At the Uchiha Clan Head's residence, Uchiha Fugaku and three Uchiha Clan Elders were exchanging information.
"Clan Head, you must have met with the Village's high-ranking officials already, right?" asked the oldest man among the four.
He was the Uchiha Clan's Great Elder and the leader of the hawk faction, Uchiha Takeshi.
Uchiha Takeshi was a contemporary of Uchiha Kagami, and when he was young, he had received some guidance from Uchiha Madara. He was powerful, had a steady demeanor, and held high prestige throughout the Uchiha Clan.
Even Uchiha Fugaku, as the Clan Head, dared not slight this Great Elder. Upon hearing Uchiha Takeshi's question, he quickly replied, "That's right, I have met with the Village's high-ranking officials. They hope that, considering the great merit Kakashi earned, we will not reclaim Kakashi's Sharingan."
"Hmph! Kakashi earned great merit, but did our Uchiha Clan contribute any less during the Third Great Ninja War? Now, more than half of the Clan's awakened Ninja have been sacrificed, and the Police Force can barely muster enough people for patrols.
Now, the Village's high-ranking officials are using this as an excuse to try and take away our Uchiha Clan's Bloodline Limit—this is simply outrageous!
We must take this Sharingan back, and Kakashi, who unauthorizedly transplanted the Sharingan, must also pay the price!" Uchiha Takeshi said with a cold expression.
"Elder Takeshi, please calm down first," said Uchiha Hane, the dove faction Elder who remained in the Clan and had once met Uchiha En.
"That's right, Elder Takeshi. Your anger won't change the minds of the Village's high-ranking officials. Why don't we calm down and discuss this properly?" said Uchiha Chizan, the youngest-looking Elder.
Hearing Uchiha Chizan's words, Uchiha Takeshi snorted coldly and said nothing further.
Uchiha Chizan smiled slightly and said, "Clan Head, I want to confirm one thing: was Kakashi's Sharingan truly gifted to him by Obito?"
"According to what Minato told me, it should be. The specific situation at the time was like this..." Uchiha Fugaku briefly narrated the situation to the three Elders.
After hearing Uchiha Fugaku's account, Uchiha Chizan said, "Clan Head, this is just the testimony of Minato Namikaze and his disciples, isn't it? Are there any other witnesses?"
"No, but based on my understanding of Minato Namikaze, he would not lie about this matter. Furthermore, I have already asked our Clan's Medical Ninja to examine Kakashi's Sharingan.
According to their assessment, the transplant of this Sharingan was extremely crude. It clearly looks like an operation performed in haste, which aligns well with their account."
"So, the Clan Head believes that Kakashi's Sharingan was genuinely gifted by Obito, is that correct?" Uchiha Chizan asked.
Uchiha Fugaku nodded.
"Good, then we won't discuss this issue further. I trust your judgment, Clan Head. Elder Takeshi, Elder Hane, you both agree, right?"
Uchiha Takeshi remained silent, which counted as tacit agreement, while Uchiha Hane nodded.
"Clan Head, since Kakashi's Sharingan was gifted by Obito, I believe we can choose not to pursue the matter of Kakashi unauthorizedly transplanting the Sharingan.
However, this Sharingan is the Bloodline Limit of the Uchiha Clan and absolutely cannot flow out, so it must be reclaimed.
As long as Kakashi returns the Sharingan, this matter will be considered closed. Elder Takeshi and I will handle communicating with the Clan members. What do you think?"
After hearing Uchiha Chizan's words, Uchiha Fugaku's expression became somewhat unpleasant.
Uchiha Chizan had seemingly taken a step back just now, acknowledging that Kakashi's Sharingan was gifted by Obito, and also stating that they would not pursue the matter of Kakashi's unauthorized transplant.
But everyone present knew that the Uchiha Clan could not actually do anything to Kakashi. Uchiha Chizan's "compromise" was merely a tactical retreat to advance, seemingly giving up some of the hawk faction's demands, but in reality, further emphasizing the reclamation of the Sharingan.
Moreover, since the hawk faction had already "conceded," Uchiha Fugaku could no longer pressure them further.
At this moment, Uchiha Hane spoke up: "Elder Chizan, don't forget Kakashi's identity."
He is Minato Namikaze's disciple, Minato Namikaze is Jiraiya's disciple, and Jiraiya is the Third Hokage's disciple.
The Hokage Faction has at least five Kage-level experts, and our Uchiha Clan does not currently have that many experts to oppose them.
Forcibly reclaiming Kakashi's Sharingan will lead to conflict between us and the Village, and ultimately, we will be the ones to suffer."
Uchiha Takeshi's expression turned ugly upon hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, Uchiha Chizan, who was beside him, spoke first: "Then, according to Elder Hane, how should we handle this?"
"Since everyone acknowledges that this Sharingan was gifted to Kakashi by Obito, we should respect Obito's dying wish and let Kakashi keep the Sharingan.
As members of the Uchiha Clan, we all know that the Sharingan requires both eyes to unleash its maximum power. Having only one Sharingan, especially on someone without Uchiha Clan blood, should result in more harm than good.
Kakashi probably can't even deactivate the Sharingan and will constantly have to consume Chakra to maintain it. This genius of the Hokage Faction might even become mediocre due to the burden of the Sharingan.
Crippling a genius of the Hokage Faction—isn't that exactly what the two of you want to see?"
"Heh heh! Elder Hane, what you said might not be wrong, but don't forget, the Hokage Faction has Tsunade. With her Medical Ninjutsu, she might be able to allow an outsider like Kakashi to truly master the Sharingan."
"How long has Tsunade been gone from the Village? Her hemophobia isn't easily cured either," Uchiha Hane said expressionlessly.
"Then we cannot gamble. Kakashi is already a genius, and now he has the Sharingan. If he manages to resolve the Sharingan's drawbacks, then Kakashi's future accomplishments might not be inferior to Minato Namikaze's.
At that point, our Uchiha Clan will never have a chance to rise," Uchiha Chizan retorted.
The two Elders were sharply opposed, neither willing to yield.
After a good while, Uchiha Fugaku, who had been listening to their argument, slapped the table and said, "Enough! Since we can't reach a conclusion, let the Clan members decide.
I just received news that the representatives of the Ming faction have also returned to the Village, and all high-ranking officials of the Police Force have arrived.
Tomorrow morning, all high-ranking officials of the Uchiha Clan, along with all Clan members who have awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, will attend a meeting to decide how exactly to deal with Kakashi's Sharingan."
After hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, the three Elders exchanged glances and all chose to nod in agreement.
It was impossible to bypass the other members of the Uchiha Clan on this matter anyway. Allowing others to participate in the vote now was essentially bringing the issue into the open.
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