The atmosphere in the Uchiha clan meeting shifted dramatically with the revelation of Uchiha Hikaru's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Everyone was ecstatic—everyone except Uchiha Hikaru himself, who remained composed and calm.
Fugaku looked at Hikaru and said something no one had expected:
"Hikaru, you were right. I've failed as the clan leader."
"Since you've awakened the Mangekyō, I'll step down and leave the position of clan leader to you."
"I believe that under your leadership, the Uchiha will rise again and reclaim our former glory."
His tone carried a trace of self-mockery, but also unmistakable relief.
Ever since the Nine-Tails attack, tensions between the clan and the village had left him overwhelmed. Yet there was never a better candidate within the clan to succeed him.
He had considered grooming Itachi for the role, waiting for him to gain more experience before handing over the mantle. But he never imagined…
Itachi had been completely brainwashed by Hiruzen's Will of Fire. Once Fugaku realized this, his anxiety about the clan's future only grew.
Thankfully, Hikaru's words today had opened his eyes—and Hikaru had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
At first, the clan elders and members were stunned by Fugaku's declaration. But the moment he mentioned Hikaru's Mangekyō, their support was unanimous.
"That's right! Hikaru has awakened the Mangekyō! With him leading us, we'll surely restore the Uchiha's honor!"
"Only the strongest is worthy to lead the Uchiha clan!"
"Fugaku's time is over! The future belongs to Uchiha Hikaru!"
Their attitudes flipped completely the moment they learned of Hikaru's eyes.
Hikaru slowly sat down, resting his chin in his hand, his expression unreadable.
"Don't get it twisted. I don't want to be the clan leader."
"..."
Everyone was stunned by Hikaru's refusal.
"Uchiha #1, emotionally shaken. Uchiha #2, emotionally shaken…"
"Total of 104 members emotionally shaken. Sharingan pupil power increased by 20%."
The system's broadcast echoed in his mind. Everything that could be harvested had been harvested. Hikaru's lips curled up ever so slightly.
"Why?! Are you going to abandon the clan like Uchiha Madara once did?!"
Setsuna's voice cut through the silence, revealing how deeply Hikaru's words had shaken him.
Not just Setsuna—even the other elders and Fugaku were unnerved, fearing that Hikaru might follow in Madara's footsteps.
Still seated calmly on his cushion, Hikaru had no interest in pushing them further. But the old fool Setsuna had to stir things up again.
"Elder Setsuna, I call you elder out of respect for your age. But if you provoke me again, I'll bury you myself."
Cold sweat instantly soaked Uchiha Setsuna's back, but his silence brought a wave of relief to the room.
At least it seemed Hikaru wasn't going to walk Madara's path.
Hikaru turned to Fugaku.
"Can you all stop overthinking? None of you are exactly genius strategists, so don't act like it."
"I don't want to be clan leader because I hate trouble. More importantly, I don't want Sarutobi and Danzo to know I've awakened the Mangekyō."
"But I'll accept the role of Deputy Clan Head."
"I won't repeat myself. From now on, gather all police force members and every ninja ranked Chunin and above at the clan training ground the day after tomorrow."
With those words, everyone finally relaxed. In times like these, the appearance of a powerful genius with a clear view of the bigger picture gave them hope—hope of standing up against Hiruzen and Danzo.
The remainder of the meeting dealt with internal clan affairs, and Uchiha Hikaru was officially appointed Deputy Head of the Police Force.
Uchiha #3 was livid, but didn't dare say a word—Hikaru possessed the Mangekyō, after all.
And so, the clan meeting concluded, with only Uchiha #3 left nursing a grudge, while the rest left satisfied.
…
"Hikaru, why did you bring me here?"
After the meeting, Hikaru led Fugaku to a secluded waterfall more than ten miles west of the Naka Shrine.
Having moved to the edge of the village recently, Hikaru was already familiar with the surrounding area. This was the only waterfall within clan territory.
Hikaru looked toward the deep pool beneath it.
"Shisui's body should be here. This is where he died."
"What? Shisui died here?"
Fugaku's immediate reaction was disbelief. He knew Shisui's strength well. During the Third Great Ninja War, even as a teenager, Shisui had held back an elite ambush unit from Kirigakure on his own.
But if Hikaru said so—it must be true. Was it one of his Mangekyō abilities?
Fugaku stopped asking. The Mangekyō's abilities were unique to each user—no one would share theirs lightly.
What he didn't know was that Hikaru wasn't relying on any eye technique at all. He knew this because he was a transmigrator—and his Mangekyō had only recently awakened.
The two dove into the pool, searching the depths. Eventually, they found Shisui's body at the bottom.
"Damn it! Who did this?!"
So this was why Shisui hadn't attended the clan meeting—he had been assassinated.
Fugaku stared at Shisui's hollow eye sockets. His Sharingan had been gouged out.
His mind raced to Itachi. Could Itachi be involved in this too?
Seeing Fugaku once again spiraling into paranoia, Hikaru interrupted:
"There are two sets of footprints nearby—Shisui and Itachi were here not long ago."
"Did Itachi kill Shisui?!"
Itachi had always viewed Shisui as an older brother—one of his few close friends. Fugaku couldn't believe his own son would do something so cruel.
Before he could spiral further, Hikaru shut him down again.
"No. Shisui clearly jumped into the river on his own. Looks like he committed suicide to help Itachi awaken the Mangekyō."
Fugaku's face twisted in embarrassment. Once again, he'd let his imagination run wild. But still—why would Shisui take his own life? And where did his eyes go?
"Forget it," Hikaru said, brushing it off. "Knowing Shisui, he probably had some kind of backup plan. Just play along with me tomorrow."
"Play along?"
Fugaku looked bewildered. Why lie? And to whom?
Hikaru was already losing patience.
"Who else? Your good little son. If you don't act to pull him back from the edge, he's going to go off and do something that'll shake the heavens."
With that, Hikaru stopped talking. If Fugaku could understand, good. If not—well, no wonder people called him a blockhead in Hikaru's past life. Honestly, at this point, he wasn't just a blockhead. He was practically a walking chakra bomb.
After storing Shisui's body inside a sealing scroll, Hikaru returned home.
He sat cross-legged on his bed and began meditating.
Within his inner world, a massive, dark Susanoo stood tall.
It wore armor, a battle skirt, and had a long, curved sword——strapped to its waist.
Its mask was regal and cold, covering the upper half of its face.
As Hikaru synced with his Susanoo, he also became aware of his unique Mangekyō abilities: "Word Spirit" and "Mystic Armament," along with his natal weapon—the spiritual blade known as Hikaru.
Word Spirit: Spoken words carry the weight of power. Effects depend on chakra and pupil power expenditure. Grants persuasive force and natural leadership.
Mystic Armament: Can manifest any kind of weapon and its effects. Weapon strength depends on pupil power consumption.
After analyzing his abilities, Hikaru realized the two techniques worked best in tandem. Used together, they minimized chakra loss and maximized effectiveness.
Moreover, the passive effects of Word Spirit could be combined with his "defense-breaking" system to further manipulate others emotionally—forcing breakthroughs with greater ease.
For now, he had to conserve power. Until he obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, excessive use of his eye techniques was risky.
Still, Obito came to mind. With Hashirama's cells, replenishing pupil power wouldn't be a problem for him.
It was a tempting path... but one for another day.