On the outskirts of Konoha, at the Uchiha clan's training ground—
As the sun rose higher into the sky, Uchiha clan members in green flak jackets arrived at the training ground one after another, gathering in small groups of two or three.
"I heard Uchiha Hikaru was appointed as the deputy clan leader. Did you hear about that?"
"Hikaru? I remember he awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan two years ago and even completed an S-rank mission solo."
"I heard all the Police Force ninjas were informed yesterday. We were told to gather here this morning. What's going on?"
In the shade of a tree beside the training ground, Uchiha Hikaru reclined comfortably on a folding chair, eyes half-closed beneath the canopy of leaves. Once the crowd was complete and the time felt right, he vanished in a blur, reappearing at the center of the gathering with a flash of the Body Flicker Technique.
"Separate by gender, then line up in rows of ten, left to right, in order of height! Stand straight and look sharp!"
The sudden command stunned the group for a moment, but they quickly fell into motion. As members of the Uchiha, their discipline and response time far surpassed that of ordinary shinobi.
Hikaru glanced down at the stopwatch in his hand.
"Ten seconds."
The shinobi stood in formation.
"Uchiha Inahori, step out and come to me. I want to see how you line up."
Uchiha Inahori's chest tightened at hearing his name. For a moment, he thought something had gone wrong. But as Hikaru continued, he relaxed—somewhat. It seemed Hikaru only wanted him to observe.
He stepped forward, standing at Hikaru's side, and looked out at the more than four hundred Uchiha shinobi arrayed across the training field.
Sweat trickled down Inahori's forehead. He recalled that Hikaru had specifically emphasized the word "elegant." And yet… this scene…
Individually, the postures weren't problematic. But together, as a mass of more than 400 people? It was chaos.
Arms crossed. Hands on hips. Slouched stances. Some looked like they were out for a walk, not assembled for shinobi duty.
Hikaru noted the dismay on Inahori's face and his hesitation to speak. So he said directly:
"Tell me what you see."
"…It's a mess! It looks terrible!" Inahori blurted out.
Hikaru had clearly wanted him to say it aloud.
The crowd began to stir with whispers. Dissatisfaction grew. Many still hadn't accepted Hikaru's sudden promotion to deputy clan leader. It had come out of nowhere, after all.
But Hikaru had no intention of wasting time convincing them with words.
The Three Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly in his eyes. With a casual snap of his fingers—
All four hundred-plus shinobi fell into his Genjutsu before anyone could react.
Their vision warped. Suddenly, they were observing themselves from a third-person perspective, seeing exactly how they had looked just moments earlier—awkward stances, slouching shoulders, scattered spacing, poor discipline. It was undeniable.
The image zoomed out further, showing the entire group: an undisciplined, chaotic formation.
After a full minute, Hikaru released the illusion.
"Any objections?" he asked coldly. "If you think you can trap over four hundred shinobi in a Genjutsu for even one minute using only a Shunshin-level technique, I'll gladly hand you my position as deputy clan leader."
Silence.
Not a single soul spoke.
They all understood—on the battlefield, even one second of vulnerability could mean death. A full minute under a Genjutsu? If Hikaru had wanted to kill them, they'd all be corpses.
Satisfied by their subdued expressions, Hikaru nodded to himself. As expected—once they understood his strength, everything became easier.
"Anyone want to volunteer as a team leader? I need forty. First come, first served!"
The formation broke in an instant. The field erupted with movement as shinobi surged forward in a frenzy. Over 160 shinobi came charging toward Hikaru—more than a third of the group.
Most were familiar faces—those who had attended the clan meeting the other night. A few were unfamiliar Chunin, probably not fully aware of their own limitations.
Hikaru pulled out 40 bells from his ninja pouch and held them up for all to see.
"I'll tie each of these bells to a kunai and throw them out across the training field. Whoever retrieves one and hands it directly to me becomes a team leader."
"Oh—and anything goes. Use any method you want. Just don't kill or seriously injure your comrades."
With that, Hikaru formed a hand seal.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Forty identical clones appeared in a burst of smoke. Each one held a kunai with a bell tied to it. In unison, they hurled the kunai in different directions across the training field and beyond.
"Go!"
With that command, the shinobi scattered like wild animals, some even fighting before they left the grounds.
Hikaru returned to his chair and sat down to wait.
…
"Deputy Clan Leader! I'm the first team leader!"
Uchiha Inahori returned, proudly holding out his bell-marked kunai.
Hikaru gave him a brief glance. Inahori—yes, one of the few diehard pro-war Uchiha Hikaru remembered. A bit hot-headed, but solid.
Back when Hikaru was still a Chunin, Inahori had already been a Jonin. He'd led Hikaru on several missions and had always charged into danger without hesitation. Even when he had tried to recruit Hikaru into the pro-war faction, he never flaunted their shared past.
"Keep it," Hikaru said, nodding at the kunai. "Consider it a memento—your symbol as a team leader."
Inahori stared at the kunai in his hand, then up at Hikaru, memories flooding back of the missions they'd completed together.
Hikaru had always been focused, meticulous in every operation, and far stronger than his peers. Inahori had known back then that Hikaru would rise above the rest. But awakening the Mangekyō?
He'd watched Hikaru grow stronger, step by step, and now, the younger man had left him in the dust. Yet Inahori didn't resent him—he admired him. This kind of strength brought real hope to the Uchiha.
Inahori carefully tucked the kunai away. From that moment forward, he made a quiet vow to follow Hikaru faithfully—for the good of the clan, and to carry out every mission Hikaru entrusted to him.
One by one, other shinobi returned with kunai in hand.
Hikaru memorized every face and name. Each kunai was a badge of honor, proof of merit-based leadership. Those who failed bore expressions of regret—but the disappointment didn't last long.
Soon, determination returned to their eyes.
"Each squad will have ten members," Hikaru announced. "Every two months, members are allowed to challenge a team leader—but only leaders from other squads."
The new team leaders felt a sudden weight settle on their shoulders, knowing their status wouldn't be permanent unless they earned it repeatedly.
At the same time, younger shinobi and those who had just lost their chance now had new goals—and motivation to surpass those above them.
Watching it all unfold, Hikaru felt a surge of satisfaction.
This system was perfect.
It would raise the clan's overall strength and give the Uchiha's aggressive nature a proper outlet—through competition and merit.
A win-win for the future of the clan.