Fugaku spoke faintly.
And with his voice, everyone's eyes turned toward Uchiha Kai.
Their gazes brimmed with excitement—they all wanted to hear the opinion of this clan genius, the sole possessor of the Mangekyo Sharingan, on the matter at hand.
Kai's lips twitched.
Why are you all looking at me?
Can't you just play your little strategy games by yourself?
He was just here to make up the numbers, not to get dragged into their childish power plays.
But—he had no choice.
He relied on the clan's protection for his share of profits, his elder title, and his post in the Police Force. Without the Uchiha, he wouldn't be able to step away from the shinobi life.
So—sigh.
He let out a long, helpless breath and said slowly:
"Looks like everyone's full of confidence, huh?"
"My opinion aside, why don't we start with concrete assignments."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the professor of ninjutsu, is regarded as the strongest Hokage-level fighter in the village. My strength isn't great, but since I've awakened the Mangekyo, if I ignore the strain on my eyes and unleash Susanoo, I can at least tie him down, even if I can't kill him."
"As for the others, you guys assign them."
"Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru—the Sannin. Who's going to handle them?"
"Shimura Danzo's Root and the Hokage's Anbu—who's taking care of them?"
"And the man who's been making waves on the battlefield lately, the 'Yellow Flash,' Namikaze Minato—master of the Flying Thunder God. Who here can deal with him?"
"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio are firmly on the Hokage's side. Plus, the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Koharu clans—who's handling them?"
"And what about the Hyuga, Aburame, Inuzuka—other big families—and the smaller clans like the Hatake, Moonlight, Yamashiro, and Shiranui?"
"Who among you is going to persuade them? Even if we can't make them side with us, we at least need them not to stand with Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"And if persuasion fails, who will take them on?"
"I'll say this upfront: even though I have the Mangekyo, I only awakened it recently. At best I can barely hold off Hiruzen alone. The rest is up to you."
His tone was calm, as though he were discussing the weather.
But the hall fell utterly silent.
Yes—everyone was stunned.
They had spent so long shouting about overthrowing Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But not one of them had actually thought through how to do it.
How to plan?
How to divide responsibilities?
How to respond if something went wrong?
Nothing.
Their whole strategy could be summed up in one word: charge.
And now, with Kai forcing specifics, they were dumbfounded.
Because it was true.
Who among them could handle these enemies?
The village had no shortage of top-tier fighters, while the Uchiha… looked rather weak in comparison.
Their Jounin numbers were decent, sure, but beyond Kai and Fugaku, they had no true elites.
And the other so-called elders?
Ha!
They hadn't seen a battlefield in decades. They were long past their prime.
Ever since Madara's departure, the clan had no real hardliners left.
The rest were all soft-bellied weaklings.
For a brief moment under Uchiha Kagami, they had gathered a group of true elites under Second Hokage Tobirama's favor.
But when Kagami died, those same people were wiped out by the Uchiha's own foolishness.
Kai's parents had been among them.
"How about this—I'll step back even further." Kai's voice was quiet, almost mocking.
"Let's say I ignore the toll on my eyes and somehow manage to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"Let's say our Uchiha powerhouses wipe out the Sannin, Namikaze Minato, and the rest."
"Let's even say the Hyuga and the other neutral factions all side with us."
"We win."
"And then what?"
"The world is at war. Next, it'll be the Uchiha who have to hold the line."
"Hidden Cloud Village. Hidden Stone Village. Hidden Blood Mist Village. Hidden Sand Village."
"Can the Uchiha hold them off?"
Silence.
The shrine was deathly still.
Kai's words struck like hammers, forcing their rusted minds to grind into thought.
Could they hold off the four great villages?
They didn't even need to think about it. The answer was obvious. No.
If the Uchiha had the strength for that, they would've unified the shinobi world long ago.
Why would they still be squabbling with Hiruzen inside the Leaf?
Even Fugaku broke into a cold sweat, unsure what to say.
Kai looked around at the scene with a face full of scorn.
After taking a deep breath, he returned to his lazy demeanor.
"Enough. Don't bother thinking about it."
"Be realistic, Uchiha."
"Do some proper investigating. Forget the rest—just look at the Sarutobi clan. You couldn't even handle them."
"Do you think this is still the early days of the village?"
"These days, the Sarutobi clan numbers nearly four thousand shinobi. Even if the Uchiha could fight three-to-one, they could grind us down through attrition alone."
"The only reason we've survived this long despite our arrogance is simple."
"The Hokage faction doesn't want to pay the price."
"If war truly broke out, Konoha would suffer terrible losses."
"And without the Uchiha, the village would be too weak to stand against the four great nations."
"Otherwise—heh."
Kai's face dripped with disdain.
But no one in the shrine was focused on his contempt.
Instead, they were gasping in shock.
For all their arrogance, the Uchiha were no fools.
The Sarutobi lived nearby; their numbers weren't hard to notice for anyone who paid attention.
They had simply never bothered to care.
Now that Kai had pointed it out, realization hit all at once.
"This… he's right."
"I never thought about it, but the Sarutobi really do have too many shinobi."
"How do they even fund all that? Where does the money come from?"
"It must be Hiruzen—he's embezzling the village's funds!"
"We have to expose him, spread the word!"
Uchiha voices rose in anger, furious outbursts echoing across the hall.
Even Fugaku was tempted.
After a long moment of thought, he turned back to Kai.
"Kai, what do you think? If we spread this, at least we could make Hiruzen's life difficult, right?"
Kai's mouth twitched.
The look he gave Fugaku was as though he were staring at a complete fool.
After a long silence, he finally said:
"Clan head… are you insane?"
"You really think Hiruzen alone could embezzle that much money without anyone noticing?"
"Koharu, Homura, Danzo, even the Ino-Shika-Cho clans—"
"If they weren't getting a cut, why would all these ninja families throw their support behind Hiruzen?"
"If the Uchiha try to expose this, we'd be cutting off all their livelihoods."
"And cutting off someone's income is the same as killing their parents."
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