The Joy of Being Trusted

Under the light of the Susanoo, the welcome ceremony ended hastily. The Uchiha Clan returned to their compound in high spirits, while the Uchiha Four Greats shut themselves in the Clan Head's room for a closed-door meeting.

"Young Lord has toiled and labored for the clan while away from home. You've truly endured hardship."

As soon as he entered and sat down, Uchiha Shikata attempted to use words to close the distance with Uchiha Takeyasu.

Ever since he diverted trouble eastward, leading several Kumogakure jonin to Konoha's outpost, causing the outpost's Senju jonin to die in battle and fully igniting the war between the two villages, Uchiha Takeyasu had been branded a rogue ninja.

Counting the time, he hadn't returned to Konoha in nearly three years. Routine contact had been handled by Uchiha Setsuna. As the Compromise Faction's Clan Head, he truly hadn't exchanged many words with Uchiha Takeyasu.

Now that Uchiha Takeyasu's identity as Young Lord was confirmed, if the relationship grew any colder, he'd likely be sent off to fish in retirement. Being a Clan Head reduced to that would be far too shameful.

Nearby, Uchiha Kaku's situation was similar, but since he wasn't the Clan Head, the greatest shame wasn't his. His tone was only slightly softer.

"I didn't expect Young Lord's Susanoo to have been developed to such a level. Before everyone in Konoha, you displayed our clan's strength, even awakening the eyes of quite a few of our younger generation. However, Young Lord's eyes..."

There were some things Uchiha Kaku found hard to say. Uchiha Setsuna, who was much closer to Uchiha Takeyasu, had fewer reservations. This Martial Faction elder, with his sinister expression, stared at Uchiha Takeyasu and spoke gravely.

"Young Lord, has your eyesight been giving you problems?"

"Without reaching the Eternal Realm, the divine power of the Mangekyo causes a complete decline in vision with each use, until total blindness."

Meeting the concerned gazes of the three elders, Uchiha Takeyasu said in a deep voice, "Regarding this point, please don't worry. One of my Mangekyo dojutsu techniques allows me to use certain things to bear the cost I pay."

Uchiha Setsuna's eyes lit up. He pressed, "For example?"

Prepared in advance, Uchiha Takeyasu focused intently on the expressions of the three elders and spoke slowly. "The lives of ninja."

Now that the war was over and he had returned to Konoha, he could no longer freely hunt enemy ninja as before. To keep his Ascension Points working efficiently, Uchiha Takeyasu chose to reveal a small piece of information to the clan, making them willingly become his support.

Rather than hiding it from the clan and exhausting himself taking missions alone. After all, he was a man of status now. Doing those missions anymore would be beneath him, and the returns were low.

In Uchiha Takeyasu's view, those who had power but didn't use it were either virtuous saints or eccentric fools with serious mental issues.

"Excellent!"

"Heaven truly aids the Uchiha!"

Uchiha Setsuna clapped his hands and laughed, then looked at Uchiha Shikata alongside the smiling, silent Uchiha Kaku.

"Just so happens the clan controls the Security Department. All those death-row prisoners are kept for you. If that's not enough, the clan can also go catch a batch of bandits and mountain thieves for you. In these chaotic times, they're not hard to find."

The three elders, who had survived since the Warring States Period, carried none of those psychological burdens.

To a certain extent, outsiders were on the same level as roadside weeds in the eyes of these three Uchiha. Killing a person was more natural than killing a chicken.

Uchiha Shikata thought for a moment, then added, "I'll first familiarize you with the Security Department. After a while, the position of Security Department Chief will be handed over to you."

"The clan has decided to fully support your rise to the position of Third Hokage. The Security Department Chief is a suitable stepping stone."

Having long since heard this news from Tachibana, Uchiha Takeyasu felt neither surprise nor shock—only the heavy weight of responsibility and the joy of being trusted.

The Uchiha Clan's love and hate had always been clearly divided.

"Thank you for the trust, elders and Clan Head. Takeyasu will not disappoint you."

Uchiha Takeyasu placed his hands on his knees, slightly bowing his head. "As I said before the gates of Konoha—ahead of us, there are absolutely no opponents!"

"Excellent!"

Uchiha Setsuna looked at Uchiha Takeyasu with growing satisfaction. He somewhat regretted not having a suitable daughter himself, nor did there seem to be any particularly outstanding girls in the clan.

(But young men yearn for love. We can't let an outsider steal our Young Lord's heart.)

Uchiha Setsuna coughed twice and looked at Uchiha Shikata.

"Clan Head Shikata, the Young Lord has been away for many years and is unfamiliar with the clan's youth. When would be a good time to hold a banquet for the young people, so the Young Lord can interact more with the clan's younger generation?"

Uchiha Setsuna's exaggerated winks nearly made Uchiha Shikata laugh. Having fought back and forth for so many years, he understood Uchiha Setsuna's meaning with a single thought.

(Marriage alliance—that's a good method. But even a clever woman can't cook without rice.)

Uchiha Shikata was also somewhat helpless. People from the Warring States Period married early, but some married very late. Unfortunately, he was the latter. His only child, Fugaku Uchiha, was not yet a year old.

"Elder Setsuna is right. Once the Young Lord has settled in, we'll hold a welcome banquet and let the Young Lord spend more time with the young people."

This kind of opportunity to expand his network was naturally something Uchiha Takeyasu readily accepted.

Time passed bit by bit until mealtime.

Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Kaku left arm in arm, planning to seek out the outstanding young women of the clan.

Uchiha Takeyasu, at Uchiha Shikata's invitation, stayed for dinner and met the infant Fugaku Uchiha.

Toward this future famously infamous final Clan Head of the Uchiha—who would father the heavyweight Itachi Uchiha, that ingrate who personally killed his kin and wiped out the clan—he felt no particular ill will.

The butterfly's wings were already flapping wildly. The future in Uchiha Takeyasu's memory was bound to be unrecognizable.

As long as he was good at delegating, the indecisive Clan Head Fugaku could still become the "Fierce Eye" Fugaku on the battlefield, fighting for the Uchiha Clan's interests.

His sons, if properly educated, could still become capable generals of the Uchiha Clan.

Besides, decades from now, Uchiha Takeyasu estimated the entire ninja world would bear the Uchiha name. He might even have fought his way to another world by then.

After a pleasant dinner where both host and guest enjoyed themselves, Uchiha Takeyasu was arranged to stay in a house next door.

Apart from being entirely wooden in construction, it wasn't much different from the modern society of his previous life. Entering the house, Uchiha Takeyasu turned on the ceiling light at the genkan. Bright light illuminated the hall connected to the entrance.

The hall also had an air conditioner. On the left and right were an open kitchen and a corridor leading outside. The washroom was beneath the staircase leading to the second floor.

Recalling Shikata's instructions before he left, Takeyasu climbed to the second floor. There were four rooms up there; the innermost master bedroom had already been cleared out, furnished with everything from a TV to a change of clothes.

"Everything's on track."

Towel in hand, Takeyasu ambled toward the washroom. After a quick rinse, he sank into the already-filled bathtub. No special effects, no Chakra fluctuations—his Mangekyo silently surfaced in his eye sockets.

With his strength having initially stepped into the Super Kage realm, the third stage of Susanoo was now within reach. The ability of his left eye, [Amenotokotachi], had expanded to cover a radius of five hundred meters.

Most of the Uchiha core territory had opened its doors to him. From the Clan Head on down, every movement of the Uchiha elites played out in his mind. Paired with his right eye's map teleportation...

Given time, from the highest heavens to the deepest Yomi, who in this world could he not kill?

A faint smile curled on Takeyasu's lips. He performed the Summoning Jutsu, grabbed the half-asleep Tachibana, and took a deep, satisfying inhale.

Meanwhile, Senju Moriki had begun his own move.