Naruto's Strongest Force

After closing the clan gates, Fugaku dismissed the disgruntled Uchiha members, keeping only the high-ranking members: Third Elder Takuya, Fourth Elder Yangping, Kazuya, Itachi, and Shisui still on a stretcher.

Unlike the other resentful Uchiha, Third Elder Takuya greatly admired Fugaku’s performance today. He had pushed Kazuya to the forefront as a bold pawn while he strategized from behind. Although Takuya was a hawk, sitting in the elder position meant he wasn’t foolish. With the surrounding Konoha elites and their injured top fighter, Shisui, it wasn’t the best time for a coup. At least, they should wait until Shisui recovered.

Seeing Takuya’s admiring gaze gave Fugaku a headache. “Do you believe it wasn’t my arrangement?” he thought.

Ignoring Takuya, Fugaku focused on an important matter. “Kazuya, have you awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan?”

Everyone was shocked. Kazuya had awakened the Mangekyou? Kazuya nodded, his eyes transforming from the three-tomoe Sharingan to a unique triangular windmill pattern, exuding immense ocular power that even made Fugaku feel suppressed.

“How is this possible?” Fugaku couldn’t hide his surprise. Kazuya had always been mediocre, only managing to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan at nineteen. Later, due to a bet, Kazuya took on a difficult mission, promising to return with the title of acting elder.

Unexpectedly, Kazuya had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

“Hahaha, good, good, good!” Fugaku was overjoyed. As a Mangekyou Sharingan user, he knew how difficult it was to awaken this dojutsu. For years, he had kept his Mangekyou hidden as a trump card for the clan. He hadn’t expected another young member to awaken it.

Fugaku excitedly patted Kazuya’s shoulder. “What I said before still stands. You are now the deputy clan leader. In a few years, once you’re familiar with the duties, you will become the clan leader.”

Fugaku’s excitement was understandable. The bloody Third Shinobi World War had turned the ninja world into chaos, but with its rich lands, Konoha had suffered losses fighting against the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Mist. The Uchiha had also lost many talents. The clan now urgently needed a young, strong leader to stabilize it. Kazuya’s assertiveness against the Hokage faction’s oppression showed his potential.

Fugaku admired Kazuya’s boldness and strategy. He knew that one misstep could lead to the Uchiha clan’s destruction. However, Kazuya’s actions against Danzo using Shisui’s case, standing on the side of justice, humiliated Danzo and diminished the Hokage faction’s trustworthiness. Fugaku increasingly saw Kazuya as a capable and strategic leader.

Unbeknownst to Fugaku, Kazuya acted this way because he was confident that a conflict wouldn’t arise. If Shisui’s case were exposed, the Uchiha would be the victims, and no other ninja clan would take advantage of their misfortune. Moreover, if a battle broke out between Fugaku, Shisui, Itachi, and himself, they would have four Mangekyou Sharingan users who could easily dominate the divided ninja clans.

Seeing Fugaku’s happiness, Kazuya suppressed his urge to comment on how irrelevant a single Mangekyou Sharingan was, knowing Itachi and Shisui possessed them.

For his safety, Kazuya still needed to complete his tasks. He put away his Mangekyou, coughed, and addressed everyone, “Our Uchiha clan is in a precarious situation. Since the clan leader trusts me so much, I won’t decline.”

“I have some ideas for the development of the Uchiha clan.”

The elders restrained their smiles, eager to hear Kazuya’s thoughts.

“First, let me tell you about my Mangekyou dojutsu.”

“It’s called ‘Heaven’s Rift,’ which can foresee the future.” Kazuya’s words shocked everyone. Foresee the future!?

Kazuya began to fabricate. In truth, his Mangekyou abilities had not yet awakened. “If we rebel tonight, the Uchiha clan will be annihilated!”

The two elders were stunned. Fourth, Elder Yangping wanted to speak but was stopped by Kazuya.

“Fourth Elder, your desire for peace is also unachievable because in ten years, all of Konoha will be destroyed!”

“What!?” Even the usually composed Itachi widened his eyes.

“Deputy Clan Leader, is what you say true?” Fourth Elder asked dryly.

Kazuya nodded. “Fourth Elder, Third Elder, Clan Leader, don’t resist. I’ll show you the future.”

Kazuya’s Mangekyou spun rapidly, creating a ripple effect, and they all seemed to enter a painting.

Various scenes unfolded: Fugaku controlling the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan but ultimately failing in a coup, annihilating the entire Uchiha clan, and a massive shockwave destroying Konoha. Kazuya selected certain scenes to show them in the future.

Of course, Kazuya’s Mangekyou couldn’t foresee the future but utilized Fugaku’s genjutsu. He made educated guesses based on his knowledge of the storyline, using these as future visions to gain trust.

When the vision ended, the three elders were deeply shocked. Was the clan leader also a Mangekyou Sharingan user? Both elders looked at Fugaku, who nodded slightly.

Kazuya had omitted scenes involving Shisui and Itachi’s actions that were unsuitable for others to see.

As they recovered from the genjutsu, Kazuya said, “You all want the Uchiha to prosper, but our previous paths were clearly wrong.”

The three remained silent, reflecting on the visions they had seen. The Hokage position wasn’t as crucial anymore.

Kazuya turned to Shisui and Itachi. “Shisui, you are too naive. Your actions were incredibly foolish.”

Shisui tried to speak, but Kazuya interrupted him. “Itachi, how old is Sasuke?”

Confused, Itachi replied, “Sasuke is five, Deputy Clan Leader.”

“Look at me!”

Itachi and Shisui raised their heads as Kazuya activated his Mangekyou, pulling them into another vision.

They saw Itachi killing their parents, destroying the clan, and being left cold-hearted by the village. Sasuke was allowed to survive, grew up neglected, defected from the village after Itachi’s death, and eventually died at the Five Kage Summit.

Kazuya intentionally ended the vision at the Five Kage Summit, making them believe Sasuke died there.

Witnessing Itachi’s betrayal and the village’s coldness, Shisui and Itachi were deeply shaken.

Itachi, already disillusioned with the village leadership after Shisui’s incident, now fully sided with the clan. Shisui realized his naivety, feeling foolish for even considering suicide.

Kazuya watched his attributes, including the genjutsu ability, slowly disappear.

He spoke slowly, “Uchiha comes first as our clan, and Konoha second. Without Uchiha, what does Konoha matter to us?”

“We sought the Hokage position for recognition, but the strong don’t need recognition!”

“If our clan is annihilated, where is the Uchiha’s honor?”

They pondered Kazuya’s words. If the Uchiha were wiped out, their legacy would disappear. No matter how powerful a clan once was, without members, their legacy would fade into history.

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