Uchiha Clan — Naka Shrine.
"If this continues, there will be no place left for the Uchiha clan in Konoha!"
"We must fight back! We absolutely cannot sit and wait for death!"
"That's right! We can't just endure this!"
"Launch a coup! Only by rebelling can the Uchiha clan survive!"
… …
Uchiha Fugaku looked at the clan members arguing fiercely on both sides and felt a pounding headache.
Planning a coup with this level of strength — were they tired of living?
He wasn't the original Uchiha Fugaku. Not long ago, he had transmigrated into Fugaku's body, inheriting his identity and memories.
Before he could even整理 his thoughts, he was already forced to attend this clan meeting as the head of the Uchiha clan.
Watching the emotional crowd, he felt completely speechless.
How strong was the Uchiha clan now?
Aside from a few traitors and himself — who secretly possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan — their remaining forces weren't even enough to face the Hokage's ANBU directly.
With strength like this, they still wanted to launch a coup? Had their brains malfunctioned?
If brains could be fixed with supplements, he'd suggest walnuts — but unfortunately, this world didn't seem to have any.
"Silence!"
Since he was now playing the role of Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, he couldn't stay quiet.
He steadied himself and shouted.
The arguing voices instantly died down as everyone turned to look at him.
Some gazes were mocking. Others were filled with disdain.
Clearly, Fugaku was deeply unpopular as clan head.
That was only natural. Since he had taken charge, the clan's situation had worsened year after year. How could anyone support him?
"So," said an elderly man with a gaunt frame and a burn scar across the right side of his face, sneering, "what profound insight does our Clan Head have for us?"
This was Uchiha Setsuna, the First Elder of the clan — and the main instigator of the coup faction.
He despised Fugaku's repeated compromises toward Konoha and had long disobeyed him in both word and deed.
Under Setsuna's cold gaze, Fugaku felt his scalp tingle.
In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary man. Facing an elite jōnin who had walked out of seas of blood and mountains of corpses, fear was instinctive.
Fortunately, after transmigrating, he had inherited Fugaku's memories and experiences, almost as if they were his own.
Combined with his Mangekyō Sharingan, his strength now far surpassed Setsuna's — enough to let him remain calm.
He spoke solemnly.
"With the Uchiha clan's current strength, launching a coup is nothing more than smashing an egg against a rock. It's absolutely not advisable — at least, not right now."
"Hitting a rock with an egg?" another elderly man said coldly. "I disagree."
He had a hooked nose and a thin frame. This was Uchiha Tsukasa, the Third Elder — another staunch supporter of rebellion.
"Third Elder, please explain," Fugaku said carefully.
Like Setsuna, Tsukasa was also an elite jōnin forged through countless battles.
"Since the Clan Head insists, I'll speak plainly," Tsukasa said. "You underestimate our clan. The Uchiha are Konoha's foremost noble clan, unmatched in strength throughout the village."
"With power like that, how could a coup possibly be suicide?"
"Konoha's foremost noble clan? Unmatched in strength?" Fugaku looked at him coldly. "Third Elder, I didn't expect your obsession with past glory to have reached the point where you can't see reality anymore."
It was precisely because elders like him clung to old honor that the clan's radical voices kept growing louder — ultimately leading to destruction.
"How am I blind to reality?" Tsukasa snorted. "It's you who've forgotten the clan's glory — constantly compromising, constantly retreating, allowing the Uchiha to be suppressed again and again."
He was utterly disappointed with Fugaku's leadership.
"It's true that my compromises caused the clan to lose many benefits," Fugaku admitted calmly. "But whether you like it or not, the truth is that the Uchiha clan is no longer what it once was."
"The three Great Ninja Wars drained our strength. Though we still hold the title of Konoha's foremost noble clan, in actual power, we're barely stronger than other major clans."
"If we launch a coup now, we won't just face the Hokage's faction — we'll face the entire village. Do you really believe we can withstand that?"
"Our targets are Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō, along with their supporters," Tsukasa argued. "We don't need to make enemies of every clan."
"Don't you think that's self-deception?" Fugaku said mockingly.
"Given the current relationship between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the village, no one will allow us to rise to power — and no one will allow a coup to succeed."
"If we rebel, the only outcome is to be besieged by all of Konoha."
"This…"
Tsukasa fell silent.
He knew Fugaku was right. If forced to choose, most clans would side with the Hokage over the Uchiha.
"So," Setsuna sneered, "according to the Clan Head, we should abandon the coup and continue letting the village suppress us?"
"No," Fugaku shook his head. "The fault doesn't lie with the Uchiha clan. It lies with Konoha's leadership."
It was precisely their constant suppression that had driven the clan to desperation.
"Then what do you propose?" Setsuna pressed.
"Negotiation is impossible — that much is clear," Fugaku replied. "As for decisive action, I support it… but not now."
His gaze swept across the gathered clan members.
"Our clan is producing geniuses one after another. Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi are talents on the level of Namikaze Minato."
"If we give them time to grow, the Uchiha will gain two figures equal to the Yellow Flash. Why rush into disaster when victory can be ensured?"
He already knew Shisui and Itachi had become traitors — but that truth couldn't be revealed yet.
For now, he needed to use the clan's expectations for them to suppress the coup — and buy time to reshape everything.