Hokage: Ryo's Path

H.R.P Chapter 169: Fugaku’s Plan

CThe situation left Katachi in a dilemma.

At this time, while it was possible for the Uchiha’s to take on Sakumo on his own, facing him with Minato, was a whole different deal. Facing these two, it was clear that they have no chance of winning.

“Fugaku, what do you think?” Katachi looked back at Fugaku, who had just taken over as the clan’s head.

“Their purpose is to let Kakashi keep the Sharingan he has. We can try to negotiate with them.” Fugaku said after thinking quickly.

“Negotiate? About what? Could we just let a foreigner have the Sharingan?” Katachi was a little agitated.

“Ryo Yamanaka is also a “stranger”, and he wields the Sharingan. Kakashi having another single eye won’t matter much! They seem very interested in letting Kakashi keep the Sharingan, so trying to get some interests of our clan in exchange doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

Hearing Fugaku’s suggestion, Katachi wrinkled his forehead and looked at the new clan head in shock.

All his life, Katachi had been very proud. To him, the Uchiha’s glory is above all. He would’ve never exchanged the Sharingan for anything.

Fugaku already knew well of Katachi’s stubbornness, and that the old man would never agree with him.

“Since you Katachi dono won’t agree, we have only one other way. Just try to hold these two off until I bring the 3rd Hokage to be a medium.”

“Well, that’s the only way! Fugaku, you’re the clan’s head. Go ahead and bring the Hokage, and please leave this matter to me!”

Fugaku left, and Katachi led the elite troop he had gathered in advance.

Minato noticed Fugaku’s departure and did not try to stop him. He already knew what he was going to do, and Minato himself was hoping for the 3rd to come.

The Uchiha’s elite team was entirely composed of elite Jonins and Quasi Kage tier Ninjas who have the 3 tomoe Sharingan. With their Dojutsu, they could barely capture Minato’s movement, but that helped them prevent themselves from being taken down in an instant.

On the other side, they weren’t fighting Sakumo hard, as they were only trying to waste time.

After around 10 minutes, Fugaku came along with the 3rd, and both sides stopped engaging each other when seeing him.

The 3rd was somewhat dissatisfied with Sakumo and Minato’s behavior. The two broke into the Uchiha’s district provoking them and engaging them in combat. This was no trivial matter.

Faced with the 3rd’s gaze, Minato smirked and scratch his head, while Sakumo kept his White Fang’s expressionless face.

The 3rd felt that he was beating a dead horse. These two knew him too well; they knew that he will not be really angry.

“Hokage sama, Minato and Sakumo broke into our district by force today. I hope that you would give us an account on this matter.” Katachi directly said to the 3rd.

“Oh, Chief Fugaku, Katachi dono, rest assured. I’ll make sure that you all reach a consensus.” The 3rd smiled at Katachi.

The 3rd’s answer made Minato smile. He called Fugaku chief, and then turned to Katachi. It seemed like he and Fugaku had already reached some sort of an agreement.

After the negotiations started, from Fugaku’s attitude, Minato further confirmed his 1st assessment.

It was because while Katachi was asking Sakumo to return the eye, Fugaku was turning a deaf ear to this and looking every now and again at the 3rd’s eyes.

Everyone present was aware of what was happening between the two, and Katachi soon realized that he might have fallen into Fugaku’s trap by letting him be the one to bring over the 3rd.

Sure enough, after the conversation started, the 3rd practically bypassed Katachi, talking mainly to Fugaku to find out what the Hatake clan should have to pay in order to let Kakashi keep the Sharingan.

At 1st, Katachi and the rest of the clan’s elders collectively opposed the matter. But when they heard Sakumo say that he was willing to offer a quarter of the Hatake clan’s proprety, they all went silent.

The Hatake clan had been growing at the hands of Sakumo. It was turning stronger and wealthier over the years. While it wasn’t comparable to the Uchiha, it still became comparable to the Nara and Sarutobi clans.

Hearing Sakumo offering quarter of his clan’s property for a single Sharingan, all of the Uchiha present accepted the offer with the exception of Katachi.

“I will not agree! How can the blood of the Uchiha clan be measured by money?!” Katachi was furious.

He what he wasn’t noticing, was the eyes of his fellow clansmen as he said those words.

Just like birds give their lives for food, men would do the same for wealth. Ninjas are human after all, and they all felt that Katachi’s refusal was costing them a great opportunity.

“That’s true! We are adding a request. Let Kakachi become one of the 3rd’s Anbu, until the Sharingan is of less proportion on his overall power!” Fugaku quickly added a condition.

“You must not be stubborn Katachi dono!” Another elder of the Uchiha feared that Katachi would once again interfere, and quickly tried to keep him from doing so.

Katachi’s heart was bleeding, but he did not speak out. Fugaku’s suggestion went against any argument that he was going to make.

After Fugaku succeeded as the Uchiha’s clan head, Fugaku wasn’t leaving him full control over the clan. It was the other way around, with him monopolizing power.

Fugaku was being treated like a young prince, with Katachi being his minister who pulls all the strings.

Fugaku definitely didn’t want this situation to go on, as he could only be truly the clan’s head if he could have complete control over it. However, Katachi had been the clan’s head for years, managing its interests, and his prestige was far above his successor.

Helpless, Fugaku would only lurk down and wait for an opportunity to seize control. Said opportunity came to his lap when he heard of Kakashi getting the Sharingan.

Katachi was a brutal man who was strict to tradition. Fugaku managed to use that to make him fall into his own trap. That way, he successfully weakened his prestige among the Uchiha clan.

In the end, the two sides reached a preliminary consensus with the 3rd being the medium. The Hatake clan would pay a quarter of their property and the price of getting Kakashi into the Anbu in exchange for the Uchiha’s guarantee that they would not raise questions anymore about Kakashi’s eyes.

A few days later, the Hatake sent the Uchiha a large amount of silver. The Uchiha received the money which benefited all of its members. Everyone but Katachi was very satisfied.

The negotiations also allowed Fugaku to gain supporters in the clan, rising to the status of being a true clan head.

..........................

In a hole a thousand miles away, a prestigious old man was talking to teenagers whose half was wrapped, with several white figures popping around him from time to time.

The young man was Obito, who just like in the Manga, did not die, and was instead saved by Madara.

However, his injuries this time-around were even more serious. He only woke up on this day, with the 1st thing to have in sight being Madara’s face.