Creaaak~
At a certain moment, the sound of a door scraping against the floor echoed.
The door to the reception room was pushed aside, and a figure walked straight in.
Seeing who it was, the Uchiha servant who had been standing silently like a statue immediately stepped forward, bowed, and greeted, "Clan Leader!"
Indeed, the person who had entered was none other than Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku's gaze didn't linger on the servant. He simply raised his hand, motioning for the servant to leave.
Understanding the signal, the Uchiha clan member wisely exited the room.
Tap, tap, tap~
Uchiha Fugaku walked a few steps to the front of the reception room and sat at the main seat.
He picked up a teacup, poured himself some tea, took a light sip, and then silently gazed at Seimei.
At that moment, Seimei was still immersed in his training.
It wasn't that Seimei hadn't noticed Fugaku's entrance. Rather, his experiment had reached a critical phase, and he was on the verge of breaking through a key barrier. He simply couldn't afford to let the opportunity slip away.
So, he pretended not to notice Fugaku, instead focusing all his attention on controlling the Yang Release chakra in his body to meticulously strengthen his organs and cells.
Before long, a minute passed, and Seimei finally opened his eyes.
At that very moment, Uchiha Fugaku spoke.
"So, how did it go?"
Hearing this, Seimei turned to look at the clan leader, pretending he had just noticed him. He quickly stood and greeted, "Clan Leader!"
Seeing Seimei stand, Fugaku extended his hand in a calming motion and said, "Sit down."
"Yes, Clan Leader!"
Seimei responded and returned to the chair on the right side.
After Seimei sat back down, Fugaku continued, "You seemed so focused earlier. The results must be promising, right?"
"Yes," Seimei nodded. "I figured out a few things."
Seimei wasn't lying. Just moments ago, he had used the knowledge from a book to improve the efficiency of using Mystical Palm Technique for body enhancement by 10%.
While 10% might seem insignificant, it was just the beginning.
His instincts told him that if he continued down this path, he might eventually double or even triple the overall efficiency.
Of course, such improvements couldn't be achieved overnight.
But Seimei was confident that he could shorten the time required for the next stage of body enhancement by one-third.
That would be a significant breakthrough.
After all, as his constitution attribute continued to improve, each transformation now took several months to reach the critical point.
A reduction by one-third meant saving a month or two, which wasn't a small gain.
As Seimei reflected on his progress, Fugaku spoke again.
However, instead of delving deeper into Seimei's "harvest" or offering advice on his training, Fugaku shifted the topic.
First, Fugaku spoke about Seimei's late parents, praising their contributions to the clan and lamenting their untimely deaths. Then, he inquired about Seimei's life during that period.
It was all typical, casual conversation.
Seimei wasn't in a hurry and engaged in the back-and-forth, answering Fugaku's questions without giving too much away.
While the exchange seemed meaningless on the surface, it was actually an opportunity for Fugaku to gauge Seimei's temperament, attitude toward the clan, and overall disposition.
This was precisely what Fugaku wanted to observe.
He believed that while Seimei was powerful, he was ultimately just a teenager who had spent two or three years on the battlefield. With a life consumed by fighting, Seimei had little exposure to social interactions or worldly matters.
Considering Seimei's reclusive personality and obsession with training, Fugaku thought his own experience and insight would easily allow him to read the boy like an open book.
What Fugaku didn't know was that the youthful body before him housed the soul of an adult.
In his previous life, though Seimei had been an ordinary office worker without any bureaucratic experience, he had lived for over 20 years.
Moreover, with the internet being so prevalent and entertainment media so abundant in his past life, even if he hadn't "eaten pork," he had certainly seen pigs run.
In short, Seimei was more than capable of handling Fugaku's probing questions.
Most importantly, Seimei's confidence stemmed from his absolute strength, ensuring he didn't fear making mistakes or upsetting anyone.
As he often reminded himself: if worst comes to worst, flip the table.
Thus, after all his subtle probing, Fugaku still couldn't extract any significant information from Seimei.
Finally, Fugaku abandoned his attempts and shifted the conversation to Danzo.
He first spoke about Danzo's questionable behavior, expressing his suspicion that Danzo was involved in the disappearance of several Uchiha ninja.
Then, Fugaku directly asked if Seimei had experienced any targeted actions from Danzo.
Naturally, Seimei wasn't going to reveal the truth. He shook his head and denied it outright.
"No, I haven't encountered anything like that."
Seeing Seimei's calm demeanor, Fugaku stopped beating around the bush and bluntly asked, "Was Danzo's death related to you?"
Clearly, Fugaku had already confirmed Danzo's death and uncovered the reasons behind the conflict between Seimei and the ANBU.
Hearing this, Seimei feigned shock and exclaimed, "What? Elder Danzo is dead? Who did it?"
"Wait, are you asking if I killed him?"
"That's impossible!"
Seimei shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum.
Fugaku watched his performance with a stoic expression.
When Seimei finished, Fugaku asked, "Then why did you refuse to leave with the ANBU?"
"They didn't have the proper paperwork," Seimei replied earnestly.
Upon hearing the same response again, Uchiha Fugaku rubbed his temples. He could now see that Seimei was determined to play the rogue to the very end.
The reception room fell into silence.
After a long pause, Uchiha Fugaku sighed and said, "Since you have already refused the Third Hokage's summons, then leave this matter alone. I will handle the negotiations with him."
Hearing this, Seimei glanced at Fugaku with slight surprise.
He hadn't expected the clan leader to take responsibility for this matter, especially after he had shown such an uncooperative attitude.
It seemed that, as the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku did have some sense of duty.
Well, it made sense. If he was able to earn the trust of most Uchiha shinobi, there had to be something noteworthy about him. Otherwise, why would he have become the clan leader in the first place?
Just as Seimei thought the conversation was over and was preparing to leave, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly spoke again.
"Have you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
As he spoke, his Sharingan activated, revealing three tomoe.
Instantly, an immense pressure bore down on Seimei.
His ocular power was far stronger than any other three-tomoe Sharingan user Seimei had ever encountered.
However, compared to the power provided by the Mangekyō Sharingan, it was still lacking.
At this moment, Seimei was almost certain that Fugaku had not awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Unless he awakened it in the coming years—or during the night of the clan's massacre—then this Schrödinger's box had now been opened by him.
Various thoughts flashed through Seimei's mind in an instant. As that oppressive spiritual pressure weighed down on him, his body instinctively reacted—his own Sharingan activated, also revealing three tomoe.
Moreover, his ocular power was faintly superior to Fugaku's.
He had deliberately displayed this level of power to both conceal his Mangekyō Sharingan and to leave Fugaku with a glimmer of hope.
As the Uchiha clan leader, Seimei believed that Fugaku understood the immense significance of a Mangekyō Sharingan to the clan.
With that hope, even if the Hokage faction continued to apply pressure, Fugaku would grit his teeth and endure.
Thus, the two stared each other down for a full three seconds before simultaneously deactivating their Sharingan.
Uchiha Fugaku looked deeply at Seimei and said, "It's late. Go back and rest."
"Yes, Clan Leader," Seimei responded respectfully, as if nothing had happened, then turned and left.
However, as he turned away, he caught a glimpse of the wall behind Uchiha Fugaku from the corner of his eye.
Tap, tap, tap...
Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Seimei's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.
A moment later, Uchiha Fugaku finally spoke.
"Come out."
As soon as he finished speaking, the wall that Seimei had glanced at earlier suddenly slid open, and a small figure stepped out.
With soft black hair, the child appeared to be around four or five years old. His face was still youthful, but his demeanor carried a hint of maturity beyond his years.
Who else could it be but Uchiha Itachi?
He walked into the reception room, looked in the direction Seimei had left, and asked, "Father, was he the one who killed the person?"
"What do you think?"
Instead of answering, Uchiha Fugaku threw the question back at him.
Itachi pondered for a moment before saying, "I think that even if he wasn't the one who did it, he was definitely involved."
"Exactly."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded approvingly before answering, "He was definitely the one who killed them."
"Why?"
Itachi asked, confused.
"You don't know this man well enough," Fugaku explained. "If you ever read his profile, you'd see that he is someone who strongly believes in individual strength. He's also extremely patient."
"People like him, when faced with trouble, always rely on their own power first.
"If their strength isn't enough, they will endure in silence until they are strong enough to solve the problem themselves. They almost never seek external help—they only trust in themselves."
"And I just received some intelligence: over the past two years, Danzo has made multiple attempts against him and another Uchiha shinobi."
"That's why I'm certain—he was the one who did it. Right now, he has the strength to pull it off."
There was no denying that Uchiha Fugaku's analysis of Seimei was quite accurate.
Seimei indeed only trusted himself.
Or, to be more precise, he only believed in his own power.
That was why he never sought external help.
For example, in this situation, if he had persuaded Uchiha Shisui to join him, the fight could have been settled without even needing to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But he wouldn't do that.
He would rather take the risk of exposing his Mangekyō Sharingan than rely on anyone else. That was just who he was.
Itachi, however, noticed something else in his father's words—another person had also been targeted by Danzo.
He immediately asked, "Why couldn't the two of them have worked together? If the other person was also targeted by Danzo, wouldn't that make them allies? Wouldn't that increase their chances?"
"They wouldn't," Fugaku replied without hesitation. "The other person is completely different from him. That man loves the village even more and respects rules and order above all else.
"Because of that, they would never work together."
"Rules and order...?"
Itachi's eyes lit up upon hearing those words. He quickly asked, "Father, who is this person?"
Seeing his son's eager expression, Uchiha Fugaku immediately understood what he was thinking.
After a moment of thought, he decided not to hide it.
"He is Uchiha Shisui. He's only a few years older than you. Perhaps, when he has time, you could seek him out."
Uchiha Fugaku and his son continued their discussion, unaware that Seimei had already left.
At that moment, he was walking home.
However, before he could reach his house, he encountered someone else.
It wasn't Uchiha Shisui.
Instead, it was someone he had met just a few days ago—Uchiha Jiren.
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