I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 43 Who's in favor, who's opposed?

"spring?"

Uchiha Hikaru remembered—

If I remember correctly, this girl was Itachi's age, and he had saved her on the night of the Nine-Tails' massacre, but she died along with her clan members on the night of the massacre.

"Have all the people delivering groceries lately been you?"

"No, it was Rikka-senpai who came yesterday, and Nanami the day before... We are all new recruits who just joined the security force. We patrol this area every day, so the clan asked us to bring these ingredients to you. If you need anything, Grandma, please let us know and we will buy it for you."

Uchiha Izumi answered very obediently.

"Rikka, Nanami..."

Uchiha Hikaru silently repeated the names in his mind to confirm that they were all names he had never heard of before.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. It's impossible for the clan's elite members or Fugaku himself to do such errands.

"Don't be so nervous, your great-grandmother isn't going to eat you."

Uchiha Hikaru stepped forward and patted Izumi on the shoulder with a smile: "Take me to the Uchiha compound. I have something to discuss with your clan leader."

……

After following Izumi downstairs, Uchiha Hikaru met the Rikka and Nanami she had mentioned.

The two, a boy and a girl, were both around ten years old. After bowing and greeting Uchiha Hikaru with utmost respect, they hurried back to report.

Twenty minutes later, Uchiha Hikaru, led by Izumi, arrived at the Uchiha clan compound located in the southwest of Konoha Village. A large crowd had already gathered there. Leading the way was still the clan head, Fugaku, surrounded by numerous elders, Jonin (high-ranking ninja) of the clan, and some commoners. Sasuke, being led by Uchiha Mikoto, was also among them, curiously peering around.

Next.

Fugaku solemnly introduced Uchiha Hikari's identity to the clansmen present, and then led her into the camp for a friendly tour.

During this time, several Uchiha elders intentionally or unintentionally expressed their desire to "witness" the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and even subtly tried to persuade Uchiha Hikaru to spar with Shisui.

Fugaku immediately reprimanded him.

Uchiha Hikaru wasn't sure whether this incident was orchestrated by Fugaku himself or whether the elders were truly ungrateful, but the former request suited her perfectly—if no one had brought it up, she would have had to consider how to establish her authority without being too abrupt.

"Alright."

"Since you insist on seeing this, I'll make a small move to show you the gap between yourselves and the world."

As he spoke, Uchiha Hikaru had already gathered his strength slightly, and then immediately activated the third state of Susanoo. Under the gaze of all the Uchiha, he soared into the air and then unleashed a "Hundred and Eight Slashes: Heavy Cannon Slash" towards the edge of the clan's territory.

A sword strike was unleashed.

With a deafening roar, crimson sword energy ripped through the sky, carving a vacuum strip tens of meters long through the forest. Wherever it passed, the sword energy crisscrossed, tearing apart everything in its path—trees, bushes, rocks, rubble, and even a few startled rabbits and sparrows—instantly reducing them to shreds.

After doing all this, Uchiha Hikaru landed nonchalantly from mid-air, without even breaking a sweat, and casually gave each of the elders a Tsukuyomi seal.

These past few months of reading were certainly not the kind prepared for Danzo; it was simply having these elders walk for several hours in a desert. The inscription was also applied to them along the way.

As for the reason for doing so...

"Disrespectful to elders, treating them like children before their elders—this is a minor punishment to serve as a warning, and will not be repeated!"

Once they emerged from the illusionary space, the elders all looked exhausted, but their gazes towards Uchiha Hikaru held a newfound respect.

"Was that genjutsu just now the 'Tsukuyomi' mentioned in the scriptures? And that dark red giant, that must be Susanoo! The scriptures say that activating this kind of eye technique puts a great strain on the body, and even causes blood tears to flow from the eyes, but you..."

"……hehe."

Uchiha Hikaru coldly glanced at the group: "An attack of that level wouldn't even qualify as a warm-up for me. During the Warring States period, at least several dozen Uchiha clansmen could do that. Only a hundred years have passed, and you've all regressed to this extent?"

"...I've disappointed my great-grandmother."

Several elders, including Fugaku, showed expressions of shame.

Uchiha Hikaru was obviously lying.

Although that sword strike wasn't her full-power attack, it was definitely not an ordinary basic attack either.

Moreover, the number of Uchiha clan members capable of achieving this level is probably not even in the double digits, let alone during the early Warring States period, or even during Madara's most powerful era. However, because she spoke with such certainty, and because her powerful regenerative abilities made her seem as if she hadn't suffered any damage, these elders were genuinely fooled and began to reflect on their actions.

As for the suggestion to spar with Shisui...

Uchiha Hikaru pretended not to hear.

—In fact, even if they did spar, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, Shisui had no reason to suddenly unleash Kotoamatsukami on her in this situation. However, facing those Mangekyou Sharingan with abilities that were practically bugged, Uchiha Kou didn't want to take any risks whatsoever. If she really had to face those Mangekyou Sharingan head-on, either she would be confident that she wouldn't be afraid of Kotoamatsukami, or it might be a fight to the death.

Since Uchiha Kō didn't bring it up, given Shisui's personality, it was naturally impossible for him to take the initiative to challenge her, his "elder".

……

After Uchiha Hikaru publicly displayed her strength and unleashed several Tsukuyomi attacks as punishment, the surrounding Uchiha finally became more respectful towards her, began to adopt their stance, and spoke to her as juniors.

Fugaku tentatively suggested that she could help guide the young talents in the clan in her spare time.

Uchiha Hikaru casually agreed.

Around noon, she was invited to Fugaku's house for lunch. After lunch, she spoke with Fugaku and several elders about the current situation of the Uchiha clan, acting as an "elder".

Zhishui did not participate.

Because he is not senior enough to participate in such decision-making meetings.

"...This is a roster of all Uchiha clan members. Please take a look, Great-Grandmother."

"Hmm, let me see."

Uchiha Hikaru took the roster and skimmed through it: "So few clansmen have awakened the Three Tomoe? Less than twenty out of several hundred?"

"Yes, as you know, the conditions for awakening the Sharingan are quite difficult to achieve. Among the current clan members, the number of those who have awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan is the largest."

Fugaku explained in a low voice, "However, there are still a few outstanding juniors, such as Itachi, who awakened the three-tomoe crystal at the age of 11, and Izumi, the child who brought you here, who has also awakened the two-tomoe crystal and will likely become a Jonin within a few years..."

"This time, when I suggested to the Third Hokage that we increase the number of Uchiha members admitted to the Anbu, I wanted to recommend Izumi and two other children."

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly.

Yesterday, she suggested to Hiruzen Sarutobi that more Jonin be appointed as team leaders, mainly to facilitate communication between the Uchiha clan and other races. Now it seems that it was a lucky accident.

"The Uchiha clan is living a bit too comfortably these days."

"You mean...?"

"In our Warring States period, if someone couldn't unlock the Three-Tomoe by the age of 12, they basically had no chance of unlocking it, because they would soon die in the chaos of war."

Uchiha Hikaru raised his head: "I've observed it. Your security force, supposedly for maintaining Konoha's security, only handles trivial matters. The real big issues are all controlled by the Anbu. This kind of work, which even genin can do, not only wastes manpower but also severely weakens the Uchiha clan's fighting spirit. Have you considered relinquishing some of the security force's authority?"

"what?"

Fugaku was taken aback.

Before he could speak, Uchiha Yatsushiro immediately intervened, saying, "Grandma, this is absolutely unacceptable! The security forces are the foundation of the Uchiha clan, how can we..."

"fool!"

"The Sharingan is the foundation of the Uchiha clan!"

Uchiha Hikaru retorted sharply, "Without power, all the authority is nothing but a castle in the air. I can't believe you've lived to such an old age and still can't understand such a basic question... No wonder the Uchiha clan is so weak and feeble now!"

"Grandma, aren't you going a bit too far with what you're saying...?"

Several Uchiha brothers were holding back their anger until their faces turned red.

In fact, only Uchiha Hikaru dared to say that.

If it were anyone else, even Fugaku Uchiha, who described the current Uchiha clan as "weak and feeble," they would probably have already slammed their fists on the table in protest.

"What, you're still not convinced?"

Uchiha Hikaru tilted his head: "A large clan of several hundred people, with only Uchiha Shisui whose strength is barely passable. The rest are a simple-minded, short-sighted, arrogant rabble... With this level of ability, you want to lead Konoha? Even if you were put in that position, do you really think you can do better than Hiruzen Sarutobi, properly handle the relationships between the various clans of Konoha, and with other ninja villages?"

"..."

The Uchiha members fell silent.

Although their pride makes them want to say "yes," their limited rationality tells them that they may not actually be able to.

After a moment of silence.

Uchiha Hikaru spoke again:

"I've already proposed to Hiruzen Sarutobi that we use a small number of security force slots in exchange for opportunities for Uchiha clan members to enter the Ninja Academy's teaching staff and the Jonin class. These two departments have close ties with other clans, offering more opportunities for interaction and combat. Moreover, the Jonin class is one of Konoha's power structures and has the authority to interfere in the Hokage election... Instead of placing our hopes on the Anbu, which is tightly controlled by the Hokage, we should consider a different approach."

"I know your interpersonal skills are questionable, but at least spend some time on appearances. There are definitely many people in the tribe who are as stubborn as you. How to persuade them is your business. If you can't even handle these relationships within the tribe, then stop daydreaming about being the village's leader."

After a pause, Uchiha Hikaru offered a sweet treat: "From now on, I will take the time to personally guide your training. Before your strength reaches my expectations, put away your arrogance. However... if anyone does reach my expectations, I will also give them some rewards as appropriate."

"After I finish speaking, who agrees and who disagrees?"

(End of this chapter)