At the very moment, the kunai in Gento's hand stabbed toward Fugaku—
Bang!
Purple Chakra erupted like flames and, in the blink of an eye, condensed into a skeletal arm, shielding Fugaku within it.
The kunai struck the semi-transparent bone with a dull thud, unable to pierce any further.
"Th-this… what is this…"
"Look at Fugaku-sama's eyes!"
The crowd erupted.
Fugaku slowly opened his eyes.
The original three tomoe had disappeared, replaced by a pair of eyes never seen before within the clan, intricate patterns carved into the pupils.
Elder Shingen slowly stood up, his voice low:
"When the former clan head died in battle, Fugaku was by his side. Watching the clan head fall with his own eyes allowed his Sharingan to complete its final evolution."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone present:
"These are the same eyes as the legendary Madara Uchiha-sama… the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
The crowd fell into dead silence…
Before an explosive uproar broke out!
"It's actually the legendary eyes! Then doesn't that mean Fugaku-sama is guaranteed to win?"
"I told you Fugaku-sama would definitely win!"
On the field, Gento let out a light sigh.
Having seen the original story, he of course knew that Fugaku possessed the Mangekyo.
It was just a pity that he hadn't defeated Fugaku before he activated it.
The best method he could think of was to use genjutsu to control Fugaku.
Unfortunately, Fugaku also possessed the Sharingan, so at most he would fall into a mild genjutsu.
If he had simply thrown a kunai, Fugaku's condition would have easily detected the danger and dodged.
Only by transforming into Itachi to deceive Fugaku's subconscious, making him perceive no threat and unable to bring himself to form hand seals, could it have succeeded.
Unfortunately, at the final moment, Fugaku still managed to break free of the genjutsu and activate Susanoo.
Fugaku reacted extremely fast. The moment the skeletal arm formed, it slammed down fiercely toward Gento.
That purple skeletal palm carried a fierce gust of wind, about to smash into Gento.
Everyone present held their breath.
Boom!
The deafening impact numbed their ears.
As the dust cleared, a yellow skeletal arm had firmly blocked Fugaku's attack!
Shock appeared on everyone's faces.
Even Fugaku revealed a look of surprise.
He had thought that once he activated Susanoo, this battle would be over.
He hadn't expected that Gento had also awakened the Mangekyo!
Fugaku looked up.
Within Gento's eyes were similarly unfamiliar patterns.
Gento didn't give him time to think.
The yellow arm flipped and tried to grab Fugaku's purple skeleton.
Fugaku reacted swiftly as well, immediately retreating to avoid the grasp.
The next second, the two skeletal arms collided once more.
The aftershock of the collision rippled across the ground.
Several weaker Uchiha clan members staggered backward, and some even fell flat onto the ground.
Both Susanoo remained in their first stage; just crude skeletal frames, without armor or weapons.
It was purely brute force against brute force.
Fugaku's fighting style was straightforward: suppress, then suppress again; crush through with raw power.
Yet he gradually realized that Gento wasn't fighting head-on.
The other party seemed to be constantly looking for an opportunity, trying to grab him.
Fugaku didn't understand what Gento intended to do, but he had no intention of letting him succeed.
After several more exchanges, Fugaku still held the upper hand.
He had trained longer than Gento, and his combat experience was far more extensive.
If the battle continued like this, his victory would be inevitable.
Abruptly, in a brief moment of repositioning—
Gento's yellow Susanoo suddenly seized the purple arm that failed to evade in time.
"Yomotsu!"
The moment the words fell, Fugaku felt the surrounding space ripple like water.
The next second, he had been dragged into an unfamiliar world.
Before the Naka Shrine, only the stunned clan members remained, staring at each other.
"What's going on?"
"Where did they go?!"
"Where is Fugaku-sama?!"
The three elders also stood up, their expressions grave.
Elder Chie spoke in a low voice:
"This is likely Gento's Mangekyo ability… a space-time ninjutsu. He has taken Fugaku away."
…
On the other side, Fugaku steadied himself and immediately looked around.
There was no sunlight here, no wind.
All around was a gray, hazy mist, obscuring the distance and severely limiting visibility.
Beneath his feet was solid ground, cold to the touch, like stepping on ancient stone slabs.
The air was filled with an indescribable murk; not rot, not dust, but something… like a place long, long abandoned.
Here, all of his senses were heavily suppressed.
He tried to sense Chakra.
But it felt as if his limbs were stuck in mud, unable to exert any force.
"This is… a space-time ninjutsu?"
Fugaku muttered under his breath, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings.
Gento's figure had already vanished into the mist.
In a heartbeat, Fugaku felt a filthy aura attach itself to his body, beginning to erode the Chakra within him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Fugaku quickly formed hand seals and spat out a fireball.
Yet the fireball, after flying only a short distance, visibly shrank and dimmed like a flicker, struggling for a moment before going out.
The mist closed in again.
Fugaku's brows furrowed tightly.
Both the power and range of his ninjutsu were being affected by this space, heavily weakened.
He knew he had to find Gento and defeat him as soon as possible.
If this dragged on, he would only become more and more passive.
After hesitating for a while, Fugaku finally decided to use his Mangekyo Sharingan.
His ability was: to foresee five seconds into the future!
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
The scene five seconds ahead appeared in his mind.
In his vision, the mist remained dense.
The ground showed no changes.
There was no trace of Gento.
The only change was that his own condition had worsened further under the erosion of this space!
"What kind of bizarre ability is this!"
Since his ocular jutsu had no effect, he continued trying ninjutsu.
If Fire Release didn't work, then he would switch to Earth Release.
Hand seals, palm to the ground.
The ground did not move at all.
Meanwhile, Gento was hiding within the mist, observing Fugaku in silence.
Unlike Fugaku, whose senses were suppressed and whose body was being eroded, as the master of this space, he was unaffected!
As long as he wished, he could make anyone who entered this space suffer erosion or spare them from it.
This was his ocular jutsu, "Yomotsu"!
As long as he seized an opportunity and dragged someone into the Yomotsu space, they would continuously be eroded by it.
Unless he permitted it, the only way to escape was to use another space-time ninjutsu.
If they could not leave, they would end up like Fugaku now; possessing strength but unable to use it, their Chakra slowly drained by the space until death!
Fugaku's senses were suppressed, and his Chakra was steadily draining away.
He tried several more times within the mist.
Fire Release, shuriken, even attempting to use the Sharingan to track Gento's movements.
Unfortunately, none of it worked.
The Chakra within his body was being eroded more and more.
More than ten minutes passed.
Fugaku stopped moving, standing in place.
He raised his head, looking toward the gray, hazy sky above.
"…I concede."
Within the mist, Gento's figure slowly emerged.
He said nothing, simply walking to Fugaku's side and placing a hand on his shoulder.
The space twisted once more.
Before the Naka Shrine.
The space seemed to tear open, and the two figures reappeared.
The surrounding Uchiha clan members, seeing the two reappear, all revealed curious expressions.
Who had won?
Fugaku's face was somewhat pale.
He looked at Elder Chie:
"I lost."
The scene instantly erupted into an uproar.
Although they knew Gento was powerful, many had not expected him to defeat Fugaku.
Hearing Fugaku admit it personally, everyone still felt it was somewhat unreal.
Regardless, the truth was right before their eyes.
In the crowd, Shisui stood, staring in quiet.
His gaze fell on Gento, then shifted to Fugaku, his eyes flickering, no one knowing what he was thinking.
Mikoto stood a little farther away, her hands folded in front of her, worry for her husband impossible to hide in her eyes.
Beside her, Itachi tilted his head upward, his calm gaze moving from his father to Gento.
He said nothing.
Yet a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Elder Chie nodded lightly, her expression satisfied.
"In that case, this old woman's vote goes to Gento Uchiha."
Elder Soen had long been unable to contain himself. He strode forward, grabbed Gento's hand, and raised it high.
His voice rang out loudly:
"This old man announces: Gento Uchiha is the new clan head of the Uchiha clan!"
At the moment of Soen's announcement, the system notification sounded in Gento's mind:
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission! The Family Panel has been officially unlocked.]
Gento's heart was also filled with excitement.
Only now, after becoming clan head, was the Family System fully unlocked!
He used his mind to open the system panel impatiently and check the unlocked family panel.
...
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