This is the Surprise

"What surprise?"

"You're going to be a father."

Upon hearing that he was to be a father, Masaki Uchiha felt dazed for a moment. Having been here for so long, he finally had a home of his own.

"How long has it been?"

"I only found out after you led the team to meet the Daimyo." At this, Mie Uchiha turned bright red and pinched Masaki Uchiha hard. "It's all your fault. I told you to take precautions, but you insisted on not doing so."

Masaki Uchiha laughed heartily without refuting her. To thank Mie Uchiha, he swept her up in a bridal carry and headed toward the bedroom.

"You big bad guy, it's still daytime!" Mie Uchiha shyly struggled symbolically in his arms.

"Miss Mie, please do accept my gratitude," Masaki Uchiha said with a mock-serious face, then hooked his foot to pull the bedroom door shut.

The sun outside the window was nearly setting.

A refreshed Masaki Uchiha lay on the bed, holding Mie Uchiha in his arms.

Clothes were scattered all around the bedside.

"Traces of battle" were spread throughout the entire room.

The balcony, the desk, the bed...

"Let's get married. Let's pick a good day," Masaki Uchiha said suddenly.

"Okay," Mie Uchiha responded submissively.

Neither of them were the type to dither, so things progressed naturally.

Having received a positive answer, Masaki Uchiha chuckled.

"Again."

Amidst Mie Uchiha's exclamation, the "battle" began once more.

Early the next morning, a fully energized Masaki Uchiha finished breakfast and headed straight to the Uchiha Council Hall with the guard team that had been waiting at his door.

On the way, he sent men to notify the elders to come to the Council Hall for a meeting.

Before long, the elders who had received Masaki Uchiha's notice were all present.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Masaki Uchiha didn't waste words. "I went to the capital to meet the Daimyo some time ago. After negotiations, the Daimyo agreed to allocate 3 billion ryo to the Uchiha within a week."

"There is also a trade route with an annual income of 1.5 billion ryo."

"Calculating the time, the allocated funds should arrive within these few days."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a stone causing a thousand ripples; the elders' cries of shock echoed throughout the entire Council Hall.

No one could refuse such a vast amount of wealth, and every elder was so stimulated that they activated their Sharingan.

Looking around, everyone's eyes were blood-red.

They hadn't expected that after the clan leader went out for a turn, he would bring back such a huge surprise for everyone.

Masaki Uchiha had long anticipated the reaction of the elders and said calmly, "Elders, please calm down. Of the 3 billion ryo the Daimyo is giving, I intend to use 2.5 billion entirely for purchasing cultivation supplies, and the remaining 500 million will be used for Police Force subsidies."

"As for that annual income of 1.5 billion ryo, I plan to take it to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to give those 'fence-sitters' another shot in the arm."

The elders already felt heart-wrenching pain when 1 billion was distributed to those ninja clans every year; hearing now that they had to take this 1.5 billion and distribute it as well caused them even more agony.

Great Elder Setsuna shouted anxiously, "Clan Leader, if this 1.5 billion stayed with the Uchiha, it could cultivate many elite clansmen. Why give it away to those small ninja clans?"

The implication was that these small ninja clans were not presentable and had mediocre strength, only fit to cheer from the sidelines behind the Uchiha; giving money to them was worse than keeping it for their own people.

The rest of the elders expressed that the Great Elder was right.

Masaki Uchiha sneered and said, "A mere 1.5 billion ryo has dazzled you all; you are all so small-minded."

"Do not have such shallow vision. I guarantee that in the future, you will feel troubled because there is too much money."

"By that time, we will have as many people as we have money."

"Do you dare to make this bet with me?"

This speech left the elders looking at each other in dismay. Although they wanted to refute him, they were deterred by Masaki Uchiha's prestige and dared not make a sound.

After all, this was 1.5 billion ryo, not 15 million.

Wealth moves the heart.

Seeing that they still wouldn't give up, Masaki Uchiha began to lecture them again: "When I succeeded as clan leader, I told everyone: 'Those who follow the Way receive much support; those who abandon it receive little.' Everything I have done is to put this saying into practice."

"I will say it to you again today, but I will not explain it to you again in the future. If you cannot keep up with my pace, then stay where you are."

Masaki Uchiha was already feeling a bit impatient with the stupidity and greed of these elders, but he still tried his best to explain things to them; after all, at this stage, these elders still had some use.

When the time was ripe in the future, he would have to pick a couple of chickens to slaughter as an example.

"Look at the trust vote initiated by Minato Namikaze when he was a Hokage candidate; wasn't it higher than mine, Masaki Uchiha's?"

The elders had to admit that this was indeed the case.

"Did Minato Namikaze buy his seat with money? He only secured the position of Hokage thanks to his many friends and the support of Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"That is what we call gaining support through virtue; conversely, we Uchiha have become the textbook example of losing support through isolation."

"Many of our clansmen treat others with such arrogance—do you really expect people to vote for you? Keep dreaming!"

"If you were in their shoes, would you vote for yourself?"

This rhetorical question left the elders hanging their heads in silence, for it was true, as Masaki Uchiha said, that some clansmen were insufferably haughty toward outsiders.

"Therefore, we must make as many friends as possible and keep our enemies to a minimum. Only then can we Uchiha successfully seize the position of Hokage when the election is held."

"If I possessed the strength of Hashirama Senju, the ninja world would be lining up to hand me their wealth. But since I lack that power for now, we must focus on gathering more friends."

After Masaki Uchiha's earnest and painstaking persuasion, the elders finally understood their clan leader's good intentions.

Great Elder Setsuna was the first to grasp Masaki Uchiha's meaning; he had been blinded by the sheer amount of money earlier, succumbing to a moment of greed.

Once his reason returned, he looked at Masaki Uchiha with deep reverence and said, "From now on, I shall follow the clan leader's lead in all things. Anyone who questions the clan leader questions me!"

The other elders chimed in, expressing their full agreement with everything the clan leader had done.

Whether these elders are sincere or merely feigning it, as long as they are willing to follow me, they shall share in the spoils. As for those who refuse and dare to stand in my way, I will grind them all into dust, Masaki Uchiha thought viciously.

"Good. With the help of all you elders, I, Masaki Uchiha, will surely seize the position of Hokage in the future."

"Even if I have to pave the way with gold, I will buy that seat!"

Masaki Uchiha's declaration once again ignited the elders' obsession with the Hokage position, and they all pledged their full support for his campaign!

The position of Hokage belongs to the clan leader, and it belongs to the Uchiha!