Back at the Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Fugaku first went to see the Great Elder and told him about his plan to find Granny Cat and buy medicinal herbs.
He also asked him to find out when the funds from Sarutobi Hiruzen would arrive, then went back to continue reading his Qi Refining Manual, which was practically an encyclopedia.
After all, the sooner he developed Senjutsu, the more confidence he'd have when he went out to cause trouble.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Hot Water.
Jiraiya, who was still growing as a person, was found by Anbu, who delivered Sarutobi Hiruzen's message.
"Lord Jiraiya, Lord Hokage sent word that Konoha has undergone a major upheaval."
"He hopes you can return and take up the Hokage Position."
????
Jiraiya had just taken a sip of wine, but immediately spat it out. Then he asked loudly,
"What did you say? Konoha's undergone a major upheaval?"
"Take up the Hokage Position?"
But Jiraiya quickly recovered and followed the Anbu member away from the hot springs district in the Land of Hot Water.
Then Jiraiya and the Anbu member found a secluded place and began talking.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
The Anbu member then told Jiraiya everything, without leaving anything out.
After all, Jiraiya was the Hokage's student and the only one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's students he could call upon, so naturally, he was allowed to know all this.
Jiraiya was stunned after hearing everything.
Based on his experience, Jiraiya immediately picked out the key points in the Anbu member's report.
With his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, turning a blind eye, Shimura Danzō had launched a plan to wipe out the Uchiha Clan. But who could have guessed that Uchiha Fugaku, usually such an honest man, would erupt?
Using Mangekyou Sharingan on a level comparable to Uchiha Madara's, he had thwarted their extermination plan. In the end, Shimura Danzō had died, and the Uchiha Clan had learned about all the dark things he had done.
Now his teacher planned to step down and take the blame for those shady deeds, leaving Jiraiya to either take over or find Tsunade to succeed him.
And the Hokage transition was inevitable.
Those things couldn't be kept secret for long. After all, there was a world of difference between taking responsibility willingly and having it forced on you.
But...
But neither option was easy, was it?
Just imagining what it would be like to take over made Jiraiya feel like he was about to lose it.
That wasn't the life he wanted, and he wasn't suited for it anyway.
Thinking it over, Jiraiya immediately ruled out the idea of becoming Hokage.
That left only Tsunade.
But...
Thinking of Tsunade's dead younger brother and lover gave Jiraiya an even bigger headache.
There was no evidence, but Konoha couldn't escape responsibility for their deaths. In fact, Jiraiya could say outright that Shimura Danzō had done it.
Otherwise, even if they had both died, Tsunade wouldn't have left Konoha.
After all, Konoha was the village her grandfather had built with his own hands.
To be honest, if Sarutobi Hiruzen weren't his teacher, Jiraiya wouldn't even want to get involved.
He still hadn't found the child of prophecy, after all.
But for now, he had no choice but to return to Konoha.
With that in mind, Jiraiya set off with the Anbu member to return to Konoha.
The next day.
Uchiha Fugaku looked at the hundred or so people gathered before him, feeling extremely excited.
After all, they represented all the lottery draws he'd get in the future!
As long as they had children, he'd have an endless number of chances to draw rewards.
At the thought, Uchiha Fugaku felt his energy surge.
Then he drew on his master-level Taijutsu training skills and started assigning their training regimens.
"Uchiha Feng, do two sets of one thousand weighted push-ups every day, one thousand frog jumps..."
"Uchiha Huo, same as Uchiha Feng."
"Uchiha Hachi, do two sets of one thousand five hundred weighted push-ups every day, two sets of six hundred frog jumps, and run eight kilometers..."
As Uchiha Fugaku assigned the exercises, the other members of the Uchiha Clan began to complain.
"We're a clan that specializes in Genjutsu and Fire Release, and now we have to train in Taijutsu?"
"Exactly. Who knows what the clan head is thinking?"
"Right? Wouldn't our time be better spent practicing Shuriken throws and ninjutsu? Why make us train in this second-rate Taijutsu?"
"Exactly! As long as we awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, we're guaranteed to reach jonin rank."
"Honestly, who knows what the clan head is thinking?"
"Do you think someone's controlling the clan head?"
"Don't say things like that. The clan head has the legendary Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. How could anyone control him?"
"Then how do you explain him insisting that we train in Taijutsu?"
"Uh..."
Although he heard what they said,
Uchiha Fugaku paid no attention to their complaints. After all, they were the foundation of his own strength, so he felt he should be more tolerant of their ignorance.
He was counting on them to have children and increase his number of lottery draws, after all.
Still, Uchiha Fugaku secretly made the Taijutsu training even more intense for the clan members who couldn't stop running their mouths.
Couldn't keep talking? Then he'd tire them out until they couldn't open their mouths.
Before long, Uchiha Fugaku was setting training plans for the last two people.
"Izumi Uchiha, run ten kilometers every day, do two sets of three hundred push-ups, and three sets of one thousand sit-ups..."
After setting her training plan, Uchiha Fugaku quietly added,
"Don't worry, this plan's been tailored for you. As long as you follow it, it won't affect your figure."
"And it might even..."
When Izumi Uchiha heard Uchiha Fugaku's words, her face instantly turned red. She gained a whole new understanding of her clan head.
The last person, of course, was his most filial son, Uchiha Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi, run two sets of twenty kilometers every day, do three sets of two thousand weighted push-ups, frog jumps..."
????
When Uchiha Itachi heard his training plan, his face turned purple. He'd been given nearly every exercise, and for each one, his number was the highest.
At that moment, Uchiha Itachi began to wonder if this was really his father.
Was it really okay to put him through this?
But out of habit, Uchiha Itachi ultimately accepted without a word.
After hearing how much training Uchiha Itachi had been assigned, the other Uchiha Clan members fell silent too.
At the same time, their impression of their clan head began to change.
After all, hadn't the clan members who'd been complaining already been assigned extra training?
And the clan head's own son had said nothing at all, yet he'd still been given the heaviest training just for making a mistake.
Of course, Uchiha Fugaku had assigned them a month-long plan, and they had to follow it every day.
Naturally, he had made a plan for himself, too.
Uchiha Fugaku planned to train alongside them.
After all, without him keeping them in line, the Uchiha Clan's ingrained views on Taijutsu meant no one would train seriously.
With that in mind, once he'd assigned the exercises, Uchiha Fugaku took the lead and began training on the Uchiha Clan Compound grounds.
The others weren't willing, but they had no choice but to follow along.
"Everyone, get down and start doing push-ups..."
"40...105..."
Before you continue