Milking the Clan

"Shisui, do you remember what I told you? Teacher Orochimaru was publicly the commander-in-chief at the border, but secretly, he was also responsible for a certain classified research project."

After hesitating for a moment, Uchiha Yoru looked up at Shisui and spoke his true thoughts. Well, words he had pondered and refined hundreds of times in his heart.

Uchiha Shisui immediately nodded solemnly, his face carrying a hint of admiration. "You did mention all that. Did something happen?"

"Because Konoha is in turmoil right now, Teacher Orochimaru's research has stalled due to a lack of funding. The funds provided by the clan can just make up for Teacher Orochimaru's shortfall."

"But... but..." Uchiha Yoru looked troubled and somewhat embarrassed. Under Uchiha Shisui's puzzled gaze, he sighed helplessly. "Teacher Orochimaru had me sign Ryūchi Cave's Summoning Scroll. As for Uchiha Itachi, Teacher said that with Konoha on the verge of unrest and his own classified mission, he could allow Uchiha Itachi to spend some time adapting at the front line."

He had not said no, but neither had he said yes. In short, Orochimaru was too busy right now. Not only was he the commander-in-chief at the border, he also bore a secret classified mission. Where would he find the time? Once he had time, he would come see just how gifted Uchiha Itachi was.

That was what Uchiha Yoru meant. Yet after hearing it, Uchiha Shisui revealed a shocked expression, followed by wild delight.

"Ryūchi Cave's Summoning Scroll! Brother Yoru, y-you became Lord Orochimaru's disciple!"

Uchiha Shisui's excitement clearly carried disbelief. After all, this was one of the Sannin—and a political investment as well.

"Brother Yoru, what the Uchiha Clan needs now is an Uchiha clansman who has become Orochimaru's disciple. It can be Itachi, or it can be someone else, but as long as he is from the Uchiha Clan, that is enough."

Uchiha Shisui was thrilled. He truly saw a future where the clan and the village would reconcile.

But Uchiha Yoru sighed. "I only hope the clan head will not be disappointed."

Those words made Uchiha Shisui assume a righteous expression. He nodded firmly. "Brother Yoru, don't worry. When the clan head learns that you have become Orochimaru's disciple, not only will he not be disappointed, he will be delighted."

See? Uchiha Shisui was the true genius fighting for the Uchiha Clan.

Watching this, Uchiha Yoru nodded excitedly. Then he finally revealed the real purpose he had planned and laid the groundwork for all this time.

"Alas, although the research can continue now, there is still a severe shortage of funds. Teacher said that because of the losses Konoha suffered during the Nine-Tails' Rampage, along with the Border Instability, Konoha cannot provide much funding right now. The funds supplied by the clan can only sustain things for one month at most."

First, he brought up the chaos caused by the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Although it truly had not been a conspiracy by the Uchiha Clan, the basin of filthful suspicion had long been dumped over their heads.

Sure enough, Uchiha Shisui looked somewhat awkward upon hearing that. Though it clearly had not been done by the Uchiha, there was nothing they could do about it now. But when he heard what followed, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief instead.

As long as Lord Orochimaru had not come to suspect, exclude, or even hate the Uchiha Clan because of it, that was already an enormous stroke of luck, wasn't it? So the research had run into trouble? Easy enough!

Although it had not been caused by the Uchiha Clan, if they did nothing and Orochimaru ended up resenting the Uchiha Clan because of it, that would be a terrible loss.

"Brother Yoru, don't worry. I will report this matter to the clan. The clan will provide a steady stream of funds."

Shisui was secretly relieved instead. If it were any other problem, the Uchiha Clan might truly have a headache, but if it was money, it was the easiest matter of all.

Ninjutsu was a clan's foundation, and they might be reluctant to part with it. But money? For Noble Houses—especially the Uchiha, the foremost noble clan in the Shinobi World—what was that? It was merely worldly wealth. If it was gone, they could earn more.

Sure enough, seeing Shisui's reaction, Uchiha Yoru smiled with satisfaction. "Shisui, this way Teacher Orochimaru can continue carrying out the village's classified mission. And since the clan has helped so greatly this time, once Teacher Orochimaru becomes the Fifth Generation, he definitely will not forget us Uchiha."

Sure enough, this was what the Uchiha needed most right now. The Uchiha lacked neither wealth nor ninjutsu. What they lacked most was reconnecting with Konoha and returning to the center of Konoha's power.

Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes secretly. Today, he had given Teacher Orochimaru half the funds. Then he looked at his balance.

[Gold Coins: 1,530,000 Gold Coins]

After seeing the balance, Uchiha Yoru looked at Shisui's smile and instantly became happy as well. He had struck it rich, truly struck it rich! Sure enough, why bother with missions? Missions were not only exhausting, but time-consuming, and they did not earn much money either.

Milking the sheep was so much faster. This single transaction had brought in more than 1.5 million gold coins. Converted over, that was already the full reward for an S-Rank Mission. One had to know that the village even took a cut from every mission reward.

S-Rank Missions were generally completed by teams of Elite Jonin. Even without a team, they were a near-death experience, and they took an extremely long time. There were also all kinds of expenditures during a mission, such as the consumption of ninja tools.

More importantly, how could he possibly have the ability to complete an S-Rank Mission? Wasn't this much better now? Milking the clan's sheep, one S-Rank Mission at a time. Heh, heh. Right now, he truly hoped Orochimaru would not be in such a hurry to defect, so that he could fleece them a little longer.

Not much longer—just two or three years. With the Pay-to-Win System, he would definitely become an Elite Jonin, one of the Uchiha Clan's elite.

Thinking of that, Uchiha Yoru could not help muttering inwardly, For the clan, for the Uchiha!

"Oh, right, Shisui."

Uchiha Yoru cautiously scanned the surroundings, then took out a mission scroll and said in a deep voice, "It is a classified mission from the village. With the Border Instability, Root cannot spare its elite forces, and Teacher Orochimaru urgently needs to complete the village's mission. Some unsavory tasks may require the Uchiha Clan's elite to handle."

As the scroll slowly opened, shock flashed through Uchiha Shisui's eyes. Then he reined in his emotions and frowned gravely at the mission scroll.

"Brother Yoru, this..."

Uchiha Yoru nodded firmly. "That's right. Just as you can see, these are materials Teacher Orochimaru needs for his research: Human Experimentation! The regions around the border are in turmoil, and many spies from various countries, as well as ninja from smaller nations, are gathering intelligence. They can conveniently be used as experimental materials."

Yet as Uchiha Shisui looked at Brother Yoru, who spoke so openly without the slightest shame, he was stunned. Th-this... wasn't Human Experimentation forbidden?

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