Uchiha Inabi snorted lightly and couldn't help but retort, "What's off? He's just excited. If I could become a squad leader with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan at fourteen, I'd be even more excited than Yuzuru-senpai!"
"The youngest squad leader in history... After tonight, Fugaku-sama is probably really going to be overshadowed by Yuzuru-senpai..."
Before Uchiha Inabi could finish, he felt Uchiha Yakumi nudge his arm.
He turned and saw that Uchiha Fugaku had somehow appeared behind the two of them.
"Fu-Fugaku-sama!"
Uchiha Yakumi and Uchiha Inabi immediately bowed in greeting.
Under the moonlight, Uchiha Fugaku's tall figure cast a shadow over the two, making both Yakumi and Inabi feel their lips go dry.
As the only son of the Uchiha clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku had been hailed as a "genius" since childhood.
Later, during the Second Shinobi World War, he made a name for himself as "Evil-Eye Fugaku."
His stern, rigid features combined with his formidable strength gave Uchiha Fugaku an extremely oppressive presence.
Now caught gossiping behind his back, these two freshly minted ninja felt like they couldn't breathe.
Fortunately, Uchiha Fugaku clearly had no intention of holding it against them. After glancing at them once, he shifted his gaze to Uchiha Yuzuru behind them.
"Loud voices are not permitted at the Naka Shrine. Do you admit your mistake?"
Sensing the aura Uchiha Fugaku released, Uchiha Yuzuru merely raised an eyebrow and looked at him, showing no intention of answering.
At this, Uchiha Fugaku's expression grew a few degrees colder, and he stepped forward.
"Uchiha Yuzuru, I'm talking to you. Did you hear me?"
"Annoying!"
Uchiha Yuzuru barked, frowning.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Everyone held their breath.
Both Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Yuzuru were "star ninja" within the clan, and many had discussed who would be stronger in the future.
But no one expected these two to suddenly face off in such a setting tonight.
"Yuzuru's really bold—not giving Fugaku-sama any face at all."
"Well, Fugaku-sama started it..."
"So what? In terms of strength, Fugaku-sama is definitely stronger. Yuzuru's probably going to suffer a bit this time..."
Uchiha Yuzuru could more or less understand why Uchiha Fugaku was provoking him.
Within the clan, competitions between members were all too common.
It was the simplest, most direct, and most convincing way for the Uchiha to establish hierarchy.
Only the strong earned respect.
Ignoring the murmurs around him, Uchiha Yuzuru stepped forward until he stood before Uchiha Fugaku.
Regardless of the reason, since the other had already come knocking, he naturally had no reason to back down.
Moreover, he had never had much fondness for this "clan leader" who, in the original story, wavered indecisively and ultimately led the Uchiha clan to annihilation.
Now that he was bound to the Uchiha clan, this was the perfect opportunity to establish his prestige among the clansmen.
Uchiha Fugaku was the son of the current clan leader and a standout among the younger generation.
Using Uchiha Fugaku as a stepping stone to build his reputation couldn't be more fitting.
With that thought, Uchiha Yuzuru walked slowly up to Uchiha Fugaku and said coolly, "If you want to lecture an Uchiha, words alone won't cut it."
Uchiha Fugaku smiled.
He heard the subtext in Uchiha Yuzuru's words—
Whoever's stronger gets to talk.
Arrogant brat. Did he really think having a Three-Tomoe Sharingan put him on the same level?
Today he'd teach him that even among Three-Tomoe Sharingan, there were differences!
"Though the clan assembly is about to start, for an Uchiha, demonstrating strength doesn't necessarily require that kind of primitive force..."
Uchiha Fugaku snorted coldly, his pitch-black eyes similarly shifting into the crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"It may seem a bit like bullying the weak, but don't blame me. A brat who hasn't tasted defeat won't live very long."
As Uchiha Fugaku's words fell, the three tomoe in his eyes began to spin rapidly.
A powerful, domineering ocular power surged toward Uchiha Yuzuru.
Recently, clansmen had been constantly comparing Uchiha Yuzuru to him, and rumors were spreading that Yuzuru was even more outstanding than he was.
Though he wouldn't go so far as to resent Uchiha Yuzuru for it, as the clan's former genius, Uchiha Fugaku had his own pride.
He wanted to see whether this genius—whom the clansmen said could outshine even him—truly deserved such praise.
Faced with Uchiha Fugaku's offensive, Uchiha Yuzuru sneered inwardly, and the three tomoe in his eyes began to rotate as well.
Sensing the fluctuation of ocular power, the surrounding crowd immediately grew excited, and pairs of crimson Sharingan appeared one after another in the night.
"A Genjutsu contest—settling the match with our Uchiha clan's Sharingan. Nice, nice!"
"Who do you think will win, Fugaku or Yuzuru?"
"Duh. Yuzuru's talented, sure, but he hasn't fully matured yet. No way he's a match for Fugaku."
"Right. The young genius is probably about to taste his first defeat."
For this sudden duel, most Uchiha clansmen still favored Uchiha Fugaku.
After all, both being geniuses, Fugaku was a full nine years older than Yuzuru—right in a ninja's prime!
Under everyone's expectant gazes, the domineering ocular powers clashed violently.
However, to everyone's shock, mere seconds later, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly collapsed to his knees. His forehead and back were drenched in sweat, and he looked drained—clearly having suffered a massive mental blow.
Seeing this, everyone's mouths fell open in astonishment.
Clearly, in the Genjutsu duel just now, Uchiha Fugaku had...
Lost?!
"Evil-Eye Fugaku—nothing special."
Uchiha Yuzuru looked down at Uchiha Fugaku from above, his crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan radiating a terrifying pressure.
Now that he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, his mental strength and ocular power were incomparable to Uchiha Fugaku's.
Crushing him was only natural.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bone snapped everyone back to reality.
Even though everyone present was part of the notoriously proud Uchiha, seeing Uchiha Yuzuru actually break Uchiha Fugaku's arm left them all stunned, mouths agape.
Uchiha Yuzuru...
He was way too ruthless!
Under everyone's gaze, Uchiha Fugaku clutched his arm and stood up, biting down hard to keep from crying out.
Having suffered such a severe mental shock, staying conscious was already his limit.
Looking at Uchiha Fugaku's pale face, Uchiha Yuzuru deactivated his Sharingan.
Clang!
At that moment, a melodious bell rang out, and the doors of the Naka Shrine slowly opened.
Seeing this, Uchiha Yuzuru tugged at his collar and turned to walk inside.
"By the way..."
"It may seem a bit like the strong picking on the weak, but don't blame me. A lesson without pain is meaningless, because if a person doesn't sacrifice something, they can't gain anything."
"Next time you challenge me, remember the arm you broke today."
The confident words from before the fight were returned almost verbatim. Uchiha Fugaku felt his face burning.
This was utterly humiliating!
He stared absently at Uchiha Yuzuru's retreating back.
As the one directly involved, Uchiha Fugaku had the most visceral sense of the ocular power Yuzuru had just displayed.
Under that surging, violent force, he couldn't even muster a shred of resistance!
For the first time in his life, Uchiha Fugaku—who had always thought so highly of himself—felt an unprecedented sense of defeat.
Both had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Why was the gap so vast?!
Everyone filed into the Naka Shrine one by one, but the chatter never ceased.
No one had expected the clash between the old and new generation geniuses to end this way.
"I can't believe it. Yuzuru actually beat Fugaku!"
"Yeah. And did you notice? Compared to Fugaku, Yuzuru seemed completely unaffected."
"That can only mean one thing—Yuzuru's ocular power is far beyond Fugaku's!"
"Hiss! How terrifying!!!"
The strength Uchiha Yuzuru had displayed left all the Uchiha clansmen unable to calm down.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they never would have believed it.
Both had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan...
But Uchiha Yuzuru's ocular power was just way too monstrous?!
In the underground chamber beneath the shrine.
Uchiha Yakumi and Uchiha Inabi sat beside Uchiha Yuzuru, somewhat excitedly saying, "Yuzuru-senpai, you were amazing. You actually defeated Fugaku-sama."
"Yeah. We thought for sure you were going to lose."
Seeing that Uchiha Yuzuru didn't respond, the two didn't mind. Uchiha Yakumi said wistfully, "As expected of the youngest squad leader. I wish I could be as strong as Yuzuru-senpai someday."
Hearing Yakumi's words, Uchiha Inabi stroked his chin and thought seriously for a moment before saying, "Yakumi, you might have a chance of becoming as strong as Yuzuru-senpai, but you probably can't become as strong as Yuzuru-senpai in the same way."
Hearing this, Uchiha Yakumi protested, "Then let me ask you, let me ask you, let me ask you, let me ask you..."
Listening to the argument between the two beside him, Uchiha Yuzuru felt his head starting to throb. He simply closed his eyes to rest.
Compared to the others, as the one who had defeated Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Yuzuru felt no excitement or elation.
In a pure contest of ocular techniques, how could a Three-Tomoe Sharingan possibly compare to the Mangekyo Sharingan?
He wasn't Uchiha Itachi facing Uchiha Sasuke. With the Mangekyo Sharingan, defeating the Three-Tomoe Fugaku was perfectly natural.
After waiting a while, Uchiha Taro, the clan leader, appeared before everyone.
"Everyone, quiet. The clan assembly will now begin."
Uchiha Taro first glanced at Uchiha Fugaku, who was clutching his arm, then gave Uchiha Yuzuru an imperceptible look before speaking again.
"I now announce the first item of business: the proposal for Uchiha Yuzuru to serve as squad leader of the Military Police Force's Seventh Squad. We will now vote by show of hands. Those in favor, raise your hand."
Everyone attending the clan assembly had already known about this matter.
Combined with Uchiha Yuzuru's dominant defeat of Uchiha Fugaku just moments ago, almost instantly, everyone raised their arms.
Even Uchiha Fugaku was no exception.
"Then this matter is approved."
Uchiha Taro swept his gaze across the room once more. "Uchiha Yakumi, Uchiha Inabi—you will follow Yuzuru from now on."
Compared to selecting a squad leader, assigning squad members was much simpler. Uchiha Taro made the decision directly.
Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Yakumi immediately stood up excitedly. "Yes!"