Roy's Plan!

After treating them to a meal, Roy returned to his residence.

"Ahh..."

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he spotted a crow.

"Shisui's crow?"

Roy raised his hand, and the crow landed on it.

It opened its beak and spat out a small bamboo tube.

Roy took out the piece of paper inside.

"They've already reached the Daimyo Palace?"

"Now it's up to you, Shisui."

Roy took out a pen and quickly wrote down the intel. Once he handed it to the crow,

the bird turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared.

Back in his room, Roy immediately activated his Sharingan.

After making sure no one was watching nearby, he took out a sheet of paper.

It was densely covered in Chinese characters, detailing Roy's plans.

Even if he had written these words for them, no one would understand them.

Still, it was better to be careful.

Thanks to his efforts, the Uchiha's reputation in the village was slowly improving.

Catching the rogue ninja had earned the Uchiha another boost in prestige, thanks to Asuma's two lackeys.

And Shisui and the others would gain some prestige by escorting the Daimyo.

That would at least give the clan a solid foundation among the villagers.

As for the higher-ups...

Roy had no plans to deal with them for now.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were the kind of people who wouldn't act as long as no one threatened their interests.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was a sanctimonious schemer. He had even plotted to bring about the death of his own grand-disciple, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

The Senju Clan, his own teacher's clan, had also slowly declined under his watch.

As for Danzo, there was no need to say more.

His goal was the Hokage's seat, and he was already obsessed with it.

So the higher-ups were off-limits.

Roy had no plans to approach the other clans for now, either.

Most of Konoha's clans were the sort to mind their own business. As long as the situation remained unclear, they wouldn't take sides.

They would build their foundation bit by bit, then make their move against the higher-ups.

With that in mind, Roy noted a few details, put the paper away, and began to refine his chakra.

A week later, the uproar over the traitor had just died down.

Roy took his four-man squad out on patrol again.

"I feel so much safer with the Military Police Force patrolling."

"Yeah. I used to think the Uchiha were cold and unfriendly, but yesterday they even helped repair my wall. If I asked other ninja for help, I'd have to put out a mission."

"The Uchiha seem different from before. What I've heard about them doesn't match what I've seen at all."

People in the village no longer treated patrol squads with the same hostility as before.

Instead, they began approaching the Uchiha on their own.

After seeing this change, Natsume had the others start forming patrol teams, too.

They followed Roy's methods.

It was tiring, but the clan members' attitudes were slowly changing along the way.

The person who felt this change most keenly was Uchiha Fugaku.

Before this, clan members had come to him with complaints every other day.

Even the Hardline Faction had calmed down considerably.

"Uchiha Roy... I don't know what you have in mind next, but for now..."

"Nagasawa, go bring Uchiha Roy here."

After thinking it over, Fugaku decided he should hear Roy's thoughts in person.

A few minutes later, Roy arrived at Uchiha Fugaku's courtyard once more.

"Come and sit."

When Roy arrived, Uchiha Fugaku found himself growing more and more impressed with him.

Roy wasn't a genius, but in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, he was more important than any genius.

Shisui was a genius, but he was always caught between the clan and Konoha's High Command.

Itachi was a genius, too, but he always followed in Shisui's footsteps.

"Clan head, is there something you need me to do?"

Roy was a little puzzled, too.

At first, he had planned to tell Uchiha Fugaku all his ideas for the Uchiha's future.

With Uchiha Fugaku's support and leadership, the clan could change even faster.

But Roy hadn't dared to take that chance.

If Fugaku rejected his ideas, Roy's position would become even more dangerous.

So he hadn't gone to see Uchiha Fugaku, and apart from the last time he received a reward, he hadn't interacted with him at all.

"The clan's situation has improved."

"I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Uchiha Fugaku skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

He thought Roy was smart enough to understand why he had called him.

"Win over the villagers, then take on the higher-ups."

"Clan head, you know about the attack on me."

"Those people still want to destroy the Uchiha. We have to be prepared."

"Passively waiting and hoping our enemies will spare us is the worst strategy!"

Roy spoke without holding back, laying out the Uchiha's current situation in the plainest terms.

"The higher-ups?"

"Then what if the other clans, at a time like this..."

Uchiha Fugaku was worried.

The Uchiha weren't afraid of the higher-ups alone.

What he feared was the higher-ups wielding the village's support as a weapon and bringing the entire village down on the Uchiha.

That was one reason Uchiha Fugaku had remained so indecisive.

"They won't."

"If the Uchiha gain influence and build a solid foundation in the village,"

"the other clans won't blindly take sides."

"So the Uchiha need to be a little more outspoken from now on."

As Roy spoke, the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily.

He knew that if he kept pushing the Uchiha to change, Uchiha Fugaku would eventually seek him out.

He had prepared these talking points well in advance.

"More outspoken?"

In Uchiha Fugaku's view, now that they had gained some benefits, shouldn't they keep a low profile?

Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't a fool. Acting boldly would be dangerous.

"The village is going to be attacked."

"And it'll happen soon."

"We need to prepare."

"There's something else Mikoto needs to do."

As he spoke, Roy looked toward Uchiha Mikoto, who was watering flowers nearby.

"Mikoto?"

Uchiha Fugaku was even more confused.

"The Jinchūriki!"

Roy's smile widened.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

At the mention of that name, Uchiha Fugaku's expression turned strange.

Naruto had a very unusual status in the village.

The Uchiha were unusual, too.

If they approached him, they could very well...

"Mikoto is friends with Kushina. It's only natural for her to visit and help out."

"If I remember correctly, your second son, Uchiha Sasuke, is the same age as the Jinchūriki, right?"

"They could get to know each other."

Roy narrowed his eyes and spoke calmly.