Uchiha Yu's expression turned ugly after being questioned by a junior. He tried using his ocular power to break through Uchiha Yuan's illusion space, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape. On the contrary, the suppression became even stronger.
Yuan intensified his ocular power—four massive stakes nailed Yu's limbs in place.
In the real world, sweat beaded on Uchiha Yu's forehead.
After struggling to no avail, Yu sighed and said, "Uchiha Yuan, stop. I had no intention of attacking you. It's Setsuna—he heard you were getting too close to the Hokage's faction and decided you weren't suitable to become a division captain. That's why he came here."
"Setsuna? So that guy is Uchiha Setsuna? He's totally different from what I imagined," Yuan scoffed.
"Setsuna may have a short temper and be impulsive, but he truly wants the Uchiha clan to regain its former glory," Yu explained.
Yuan sneered, "Hah! That's not a temper problem—that's just being brainless."
Then he released the genjutsu. After all, Uchiha Yu was an elder—attacking him wasn't exactly appropriate.
And besides, there were others who wouldn't let Yuan harm Yu.
Just as Yuan canceled the illusion, Uchiha Fugaku and his confidant Uchiha Yakumi arrived—they had clearly come to mediate after hearing about the clash between Setsuna and Yuan.
Looking at the sweaty Yu and the purple-faced Setsuna, Fugaku quickly said, "Yuan, calm down. We're all part of the same clan. There's no need to make things this tense."
Yuan turned to look at Fugaku.
Although the infamous Uchiha Massacre was still far off, in the original story, until Shisui was ambushed and killed by Danzo, the clan never had a unified voice. The internal divisions between hawks and doves meant no faction had total control.
The fact that the clan remained in a fragile peace for so long was largely thanks to Fugaku's efforts.
As clan head, Fugaku had done his best to maintain the delicate balance between hawks and doves. Thanks to him, neither faction dominated.
But was that really a good thing?
To Yuan, balance wasn't necessarily good. Balance often meant the Uchiha never had a single, unified voice.
And in the face of external pressure from the village leadership, lacking unity was practically suicidal.
It wasn't until Danzo killed Shisui—representative of the doves—that the dove faction defected to the hawks, unifying the clan's position and deciding on a coup.
But by then, it was already too late. The coup was doomed to fail.
Add to that Fugaku's indecisiveness and refusal to take responsibility, ultimately leaving the clan's fate to his son—it was a catastrophic failure in leadership.
If possible, Yuan would love to seize the position of clan head right now and send Fugaku packing.
But food must be eaten one bite at a time, and roads must be walked step by step. So Yuan turned to Fugaku and said:
"Clan Head, are you telling me to forgive someone who barged into my house in the dead of night?"
"Calling him an intruder is too much. Yuan, we're all members of the same clan," Fugaku replied.
"The same clan? Hah. Let's stop wasting words—here's my condition.
You all know I'm about to take over the Third Division of the Police Force. I plan to make some changes. Whatever I do, don't interfere, and definitely don't try to stop me.
If you agree, I'll spare this guy's life. Otherwise, take his corpse back with you."
Yu's eyes lit up. Yuan had just openly challenged Fugaku's authority.
As clan head, Fugaku couldn't ignore that.
Yu also knew Fugaku had the Mangekyo Sharingan. Yuan had just suppressed him with genjutsu—now if he provoked Fugaku and Fugaku struck back, Yu could see whether Yuan also had the Mangekyo.
Which is exactly what happened.
Fugaku's expression darkened. His crimson Sharingan emerged in his eyes.
Yuan didn't flinch, meeting Fugaku's gaze head-on.
Suddenly, he felt dizzy—pulled into Fugaku's illusion space.
But Fugaku clearly didn't want to harm Yuan and only used a binding illusion.
What he didn't expect was that Yuan easily reflected the genjutsu—binding Fugaku instead.
Fugaku's face grew serious. If he had only suspected before, now he was certain—Yuan had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
The difference between a three-tomoe Sharingan and a Mangekyo was massive. Even basic illusions were not something a regular Sharingan user could break so easily.
Fugaku increased his ocular power—Yuan didn't hold back either. Having just awakened the Mangekyo, he was eager to test its limits.
The two began their genjutsu battle in the realm of consciousness.
To the outside world, no matter how intense the battle, it appeared to be over in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the clash was done.
"I have no objection. Uchiha Yuan, I accept your condition," said Fugaku.
Yu's face fell. In front of all these clan elites, Fugaku admitting defeat meant he couldn't suppress Yuan.
If even a Mangekyo user like Fugaku couldn't defeat Yuan, then Yuan clearly had Mangekyo too.
Faced with someone who possessed a Mangekyo Sharingan, Yu had no choice but to lower his head.
He sighed, "Fine. I also agree."
Seeing both of them yield, Yuan smiled and casually tossed Setsuna aside.
Setsuna coughed and got up from the ground—clearly still indignant.
Not wanting him to stir up more trouble, Yu forcibly dragged him away.
Just as the two exited the door, they ran into a late arrival—Uchiha Icarus.
(To Be Continued...)