the answer.
No one.
"Then what about the third point?" Fugaku asked after a brief silence.
After the exchange just now, he had already pulled back the disdain he had shown earlier.
Yuu was younger than all of them, yet his insight was sharp and precise.
In terms of reading the situation, at least ninety percent of Konoha's shinobi could not compare to him.
Minato truly took on a good disciple.
Fugaku kept a serious expression on the surface, but inwardly, he could not help sighing.
Both of Minato's remaining disciples were exceptional.
Kakashi went without saying. A jonin at such a young age, with a future that seemed endless.
And Yuu was even younger, yet from what Fugaku was seeing now, he was clearly no ordinary person either.
"As for the final point," Yuu said after thinking for a moment, "it is the attitude of the Third Hokage and those around him."
"The Third Hokage, and the people at his side. Their attitude toward the Uchiha clan is something you understand, Clan Head Fugaku."
When Yuu finished, the room fell silent again.
Konoha's previous Hokage had been Tobirama, and Tobirama's attitude toward the Uchiha needed no explanation.
Hiruzen and Danzō were Tobirama's disciples. Naturally, their attitudes toward the Uchiha would not be good either.
Hiruzen was relatively better. Regardless of what he thought inside, he spoke less on the surface and played the role of a moderate within the Hokage faction.
Danzō was a different story entirely. A pure radical.
But when it came to one matter, both moderate and radical agreed.
They would not allow the Uchiha to take the Hokage seat.
As long as there was even the slightest alternative, Hiruzen and the others would never hand that position to the Uchiha clan.
That was an absolute bottom line.
The Uchiha knew it too.
"I know you intend to run for Hokage, Clan Head Fugaku," Yuu said quietly. "But you must face reality."
"When the Hokage faction does not want the Uchiha to rise, and you hold no advantage in strength or reputation, it is impossible for the Uchiha clan to compete for the Hokage seat."
In the end, it still came down to one thing.
A lack of strength.
It was not wrong for the Uchiha to want the Hokage position.
In Konoha, even an ordinary shinobi could declare the Hokage as their dream and pursue it openly.
There was no reason the Uchiha could not do what an ordinary shinobi could.
But wanting it and being able to take it were two different things.
With no overwhelming power, no broad base of support, and an open exclusion from the village's highest faction, what did the Uchiha have to fight with?
Fugaku and the elders were all silent now.
If they could, they wanted to refute him.
But Yuu's words were too direct, too realistic. Even if they wanted to argue, they could not find a place to start.
In truth, they already understood their situation.
They had simply avoided thinking about it deeply, clinging to a faint and convenient fantasy.
What if they pushed hard enough and somehow succeeded?
Now, with Yuu laying it out piece by piece, they suddenly realized how dangerous the Uchiha clan's position truly was.
With no advantage in any condition, fighting for the Hokage seat would be no different from turning themselves into cannon fodder.
There was simply no hope to speak of.
"So according to you," Setsuna snorted from the corner, "my Uchiha clan should not even compete for the Hokage position?"
He stood up, crimson Sharingan fixed on Yuu with cold intensity.
"Should we just sit obediently in our ancestral lands, waiting honestly for the Hokage's orders, being pushed farther and farther to the edge until we are completely destroyed?"
Yuu looked up, surprise flashing in his eyes as he glanced at Setsuna.
For a moment, an odd thought rose in his mind.
Where did this prophet come from?
What Setsuna had just described was exactly the ending the Uchiha clan would face in the original history.
If not for the anger on the man's face and the raw emotion in his voice, Yuu would have almost believed Setsuna was someone like him, someone who knew the story.
"Of course not," Yuu said, shaking his head.
"With the Uchiha clan's current strength, you cannot win the Hokage seat."
"But…"
He paused, then lifted his gaze to Fugaku.
"You do have the power to decide who becomes Hokage."
The moment those words fell, everyone present, including Fugaku, froze in shock.
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