The crowd inside the Naka Shrine stared in stunned silence.
They were completely paralyzed by Jin's seemingly magnanimous declaration. No one expected the ruthless leader of the Radical Faction to simply hand over his hard-won political victory. Even the Radical operatives standing behind him looked momentarily confused, though they remained silent out of absolute loyalty.
Only one person understood the lethal nature of the trap.
Fugaku Uchiha felt sick. He had anticipated some resistance, perhaps a shouting match where he could reassert his authority. But Jin's casual, pitying concession completely outmaneuvered him.
'He has cornered me,' Fugaku analyzed frantically. 'If I accept the credit now, I look like a pathetic leader stealing scraps from a subordinate. If I reject it and admit the truth, my credibility as Clan Head shatters entirely. I am trapped.' Fugaku's face turned an ugly shade of purple. He was hoisted by his own petard. The village's intelligent elites already suspected the timing of the Anbu withdrawal was tied to Jin's meeting with the Hokage. By pretending to be the 'bigger man,' Jin cemented that suspicion while making Fugaku look simultaneously incompetent and greedy.
"Jin, what nonsense are you spouting?!" Shisui yelled, unable to bear the insult to his leader. "The withdrawal of the Anbu is clearly the result of Clan Head Fugaku's diplomatic efforts! You do not need to fake generosity!"
Jin didn't even blink. He gave a nonchalant shrug. "Whatever you say, Shisui. How could a mere clan member like me dare to steal credit from our esteemed Clan Head?"
"You—!" Shisui stammered, his scalp prickling. He suddenly realized he had stepped right into Jin's rhythm. By aggressively demanding the credit, Shisui had only made Fugaku's faction look more desperate and defensive.
A murmur of disbelief rippled through the shrine. The Neutrals were exchanging extremely skeptical looks.
Fugaku let out a heavy internal sigh. Shisui was an unparalleled combatant, but in a political dogfight, he was an infant compared to Jin. Fugaku knew he had to change the subject immediately to salvage any remaining authority. His eyes darted across the room, analyzing the crowd.
Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out across his back.
'Where is the rest of the Radical Faction?' Fugaku realized with a start. The shrine was full, but the Radicals' seating area was practically empty, occupied only by Jin and his small escort. Clan assemblies were mandatory for Sharingan awakeners.
"Uchiha Jin!" Fugaku demanded, seizing the opportunity to go on the offensive. "Where are the rest of your men? Why are they absent from an official Clan Assembly? What are you plotting?"
The crowd blinked, their attention shifting. They looked toward the Radical section and collectively gasped. Fugaku was right. The Radicals were missing.
Jin's subordinates exchanged knowing smirks.
Jin stood up slowly, brushing a piece of invisible lint off his high-collared shirt. "Excellent observation, Clan Head. It seems you finally noticed. But since the time for Phase One is nearly complete, I suppose there is no harm in enlightening you."
He stepped forward, his voice projecting clearly to every Uchiha in the room.
"Let us clear the air. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not withdraw the Anbu out of the goodness of his heart, nor did he do it because of Fugaku's 'diplomacy'. He withdrew them because I walked into his office and nearly slaughtered Danzo Shimura in front of him."
The shrine descended into absolute, horrified silence.
"And why did I try to kill him?" Jin continued, his tone turning razor-sharp. "Because Danzo possesses a right arm grafted with the First Hokage's cells, allowing him to use Wood Release. But more importantly to us, that arm is embedded with stolen Sharingan."
Gasps echoed through the hall.
"Not only that," Jin pressed on, ignoring the rising panic. "Danzo has mastered Izanagi—our clan's ultimate forbidden jutsu that permanently sacrifices a Sharingan to rewrite reality and erase the caster's death. He resurrected himself multiple times during our fight. Furthermore, beneath his bandages, his right eye is a stolen Mangekyou Sharingan. Given the timeline, it is almost certainly the eye of Uchiha Kagami, the only Mangekyou user to die under mysterious circumstances decades ago."
Jin turned his gaze directly onto Fugaku, his eyes burning with accusation.
"Open your eyes, Fugaku! Our clansmen are disappearing on border patrols. Their eyes are being harvested to fuel Danzo's immortality! While you sit here hosting a celebration, our bloodline is being desecrated!"
Jin swept his gaze over the paralyzed crowd. "Konoha suffered a massive humiliation today. The Hokage will inevitably retaliate in the shadows. My men are absent because they are actively fortifying our borders and establishing 24-hour combat patrols. You shouldn't be drinking tea; you should be preparing for war. But if you choose to die blindly, do not say I didn't warn you."
Without waiting for a response, Jin turned on his heel and strode out of the Naka Shrine, his men flanking him.
He had delivered the perfect killing blow to Fugaku's leadership. Under Fugaku's reign, the Uchiha had bled on the battlefield only to be denied places on the Memorial Stone. They had been stripped of their ancestral lands, relocated to the village edge, and placed under constant surveillance. And now, the ultimate sin: their sacred dojutsu was being actively harvested by the village elders.
By dropping this intelligence, Jin forced Fugaku to take the blame for years of passive incompetence.
The moment the heavy shrine doors closed behind Jin, the room exploded.
"Danzo has a Sharingan arm?!"
"He's using Izanagi?! With 'our' eyes?!"
"Kagami-sama's Mangekyou?!"
Even the most staunch Moderates and Neutrals were frothing with rage. The desecration of their bloodline was an absolute taboo that transcended faction politics.
"Silence! Everyone, please calm down!" Fugaku yelled, slamming his hand on the table. His head was pounding. "This is only Jin's side of the story! Do not let panic dictate your actions!"
"But what if he's right, Clan Head?!" a veteran Uchiha shouted back.
"I will personally investigate this matter and give the clan a full explanation!" Fugaku promised desperately. "Just... give me time! Assembly dismissed!"
It was Fugaku's signature move: indecision and delay.
Surprisingly, despite their initial fury, the Uchiha crowd slowly began to disperse. They were deeply conditioned to follow authority. Just as they would allow Fugaku to delay their armed rebellion until the very night of their eventual massacre, they grumbled but ultimately submitted to his stalling tactics tonight.
But the seed of absolute distrust had been planted, and Fugaku's control over the clan was fracturing.