Uchiha Clan Grounds, Naka Shrine.
"If this continues, there will be no place left for the Uchiha to survive in Konoha!"
"We must fight back! We cannot sit and wait for death!"
"Yes! Fight back we can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"A coup! Only by revolting can the Uchiha carve out a path forward!"
Uchiha Fugaku sat at the head of the clan meeting, quietly watching his clansmen argue heatedly on both sides. A dull ache throbbed in his temples.
They actually think they can launch a coup with this level of power? Do they have a death wish?
He wasn't the original Uchiha Fugaku. Not long ago, he had transmigrated into this world and taken over Fugaku's body.
Before he could even collect his thoughts, he was dragged into this clan assembly, forced to act the part of the Uchiha patriarch.
As he listened to the angry outcries of the clan, he couldn't help but feel speechless.
Did these people really think the current Uchiha had what it took?
Leaving aside the few who were obviously traitorous, and himself a hidden Mangekyō Sharingan wielder the rest of the clan barely had the strength to resist the Hokage's ANBU, let alone initiate a coup.
And they wanted to rebel? Were they brain-damaged?
If that's the case, maybe they need some brain supplements. Walnuts, perhaps.
Then again... seems like walnuts don't grow around here. No wonder everyone's head's not quite right.
"Silence!"
Playing the role of the Uchiha patriarch, Fugaku couldn't afford to stay quiet at a time like this.
Forcing himself to appear composed, he shouted them down.
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to him.
Some gazes held ridicule, others contempt.
Clearly, the clan didn't hold Fugaku in high regard.
That wasn't surprising. Ever since Fugaku had taken over leadership, the Uchiha's position in Konoha had grown worse and worse. In such circumstances, how could the clan still support him?
"Does the clan head have some wisdom to share with us?"
A thin elder with a burn scar across half his face looked at Fugaku with mocking eyes.
He was Uchiha Setsuna, the clan's Grand Elder and the main instigator behind the coup rhetoric.
He had always looked down on Fugaku, seeing him as weak and overly submissive in the face of mounting pressure from Konoha.
Setsuna never truly followed Fugaku's leadership. In fact, he often deliberately opposed him.
Under Setsuna's piercing stare, Fugaku felt a chill creep down his spine.
In his past life, he was just a regular guy. Now, facing Setsuna a veteran jonin who'd walked through rivers of blood and corpses he instinctively wanted to shrink away.
Fortunately, he now had Fugaku's memories. That gave him the experience of living as the Uchiha patriarch and with his hidden Mangekyō Sharingan, he knew that, power-wise, he surpassed Setsuna.
Steeling himself, he said in a firm tone:
"With the current strength of the Uchiha, launching a coup would be suicide. It's not viable at least, not for now."
"Suicide? I can't agree with that."
A hawk-nosed elder scoffed coldly. He was Uchiha Inabi, one of the clan's senior figures and, like Setsuna, a staunch supporter of rebellion.
"If you have something to say, speak freely, Elder Inabi," Fugaku said cautiously, aware that Inabi, too, was a hardened elite jonin with battlefield experience.
"If the clan head insists, then I'll speak plainly. You're underestimating us. The Uchiha are Konoha's most powerful clan we have the strength to challenge the system."
"With such strength, I don't believe a coup is out of the question."
"Konoha's strongest clan?" Fugaku's eyes sharpened. "Elder Inabi" I didn't expect you to still be clinging to past glories to the point that you've lost touch with reality."
It was precisely the elder generation, drunk on the Uchiha's former prestige, that had stirred up the idea of a coup. In the end, it was that arrogance that led to the clan's downfall.
"And how exactly am I clinging to the past? How have I lost touch with reality?" Inabi retorted. "It's you who's forgotten the honor of the Uchiha! Your endless compromises and cowardice have only brought more oppression upon us."
Fugaku didn't deny it. "It's true that my compromises have cost the Uchiha dearly. I won't argue that. But whether you acknowledge it or not, the fact remains: we're no longer what we once were."
"The Three Great Shinobi Wars have taken a massive toll on us. Though we may still bear the title of Konoha's strongest clan, our actual strength is now barely on par with the others."
"If we start a coup now, we won't just face the Hokage and his allies. We'll be up against the entire village. Do you really think we can withstand the might of Konoha?"
"Our targets are Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura and their faction. We don't need to fight all of Konoha," Inabi argued.
Fugaku looked at him with a mocking smile. "And you don't think that's wishful thinking?"
"Given our clan's strained ties with the rest of the village, do you really believe the other clans will let us rise to power? That they'll stand by while we take control?"
"No. If we act, we won't face just the Hokage's factioncwe'll face extermination from all sides."
Shisui was at a loss for words. Deep down, he knew Fugaku was right. The Uchiha had long been at odds with other clans. If it came down to a choice, they would side with the village leadership.
"Then, according to the clan head," Setsuna sneered, "we should give up on the coup and just let the village continue oppressing us?"
"No," Fugaku shook his head. "The tension between us and Konoha's leadership isn't our fault. It's their continuous suppression of us that pushed things to this point."
Indeed, it was foolish to constantly bring up rebellion but it was also true that the village's leadership had created this situation.
"Then what do you propose?" Setsuna pressed.
"With the way things are, peaceful negotiation is out of the question," Fugaku said. "So I won't say I oppose a rebellion. In fact, I support taking a harder stance but not now."
He swept his gaze across the clan members.
"Right now, our clan is experiencing a resurgence of talent. Shisui and Itachi are prodigies on par with Minato Namikaze."
"If we give them time to grow, we'll have two powerhouses akin to the Fourth Hokage. Why rush into action when time is on our side?"
Of course, he knew that both Shisui and Itachi would eventually betray the clan.
But that couldn't be revealed now. On the contrary, he needed the clan to keep placing their hopes in them using their potential as a reason to delay the coup and buy time to prepare a better plan.