Relocating the Tribal Lands

Sarutobi Hiruzen's return to power caused no stir; after all, the Nine-Tails Rebellion had just ended, and most of Konoha needed to be rebuilt from the ruins. Everyone understood that this was hardly the time to select a new Hokage, let alone when the man who had reigned for decades had only been retired for a single year.

When Naoki received the news, he was sitting in the corner of Uchiha Fugaku's office, speaking in low tones with Uchiha Inabi, who had come to report.

"Alright, I understand. Once Lord Fugaku is finished with his business, I will pass the message along for you."

Naoki's meaning was clear, yet Uchiha Inabi showed no intention of leaving, instead eyeing him with a strange expression.

"What is it?" He touched his face. "Is there something on me?"

"You really hit the jackpot last night, kid. You jumped from a regular member of the Military Police Force to captain of the Second Inspection Division, putting you on equal footing with me. And now, you've even started bossing me around."

Naoki laughed, patted the man's arm, and whispered.

"You'll get your chance next time. Who knows, you might even land the seat of a bureau chief in one of the three major departments, like the Operations Bureau."

"I don't want that." Uchiha Inabi stared at Utatane Koharu, who was currently in conversation with Uchiha Fugaku. "By the way, what is that woman here for?"

"Shh." Naoki pulled over a stool for Uchiha Inabi to sit. "Keep it down."

"That woman is here to discuss the relocation of our clan grounds with Lord Fugaku."

When Konoha was first established, only the Senju and Uchiha clans existed, so the core areas of the village were mostly inhabited by members of these two families. Despite Konoha's subsequent expansion and the dwindling numbers of the Senju clan, the Uchiha clan still firmly occupied the heart of the village.

During this war, more than half of Konoha's buildings were destroyed, naturally including many Uchiha homes. After a simple assessment, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu both felt that rather than patching things up, it would be better to rebuild the core area entirely. Consequently, Utatane Koharu, who was in charge of post-war reconstruction, took the initiative to approach Uchiha Fugaku, hoping the Uchiha clan would take the lead in cooperating with the reconstruction efforts by relocating their clan grounds to the newly planned zones.

Utatane Koharu sat on the sofa beside Uchiha Fugaku and smiled. "If the Uchiha clan can take the lead in cooperating with the relocation, I believe there will be far less resistance from the surrounding civilians. This would be of great benefit to the reconstruction work."

"You've stated the benefits, but what about the drawbacks?" Uchiha Yashiro spread his hands. "Although many of our clansmen's homes were damaged, a significant portion remained untouched by the war. If we are to move the entire clan to a new area, some will certainly be dissatisfied. How are we supposed to appease them?"

"Indeed, how are we to appease them?" Uchiha Fugaku added.

The smile on Utatane Koharu's face did not waver. She picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said slowly, "Yashiro makes a valid point. However, I believe that as the premier clan of Konoha, the Uchiha naturally understand the importance of the big picture."

"The big picture..." Uchiha Yashiro rolled his eyes. "In that case... we will have to consider this carefully before making a decision. After all, we must prioritize the big picture!"

Uchiha Yashiro emphasized the last few words heavily, yet Utatane Koharu remained as calm and composed as ever.

She set down her teacup and slowly stood up.

"Since that is the case, I shall take my leave. I hope Fugaku will give this some serious thought."

Uchiha Fugaku nodded and signaled to Uchiha Yashiro, who stood up and said, "I'll see you out."

As the two left, Uchiha Fugaku crossed his legs, draped one arm over the back of the sofa, and rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Naoki and Uchiha Inabi exchanged a glance and walked over.

"My Lord."

"Oh." Snapping back to reality, Uchiha Fugaku remembered that Uchiha Inabi had a report to make. "Speak, what is it?"

"The Third has resumed his post."

"Hm?" Uchiha Fugaku raised an eyebrow, but he quickly reacted, murmuring to himself, "That's not surprising."

Uchiha Yashiro, who had just walked back into the room, asked, "What's not surprising?"

Uchiha Fugaku frowned. "I was wondering why that woman was so unreasonable today. It turns out Sarutobi doesn't intend to hold an election for Hokage; he's going to do it himself."

Patting Naoki and Uchiha Inabi on the shoulders to signal them to sit, Uchiha Yashiro said, "So, he's going to be Hokage again. It really is..." Sitting opposite Uchiha Fugaku, he shook his head. "I wonder when this will ever end."

"Let's not talk about that." Uchiha Fugaku waved his hand. "Since Utatane Koharu came to discuss this, the Third Hokage must have made up his mind. So, are we moving our clan grounds or not?"

"If we don't move, we might face pressure from the Third. But if we do move... many of our clansmen still have homes that are perfectly intact. Convincing them won't be easy... By the way." Uchiha Yashiro suddenly pointed at Naoki. "Is your small courtyard still in good condition?"

Naoki nodded.

While Uchiha Fugaku and the others were troubled by this, Naoki interjected, "I wonder what your thoughts are on the matter, my Lord?"

Uchiha Fugaku was quite candid. "As for my thoughts, there aren't many. While moving to a new place is annoying, Sarutobi has led Konoha for decades; very few people can say no to him..."

Naoki understood. He thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, it would be better to push the matter onto the Third Hokage. If they can solve the problem of those clansmen who are unwilling to move, then agreeing to it wouldn't be an issue."

After considering this, Uchiha Yashiro nodded.

"That makes sense. Since he's the one asking us to move, he shouldn't get all the benefits while we swallow all the trouble. Let him go and haggle with the clansmen who don't want to move."

"Whenever they reach an agreement, that's when we'll move. We'll only take as many people to the new grounds as they can convince."

"Not bad. A good idea."

"Come, come." Uchiha Fugaku laughed heartily, pointed at Naoki, and patted the sofa beside him. "Sit here."

Gently patting Naoki on the back, he said, "Yashiro used to praise you for being smart, but I didn't quite believe it. I thought, how smart could you be compared to Itachi? Now I understand—Itachi is far behind you."

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku compare him to Itachi, Naoki waved his hands repeatedly.

"I'm just good at talking; it's only a small bit of cleverness. How could I compare to Itachi... Look, if I'm a little genius..." He pointed to Uchiha Inabi sitting nearby, "Inabi is the true genius, and as for Itachi, he's a super-genius!"