"What surprise?"
"You're going to be a father."
When Masaki Uchiha heard that he was going to be a father, he was dazed for a moment. After being here for so long, he finally had a family of his own.
"How far along are you?"
"I found out after you led the team to meet the Daimyo." Mie Uchiha blushed and pinched Masaki hard. "It's all your fault. I told you to be careful, but you wouldn't listen."
Masaki laughed and didn't argue. To thank Mie, he swept her into his arms and carried her toward the bedroom.
"You big bully! It's still daytime!" Mie blushed and made a token effort to struggle in his arms.
"Miss Mie, please accept my heartfelt gratitude," Masaki said with exaggerated seriousness. Then he hooked the door shut with his foot.
··········
The sun outside was already close to setting.
Masaki, looking refreshed, lay in bed with Mie in his arms.
Clothes were scattered all around the bed.
The "traces of battle" were everywhere in the room.
The balcony, the desk, the bed...
"Let's get married. We'll pick a good date," Masaki suddenly said.
"Okay," Mie replied obediently.
Neither of them was one to be coy, so everything fell into place naturally.
Masaki grinned when he got her answer.
"Again."
At Mie's startled cry, the "battle began again."
·········
Early the next morning, after eating breakfast, Masaki, feeling full of energy, headed straight for the Uchiha Council Hall with the guards who had been waiting outside his house.
On the way, he sent word for the elders to come to the Council Hall to discuss matters.
Before long, all the elders had arrived after receiving Masaki's message.
Once everyone was there, Masaki got straight to the point. "A while ago, I went to the capital to pay my respects to the Daimyo. After negotiations, he agreed to allocate thirty billion ryo to the Uchiha within a week."
"There's also a trade route that brings in fifteen billion ryo a year."
"Based on the timing, the funds should arrive in the next few days."
His words sent shock waves through the hall, and the elders' cries of surprise rang out.
No one could turn down such a huge sum. The news was so exciting that every elder activated their Sharingan.
Every pair of eyes in the room was bloodshot.
They never expected their clan head to return from a trip with such a huge surprise.
Masaki had expected the elders to react this way. He said calmly, "Please settle down, elders. I plan to spend twenty-five billion of the thirty billion ryo from the Daimyo entirely on training supplies. The remaining five billion will go toward subsidies for the Police Force."
"As for the fifteen billion ryo in annual revenue, I plan to take it to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and give those 'fence-sitters' another boost of confidence."
The elders had already been pained by the thought of dividing ten billion ryo among the other ninja clans each year. Now, hearing that Masaki wanted to divide this additional fifteen billion among them too, they were even more distressed.
Elder Setsuna hurriedly said, "Clan Head, if we keep that fifteen billion in the Uchiha, we can train plenty of elite clan members. Why give it to those small ninja clans?"
What he meant was that the small ninja clans weren't worth much. They were mediocre in strength and only fit to wave banners behind the Uchiha. Better for the Uchiha to keep the money than divide it among them.
The other elders agreed with Setsuna.
Masaki sneered. "A mere fifteen billion ryo has already blinded you. You're all so narrow-minded."
"Don't be so shortsighted. I guarantee that one day, you'll be troubled by having too much money."
"When that day comes, we'll have as many people as we have money."
"Do you dare to take that bet with me?"
His words left the elders exchanging glances. They wanted to argue, but they didn't dare speak up against Masaki's prestige.
After all, this was fifteen billion ryo, not fifteen million.
Money had a way of moving people.
Seeing that they still weren't convinced, Masaki began lecturing them again. "When I first took over as clan head, I told everyone that those who followed the Way had much support, while those who went against it had little. Everything I've done has been in keeping with that principle."
"I'll say it to you once more today. I won't explain it again in the future. If you can't keep up with me, then stay where you are."
Masaki was growing impatient with the elders' stupidity and greed, but he still did his best to explain. For now, they were still of some use.
Once the time was right, he would have to kill a couple of chickens to scare the monkeys.
"Think about the trust vote when Minato Namikaze ran as a Hokage candidate. Didn't he get more votes than I did?"
The elders had to admit that was true.
"Did Minato Namikaze buy those votes? Wasn't it because he had many friends and Sarutobi Hiruzen's support that he managed to take the Hokage Position?"
"That's what it means to have support. By contrast, the Uchiha have become a cautionary example of what happens when you have none."
"Many of our clan members act arrogantly toward outsiders. Do you expect anyone to vote for you like that? Keep dreaming!"
"If you were in their place, would you vote for us?"
That question made the elders lower their heads in silence. Masaki was right: some clan members were indeed arrogant toward outsiders.
"So we need to make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as we can. That way, when the Hokage election is held, the Uchiha will be able to claim the Hokage Position."
"If I had Hashirama Senju's strength, the whole Ninja World would be lining up to send me money. But I don't have that kind of strength right now, so we need to make more friends."
After Masaki earnestly talked it through with them, the elders finally understood their clan head's good intentions.
Elder Setsuna was the first to grasp Masaki's meaning. He had been dazzled by all that money and grown greedy for a moment. Now that his reason had returned, he gazed at Masaki with admiration and said, "From now on, I'll follow your lead, Clan Head. Anyone who questions you is questioning me as well!"
The other elders echoed his words, expressing their support for everything the clan head did.
Whether the elders were sincere or not, Masaki didn't care. Those willing to follow him would share in the rewards. Anyone who refused to follow him and still tried to stand in his way would be ground to dust, he thought fiercely.
"Good. With the elders' help, I'll surely claim the Hokage Position one day."
"Even if I have to buy it with money, I'll make it happen!"
Masaki's declaration once again stirred the elders' obsession with the Hokage Position. They all voiced their full support for the clan head's bid to become Hokage!
The Hokage Position would belong to the clan head—and it would belong to the Uchiha!