Clan Gathering

October 15th.

The sun was bright and the weather was clear, much like the mood of Uchiha Chen.

Although he had laughed until he got a stitch in his side yesterday, and even ended up dislocating his jaw from the hysterical laughter.

But that was no big deal!

What kind of orthodox Uchiha hasn't dislocated their jaw a dozen times or so from laughing too hard?

Even the Uchiha who carry the Flame Gunbai flag have "grounding marks" on their jaws from chronic dislocations!

"Shisui, a flash in the pan; Obito, a total idiot; relying on ocular jutsu to roam about, what a trashy weasel."

Humming his own rewritten version of the Lonely Brave, the Home Guard squad leader Uchiha Chen began his daily patrol.

Theoretically speaking, The Uchiha Police Force is a monstrously powerful department in Konoha, handling everything from espionage and war to petty theft and domestic disputes.

But in reality, those who know, know!

With the Anbu, Root, and other departments around, the Police Force can't actually manage anything; they basically just maintain order on the streets and mediate trivial, petty matters.

Of course, being idle is quite nice; he only needs to patrol the streets a few times a day, leaving him more free time to cultivate.

But today, Uchiha Chen felt a strange atmosphere the moment he stepped onto the street.

The pedestrians on the road, whether they were ninja or civilians, would dodge their eyes and stammer the moment they saw the Uchiha clan crest;

The young widow who sold fruit, who usually acted infatuated the moment she saw Uchiha Chen, didn't even take the initiative to come over and tease him today.

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen!"

Just as Uchiha Chen was preparing to find out what was going on, a shout from high above reached his ears.

Uchiha Chen looked up at the rooftops on the side of the street.

A black-haired youth with a mole between his brows was jumping across the roofs, landing behind Uchiha Chen after a few leaps.

"It's Tekka, is something the matter?"

The youth named Uchiha Tekka was two years younger than Uchiha Chen and was his subordinate in the Police Force.

"Brother Chen, the clan leader asked me to notify you that all clan members with the Three-Tomoe are to hold a meeting at the usual place this afternoon!"

"Hmm!" Uchiha Chen nodded, "What is it about?"

Uchiha Tekka scanned the surrounding pedestrians, and seeing that everyone had a look of avoiding a plague, he sneered and said:

"It's just some boring rumors!

I don't know how they started spreading like wildfire from last night to today, saying that the Nine-Tails was controlled by us to attack the village!"

Last night?

Uchiha Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought.

He wasn't surprised that such rumors would spread; after all, they weren't exactly rumors.

What he found strange was why the rumors didn't break out the day after the Night of the Nine-Tails, but instead spread through every street and alley four or five days after that night.

"Did Orochimaru return from the Eastern Front?"

After pondering for a moment, Uchiha Chen asked with a frown.

"Eh?"

Uchiha Tekka looked at Uchiha Chen in surprise, leaned into his ear, and whispered:

"My brother and Shisui came back with Orochimaru last night, but they told me not to make a scene!"

Uchiha nodded, casually dismissed Tekka, and turned to walk in the direction of the clan grounds.

That was it.

Previously, the village had suffered heavy damage, and the Third and other high-ranking officials didn't dare to provoke the Uchiha, fearing they would truly cause trouble.

Now that Orochimaru had returned with a group of elites, and four or five days had passed—enough time to recall Jiraiya—they naturally had the confidence to test the waters.

After all, no matter what, the Three-Tomoe in the eyes of the Nine-Tails back then could not be faked.

A storm was coming!

In the afternoon, the elite members of the Uchiha clan gathered at a small shrine by the Naka River.

The Naka Shrine had been built nearly two hundred years ago; it was originally an outpost base when the Uchiha moved south from the Land of Lightning to compete with the Senju Clan.

Later, after the Uchiha established their foothold in the Land of Fire, the original camp was converted into a shrine, and the underground levels used for storing grain and weapons were repurposed by a certain clan leader into a place for holding clan meetings.

In the small basement, the room was already filled with noisy chatter.

"The Fourth dying is a good thing!"

"Can you really say that?

Though I originally thought he had a face that looked like a bottom, he looked like someone who would live a long life; I figured the clan leader wouldn't outlast him.

I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it!"

"Then does that mean the clan head can be elected as the Fifth?" another somewhat youthful voice asked.

Some of the radicals and rebels had already started popping champagne.

"Bullshit! I suggest you get your facts straight about how the Hokage election works!"

Uchiha Ryoji, the granduncle of Uchiha Shisui, slammed his hand hard against the table, glaring at the radical clansmen who had just spoken, and scolded:

"The Hokage election is decided by votes! By the votes of the jonin! Aside from our own clansmen, who would ever vote for the clan head?"

"What a joke! As for the jonin of the Sarutobi Clan, I could take two of them on by myself! Why shouldn't I get two votes? Isn't this just bullying honest people?"

Uchiha Hachidai, a radical, also slammed his hand on the table, gritting his teeth as he glared at the old man opposite him. "Go to hell!"

"I am your elder, how dare you bare your fangs at me?"

Uchiha Ryoji pulled his belt from his waist, making a move to strike, and the entire clan meeting descended into chaos.

At this moment, Uchiha Fugaku, who had been sitting in the main seat acting like a stone statue, reached out and slammed his hand down on the table.

Bang!

Following the massive sound came a sudden silence, and then Uchiha Fugaku's clear, powerful voice:

"Everyone is here, take your seats!"

Since the clan head had spoken, Uchiha Ryoji and Uchiha Hachidai naturally had to show some respect.

After trading a few more insults, they both sat down on their cushions with sour expressions.

Uchiha Fugaku scanned the clansmen with an imposing air, counting heads, and after letting his gaze linger on a few of the younger ones for a moment, he began:

"I won't waste words. There are three main reasons for calling this clan meeting today!"

He paused for a moment, then suddenly activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and said:

"The first matter: Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Inabi have both awakened their Three-Tomoe on the Mist battlefield. Let us offer our congratulations!"

Dozens of pairs of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan suddenly ignited. The bleak, chilling red light brightened the dim basement, and the protagonists, Uchiha Shisui and Inabi, were swept over by those gazes again and again.

This was the Uchiha style of congratulation.

"Good!"

After a dozen seconds, Uchiha Fugaku caught his breath and continued:

"The second matter: during this Nine-Tails Incident, the village's infrastructure suffered severe damage. The village intends for us to relocate our clan grounds to the southeast corner of the Konoha barrier, specifically the lower reaches of the Naka River!"

One stone stirred up a thousand ripples!

"What? On what grounds?"

"That would be far too inconvenient!"

"That Sarutobi brat, does he think there is no one left in the Uchiha?"

Even the Fierce Eye could not stop the discussion and complaints of his clansmen.

After the public outcry subsided slightly, the fierce-looking Uchiha Fugaku spoke again:

"The third matter: regarding the rumors spreading like wildfire about the Nine-Tails being controlled by a Sharingan during the Night of the Nine-Tails.

This matter is not a rumor; it is true!

That night, the Nine-Tails was indeed controlled by a Sharingan!"