UTBW: Ch. 49

In the Uchiha compound, corpses littered the ground, blood flowing in all directions. In this filthy and bloody environment, a group of Uchiha ninjas stood with their red eyes like a gathering of demons.

"Everyone's here." Seeing the last three clan members return, Junichi turned around, his gaze dark as he looked at Fugaku. "It's time to talk about the matter of the clan leader, Fugaku-sama."

He had to seize the position of Clan Leader. Fugaku had to step down.

Junichi didn't want any opposition or voices dragging them down when he moved against the Third Hokage.

"I made a grave mistake," Fugaku said with a bitter smile, stepping forward and bowing deeply to everyone. "My wrong decisions caused Itachi and Shisui to turn against the clan."

"I am deeply ashamed. I no longer have the qualifications to remain as clan leader, so..." He slowly straightened up and looked at Junichi.

At the same time, all the surrounding clan members also turned their eyes to him.

"Therefore, I willingly step down and propose Junichi as the new leader of the Uchiha!" Fugaku said loudly.

As soon as the words fell, the clan members broke into excited shouts.

"Junichi!"

"Junichi!"

"Junichi!"

"Junichi!"

The waves of chanting engulfed Junichi, who was slightly stunned; he hadn't expected Fugaku to give up the position so easily. He had thought he might need to seize it by force.

But this was good too. It saved him the effort.

"Thank you all for your trust," he glanced at Fugaku, then turned to face the crowd, smiling as he accepted their cheers and welcome.

The Uchiha were a clan that revered strength. After displaying overwhelming power, it was already inevitable that he would become the new leader, especially under the current circumstances. Everyone desperately hoped he would lead the clan to carve out a path to survival.

Clap, clap, clap...

Following the shouting, thunderous applause broke out. The ones clapping the hardest were the clan elders, their faces full of relief as they looked at Junichi. After losing Itachi and Shisui, finally, there was a genius standing firmly with the clan.

It was truly precious beyond words!

"Alright." After a while, Junichi raised his hands, gesturing for silence, and finally the applause died down. But in everyone's eyes, there was still a burning zeal, as if they would willingly charge into death at his command.

"The celebration can wait until after the battle," he said slowly.
"For now, let's get back to serious matters."

Hearing this, the clan members' expressions grew solemn. They hadn't forgotten, Hiruzen's forces were still gathered outside the clan grounds.

Tonight's battle was far from over.

"Knowing how the Third Hokage's people are," Junichi said, with a sneer on his face, "I predict they'll try to negotiate, asking us to cease fighting. Butt he so-called negotiations are nothing but nonsense. This is an attempt to wipe out the Uchiha!"

"Do you think a simple ceasefire can erase what's happened?"

Without waiting for a reply, he coldly laughed. "Absolutely impossible!"

The clan members clenched their fists, their eyes turning bloodshot with rage. There was no way they could just let it go. The clan members who had died tonight, the Third Hokage would have to pay in blood!

"Of course, with our current strength, we still can't fight against the entire Konoha," Junichi spoke in a calm, restrained tone.

"So what we need to do is make sure everyone else stays out of it."

"We must restrict tonight's conflict to just between us and the Third Hokage's inner circle. Without the support of others, the Hokage is nothing but a powerless figurehead. With only the ANBU, Root, and the Sarutobi clan behind him, how could he possibly defeat us?"

Hearing this, one by one, the clan members' eyes lit up. Especially Fugaku and several elders, their faces were full of shock.

His words had dissected the situation with crystal clarity, perfectly separating Konoha's higher-ups from the rest of the village. This was something they had never considered before. In their minds, the high-ranking officials were Konoha, the Hokage was Konoha.

The two sides were naturally seen as one.

But after hearing Junichi's analysis, they suddenly realized, the leadership and the village were not the same.

They could be separated!

"How embarrassing. We're so old, yet we couldn't see it as clearly as you," Yuki sighed.

Fugaku said with deep emotion, "Junichi, you are far more suited to be clan leader than I ever was."

The other elders all nodded in agreement, their faces full of admiration.

"After hearing your analysis, everything feels much clearer."

"Exactly. Our real enemy is just the leadership, not the entire village."

"Your insight runs deep."

Listening to these praises, Junichi only gave a faint smile, inwardly indifferent.

In the shinobi world, there was no compulsory education, leading to most ninjas having practically zero political awareness.

Even simple distinctions between friend and foe were often misunderstood.

Whereas, in his previous life, in nearly all places of the world, even an ordinary high school student could sketch out the basic lines of political struggle.

"Enough with the admiration," he said, turning to Fugaku. "Let's talk about the specific tasks."

Fugaku paused for a moment, then hurriedly said, "You are the clan leader now, just give the orders."

"It may sound harsh, but I have to say it," Junichi said coldly, "Fugaku, your mistakes can't just be wiped away by stepping down as clan leader. That's far too easy. You must realize, a lot of our elite clansmen who died tonight were killed by your son's own hand. You must bear that responsibility."

Hearing this, Fugaku didn't hesitate in the slightest. He bowed deeply and said, "I understand. In the next battle, I will charge to the front lines. If by some miracle I survive, I ask to spend the rest of my life guarding the shrine. I will never appear in public again."

Guarding the shrine, it was basically a semi-exile. From now on, he would not show himself in public or participate in any clan affairs.

The surrounding clansmen showed no reaction to this. In their eyes, such punishment was well-deserved.

"It seems you have come to terms with it," Junichi nodded in satisfaction. "But I have a better plan for you. Later on..."

He then shared a piece of his plan. After hearing it, Fugaku and the others were completely stunned.

---

Outside the Uchiha district, Koharu, Homura, various clan leaders, and representatives from the Jonin Council gradually gathered around the Third Hokage.

Each one wore a grim expression.

They had already sensed the disturbances happening inside the Uchiha grounds. The towering figure of Susanoo, many of them had seen it.

At the same time, they had also witnessed Susanoo being toppled by a single strike. This was something that, until now, only the First Hokage had managed to achieve!

"Hokage-sama."

"Hiruzen."

Just as the crowd finished gathering and were about to speak, a tidal wave of shouting erupted from within the Uchiha compound!