Clan Head

A broad underground passage appeared before the gathered clansmen.

Uchiha Gen followed beside the Great Elder at the front of the group, slowly entering the passage.

At the end of the passage lay the secret chamber where the clan assembly was held.

The chamber was fairly spacious, more than enough to accommodate these clansmen who had awakened their Sharingan, though it was still not as large as the main hall of Naka Shrine outside.

With everyone gathered together, they were much easier to see clearly than when they had been scattered outside.

There were just over two hundred members of the entire Uchiha Clan who had awakened their Sharingan. Among those at the front, there were roughly thirty Uchiha jonin who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The entire Konoha currently had fewer than two hundred jonin. The value of the Uchiha Clan's thirty-odd jonin was self-evident.

In the Ninja World, the only ninja clan that could compare with the Uchiha in terms of jonin numbers was the Hyuga Clan, another of the Ninja World's foremost great clans.

But the key was that Uchiha with the Sharingan were generally stronger than ninjas of the same rank. As long as Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan refined their Dojutsu Power and became proficient in the various abilities of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, not every one of them might become an Elite Jonin, but all of them stood above the average jonin.

Clan Head Uchiha Hisa sat at the head of the chamber, his face sharply chiseled and his eyes carrying a keen glint.

The Great Elder sat at the foremost seat of the first row below him. At his side were Uchiha Hane and the Third Elder, Uchiha Kai.

The three elders formed the clan's leadership beneath the Clan Head. The Great Elder held the highest position, overseeing the clan's education, inheritance, and resource allocation. He had the authority to enforce the Clan Rules and served as the Clan Head's deputy in managing internal affairs. The Second Elder served as the Clan Head's deputy in the Konoha Military Police Force, while the Third Elder handled other matters, such as the clan's external intelligence channels, commercial operations, and internal production.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Uchiha Hisa, seated at the head, spoke at once.

"This month, one new clansman has awakened the Sharingan: Uchiha Gen."

Uchiha Gen, seated at the very end of the last row, immediately rose to his feet. He opened his One-Tomoe Sharingan and turned in a circle to display it to all the clansmen.

"May you live up to the clan's great expectations in the future and use your eyes to safeguard the honor of the Uchiha."

Uchiha Hisa spoke in a deep voice.

"Yes, Clan Head."

Uchiha Gen gave a slight bow.

"Mhm. Sit down."

This clan assembly was merely a chance for him to show his face before the clansmen and let everyone know that one more member of the clan had awakened the Sharingan.

After this assembly, with this pair of Sharingan, he would be able to receive a monthly subsidy from the clan.

As one of the great clans, the Uchiha naturally had deep pockets and had never been stingy toward clansmen who awakened the Sharingan.

The gap between ninja clan ninjas and civilian ninjas existed in every respect, not merely in the inheritance of ninjutsu and bloodlines.

The clan assembly continued.

"...Two members have evolved their Sharingan. Special Jonin Uchiha Yama has evolved to Three-Tomoe, and an application for his promotion to jonin has already been submitted to the Third Hokage. Chunin Uchiha Yao also evolved to Two-Tomoe during a mission two days ago."

A young Uchiha man and a girl who appeared slightly older than Uchiha Mikoto stood up, displaying their newly evolved Sharingan to the clansmen as they went through the formalities.

"This month's operating profits from clan assets..."

"The Konoha Military Police Force personnel adjustments are as follows..."

Uchiha Gen sat below, rather bored. After listening for a while, he began to space out.

The matters currently being discussed at the clan assembly had nothing to do with him, until the topic shifted once more to matters related to the war.

"Since the start of this Ninja World War, the Third Hokage has placed Konoha's safety first and repeatedly rejected the Konoha Military Police Force's requests to join the war. The small number of clansmen outside the Konoha Military Police Force's structure have likewise received no deployment orders."

Uchiha Hisa looked at the sea of Uchiha elites before him and said,

"However, because the Kumogakure Delegation attempted to abduct an important person from the village two days ago, all members of the delegation are currently being detained. The village leadership believes that the conflict with Kumogakure will escalate further and that they will face a shortage of manpower. They have agreed to the Konoha Military Police Force's request to join the war."

The previously silent clansmen below instantly erupted into an uproar.

Calls to be sent into battle rang out without end.

The Uchiha, who possessed the Sharingan, had always been the clan best suited to war, the most eager for it, and the ones who enjoyed battle the most.

Uchiha Hisa turned his gaze toward the Great Elder, Uchiha Gen.

The latter gave a slight nod to show his understanding, then shouted in an aged voice,

"Silence!"

As the Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan, with the highest seniority and the greatest military achievements, he carried considerable prestige within the clan. Most of the Uchiha present had heard the Great Elder's name from the moment they were born.

Moreover, he controlled the clan's punishments and Clan Rules, lending him a natural air of authority.

The clamorous voices quickly subsided under the Great Elder's lead.

The Great Elder tapped the ground with his cane.

"Listen to the Clan Head."

Uchiha Gen sat cross-legged at the very back, watching the scene with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

It seemed that Uchiha Hisa did not possess much prestige as Clan Head. He still needed to rely on Uchiha Gen, this elder who had labored long and earned great merit, to barely keep the clansmen under control.

That made sense. They all had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Uchiha Hisa had neither awakened the Mangekyo nor become a Kage-level Expert. Without the strength to subdue other clansmen of similar power, how could those proud and unruly Uchiha possibly submit to him?

It seemed that Uchiha Hisa's position as Clan Head was rather tenuous. At the very least, he could not keep all the clansmen in line.

"However, the number of places for the war is limited. The clan cannot send every clansman to the battlefield, much less halt the normal work of the Konoha Military Police Force. This is the fundamental prerequisite for clan ninjas to join the war."

Uchiha Hisa spoke in a deep voice.

"Now, those clansmen who are not part of the Konoha Military Police Force but have already received war deployment orders, stand."

Out of more than two hundred Uchiha, only a dozen or so clansmen stood.

The Konoha Military Police Force consisted entirely of Uchiha, and most Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan were within it, but that did not mean every Uchiha had joined the force.

Uchiha Gen was among those dozen or so clansmen as well.

Orochimaru had already informed them that morning. Their squad had been assigned to the Strategic Support Unit heading toward the Land of Rain, serving as a second-line unit.

They certainly would not be sent to dangerous places to carry out missions, but it was still part of the war front, merely not the very first line.

"Next, the Second Elder will announce the list of frontline combat personnel arranged by the council of elders."

"Yes, Clan Head."

Uchiha Hane stood and took out a sheet of paper, then began to read.

"The following clansmen are hereby temporarily relieved of their duties in the Konoha Military Police Force and will head to the front as war participants."