Damn That Root

Anyone who regularly watched Naruto knew that Uchiha gatherings generally discussed three things.

First, whether they should rebel.

Second, when to rebel if they decided to.

Finally, Fugaku wrapped things up with a summary of the meeting.

Eiji figured today's meeting would probably be about the same.

After eating a little dinner, Eiji headed to the shrine.

After greeting the clansmen and elders, he sat down in the back.

At the same time, he quietly scanned the clansmen in the room.

The Uchiha were known as the foremost clan, and every one of them looked incredibly full of themselves.

Shisui in the third row was even more impressive, though unfortunately, he was not very bright.

He liked spouting nonsense like, "I can use these eyes to change their way of thinking," and so on.

In the end, he not only failed to solve the problem, but was also set up by that old bastard Danzo.

That said, Fugaku had to take some responsibility for all this too.

If he had not wavered constantly, and later raised an abstractly bizarre eldest son, the Uchiha would not have ended up with only Uchiha Sasuke left.

While Eiji silently mocked them, Fugaku arrived as well.

Judging from his expression, he seemed to be in a rather poor mood.

He had probably been summoned by the Hokage for another talk.

Sure enough, Fugaku brought up the issue with the Security Division first.

"Everyone, the Security Division has been suffering from severe resignations lately, and we're seriously short-staffed. Please go home and mobilize your relatives and friends to join the Security Division."

Before Fugaku could finish, a wave of complaints rang out in the meeting room.

"Persuade people to join the Security Division? Isn't that just sending them into a pit of fire?"

"I want to resign myself. I get cursed out every day, and I've lost count of how many times people have insulted my family."

"My son's classmates found out I was in the Security Division and actually banded together to isolate him. Now my son keeps clamoring to drop out."

"..."

The problems came one after another, leaving Fugaku stunned.

He did not know how to respond either.

In that case, there was no need to respond.

"We'll discuss this issue later." Fugaku laughed awkwardly. "Next topic."

Fugaku suddenly mentioned Eiji's name. "Eiji, did you kill six Root Organization ninja today?"

Eiji sat up straight and answered loudly, "Yes, Clan Head Fugaku. I was carrying out my duties in the Security Division."

As soon as he said this, the room, which had just quieted down, exploded.

What had they heard?

Eiji had hacked apart six of Danzo's lackeys?

Damn! Good riddance!

Ever since Danzo had risen to power, that old bastard had not thought about protecting the villagers. Every day, he only schemed about targeting the Uchiha.

Whenever he felt like it, he would drag several clansmen away for questioning. When they returned, they were covered in bruises.

It was obvious they had been tortured into confessing.

Fugaku, that spineless coward, would storm off to demand an explanation, only to return with his head nearly drooping to the floor.

That muddleheaded old fool Hiruzen did nothing either, allowing Danzo and the two advisors to do whatever they pleased.

As a result, the Uchiha were filled with resentment whenever those men were mentioned.

A few bolder members had even wanted to follow in Elder Setsuna's footsteps and assassinate the Hokage leadership, but someone had apparently leaked the information.

Fugaku locked them in the detention room for a month. By the time they came out, they were completely numb.

That made them even more dissatisfied with Fugaku.

You were so harsh with your own people, so why did you not dare speak up against those idiots from Konoha?

What a clan head who was strong on the outside but weak within.

But things were different now.

The Uchiha's genius ninja was a tough man who dared to fight against Konoha!

"Eiji, beautifully done!"

"That was satisfying! Take me along next time!"

"I have some family-inherited poison. Smear it on your blade when you kill them, and I guarantee they'll be thoroughly dead."

"That old bastard Danzo didn't make things difficult for you, did he? If he did, say the word. We'll find an opportunity to avenge you!"

"..."

The noise gave Eiji a headache.

With so many people talking at once, he could not make out what they were saying.

Judging from their expressions, though, they seemed to admire him greatly.

Eiji could not help blushing. Look at the mess this turned into.

He had only meant to complete a small mission, but he had accidentally become an idol to his clansmen.

Thinking this, Eiji nearly burst out laughing.

At the front, however, Fugaku watched with an extremely heavy heart.

Ever since the Nine-Tails Incident, the voices calling for rebellion within the clan had grown louder and louder.

Even if he used his authority as clan head to suppress them by force, those people were probably only obeying outwardly while remaining unconvinced inside.

That much was obvious from what had happened today.

Fugaku had originally planned to admonish Eiji at today's clan meeting and tell him to rein himself in from now on.

Who could have imagined that it would turn into Eiji's celebration instead?

He felt somewhat depressed. Shisui in the front row felt the same way.

All these years, he had been moving between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha, hoping to resolve the conflict between both sides through his own strength.

But judging from today's situation, accomplishing that would be extraordinarily difficult.

Shisui suddenly called out loudly, "Eiji, you really shouldn't have done that!"

After he finished speaking, the room suddenly fell silent.

The Uchiha turned around one after another, wanting to see which traitor had said such a thing.

When they saw it was Shisui, the elders who had been praising Eiji suddenly transformed into furious hecklers and bombarded him with questions.

"Uchiha Shisui, what do you mean by that?"

"Come on, tell this old man. Where exactly did Eiji go wrong?"

"If you can't explain yourself today, I'll beat you to death!"

Faced with the elders' questioning, Shisui was already used to it.

He could only patiently explain.

"Acting this way will only bring temporary satisfaction, but it will arouse the Hokage and the others' wariness and suspicion."

"When that happens, it will bring even greater trouble to the clan."

After Shisui finished speaking, he was met with a chorus of jeers.

"Young as you are, how can you still be so stupid? Ever since Hashirama died, our Uchiha have lost the trust of Konoha's leadership."

"Shisui, if enduring and yielding could get us what we wanted, the Hokage would have been an Uchiha by now!"

Fugaku slammed his hand on the table. "Shut up! Don't talk nonsense!"

"Clan Head, am I wrong? Lord Madara established Konoha together with the Senju Clan back then."

"Forget giving us the Hokage position. At the very least, they should have given us an advisor's position."

"And now? The Fourth died, and the Third took over again. I refuse to accept this."

Everyone spoke over one another, making no attempt to hide the resentment in their hearts.

Shisui was thoroughly helpless as he did his best to pacify the conservative faction.

Unexpectedly, as the two sides argued, they began cursing each other.

One side called the other spineless, while the other said its opponents had no brains.

Fugaku tried to mediate between them, but nobody paid him any attention.

He irritably rubbed his face. In truth, he was used to this too.

They would be fine once they finished arguing.

He glanced at Eiji. The genius ninja who had provoked the conservative and radical factions into fighting was sitting quietly to the side with his hands tucked into his sleeves, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

After a full two and a half hours, both sides were exhausted and parched.

They finally lowered their banners and took a break to rest their smoking throats.

Fugaku finally had a chance to speak.

He knew there was no way to continue today's meeting. If this went on, they might end up taking up their blades and rebelling before nightfall.

"That's all for today. Everyone, go home and recommend some relatives and friends to join the Security Division."

"Meeting adjourned."

After saying this, Fugaku was the first to leave the meeting room.

Itachi had just been discharged from the hospital, and Fugaku still had to go home and change his bandages.

After Fugaku left, Eiji also departed with the others.

When he returned to his front door, he found Shisui waiting for him.