Naruto: I Use Chakra to Upgrade Bloodline Limit Chapter 9

After all, he was a man who wanted to become Hokage in the future.

Breaking his word would affect his reputation once he became Hokage...

Therefore, Sarutobi Taro had no choice but to puff up his cheeks to look fat, pretending he could afford it.

How was he to know?

Some of the girls in the Hyuga clan naturally had excellent appetites and could eat a great deal.

And Genya, having obtained the Sage Body, had an even more exaggerated appetite.

"Welcome back anytime." Teuchi, the owner, personally saw the three of them out of the shop with a smile on his face.

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

It was not only an acknowledgment of his culinary skills.

It had also brought in a turnover of fifteen hundred ryo.

"Thank you, classmate Taro."

Genya and Nami were perfectly in sync, thanking him in unison. The former even let out a burp; it was rare for him to be this full.

"Between classmates, it's only right." Sarutobi Taro kept his hands behind his back, though in reality, he was tightly gripping his flattened wallet. He was crying on the inside, yet he forced a look of stoic indifference on the outside.

Sarutobi Taro, coveting money will only affect your resolve to become Hokage. Take a deep breath and maintain your composure.

Sarutobi Taro flashed a smile at the two of them.

But it looked more like he was crying.

o(╥﹏╥)o.

Chapter 10: Clan Meeting

Weekend night.

At Fugaku's house.

The day's training had concluded.

Genya had originally intended to come over for a free meal, only to find Fugaku holding a meeting with the clan's elites.

Arguments could be heard from time to time.

Sitting on the veranda and keeping an eye on little Sasuke, Genya could vaguely hear a few keywords.

For instance, "reduced wages, lowered benefits, and the suspicions of the higher-ups."

Genya guessed that the village had likely reduced its funding for the Uchiha, leading to lower wages for members of the Military Police Force, which had sparked the dispute.

As a prestigious Konoha clan possessing the Sharingan, the Uchiha lacked lucrative industries due to the suppression they faced from the Konoha higher-ups.

At the same time, to prevent Uchiha clansmen from awakening the Sharingan, the Konoha higher-ups tried their best to minimize the number of missions assigned to them. After all, the death of clansmen or friends would deeply stimulate the Uchiha, causing special chakra to surge into their eyes and awaken the Sharingan.

It had to be said.

Such a tactic was indeed a brilliant move.

It directly resulted in a decrease in income for the Uchiha clansmen.

An overly comfortable environment also caused the overall strength of the Uchiha to decline.

It was like a frog being boiled in warm water.

The members of the Konoha Military Police Force were doing alright.

Their wages came from the village's appropriations.

But the lives of ordinary clansmen were even more strained.

They could only earn money by opening shops or setting up stalls; Uchiha Teshio and Uchiha Uruchi, that couple, relied on selling rice crackers to earn their meager living expenses.

"Brother Genya, come play with me!" Little Sasuke tugged at Genya's clothes, pulling his thoughts back to the present.

"What do you want to play?" Genya patted the Second Pillar's little head and asked softly.

"Brother Genya, perform a Fire Style for me!" Little Sasuke looked at Genya with starry eyes, full of anticipation.

"This, I don't know how..." Genya coughed dryly, his expression slightly awkward.

Bloodline limits were the highest-level secrets of the Uchiha; beyond that, there were the clan's stored ninjutsu scrolls.

Although his parents were Uchiha ninja and had learned Fire Style ninjutsu, every clan guarded their ninjutsu strictly. Once learned, the scrolls were taken back, and private copying was forbidden, so Genya had never been exposed to Fire Style secret techniques.

At six years old, Genya was not yet qualified to learn Fire Style; he had currently only mastered the "Three Basic Techniques" and the Chakra Extraction Technique.

Of course, Wood Release was a separate matter.

"Brother can do it, Brother Genya, you're too weak!" Hearing Genya's answer, a flash of craftiness crossed little Sasuke's eyes. He then waved his hands wildly, as if performing hand seals, and pretended to breathe fire, shouting "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" to simulate a Fire Style technique.

Little Sasuke sniffed his nose, looking extremely smug.

After all, Itachi was the person he admired most.

Genya was speechless.

Well played, you Second Pillar.

Forget it, children say the darndest things.

Fortunately, I am a magnanimous person, so I won't hold it against you!

With that, Genya softly called little Sasuke over, pinched his slightly chubby, baby-faced cheeks with both hands, and said while squeezing, "Little Sasuke, you really are such a cutie!"

Little Sasuke's cheeks were squished into various shapes, and he could only let out muffled "wuwuwu" sounds, unable to speak.

Before the Second Pillar awakens his Eternal Mangekyou and gains the Rinnegan from the Sage of Six Paths, I must have some "fun" with him while I can.

Whether little Sasuke was having fun, Genya couldn't say.

But Genya was certainly having a blast.

My heart is broad.

I am truly magnanimous!

Just as Genya was pinching little Sasuke's cheeks, Itachi suddenly pushed open the door to the conference room and walked toward the two of them.

Genya quickly straightened his posture, placed his hand on little Sasuke's head, and stroked it gently, putting on the appearance of a kind older brother.

Who would have thought that little Sasuke would run straight to Itachi and tattle, "Brother, Brother Genya is bullying me, wuwuwu..."

Itachi's gaze turned cold, and he stared at Genya with an unfriendly expression. The latter gave an awkward smile, signaling that he was only joking.

Itachi let out a cold snort and said, "Father wants you to come to the conference room to listen in."

After Fugaku learned of Genya's arrival, he had asked Itachi to invite the latter to join the meeting.

The world of Konoha is quite strange; children only a few years old can go to the battlefield, so it was no surprise that six-year-old Genya was allowed to attend a clan meeting.

Genya nodded, not finding it strange at all, and followed Itachi into the conference room.

Genya's father was once part of the Uchiha think tank, having provided many constructive suggestions for the development of the Uchiha, so the six-year-old had also gained their attention.

Genya had been allowed to attend previous clan meetings as well.

Inside the conference room, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

An ancient, simple conference table sat in the center.

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

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

They were also members of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Genya scanned the room and noticed that Uchiha Shisui, known as "Body Flicker Shisui," was not among them.

But that made sense.

Uchiha Shisui was a member of the Anbu; it was indeed inappropriate to invite him to such a clan meeting.

Besides them.

Genya also saw quite a few youths of his own age, both boys and girls, sitting in the guest seats!

"Genya, take a seat." Fugaku pointed to a spot for Genya.

The meeting continued.

Fugaku said:

"Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the village higher-ups have been suspicious of our clan, and the villagers do not trust us, causing our reputation in the village to continuously decline. We must reverse this situation and let the Uchiha live in this village with dignity!"

"Do you have any ideas on how to change the current situation? Speak your minds; there is no need for reservations."

As a moderate, Fugaku still wanted to repair relations with the Konoha higher-ups.

Firstly, he wanted to increase funding for the Uchiha Military Police Force.

Secondly, he did not want a war to break out between the village and the Uchiha, which would cause casualties.

As for Uchiha Yashiro, a radical within the clan, he sat with his arms crossed and eyes tightly shut, saying nothing. He knew deep down that unless the Uchiha performed a major feat of merit for Konoha, it would be truly difficult to change all of this.

"Fugaku, you are still too naive!"

Inabi and Tekka remained silent.

Itachi frowned deeply and sighed softly.

"Is it that hard to break the deadlock?" Fugaku gave a bitter smile.

Just then, Genya, sitting in the guest seats, hesitated for a moment before saying, "Clan Leader, I believe Konoha has never truly considered us one of their own. We Uchiha have never been trusted, and the current situation is very difficult to change."

Genya was familiar with the plot of Naruto and knew that Danzo had been working in the shadows all along. The Uchiha at this moment were in a precarious position, and it was fundamentally impossible to repair relations with Konoha.

Because Fugaku and his wife had been kind to Genya, and the clansmen treated him well, he wanted to change all of this within the limits of his ability.

Furthermore, only by appropriately displaying his talent could Genya gain importance and, consequently, receive better training.

Fugaku sighed deeply with a bitter smile, thinking to himself, "If even six-year-old Genya can see it, why must we continue to trap ourselves in a cocoon..."

Everyone felt a sense of shared grief.

Many Uchiha were unwilling to believe it, or perhaps they still held onto a sliver of struggle in their hearts, hoping that the Konoha higher-ups would have a change of heart.

But all of this was nothing more than a daydream.

Fugaku, in particular, felt a bitter taste in his heart.

The Uchiha had sacrificed countless clansmen to protect Konoha throughout the many Great Ninja Wars, and he himself had rendered distinguished service during the Third Great Ninja War; yet, all these contributions never received recognition from Konoha's higher-ups, as if everything they had offered was ultimately in vain.

"Then, how do you think the Uchiha should proceed from here?" Fugaku gazed intently at Genya, not underestimating him due to his youth, his eyes holding a glimmer of expectation.

Genya's father was one of the Uchiha's strategists; perhaps, under his influence, the boy could also demonstrate extraordinary tactical ability.

As many Uchiha turned their expectant gazes toward Genya, he spoke with a calm expression.

"Actually, have you seniors ever considered that the Uchiha's demands have always been simple: to be free from suspicion and distrust, and to possess the right to a fair and impartial election for high-ranking positions within the village?"

The Uchiha were one of the two founding families of Konoha. To date, there had been four Hokage, yet not a single one was an Uchiha, and there was not even an Uchiha among the village's high-ranking officials.

Konoha's leadership had consistently pushed the Uchiha to the periphery of the center of power.

The Uchiha had no channel to speak for themselves, which was profoundly unfair to them.

Genya continued:

"Now that the wood is already carved into a boat, we are powerless to change these facts. What we can do is strengthen the Uchiha's power to cope with the risks that may arise in the future."

"We cannot wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, just as the Uchiha cannot make Konoha's leadership change their minds."

Genya's viewpoint was clear and logical, causing Fugaku's eyes to brighten as he asked, "Then how do you think the Uchiha should strengthen its power?"

After a moment of contemplation, Genya said:

"First, implement the Young Eagle Policy."

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

Due to Konoha's suppression, the Uchiha's overall strength had declined severely; the numbers of both Jonin and Chunin were shrinking.

Therefore, Genya proposed that after the Uchiha youth graduated from the Ninja Academy, they should continue their training under the clan's Jonin or Chunin to improve the overall strength of the younger generation and avoid a gap in the succession of talent within the clan.

Currently, the Uchiha's efforts in cultivating the younger generation were not strong enough and were not being implemented effectively, which was why the overall strength was improving so slowly.