Clan Meeting (Part 1)

In the southern outskirts of Konoha, lush green woods surrounded the area, with streams babbling through the vibrant landscape.

Few people lived here; only a handful of families remained.

Those who stayed here were all elders who had lived here since Konoha was founded.

The Uchiha Clan's territory, Naka Shrine, stood in the center of these grounds.

When Qingguang arrived, only a few Uchiha were there, hurrying one after another toward the secret chamber beneath the shrine.

"Qingguang, you're finally here. Come, sit here."

Ever since Fugaku had arrived at the chamber, he had kept his eyes fixed on the stairway entrance.

Fugaku had invited him, so Qingguang naturally accepted, taking a seat on the cushion to Fugaku's left.

He also greeted the clan members around him.

But some of the clan members, seated on either side of the meeting hall, looked at Qingguang with hostility.

Qingguang merely smiled and nodded in greeting. His gesture only seemed to make them uncomfortable; they stiffly forced out a smile in response.

After all, not every Uchiha joined the Police Department. Some lacked the necessary skill, but more of them resented the Neutral Faction, represented by the clan head and Fugaku.

They thought of them as nothing but troublemakers.

Click, click...

The clock on the wall ticked away. By eight o'clock, everyone had arrived, and the clan meeting began.

The discussion of the clan's accounts and income ended quickly.

For the Uchiha Clan, this was the least important part of the meeting, and the part they cared about least. It had always been left to Grandma Cat of their allied Ninja Cat Clan to handle; they only needed to go through the motions and follow procedure.

After all, the Uchiha Clan wasn't particularly skilled at managing money.

No one was especially interested in the account details.

The clan head, Fugane Uchiha, put away the scroll recording the accounts, his expression turning serious. "Everyone, according to the information provided by Lord Hokage, Amegakure has recently been buying up large quantities of grain across the Shinobi World. Other nations have also begun gradually recalling the shinobi sent out on missions."

"Lord Hokage wants us to send people to infiltrate the Land of Rain and investigate Amegakure."

"What do you think? Do you have anyone to recommend?"

The Shinobi World's current situation was extremely unstable, and everyone knew it. But the Uchiha had always been at odds with the village, so almost no one had expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to entrust such important information to them.

By convention, this task should have gone to the Aburame Clan.

Seated on the left side of the hall, Elder Setsuna, the leader of the Hawk Faction, let out a cold laugh. "He wants us Uchiha to investigate the Land of Rain."

"Has Hiruzen Sarutobi gotten so old that his mind's gone soft?"

"The Uchiha specialize in Fire Release. Sending us on an intelligence mission to a place where it's always raining? I say he's just looking for an excuse to weaken the clan."

"He might as well send us to attack the Land of Rain outright."

Setsuna Uchiha wore a surly expression, his eyes full of hostility. He scoffed at the mission.

Fugane was already used to Setsuna's behavior. Whenever anything related to the village's leadership came up, the old man always had to make a sarcastic remark or two.

After all, Setsuna had been imprisoned for ten years following his failed coup during the Battle of the Underworld, and the humiliation had left him resentful toward Konoha's leadership to this day.

Fugane looked toward Fugaku.

As the clan's future successor, Fugaku understood at once. He nodded slightly and said, "Elder Setsuna, that's not quite right. Don't let the resentment from your past failure cloud your judgment. This is a clan meeting, and we must put the clan first, not let personal feelings get in the way. I believe this is Lord Hokage showing goodwill toward the Uchiha Clan."

"It's only an intelligence-gathering mission. We won't need to fight there. The Aburame Clan's insect users are skilled at this, but the Uchiha's Sharingan is no less capable."

"Besides, with the Sharingan, even if we do end up fighting, an Uchiha would never lose in a one-on-one battle. Any way you look at it, this is an opportunity for us Uchiha to show what we can do."

Years of guidance and training from his father had made Fugaku every bit as skilled at smoothing things over.

His words addressed Setsuna alone while also saving face for the other Hawk Faction members.

Unfortunately, he overlooked the loyalists behind Setsuna, leaving them dissatisfied.

Taking advantage of the moment, the Dove Faction elder seated across from Setsuna, Hanaumi Uchiha, spoke up.

"Fugaku, you're mostly right. But if the Uchiha take the credit that should have gone to the Aburame Clan, won't the other clans misunderstand us?"

"If we can take a mission from the Aburame Clan today, then tomorrow we could take one from Ino-Shika-Cho. The other clans will grow wary of us."

"The clan's current predicament proves that perfectly. Clan Head, I still think we ought to be more cautious."

At the end, Hanaumi smiled as he looked at Fugane.

Throughout all this, Qingguang sat silently beside Fugaku, doing nothing, as if he were merely a bystander.

Even Shifang kept signaling him with his eyes, but Qingguang pretended not to understand and just kept smiling.

[Qingguang, now's the time! Use your invincible Mangekyo to subdue them all and lead the clan. I've already paved the way for you.]

[Once you make a move, everyone else will support you.]

That was what Qingguang understood from Uncle Shifang's expression.

Qingguang wanted to, but he couldn't do that.

He could use Sharingan Genjutsu to fool Uncle Shifang, but there was no way he could fool nearly a hundred people at the clan meeting with Genjutsu, right?

Even if he really did activate the Mangekyo, he probably still wouldn't manage it. And it wasn't as if he'd even awakened the Mangekyo yet.

All he could do was blink in response.

But Shifang interpreted it in an entirely different way.

[Don't worry, Uncle Shifang. Everything's going according to my plan. It's not time yet. Just watch me.]

[Let them jump around a little longer. I'll make my move.]

Reassured by Qingguang's signal, Shifang relaxed.

He'd seen the results Qingguang had achieved in the Police Department over the past few months. His own early mornings and late nights spent winning support for the boy hadn't been in vain.

He nodded with satisfaction and picked up the cup of tea beside him, savoring a sip.

The elders and the clan head were all passionately debating their positions. Even their trusted followers joined in, trading insults and shouting at each other.

Then they heard Shifang slurp his tea.

Everyone's gaze snapped toward him.

Setsuna scowled, his already dark, gloomy face growing even more sinister.

"Elder Shifang, we're all here worrying about the clan. And you have the nerve to sit there drinking tea?"

"Do you think we're putting on a show for you?!"