Shinsuke slowly closed his eyes.
A surge of ocular power, far more pure and vast than before, flowed quietly in the depths of his eye sockets, nourishing the Mangekyō Sharingan that housed its forbidden strength.
[Susano'o development progress increased!]
This was the reward the System had granted earlier, and Shinsuke could feel that his development of Susano'o had advanced to the third stage, no longer far from the fourth stage, the Complete Body Susano'o.
In Shinsuke's mind, a massive energy skeleton radiating an ominous aura rose from the ground, with flesh and sinew rapidly climbing over it.
Immediately after, a suit of dark purple Tengu armor covered the entire form, and a ferocious mask protected that formless face.
One enormous arm rose and gripped, from thin air, a chakra longsword wrapped in crackling lightning.
Susano'o, third form.
The Sword of Totsuka, a divine weapon of Susano'o.
This was the foundation of confidence that allowed Shinsuke to challenge Uchiha Fugaku, the man known as the "Fearsome Eye."
The position of elder was, as far as Shinsuke was concerned, still far from enough.
The Uchiha Clan must have, and could only have, one voice.
That voice was his, Shinsuke's.
Shinsuke's figure vanished from the rooftop.
Inside a sealed room, candlelight flickered.
Uchiha Hachidai and Uchiha En had already been waiting there.
It was Shinsuke who had summoned these two elders, one from the Hawks and one from the Doves.
Upon seeing the two elders, Shinsuke skipped any preamble and went straight to the point.
"I need your support."
"Remove Uchiha Fugaku, and have me take his place as clan head."
"Agreed."
Uchiha Hachidai chose to support Shinsuke's decision almost without a moment's hesitation.
Compared to Uchiha Fugaku, the Hawk elder far preferred to see Shinsuke lead the Uchiha.
"Fugaku is far too weak, he will only lead the clan to ruin!"
"Shinsuke, only you can lead our Uchiha to reclaim everything that should rightfully be ours!"
Then came Uchiha En.
The old man parted his lips, and the hand raising his teacup trembled faintly, beyond his control.
"Elder Shinsuke... is this not... moving too fast?"
"Clan Head Fugaku is still the clan head, and his standing within the clan remains, so forcing a removal like this may well trigger internal strife."
Uchiha En was filled with unease.
"That is precisely what Sarutobi Hiruzen wants to see."
Shinsuke said coldly.
"Do you think that with our recent show of strength, the Third Hokage is simply sitting back and watching?"
"He would love nothing more than to see me, an up-and-coming elder, and Fugaku, a clan head from an older era, tear each other apart."
"A Uchiha drained by infighting and division is the best Uchiha in his eyes."
"He can sit comfortably in his Hokage seat and watch us exhaust ourselves to death."
"The fiercer our struggle, the more at ease he becomes."
"Fugaku's compromises cannot purchase peace."
"Shisui's sacrifice likewise cannot purchase understanding."
Shinsuke spoke that name.
Uchiha En's body shuddered violently, his heart flooded with pain and inner conflict.
Shisui had been the last hope of the Doves, and also the beginning of the collapse of their beliefs.
Once, even the Doves had harbored the hope that under Uchiha Shisui's guidance, they could reconcile with the village and walk toward peace.
Yet the result was that Shisui, regarded as a bridge of communication, was framed by the village, discarded without hesitation, and ultimately driven to take his own life.
"Do you still wish to entrust the fate of the Uchiha to the mercy of our enemies?"
Shinsuke rose to his feet and looked down at Uchiha En from above.
"I am not here to consult with you today."
"I am here to inform you."
"The Uchiha cannot afford to wait any longer."
"Fugaku's era must end, and only a unified and powerful Uchiha that answers to a single voice will have the standing to contend with the Third Hokage and men like Danzō."
"I am that person who will lead the Uchiha."
Overbearing.
Brooking no argument.
Uchiha En thought of Shisui.
He thought of the humiliation the clansmen suffered when they were marginalized.
He thought of everything the Uchiha had endured over these years.
Indeed, had compromise ever truly worked?
After a long silence, Uchiha En slowly lowered his head.
"...I understand."
"I will follow Elder Shinsuke's direction in all things."
Shinsuke sat back down.
"Good."
"I will arrange the specifics of the plan."
"What you need to do is support my resolution at the council of elders."
"Fugaku... he will agree."
"If he does not agree, I will make him agree!"
Shinsuke was absolutely certain.
Whether Fugaku stepped aside willingly or was forced from his position, Uchiha Fugaku's seat as clan head was beyond saving either way.
The outcome had long been decided.
The meeting concluded, and the two elders departed with complicated feelings.
Only Shinsuke remained in the sealed room.
He picked up the tea that had long gone cold and drank it down in one go.
Removing Fugaku was only the first step.
What lay ahead was the entire power structure of Konoha.
And there was the Third Hokage himself, Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the "Ninja God."
And of course, Danzō, the darkness of the ninja world lurking in the shadows.
In the underground meeting room beneath the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine, Shinsuke once again convened the many elders and key members of both the Hawks and the Doves.
Uchiha Fugaku had not been notified to attend.
Shinsuke sat at the head of the table.
To his left was Hawk elder Uchiha Hachidai, the old man's eyes shining with an excitement he could not suppress.
To his right was the Dove representative Uchiha En.
The most core members of both factions were all present.
"Everyone."
Shinsuke spoke.
"There is only one matter for which I have called you together today."
Shinsuke paused, his gaze slowly sweeping over every person in the room.
"The Uchiha Clan needs a new clan head."
"The Uchiha of today has been driven to the edge of a cliff under Konoha's oppression and surveillance."
"Clan Head Fugaku's compromises and concessions have not brought peace, but only ever-worsening isolation."
"We can no longer entrust the clan's fate to a leader who knows only how to endure."
Shinsuke stood, and Kenji and Shunichi behind him immediately stepped forward, unrolling several thick scrolls across the long table one by one.
"These are the results from my year of overseeing the Guard."
"Patrol efficiency in the Guard has improved by forty percent, and the crime rate within clan territory has fallen by twenty percent."
"The total assets of all clan-affiliated enterprises have grown by more than twenty-five percent."
"Most importantly."
Shinsuke's gaze finally settled on the scroll recording the strength of the new generation.
"Over the past year, thirty-eight young clansmen have newly awakened the Sharingan, equal to the combined total of the preceding three years."
"Among them, seven have already advanced to the two-tomoe Sharingan."
These figures represented a brilliance that decades under Uchiha Fugaku's leadership had never once achieved.
"I need your support."
Shinsuke sat back down, his gaze sweeping over the assembled once more.
"At the clan assembly three days from now, remove Uchiha Fugaku."
"And have me take his place as clan head."
Because Shinsuke had already spoken with Hachidai and En in advance, the process went unusually smoothly.
Hachidai was the first to stand and declare his support, and Uchiha En followed by expressing his support for Elder Shinsuke as well.
With two elders leading the way, the remaining elders and key members of the Uchiha fell in one after another, choosing to support Shinsuke in taking the position of clan head.