Plan

Uchiha Akira said meaningfully, "Danzo is an assistant to the Hokage and a close friend of the Third Hokage. Besides, we have no evidence!"

Uchiha Fugaku's figure stiffened where he stood, his chest heaving. Clearly, his anger had reached its boiling point.

His expression shifted between dark and light, and his scarlet eyes were filled with coldness.

After standing there in a daze for several minutes, Uchiha Fugaku let out a helpless sigh, releasing some of his pent-up frustration.

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Akira and asked, "Do you have any ideas about researching Wood Release?"

At his words, Uchiha Akira's heart leaped with joy. He said, "My plan is to acquire a biomedical research company outright, then keep investing in it and hire a large number of researchers to study this."

An individual's strength was certainly no match for a group. Ordinary people might not be ninjas, but when it came to research, ninjas as a whole were definitely not as capable as properly trained research professionals.

"Ordinary people?" Uchiha Fugaku furrowed his brow and looked at Uchiha Akira doubtfully. "Would that work? They aren't ninjas, and they know nothing about chakra."

At his words, Uchiha Akira looked puzzled. "Were all of Konoha's previous research projects led entirely by ninjas?"

"More or less. They were basically all led by our own medical ninjas. We've hardly ever hired ordinary researchers from outside," Uchiha Fugaku replied with a nod.

"This..." Uchiha Akira was momentarily at a loss for words. He said helplessly, "That's far too insular. It also underestimates people outside the world of ninjas."

"They're not ninjas, and they don't have chakra," Uchiha Fugaku said indifferently. "Things a medical ninja can do with a wave of their hand require them to go to great lengths just to prepare for."

Uchiha Fugaku's attitude actually reflected that of ninjas in general.

Compared with ordinary people, ninjas who could use chakra certainly had things much easier.

Take surgery, for example. Ordinary people needed to prepare various medicines and medical instruments, and a whole team of medical staff had to work together to perform an operation.

Medical ninjas, however, could perform surgery almost anywhere, at any time. Nohara Rin, who had only recently graduated, could replace Kakashi's eye herself.

What's more, the new eye could be used immediately after the operation.

Setting aside whether an ordinary surgery could even replace an eye, even if it could, the patient wouldn't recover so quickly.

For people who couldn't use chakra, this was a crushing advantage. The two sides were on completely different levels.

Uchiha Akira said solemnly, "We still shouldn't underestimate the power of ordinary people!"

As someone who had crossed over from another world, he knew just how powerful a group could be. Once people were united and their intellect unleashed, even without supernatural powers, they could unleash a force capable of turning the world upside down.

Uchiha Akira looked at Uchiha Fugaku and reminded him earnestly, "There are far too few ninjas. They're vastly outnumbered by ordinary people. A large population means there are bound to be genuine geniuses among them. If we can make use of those geniuses, our research will go much more smoothly than Konoha's."

Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku was moved. He couldn't help thinking of the television and other appliances at home, all of which had been invented by ordinary people who couldn't use chakra.

Apart from killing people, ninjas have contributed nothing to this world... The thought came to Uchiha Fugaku out of nowhere.

"Then let's give it a try. I'll have someone get started on this as soon as possible." Uchiha Fugaku nodded and looked at Uchiha Akira. "Where should we put our research facility? I don't feel comfortable putting it in Konoha. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is too dangerous."

"There's no need to hide it. We can openly set up the research institute in our clan's district," Uchiha Akira said.

This was something he had planned long ago, not an idea he'd come up with on the spur of the moment.

"Isn't that too risky?" Uchiha Mikoto asked.

"Big Sis Mikoto, we're a legitimate company. We won't violate any laws or regulations of Konoha or the Land of Fire," Uchiha Akira said with a smile.

Cloning Technology wasn't prohibited. They could claim to be researching biological cloning technology and conduct research on transplanting First Hashirama Senju Cells under that pretext.

Konoha's ninjas were certainly experts at killing—elite among the elite—but when it came to biological research, they were complete amateurs.

There was no way they'd spot anything unusual during a routine inspection. And without the Sharingan or Byakugan, there was no way to identify Hashirama Senju Cells at a glance.

More importantly, the Uchiha Clan controlled Konoha's Police Force, which was responsible for maintaining order in the village. That meant the Police Force would be in charge of inspections.

Inspecting themselves? That was ridiculous.

As long as they didn't conduct human experiments directly, they should be fine.

The Uchiha Clan's district wasn't very close to the Hyuga Clan's district, and it lay beyond the Byakugan's range of vision.

And given the current relationship between the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan, no Hyuga would come to the Uchiha district.

"I understand." Uchiha Fugaku nodded. "With the Police Force covering for us, there shouldn't be any problems."

"No one would ever think that our Uchiha Clan would research the First's Wood Release. It's a blind spot in their thinking," Uchiha Akira said.

Uchiha Fugaku smiled bitterly. "We've thrown away all the Uchiha Clan's honor... The Uchiha, who take pride in the Sharingan, are now coveting the Senju's power. I don't know how we can face our ancestors in the Pure Land."

"Fugaku, you can't be blamed for this. The situation is beyond our control. The clan's survival comes first. We Uchiha have to gain greater power," Uchiha Mikoto comforted him gently.

Uchiha Fugaku sighed and looked at Uchiha Akira. "As for human experiments, we can get some death-row inmates from prisons in the Land of Fire. But the experiments still can't take place in Konoha."

"Of course." Uchiha Akira nodded. "Danzo has been waiting for an excuse to target us. We can't let him get his hands on something like this."

"Right." Uchiha Akira seemed to remember something. He turned to Uchiha Fugaku with a serious expression. "Clan Leader, we shouldn't tell too many people what we're really doing, especially Shisui."

"Of course. Until we have some results, only a few people will know." Uchiha Fugaku nodded, then asked in confusion, "Why single out Shisui? Is something wrong with him?"

"He's too close to the Third Hokage and the other senior figures. The Will of Fire is ingrained in him. It would be better if he didn't know what we're doing," Uchiha Akira explained.

"Are you worried he'll expose our plans to the higher-ups?" Uchiha Fugaku raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "That seems unlikely. Shisui may be young, but he's mature. He wouldn't do something like that."

"It's just a precaution." Uchiha Akira shrugged. "Didn't the Third say he planned to have Shisui join the Anbu? He's the only Uchiha ever to receive an exception like that!"

Uchiha Fugaku slowly nodded. "All right. I won't let Shisui know about this."