Clan Meeting

After all, he wanted to become Hokage someday.

Going back on his word would affect his reputation once he became Hokage...

So Sarutobi Taro had no choice but to put on a brave face.

How was he supposed to know?

Some girls from the Hyuga clan naturally had huge appetites and could eat a great deal.

And after obtaining a Sage Body, Genya's appetite was even more outrageous.

"Please come again." Teuchi, the owner, personally saw the three of them out with a smile.

The three of them had eaten a total of twenty bowls of ramen.

It was not only recognition of his cooking.

It had also brought in fifteen hundred ryo in revenue.

"Thank you, Taro."

Genya and Nami thanked him in unison with perfect tacit understanding. Genya even let out a satisfied burp; it was rare for him to eat until he was this full.

"It's only natural between classmates." Sarutobi Taro clasped his hands behind his back, though he was actually squeezing his flattened wallet tightly. He felt like crying inside, yet his expression remained falsely calm and composed.

"Sarutobi Taro, coveting money will only weaken your resolve to become Hokage. Take a deep breath and keep your composure."

Sarutobi Taro smiled at the two of them.

But it looked a little more like crying.

o(╥﹏╥)o.

Clan Meeting

On a weekend night.

At Fugaku's home.

The day's training had ended.

Genya had originally come over to mooch a meal, only to discover that Fugaku was holding a meeting with the clan's elites.

Arguments occasionally broke out inside.

As Genya sat by the corridor, keeping little Sasuke company, he vaguely caught a few keywords.

Things like "reduced wages, lowered benefits, and the higher-ups' suspicions."

Genya guessed that the village had reduced its funding for the Uchiha, resulting in lower salaries for Military Police Force members and causing the disputes.

Although the Uchiha were one of Konoha's great clans and possessed the Sharingan, they lacked highly profitable industries due to suppression by Konoha's upper ranks.

At the same time, to prevent Uchiha clan members from awakening the Sharingan, Konoha's upper ranks tried to minimize assignments that sent them outside the village. After all, the deaths of clan members and friends could deeply stimulate an Uchiha, causing special chakra to form in their brains and flow into their eyes, thereby awakening the Sharingan.

It had to be said.

That was indeed a brilliant tactic.

It directly caused the Uchiha clan's income to decline.

The overly peaceful environment also weakened the Uchiha's overall strength.

Like boiling a frog in warm water.

Military Police Force members were doing relatively well.

Their salaries came from village funding.

But ordinary clan members lived even more frugally.

They could only earn money by opening shops or setting up stalls. Uchiha Teshio and Uchiha Uruchi, the married couple, earned their meager living by selling flatbread.

"Big Brother Genya, come play with me!" Little Sasuke tugged at Genya's clothes, pulling him back from his thoughts.

"What do you want to play?" Genya patted Uchiha Sasuke's little head and asked softly.

"Big Brother Genya, show me how you breathe fire!" Little Sasuke looked at Genya with sparkling eyes full of anticipation.

"Well, I can't..." Genya coughed awkwardly, looking slightly embarrassed.

Bloodline limits were among the Uchiha's highest-level secrets. Beyond that were the clan's treasured ninjutsu.

Although his parents had both been Uchiha ninja and had learned Fire Style ninjutsu, every clan guarded its techniques strictly. The scrolls were taken back after study, and private copying was forbidden, so Genya had never encountered any secret Fire Style techniques.

Six-year-old Genya was not yet qualified to learn Fire Style. At present, he had only mastered the Three Basic Techniques and the Chakra Extraction Technique.

Of course, Wood Release was another matter.

"My brother can do it. Big Brother Genya, you're terrible!" Upon hearing Genya's answer, a sly glint flashed through little Sasuke's eyes. Then he waved his hands wildly as if forming hand seals, pretending to breathe fire with repeated "whoosh, whoosh" sounds as he performed Fire Style.

Little Sasuke gave a smug snort.

After all, Itachi was the person he admired most.

Genya was utterly speechless.

Well, well, little Sasuke.

Forget it, children said whatever came to mind.

Fortunately, I'm magnanimous enough not to hold it against you!

So Genya called little Sasuke over and firmly pinched his chubby little cheeks with both hands as he said, "Little Sasuke, you really are such a cutie!"

Little Sasuke's face shifted between round and square as he could only make muffled "mmph, mmph" sounds.

Before little Sasuke awakened the Eternal Mangekyo and obtained the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan, Genya had to happily "play" with him a little more.

Whether little Sasuke was happy or not, Genya did not know.

But Genya was certainly happy.

He was broad-minded.

Generous, even!

Just as Genya was pinching little Sasuke's cheeks, Itachi suddenly pushed open the meeting room door and walked over to them.

Genya immediately sat up straight, placed a hand on little Sasuke's head, and gently stroked it, adopting the appearance of a kindly older brother.

Who would have thought that little Sasuke would immediately run to Itachi and complain, "Brother, Big Brother Genya bullied me! Waaaah..."

Itachi's gaze turned cold as he stared at Genya with clear hostility. Genya gave an awkward smile, indicating that he had merely been joking.

Itachi snorted coldly. "Father wants you to come listen in on the meeting."

After learning that Genya had arrived, Fugaku had asked Itachi to invite him to attend the meeting.

The Naruto world was strange. Children only a few years old could go to war, so it was not unusual for six-year-old Genya to attend a clan meeting.

Genya nodded without finding it strange and followed Itachi into the meeting room.

Genya's father had once been one of the Uchiha's strategists and had offered many constructive suggestions for the clan's development. Thus, even at only six years old, Genya was valued.

He had attended previous clan meetings as well.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat heavy.

An ancient meeting table stood in the center.

Fugaku sat at the head of the table with a grave expression.

Besides him, there were clan elites such as Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Inabi, and Uchiha Tekka.

They were also members of Konoha's Military Police Force.

Genya glanced around and discovered that Uchiha Shisui, known as Body Flicker Shisui, was not among them.

But that made sense.

Uchiha Shisui was an Anbu member, so it was indeed inappropriate to invite him to this kind of clan meeting.

Besides that.

Genya also saw quite a few boys and girls around his age sitting in the observer seats!

"Genya, take a seat." Fugaku pointed out a seat for Genya.

The meeting continued.

Fugaku said:

"Since the Nine-Tails Incident, the village's upper ranks have suspected our clan, and the villagers do not trust us. Our reputation in the village has steadily worsened. We must turn this situation around and allow the Uchiha to live openly and honorably in this village!"

"What methods do you have to change the current situation? Speak freely. There is no need to hold back."

The moderate Fugaku still wished to repair relations with Konoha's upper ranks.

First, he wanted to increase the village's funding for the Uchiha Military Police Force.

Second, he did not want war to break out between the village and the Uchiha, causing casualties.

As for Uchiha Yashiro of the clan's Radical Faction, he sat with his arms folded and eyes closed, saying nothing. He knew full well that unless the Uchiha achieved some great merit for Konoha, it would be truly difficult to change any of this.

"Fugaku, you're still too naïve!"

Inabi and Tekka remained silent.

Itachi frowned deeply and let out a faint sigh.

"Is there really no way to break the deadlock?" Fugaku smiled bitterly.

At that moment, Genya, seated among the observers, hesitated for a while before saying, "Clan Head, I believe Konoha has never regarded us as one of its own. We Uchiha have never been trusted, and the current situation will be difficult to change."

Genya was familiar with the Naruto storyline and knew that Danzo had been stirring things up in the shadows. The Uchiha were struggling at every step right now, and it was fundamentally impossible for them to repair their relationship with Konoha.

Because Fugaku and his wife had shown Genya kindness, and the clan members treated him well, he wanted to change all this within his capabilities.

Furthermore, Genya could only gain attention and receive better training by appropriately displaying his talents.

Fugaku sighed deeply and smiled bitterly, thinking, Even six-year-old Genya can see it. Why keep trapping myself in this futile struggle...?

Everyone felt the sorrow of a rabbit dying before the fox.

Many Uchiha were unwilling to believe it, or still had a trace of struggle in their hearts. They hoped Konoha's upper ranks would have a change of heart.

But all of that was nothing more than a daydream.

Fugaku, in particular, felt even worse.

The Uchiha had sacrificed countless clan members to protect Konoha during multiple Shinobi World Wars. Fugaku himself had rendered tremendous service during the Third Shinobi World War, yet none of those sacrifices had ever received recognition from Konoha's upper ranks. It was as though everything they had contributed had been in vain.

"Then how do you think the Uchiha should proceed from here?" Fugaku stared at Genya without dismissing him because of his young age. There was a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

Genya's father had been one of the Uchiha's strategists. Perhaps influenced by him, Genya might also display extraordinary strategic ability.

The many Uchiha turned expectant gazes toward Genya as he spoke calmly.

"Have you ever considered that our Uchiha demands have always been simple? We only want to be free from suspicion and distrust, and to have the right to fairly and openly compete for high-ranking positions in the village."

The Uchiha were one of Konoha's two founding clans. So far, Konoha had produced four Hokage, yet not one of them had been an Uchiha. There were not even any Uchiha among Konoha's upper ranks.

Konoha's upper ranks had always excluded the Uchiha from the center of power.

The Uchiha had no channel through which to speak for themselves. That was extremely unfair to them.

Genya continued:

"Now that the die has been cast, we no longer have the power to change those things. What we can do is strengthen the Uchiha to deal with the risks that may arise next."

"We cannot wake someone who is pretending to sleep, just as the Uchiha cannot make Konoha's upper ranks have a change of heart."

Genya's viewpoint was clear and logical, causing light to bloom in Fugaku's eyes. "Then how do you think the Uchiha should strengthen themselves?"

After pondering for a moment, Genya said:

"First, implement the Young Eagle Policy."

The so-called Young Eagle Policy meant increasing the training of the Uchiha's younger generation.

Due to Konoha's suppression, the Uchiha's overall strength had declined severely. Whether Jonin or Chunin, their numbers were shrinking.

Thus, Genya proposed that after young Uchiha graduated from the Ninja Academy each day, Jonin or Chunin from the clan should continue training them. This would raise the younger generation's overall strength and prevent a gap in the clan's succession.

At present, the Uchiha did not invest enough effort into training the younger generation, and the policy was not properly implemented, so their overall strength improved slowly.