Uchiha Qi had been highly successful in talking the two eighteen-year-olds into it.
Although both were far more mature than their peers—especially Minato Namikaze, who had already become the foremost figure among the younger generation—they were still completely played by Uchiha Qi.
That was because both of them were textbook family men, willing to give everything for their families. Family was their weak spot.
Uchiha Qi directly laid out the issues they would need to consider after starting families in the future, then told them that all the major clans in Konoha did the same. By lowering their resistance from several angles, he got them to accept starting a venture with him without any qualms.
In truth, Uchiha Qi had not lied. Minato Namikaze's home really was tiny. It was quite suitable for two people, but once there was a third person, it would feel a little cramped. If the family grew to four people, it would become downright cramped.
By then, he would inevitably have to follow the path Uchiha Sakura would take in the future—taking out a mortgage to buy a house. Honestly, that was absurd. A medical ninja at the level of the new Three ninja would actually need to take out a loan for many years just to buy a house? Was there really nothing wrong with Konoha's housing prices?
All one could say was that in Konoha, where there were many Ninja Clans and over ninety-five percent of the resources were controlled by the major clans, civilian ninjas truly had a difficult time surviving.
Of course, that was the conclusion Uchiha Qi reached from his own perspective. To the locals, many things had always been that way. Besides, Konoha was already as good as it could possibly be. One could even say life in Konoha was happy—a truly prosperous golden age, with good governance and harmony among the people.
At the very least, Konoha's civilians did not have to worry about being inexplicably killed by a group of wandering ninjas or bandits that suddenly appeared. Nor did they need to fear being taxed a hundred years into the future, or some local tyrant suddenly popping up and randomly selecting an innocent civilian to persecute until their family was destroyed.
All one could say was that in a world where everyone competed to be less terrible, one should not demand too much from this so-called prosperous age. If you said it was not good enough, people might even call you insane.
Of course, the more likely outcome was that you would be reported as a possible spy sent by another country.
Uchiha Qi had neither the grand ambition nor the ability to change all of that, so he chose to join them if he could not beat them.
Of course, if he accidentally brought about some "minor" changes along the way, that could not be blamed on Uchiha Qi.
After all, what bad intentions could Uchiha Qi possibly have? He only wanted to promote games and complete the system missions better.
By the time night had fallen, Uchiha Qi and Minato Namikaze escorted the Uzumaki Sisters home together.
It was another small apartment, and it was not far away either. It was practically the perfect home for Konoha's orphans.
Although Kikyo Uzumaki did not live under the same roof as Kushina Uzumaki, the house Konoha had arranged for her was right next door to Kushina Uzumaki's. Therefore, there was nothing wrong with saying that the two Uzumaki Clan sisters lived together.
As Uchiha Qi and Minato Namikaze escorted the Uzumaki Sisters home, a clan meeting of the Uchiha Clan's upper echelon began within the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha's core district.
The current head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Masanobu, who was nearing fifty, sat in the seat of honor. His face, seventy percent similar to Uchiha Fugaku's, bore a sharp and solemn expression.
Though the faint weakness and gray pallor between his brows seemed to foretell that this imposing Clan Head only had a few years left to live, so long as he remained alive, he was unquestionably the one in control of the Uchiha Clan.
To Uchiha Masanobu's right, Uchiha Fugaku sat properly with his back straight, his expression cold and stern, as though he had copied and pasted his father's bearing.
Opposite the father and son, the Uchiha Clan's elders and influential figures who possessed Three-Tomoe Sharingan sat in orderly rows according to rank and status.
Yet these people, who should have worn equally solemn expressions, now looked shocked and incredulous.
After all, the information Uchiha Fugaku had just revealed was simply too astonishing.
Then, Uchiha Setsuna—the white-haired, deeply wrinkled Grand Elder, already over seventy years old, a representative of the Uchiha Clan's hawkish faction, and undeniably a long-lived man in the ninja world—asked in his aged, hoarse voice.
"Fugaku, is what you said true? Is that Genjutsu Game really so miraculous?"
Even as the young Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku had to speak with sufficient respect before the Grand Elder. "Yes. This is the conclusion I reached after personally experiencing it this afternoon. In fact, within the Genjutsu Game, I even felt that my Sharingan had changed."
"However, perhaps because no matter how much stimulation I received, I still understood that the Genjutsu Game was something false, I failed to cross that crucial threshold."
After hearing this, the Uchiha Clan members trembled once, twice, three times, and then shook uncontrollably. They could no longer suppress their shock and excitement.
Uchiha Fugaku had not directly stated what kind of change his eyes had undergone, but his eyes were already top-tier Three Tomoe. What further change could there be? What crucial threshold could he have crossed?
Everyone present was among the Uchiha Clan's upper echelon and knew the clan's secrets. The existence of the Mangekyō Sharingan was a secret to ordinary Uchiha Clan members, but not to them.
The Uchiha Clan legend, Uchiha Madara, had only left a little over forty years ago. Moreover, Uchiha Setsuna was an old relic who had lived through the Warring States Period. Some things required only the slightest hint to understand.
In an instant, every member of the Uchiha Clan's upper echelon widened their eyes, revealing pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Driven by their excitement, the tomoe in their eyes began to slowly rotate—honestly, the fact that those tomoe could rotate was pretty absurd. No one could understand the principle behind it. On Earth, countless ophthalmologists and scientists would definitely want to study it properly.
Having weathered more than forty years of Konoha's storms, followed Uchiha Madara, witnessed Uchiha Madara's glory, and then experienced the Uchiha Clan being invisibly suppressed under two generations of Hokage, Grand Elder Uchiha Setsuna radiated a powerful presence no one at the twilight of their life should possess.
"Fugaku, can you confirm that what you said is true?"
His powerful Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared fixedly at Uchiha Fugaku, placing him under immense pressure.
However, his years of self-cultivation had not been for nothing. Though he was panicking inside, he remained as steady as a mountain on the surface, making him seem like a born hardliner.
Then, outwardly composed, Uchiha Fugaku said in a deep voice, "Elder Setsuna, do you think I would lie about something like this?"
A counterquestion, coupled with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan appearing in his own eyes as he met the truly hardline Grand Elder's gaze. It was as though fierce sparks crackled through the air, creating an oppressive atmosphere.
The nearby Uchiha Clan members watched this and were all deeply satisfied with Uchiha Fugaku's performance. As expected of the young Clan Head—he was so forceful even before the Grand Elder. He truly was a born ruler of the Uchiha Clan!
Then, thinking of how Uchiha Fugaku might actually awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, they became even more excited. Quite a few of them were trembling.
Because these Uchiha Clan members thought of the last Uchiha Clan legend to possess the Mangekyō Sharingan—Uchiha Madara!
Likewise a young genius, likewise once the young Clan Head, likewise destined to become Clan Head in the future, likewise possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Could it be that the Uchiha Clan would welcome another Uchiha after Ancestor Madara, one who would become the Ninja Asura?
At that thought, their brains felt as though they were about to explode with excitement.
At that moment, Uchiha Masanobu, the current Clan Head, smiled. He even revealed the gratified air of an elder, his eyes filled with pride.
In another script, this would have been the moment to shout everywhere, "My son Fugaku has the makings of an emperor."
Then, Uchiha Setsuna closed his Sharingan and revealed a gratified expression. With a wistful smile, he said, "Wonderful. Our Uchiha Clan has finally produced another outstanding leader. Masanobu, you have raised a good son."
Though Uchiha Masanobu was Clan Head, his status and prestige within the clan could not compare to the Grand Elder before him. Hearing that, he quickly bowed and said, "You flatter him, Grand Elder. My son is still young and needs further growth."
Of course, those words were merely modesty. No one present took them seriously. They only praised Uchiha Fugaku. Some younger Uchiha Clan members—such as Uchiha Yashiro—looked at Uchiha Fugaku with fanatical eyes, filled with excitement as they began imagining the wonderful future of following behind Uchiha Fugaku and making the Uchiha Clan great again.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku's prestige as the young Clan Head had been completely established among the Uchiha Clan's upper echelon. Especially since he remained calm and unruffled even now, people regarded him even more highly. They felt his temperament was practically flawless. Combined with his potential to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, his future was limitless. Everyone believed he could lead the Uchiha Clan back to greatness.
Only Uchiha Fugaku himself, facing the blazing and astonished gazes of the Uchiha Clan's upper echelon, appeared utterly calm while inwardly panicking like mad—he had nearly collapsed beneath the pressure radiating from Grand Elder Uchiha Setsuna just now, and even now, the lingering fear remained.
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