Chapter 29: Jin Reveals the Hidden Cards; A "Mutual Destruction" Ultimatum!
Fugaku's gaze was dark and obscure, his body trembling slightly.
However.
His years of practiced stoicism served him well. Even facing such a scene, his expression remained deceptively calm.
Inside, however, he was raging. Uchiha Jin, that damned bastard, had not only unified the Radicals in record time but had now completely absorbed the Moderate and Neutral factions as well.
He, the dignified Clan Head of the Uchiha, had been reduced to a general without an army?
It was a humiliation of the highest order!
Shisui, lacking Fugaku's composure, blurted out the moment he saw them. "Elder Yashiro, Elder Amano... how could you two...?"
"Shisui, give it up," Uchiha Amano interrupted him immediately. "This is our choice!"
"We gave Fugaku plenty of chances. But look at the state of the Uchiha under his leadership. Anyone with eyes can see we are rotting away."
"We acted like obedient dogs for the village, retreating step after step. And what did we get in return?"
"They pushed harder!"
"Our concessions didn't earn the village's goodwill; they only earned us endless escalation. Our district was monitored by Anbu and Root like we were criminals..."
"The only reason the Uchiha can breathe now is because of Uchiha Jin!"
"Your endurance might be 'correct' in theory, but we see no results. Jin's methods, however, have delivered real change."
Amano didn't save any face for the two of them.
Shisui fell silent, unable to refute.
He wanted to tell them to be patient, to trust that the village and the Hokage would solve the problems eventually. But his words were hollow compared to Jin's tangible results.
What do I do?
As Shisui struggled with his thoughts, Fugaku stepped forward. "Shisui, it's pointless."
"Clan Head, I..." Shisui was stunned.
Fugaku ignored him and looked directly at Jin. "Your actions will push the Uchiha into a desperate corner. I advise you to abandon the plan to reclaim the Ancestral Land. Such radical behavior will only make the Uchiha a target for everyone."
In an instant...
Following Fugaku's words, the atmosphere in the room turned deathly silent.
Jin shook his head. "Absolutely impossible!"
No explanation. No hesitation.
For people like Fugaku and Shisui, explaining was meaningless. It was just a waste of breath.
"Do you want to lead the Uchiha to extinction?" Fugaku asked, his face full of anger.
Jin sneered. "You are free to think whatever you want. But let me tell you this: even if I were to lead the Uchiha to their deaths, the people in this room would follow me willingly!"
Fugaku fell silent.
There was no way to continue this conversation!
Jin wouldn't even deign to explain his reasoning. He clearly looked down on Fugaku completely, dismissing him as unworthy of knowing the plan.
Fugaku glanced around the room. Seeing that the elders remained unmoved even after Jin mentioned "leading them to death," a chill ran down his spine.
He's completely won them over.
His mind raced desperately. Finally, he grit his teeth and played his last card. "Uchiha Jin, do you think I have no recourse?"
"Are you talking about your Mangekyo?" Jin asked, his disdain evident. "Sorry, I don't care."
"You can team up with Shisui and try to destroy me."
"But let me tell you: even if you have two pairs of Mangekyo, I, Uchiha Jin, am not made of clay."
"If you move to destroy the Uchiha, I won't lift a finger to save a single clansman."
"But, by the same token!"
"I will personally kill your wife, Mikoto, and your son, Itachi. I'll even kill the child in Mikoto's womb!"
"Then I will make the Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Shimura clans follow the Uchiha into the grave. I know one pair of Mangekyo can't defeat the entire village head-on, but I don't care about the 'dignity of the strong.'"
"If the strong come for me, I will run and hide. And the moment they turn their backs, I will slaughter the weak!"
"Fugaku, Shisui, I am warning you!"
"If you dare to side with the village against the Uchiha, I will drag the entire Hidden Leaf down to hell with us!"
"Once I cripple Konoha, I refuse to believe the other villages won't seize the opportunity to invade!"
"My bottom line is simple!"
"If you follow the rules of the game—if you can convince the village not to target us, or convince the clan to follow you through diplomacy—then I, Uchiha Jin, will play by the rules too."
"But if you want to flip the table and use force to suppress me?"
"Then we all die together. Konoha will cease to exist!"
Jin's voice was like iron hitting stone.
He knew perfectly well that his single pair of Mangekyo couldn't defeat the village's swarm of elites, let alone Fugaku, Shisui, and the hidden Obito combined.
So.
He made it clear that the Uchiha were not his shackles. If they flipped the table, he wouldn't defend; he would attack.
He would become a Reaper in the darkness. Hit and run. Guerrilla warfare. He would target the civilians, the students, the weak.
A Mangekyo user dedicated solely to escape and assassination was impossible to catch and impossible to stop.
"Fugaku... you possess the Mangekyo?"
Uchiha Amano stood up, unable to contain his shock.
The others rose as well.
They looked at Fugaku with expressions of disbelief and betrayal.
Fugaku, however, was stunned for a different reason. "Uchiha Jin... how do you know?"
"Hmph. Don't worry about how I know," Jin replied coldly. "There is no secret in this world that can hide from me."
"If not for the fact that the clan has two traitors like you and Shisui, do you think I would need to be so cautious?"
"And you, Shisui!"
"I know your Mangekyo ability is Kotoamatsukami. You can forcibly rewrite anyone's will."
"Although I have the Mangekyo, I am not certain if I can resist it."
"So, everyone, listen clearly!"
"If one day you find that my personality has changed, that I am acting completely differently than before... do not hesitate. Launch an immediate suicide attack on the Sarutobi and the other three clans."
"Don't fight the High Command directly; we don't have enough powerhouses. Kill their families! Kill their children!"
"Even if the Uchiha are wiped out, we must drag Konoha into the fires of war and give the other villages the opening they need to destroy it."
"The core principle is this: If the Uchiha fall, the Leaf must fall with us!"