"Young Fugaku, that's what happened. Chunin Sakuma was also in the wrong, but I still hope everyone will treat the people in the village like family. If something like this happens, you can come to me directly. I'll stand up for Young Yoichi."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke kindly to Uchiha Fugaku, who nodded with a slightly darkened expression after hearing this.
"Lord Hokage, Yoichi was being thoughtless this time. I'll punish him when I get back. As for Chunin Sakuma's medical expenses, the Uchiha Clan will cover them."
"Fugaku, it's good that you're willing to do that. However, Sakuma was also in the wrong. He shouldn't have bad-mouthed Uchiha Yoichi in public."
The Third Hokage spoke in a slightly solemn tone. "I've emphasized this many times: everyone in Konoha is family. So this time, I won't overlook Sakuma's mistake just because he was injured."
"Third Lord, your magnanimity is truly admirable!"
Uchiha Fugaku felt somewhat moved. His judgment hadn't been wrong. The Third Hokage was someone capable of removing the barrier between the Uchiha and Konoha.
If I have a child in the future, I'll name him after the Third Hokage's father.
After ending the conversation, Uchiha Fugaku returned to the Security Force. He still had someone deliver Sakuma's medical expenses to Konoha Hospital.
Only then did Uchiha Fugaku summon Uchiha Kanbayashi. He was a squad leader in the Security Force and a prominent supporter of the Clan Head's faction.
"Clan Head, why did you summon me?"
"Senior Jianlin, have you met Uchiha Yoichi?"
Uchiha Kanbayashi nodded. "Of course. Although he delayed things for quite some time during this trip, it was understandable. Clan Head, you probably don't know this, but he obtained a piece of Chakra Metal half the size of a fist while he was away. He came to me earlier because he wanted to forge a ninja blade."
"Half the size of a fist? That really is rare. However, Senior Jianlin, Yoichi attacked a Mission Squad ninja in the Hokage Building as soon as he returned, and even beat him into the hospital."
Uchiha Fugaku changed his tone and continued, "Because of this, Lord Hokage summoned me just now. Although Lord Hokage didn't blame Yoichi and even let us deal with it ourselves, Yoichi was far too impulsive this time. He actually attacked a fellow Konoha ninja in the Hokage Building."
Uchiha Kanbayashi asked in disbelief, "Clan Head, Yoichi isn't an impulsive person. Why did he attack a Mission Squad ninja? Did they assign him the wrong mission again?"
"No. Third Lord told me that the Mission Squad ninja had been spreading malicious rumors about Yoichi. After Yoichi overheard him, he attacked and beat that ninja into the hospital."
After hearing Uchiha Fugaku's explanation, Uchiha Kanbayashi understood somewhat, but he still asked, "Clan Head, what do you plan to do about this?"
"Summon Yoichi. At the very least, we have to punish him appropriately. If we show no response at all, we won't be able to answer to Third Lord."
"Lord Hokage told you to handle it yourself, didn't he? Why not just give him a verbal reprimand?"
Seeing that Fugaku didn't seem to agree with his suggestion, Uchiha Kanbayashi continued, "Clan Head, Yoichi was already wronged over that previous matter. He didn't accept any compensation from the clan afterward, either. If we punish Yoichi over this matter, I'm afraid it will truly provoke his resentment and dissatisfaction."
In any case, Uchiha Yoichi was a fairly renowned genius in the Uchiha Clan. Chunin were already rare in Konoha. Moreover, in the several missions where his entire squad had nearly been wiped out, he had either escaped from Jonin squads or killed a Jonin.
With this level of strength, Uchiha Kanbayashi fully believed that Yoichi already possessed Jonin-level strength. He simply hadn't undergone the evaluation yet.
In a few more years, Uchiha Yoichi might very well become a powerhouse representing the Uchiha Clan. Uchiha Kanbayashi felt that punishing him over a minor matter would be somewhat excessive.
"Senior Jianlin, what you said makes sense. However, although our Uchiha are powerful, Konoha has many Ninja Clans, and there are plenty of strong people as well. We already control the Security Force. If we try to meddle in other areas of power too, the other Ninja Clans will definitely become dissatisfied."
Uchiha Fugaku said heavily, "Quite a few people in the village are watching our Uchiha. It would be best not to give them anything to seize on. Yoichi may have been in the right this time, but injuring a fellow villager in front of Lord Hokage is still difficult to justify."
"Have him apologize to that Chunin Sakuma. He only needs to show that he recognizes his mistake and let Third Lord see his attitude."
"An apology isn't much of a punishment. I'll go persuade Young Yoichi."
Uchiha Kanbayashi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, he and Uchiha Fugaku had overlooked one thing. If they wanted the dovish faction within the Uchiha Clan to lower its head and admit fault, it would not be difficult.
But if they wanted the hawkish faction within the Uchiha Clan to lower its head and admit fault, they might as well stab him and then use the Sharingan to control him.
Although Uchiha Yoichi was not part of the hawkish faction, he also wouldn't do something so disgusting to himself just to benefit others.
He trained desperately so that he could live with dignity. Otherwise, with Uchiha Yoichi's looks, he would have been more than qualified to become the Daimyo's son-in-law. Why would he need to train so hard every day?
Uchiha Fugaku spoke up. "The clan gathering is tomorrow. Senior Jianlin, have Yoichi attend as well. We'll talk about it at the gathering."
The last time they had spoken in private, Fugaku had already seen that Uchiha Yoichi was very opinionated and had even refused the clan's compensation.
Fugaku was worried that Uchiha Yoichi would react the same way as last time. However, once they were at the clan gathering, his supporters would take turns persuading him. Uchiha Yoichi should agree to apologize.
"This ninja, the custom weights you want are rather troublesome. They'll cost a total of one hundred and fifty thousand ryo. The materials themselves aren't expensive, but weights that fit your body perfectly require a ninja tool craftsman to make."
"No problem. Notify me when they're finished. Here's the money."
Uchiha Yoichi took out a Storage Scroll. After undoing the seal, he withdrew one hundred and fifty thousand ryo and handed it to the owner of the Ninja Tool Shop, then left his address.
He had been planning to make these weights for a long time. Taijutsu training was basically inseparable from weights, especially when training the body for Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
However, Uchiha Yoichi wanted the weights to have quite a few functions, so they cost a little more. Otherwise, he could have simply used basic metal blocks like Rock Lee.
Wrist guards, leg weights, and a Ninja Suit. They also needed to offer protection and be easy to remove, which was why they were so expensive.
It was almost Year 43 of Konoha. Uchiha Yoichi had only just returned when he heard that Konoha's number-one genius, Kakashi Hatake, planned to take the Chunin Ninja Exams alone.
"I should train for a while first. I need to work on combining Lightning Release Chakra Mode with swordsmanship. It would be great if my Sharingan could improve a little. One Tomoe isn't enough anymore."
Uchiha Yoichi knew very well that the evolution of the Sharingan required stimulation, but he didn't seem to have anything capable of stimulating him.
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