He Was Just a Child

The civilians all glared furiously at Uchiha Qingcheng and shouted, "You evil Uchiha Clan, you're not allowed to come back here! Get out!"

Qingcheng looked at the indignant civilians and said seriously, "Why not? This used to be our home. What gives you the right to stop people from returning home?"

An older civilian immediately roared, "It was your Uchiha Clan that controlled the Nine-Tails and got the Fourth Hokage killed! We don't want to live with you!"

This clan compound was located on Konoha Commercial Street, and many of the shops belonged to the Uchiha Clan. These civilians were clearly preparing to make trouble.

They were refusing to acknowledge that they rented Uchiha shops, and they had no intention of paying rent. These were storefronts on a commercial street; every single one was extremely valuable.

Qingcheng guessed that someone was stirring things up behind the scenes and deliberately provoking conflict. He then looked at Sasuke and said softly, "You're still a child. If someone won't let you go home, what should you do?"

Uchiha Sasuke charged forward and began punching and kicking the civilians. He even used the Uchiha Body Slam. After a series of slaps and thuds, more than a dozen shop owners were left filthy and disheveled, sprawled on the ground.

Qingcheng said seriously, "If you want to keep doing business, prepare your rent obediently. I'll collect it from each shop tomorrow. If anyone doesn't pay, I'll take your daughters as payment."

The bald man said furiously, "You actually had a ninja attack civilians! I'm going to complain to the Third Hokage! Just wait to be arrested by the Police Force!"

Qingcheng was not the least bit flustered by the shop owners' threats. He said seriously, "Go ahead and complain! The one beating you up is Uchiha Sasuke. He's just a child, not a ninja. A bunch of grown men can't even beat a seven-year-old kid. Aren't you ashamed?"

Seeing Qingcheng's look, Uchiha Sasuke rushed forward again and punched and kicked the bald man, then used the Uchiha Body Slam.

Thud, thud, thud. The bald man was beaten until his face was covered in swollen lumps.

Watching Uchiha Sasuke's Uchiha Body Slam, Qingcheng inwardly complained, So your Uchiha Body Slam is a passive skill? Even Urashiki suffered from this move.

Before long, members of the Konoha Police Force arrived at the Uchiha Clan Compound again. Seeing the people on the ground clutching their heads and crying, they shouted, "Stop right there! Don't you know that ninjas can't beat civilians?"

Qingcheng spread his hands and said with a smile, "Where are the ninjas? Who here is a ninja?"

A Police Force member pointed at Uchiha Sasuke, who was still throwing punches, and angrily rebuked him, "He attends the Ninja Academy. That makes him a reserve ninja."

Qingcheng said seriously, "Sasuke is only seven. He's just a child, and he can't graduate until he's twelve. Do you think he's Kakashi, becoming a jonin at thirteen?"

The Police Force members all said, "Even so, he can't hit people. Besides, you beat so many people. Come with us."

Qingcheng smiled. "Those unscrupulous merchants blocked the entrance to our Uchiha Clan Compound, preventing us from going home. Is this still the Uchiha Clan Compound, or has even the Third Hokage lost his authority?"

Qingcheng continued sternly, "We were stopped from returning home, yet you're accusing us instead. Back when the Uchiha Clan led the Police Force, we were famous for being fair and impartial."

Qingcheng pointed at the Police Force member at the front and said severely, "Look at yourselves. You're clearly biased. Are you worthy of being called Police Force members?"

His words made all the Police Force members feel ashamed. The squad captain said helplessly, "Then stop for now. I'll report today's events truthfully to the Third Hokage."

Qingcheng called out again, "Sasuke, stop. Don't dirty your hands."

Hearing Qingcheng, Uchiha Sasuke threw one more punch. With a bang, several of the bald man's front teeth flew out, leaving him looking utterly miserable.

Uchiha Sasuke said sternly, "Get out! This is our Uchiha Clan territory. The Uchiha Clan hasn't been exterminated yet!"

The shopkeepers and merchants clutched their heads and fled. The owner who had been beaten the worst was already drenched in cold sweat as he staggered toward the street.

Qingcheng smiled again and said, "Remember to tell the Third Hokage to issue a statement for us: starting today, I will take over as the Uchiha Clan Head."

Qingcheng added, "And one more thing. Send over all of the Uchiha Clan's inheritance. The Konoha higher-ups can't swallow up an orphaned family's property, can they?"

The Police Force squad captain said seriously, "Understood, Uchiha Qingcheng. We'll report it immediately."

With that, the dozen or so Police Force members headed toward the Hokage Building.

Qingcheng looked at the clan compound he had not seen in so long and pushed open the Uchiha gates. A decayed stench immediately rushed at him.

No one had lived here for six years. Some people had approached Uchiha Fugaku about buying the Uchiha Clan Compound, but they could never agree on a price, so nothing came of it.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, on becoming the Uchiha Clan Head. System reward: one Ninjutsu Upgrade Card.

Qingcheng's face filled with surprise as he thought, I've become clan head, and that's supposed to count as a top-tier rise to power? You only gave me one Ninjutsu Upgrade Card? That's unbelievably stingy.

Qingcheng complained again, But that's just how this system is. It's cold and aloof. It only hands out rewards and can't be bothered to respond at all.

The Uchiha Clan's former compound was about as large as the Senju Clan Compound. It had a huge training ground, a great number of rooms, and a large lawn in the front courtyard with several artificial hills.

Uchiha Sasuke looked at the overgrown clan compound and said helplessly, "How did our Uchiha Clan, with its thousand-year legacy, end up like this?"

Qingcheng said seriously, "Let's hire some workers to renovate the compound, then recruit some guards and maids to fill out every corner of the clan."

Soon, thanks to the recruitment advertisements, some people came to apply. This was the Uchiha Clan's old compound, and there had been no clan massacre here, so people were still willing to work.

If it had been a clan compound outside the village, they would not have been able to hire anyone even with money. It was simply too ominous, and who knew what the Konoha higher-ups' statements had turned it into.

Qingcheng also recruited a butler, a middle-aged man in his forties named Hirohata Yamafuku. He was a civilian ninja, though only around the level of an ordinary jonin. Tired of the killing in a ninja's life, he had quit being a ninja and become a worker.

Konoha's economy was currently extremely depressed. It was also right after the Uchiha Clan massacre. When many merchants learned that the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's foremost clan, had been exterminated, they immediately felt that Konoha was unsafe. They stopped doing business and planned to consider returning after the turmoil had passed.

Thus, Qingcheng recruited him with a monthly salary of five hundred thousand Ryo.

Yamahuku was rather surprised by Qingcheng's deep pockets. He had previously thought the Uchiha Clan would be difficult to deal with, but they actually seemed quite easygoing.

Qingcheng smiled and said, "Yamafuku, do you want to become a clan ninja?"

Yamafuku was instantly stunned and asked in confusion, "Uchiha Clan Head, what are you trying to do? I'm only a very ordinary Special Jonin, and my ninja career ended long ago."

Qingcheng smiled. "I can let you join the Uchiha Clan. From now on, you'll be Uchiha Yamafuku. What do you think?"

Qingcheng wanted to test whether asking someone to join the Uchiha Clan would earn him a reward. If it did, he could farm rewards endlessly. Later, he could pull more people in off the streets, give them the Uchiha surname, and rake in rewards.

Qingcheng secretly thought, I could also capture Uchiha Shin and the others, then directly clone even more Uchiha Clan members.

Yamafuku immediately shook his head and said in shock, "I'd better not, Clan Head. I have elderly parents and young children. If Uchiha Itachi comes again, I'll be exterminated too."

Seeing Yamafuku's frightened expression, Qingcheng said solemnly, "Yamafuku, don't be afraid. As the clan head, if anything happens, I'll be the first one to charge forward."

Qingcheng promised again, "I definitely won't let Uchiha Itachi hurt you."