"Hmph, what are you looking at?"
"The Uchiha have the pride of the Uchiha. We disdain hiding ourselves. If that person really were Uchiha Madara, he absolutely wouldn't do something like this."
"So according to my speculation, that person is not Uchiha Madara. But even if he isn't, he still has countless connections to him."
"As for why he hides himself, it's nothing more than creating suspense—using Uchiha Madara's name as a banner to increase pressure. But his strength is indeed very strong. At least judging from his control of the Nine-Tails and his battle with you all, I am not his opponent."
Uchiha Fugaku was, after all, the clan head of the Uchiha. His thoughts were meticulous. After hearing this analysis, Gekko Chizan almost started applauding.
He neatly poured Uchiha Fugaku another cup of wine and immediately began speaking in that familiar sarcastic tone.
"Well said. Let me pour some wine for the honorable Uchiha clan head. Drink up and moisten your throat, or you're about to take off."
"And also, please, dear Uchiha clan head, don't be so modest. Your strength—how could I not know it?"
Uchiha Fugaku: …I want to beat him to death.
But what puzzled Fugaku was that Gekko Chizan actually knew his strength?
"What? Don't tell me the dignified Uchiha clan head hasn't even awakened the Mangekyō?"
"Let me think… before this, you indeed hadn't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. When did you open it, then…"
"The Third Shinobi World War?"
Gekko Chizan directly exposed Fugaku's hidden secret. In an instant, Uchiha Fugaku's entire body tensed up, and the atmosphere between the two dropped close to freezing.
"What's with that face? You're facing your own friend."
"Relax. I haven't told anyone. Just like you guessed the masked man's identity, my understanding of your strength is also just speculation."
"But Fugaku, the appearance of the masked man made you uneasy, didn't it?"
He drank on his own and spoke on his own. Gekko Chizan never once thought that Fugaku would make a move against him.
Uchiha Fugaku was a serious, rigid man—more so than the Fugaku he had seen in the original story.
But even such a person had a pure land in his heart: his sons. For his sons, he would willingly die. Even if the entire clan were wiped out, it wouldn't matter. As long as his two sons were still alive, that was better than anything.
He was not the same kind of person as Shisui. He had a love he cherished most deeply. For the sake of that love, he wouldn't care even if he had to trade away everything else.
So persuading him, Gekko Chizan felt, shouldn't be very difficult—this damn son-con.
"That's right, as you said, I came as a negotiator. No—calling me a scout would be more appropriate."
"But Fugaku, I know you don't have those thoughts. Just as you said, you have the pride of the Uchiha."
"Whether that person is Uchiha Madara or not, right now he stands opposed to the village."
"Come on, keep drinking and eating meat."
Halfway through speaking, Gekko Chizan started pouring wine again and grilling meat.
The topic was temporarily cut off. Uchiha Fugaku drank his wine, his thoughts heavy.
"So then, the village wants to know whether turmoil will arise within our Uchiha clan?"
"Like Uchiha Madara back then—raising the blade against the village?"
At this point, there was no meaning in hiding anything. Uchiha Fugaku set down his cup and looked at Gekko Chizan.
"You won't. No—rather, you won't."
"But Fugaku, can you really make decisions for the entire Uchiha?"
"Those clan elders?"
"Do you think Minato wants to investigate you? He doesn't want to either. The three of us are close friends. The ones who truly want to suppress you—you know who they are without me saying it."
The two looked at each other and slowly spoke several names.
"Shimura Danzō…"
"Utatane Koharu…"
"Mitokado Homura…"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen…"
Four names, representing Konoha's Hokage Advisory Council.
They also represented the will of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. In the end, it was still Tobirama who targeted the Uchiha too harshly. Among his six guards, aside from Akimichi Torifu, who couldn't be bothered with such matters, and the already fallen Uchiha Kagami—
The remaining four all held extremely poor attitudes toward the Uchiha.
"Hahaha, carrying on the Second Hokage's will."
"Good thing Minato became Hokage. Otherwise, the situation your Uchiha would be in—tsk tsk—would be rough."
How could Uchiha Fugaku not know the village's view of the Uchiha?
After the Nine-Tails rampage, they were probably even more on guard against them.
"Don't give the village a chance to make a move, Fugaku."
"You are the clan head. You need to show your stance. Go to Minato openly and say it clearly—the Uchiha are the Uchiha of Konoha."
"As for those thorns in the village, just bury them, isn't that fine?"
Fugaku shot Gekko Chizan a glance. Bury them? If only it were that easy.
"What are you looking at? It really is that easy, okay?"
"You're the clan head. There are plenty of Uchiha who support you, right?"
"What are you afraid of?"
"If you can't bring yourself to do it, just tell me. I'll help you throw those old things onto a deserted island and let them fend for themselves."
Uchiha Fugaku let out a heavy sigh.
How could he not understand what Gekko Chizan meant? This was telling him to make a decision early—he absolutely couldn't drag it out. The longer he dragged, the more likely things would go wrong.
"I'll consi—"
"Consider my ass!"
Still considering? Considering what crap?
"You don't understand your Uchiha's current situation?"
"Forget it. Saying all this to you is useless anyway. Stay here and clear your head."
"Think about what I said. Minato can help you withstand pressure once—but can he keep doing it forever?"
Anger at his lack of resolve!
Flying Thunder God flashed away, leaving Uchiha Fugaku sitting there in silence.
After a long while, a server walked over.
"Sir, please settle the bill."
Only then did Uchiha Fugaku come back to his senses. He looked around blankly—everyone else had already left. He was the only one remaining.
After paying the bill, he was just about to stand up when he suddenly realized—
Wait. Gekko Chizan had left. How the hell was he supposed to get back to the village?
That bastard! He did it on purpose!
...
At this moment, in Takigakure, Gekko Chizan was holding his son when he received a system notification and instantly grinned with wicked delight.
[Ding! Detected that the host abandoned Uchiha Fugaku at a barbecue restaurant 30 kilometers away from the village, and scammed him for a meal, causing him to rage yet be utterly helpless. Special reward: Genjutsu +1.]
Pakura, standing beside him, was a bit curious as to why he suddenly started laughing.
"What? Something happy happened?"
"Yeah. I ditched that bastard Fugaku at a barbecue restaurant."
"How is that something to be happy about?"
"A barbecue restaurant 30 kilometers away from the village!"
Good grief. Fugaku wouldn't be doing anything else all night—he'd have to keep running all the way back.