Mad Laughter

"How is this possible?" Uchiha Fugaku could not believe what his eyes were seeing, and his mind raced with a multitude of conjectures.

Perhaps they hadn't gone to cause trouble, but to surrender.

Perhaps Uchiha Yan had descended like a god and taken out the Hokage directly.

Perhaps they had paid a heavy price, only to be resurrected.

And so on, and so forth.

Uchiha Fugaku's thoughts flew wild, his guesses becoming increasingly absurd.

After all, the scene before him was simply too surreal.

It was impossible that Uchiha Yan had caused such a massive stir, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had simply let it slide.

Uchiha Fugaku turned his head to look at the elders.

He saw that the expressions on their faces were much like his own moments ago—full of disbelief.

The barely waist-high Itachi had his small mouth agape, rubbing his eyes from time to time, feeling as though he had been caught in a genjutsu.

"Clan Head, I have returned with the clansmen!"

Yan walked up to Uchiha Fugaku, then tapped his own forehead, correcting himself.

"I forgot, from this moment on, you are no longer the Clan Head."

"Insolent!" the Second Elder shouted, "Uchiha Yan, do you have any sense of hierarchy left in your heart?"

The Third Elder chimed in, "Exactly! If you want to be Clan Head, you have to see if we agree to it first."

Facing these rebukes, Yan gave a cold laugh and pointed to the clansmen behind him.

Using the same tone and the same rhetoric, he retorted with sarcasm.

"If I am not to be Clan Head, you will have to ask the clansmen behind me if they agree."

Uchiha Yashiro, standing to the side, immediately caught the drift and raised his fist, shouting.

"I only recognize Yan as Clan Head; no one else is worthy. Isn't that right, everyone?"

Upon hearing this, the clansmen behind him followed suit, waving their fists and roaring in agreement.

"That's right, we only recognize Lord Yan!"

"Is that old dog Fugaku even fit to be Clan Head?"

"It was Lord Yan who led us to secure the Autonomous Region for the Uchiha Clan. Aside from him, I submit to no one."

"A useless Clan Head and a bunch of senile, decrepit elders—go to hell!"

"..."

The echoes of agreement rose and fell, interspersed with insults that were as harsh as they could possibly be.

Listening to those voices, the look of bewilderment on Uchiha Fugaku's face deepened.

What on earth did I do to them?

As Clan Head, I have worked tirelessly and without complaint, exhausting myself for the sake of the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, to the point where my hair is turning white.

If there is no credit, surely there is at least some toil?

And... what did I just hear?

Autonomous Region? What Autonomous Region?

Uchiha Fugaku reached out to stop the elders who were about to start hurling insults, and asked urgently.

"Yan, what is the meaning of this 'Autonomous Region' the clansmen are talking about?"

Facing Uchiha Fugaku's inquiry, Yan took out the negotiated document and flung it directly into his face.

"See for yourself!"

Uchiha Fugaku didn't bother to dwell on the other's rudeness; he hurriedly caught the document and began to read.

The elders to the side also leaned in to take a look.

After all, they were elderly men; they certainly couldn't win a shouting match against these thousands of people, so it was better to see the contents before making a decision.

Itachi did the same, wanting to see what was written on the document, but because he wasn't tall enough, he could only crane his neck and keep standing on his tiptoes, his face full of anxiety.

A long while later.

Uchiha Fugaku and the elders looked at each other in utter confusion.

After repeated verification.

The document appeared to be genuine; it even bore the seal representing the Hokage, making the possibility of forgery extremely slim.

That meant.

Uchiha Yan had actually led the clansmen to bite a piece of meat off the Hokage, and it was no small piece at that.

This was an Autonomous Region.

An entire area would be under the full, exclusive management of the Uchiha Clan.

As long as no major incidents occur, even the Hokage faction has no right to intervene.

This is far better than the "village within a village" nonsense those old bastards from the Hyuga Clan are pulling.

Looking at the contents, even the First Elder, who usually never shows his emotions, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Yan, I never expected you to actually pull this off."

He then bowed to Uchiha Yan in apology.

"I apologize for my rudeness just now. I support you in becoming the clan head; only you can lead the Uchiha Clan toward glory."

Seeing the First Elder's actions, the Second Elder also came to his senses.

Uchiha Yan had secured autonomy over a region of Konoha.

In the history of the clan, no one could compare to this achievement, save for Uchiha Madara, one of the village's founders.

Under these circumstances, his own opinion no longer mattered, and it was better to be pragmatic.

Thus, like the First Elder, he bowed slightly to apologize.

The Third Elder, however, couldn't bring himself to do it and still wanted to waver.

But under the urgent, signaling gazes of his two friends, he could only lower his head in frustration and express his apologies.

As for Uchiha Fugaku.

He stood frozen in place, clutching the file.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand how Uchiha Yan could incite a riot with so many people and leave Konoha in a state of panic, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen actually swallowed it.

Is he a turtle or something?

But with things having reached this point, no matter how unwilling he was, it was useless.

He could only lower his head to face reality, hand the file back, and say, "Yan, perhaps you are more suited to be this clan head."

[Side Quest 1: Completed]

[Reward: Mangekyo Sharingan]

[...]

[Side Quest 4: Gain the approval of over ninety percent of the villagers within the Autonomous Region]

[Reward: Nine-Tails Chakra]

[...]

[Side Quest 5: Increase the economic prosperity of the Autonomous Region]

[Reward: One-Tail Chakra]

[...]

[Side Quest 6: Establish a full-strength army]

[Reward: Two-Tails Chakra]

[...]

The system's mechanical voice rang in his ears, but Yan had no time to inspect it now.

His full attention was on Uchiha Fugaku and the elders.

Seeing them willing to support him and obey his commands, Yan finally couldn't help but look up and laugh.

"Hahahahahaha!"

The unbridled laughter echoed over the Uchiha Clan, full of exhilaration, yet no one had any objections.

They all looked at this young man with fanatical eyes.

From the confusion of first arriving in the Ninja World to now, gaining everyone's recognition as clan head, and temporarily resolving the crisis of annihilation—giving the Uchiha Clan a real chance to turn the tables.

How long had it taken?

Twenty-three chapters, about half a year.

Although the system provided a tiny bit of help along the way.

It was enough to prove that I am a genius!

As a genius, the Uchiha clan head, and the governor of the Autonomous Region, at only eighteen years old.

So what if I laugh loudly? So what if I laugh arrogantly!

This laughter lasted for a full half-hour.

It made Tekka unable to resist patting Shisui on the shoulder and asking, "Does Yan usually laugh for this long?"

Shisui scratched his head, looking equally puzzled. "I don't know either. Yan usually only comes to see me when there's something important, and I rarely see him smile when we're discussing serious matters."

"Perhaps he's just too happy."

"After all, this is truly the beginning of the Uchiha Clan returning to glory."

"I believe in him!"

Tekka, Yashiro, and many other members of the Uchiha Clan exchanged smiles.

"We all believe!"