Chapter 66: Clan Assembly (Part 2)
Uchiha Kei remained quietly seated in the corner, silently observing everything unfold. This meeting gave him a clear idea of where each individual stood within the clan.
As he had suspected, the Uchiha clan was internally split into two main factions.
Despite their differences, both sides shared a common goal — to protect and further the interests of the Uchiha. However, their methods of dealing with Konoha, or more specifically, its current leadership, were vastly different.
The hardline Hawk Faction wanted a firmer approach. As co-founders of the village, they had never truly been granted the rights they deserved. They believed the Uchiha clan should rise above its current position rather than continue to be constrained.
This ideology was dominant within the clan. Don't mistake the Uchiha for fools — though many among them had... eccentric tendencies, there was still a sharp-minded minority who saw things clearly.
These sharp individuals knew exactly what the so-called Konoha Police Force represented. But power, as it often does, had become their shackle. If the clan didn't need the prestige of that authority to maintain its status, those smarter members would've likely proposed abandoning the force altogether.
It was precisely because they understood this reality that their frustration began to boil over.
Whether Fugaku had recognized this or not was debatable — but Kei certainly saw it as an opportunity to exploit.
What surprised Kei, however, was that even among the Hawk Faction, no one had explicitly brought up the idea of staging a coup.
"Is it because the Nine-Tails incident hasn't happened yet?" Kei rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Or maybe the rumor of the Third Hokage stepping down has bought them time?"
Either way, Kei didn't care much. Even the proposal to have Uchiha Fugaku run for the position of Fourth Hokage only made him chuckle inwardly.
Everyone likely knew Fugaku had no real chance of winning. Yet both factions — the Hawks and the Doves — had agreed on pushing his candidacy. That, in itself, made things tricky for Fugaku.
The Dove Faction was still around, albeit small in number.
They advocated for peaceful negotiations with the village, believing that cooperation and rebuilding after the war was the path to restoring the clan's honor.
Their view was that the village, having just come out of a long conflict, should be supported in its reconstruction — not confronted with aggression.
And honestly, their reasoning wasn't wrong. But they severely underestimated how deep-rooted the Konoha leadership's prejudice against the Uchiha clan ran.
They knew the Third Hokage and his circle weren't exactly benevolent — which is why they always referred to "the village" and never "the Hokage" directly.
Now that the Third seemed to be stepping down, they saw this as a window of opportunity — a chance to prevent someone from his circle from rising to power.
But such thinking was naive.
They never truly reflected on their own situation. Even if a Hokage sympathetic to the Uchiha was elected, without internal change, it wouldn't matter.
Compared to the entirety of Konoha, the Uchiha clan was still just one piece — a powerful one, sure, but small nonetheless.
Even the strongest shinobi could fall victim to a well-placed kunai to the back.
After over an hour of sitting and listening, Kei began to grow bored. Initially, he had found their arguments amusing and useful for gathering intel. But now, it all seemed pointless.
Neither side had grasped the real issue.
The problem wasn't just the Konoha leadership's rejection of them — it was the general village populace too. They didn't trust the Uchiha either!
And yet, they were still obsessing over Fugaku running for the Fourth Hokage. Kei found it unbearable.
Aside from the darkened, clearly annoyed expression on Fugaku's face — which Kei found vaguely amusing — everything else reminded him of a bad comedy show whose jokes had long since gone stale.
Just as Kei started feeling drowsy, one clan member suddenly stood up. The room instantly fell silent.
"Clan leader," the man said solemnly, "we all hope you'll carefully consider joining the Fourth Hokage election. I won't press the matter further."
"Thank you, Shuu-kun," Fugaku replied, his stern face finally softening a little. "I'll give it serious thought. Is there something else you'd like to say?"
Uchiha Shuu?
Kei rubbed his chin again. He recognized the name — a powerful Uchiha shinobi, if the rumors were true.
They had no personal connection, though. Shuu had made his name on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Springs, fighting fiercely against the Cloud ninja.
Kei had also served in that region, but at the time he was just a rookie genin. Their paths had never crossed.
Shuu was said to possess at least elite jonin-level strength.
And his younger brother, Uchiha Yuu, was also a formidable shinobi — currently one of the three captains in the Police Force — who had also fought against Cloud ninja in the same war.
Both brothers had awakened the full three-tomoe Sharingan. Together, they formed a fearsome duo — legends among the clan, with countless fallen Cloud ninja to their names.
More importantly — they were both hardline Hawks.
Kei didn't know who supported them from behind the scenes, but these two were not people you wanted to mess with. Their strength alone was enough of a deterrent — not to mention the political clout they likely held.
Kei had been content to ignore them — until he noticed Uchiha Hiroki, another strong Hawk, stealing occasional glances in his direction.
A bad feeling began to rise.
"Clan leader, what I want to speak about… is Hatake Kakashi."
As soon as Shuu spoke those words, Kei's expression darkened.
Again? Kakashi?
That damn Horoki really was asking for trouble. What was wrong with these Hawk-types? Did they have weeds growing in their brains?
Were they so obsessed with bloodline pride that they couldn't let go of one non-Uchiha kid?
But Kei quickly masked his irritation, replacing it with a faint smile. In the original timeline, this whole thing had ended up going nowhere — a clear sign that these zealots would ultimately fail.
Kei didn't know if this exact moment happened in the original timeline. But he knew one thing: if he was going to move forward with his plans, a clash with these people was inevitable.
Still, Kei wasn't too worried. He noticed that Fugaku also looked displeased. Shuu had to see that too, right?
And yet he kept standing, unwavering — clearly sending a message. A message that wasn't exactly friendly to Fugaku.