The Beginning of the Clan Meeting

"Yu! Time to eat!"

Yu finished brushing the dirt off the last medicinal herb and was just about to stand up when he heard his mother calling him from the window.

"Hi! Got it... Mother!" Yu quickly placed his small hoe beside the herb garden fence and casually cast a Cleaning Technique from the Five Elements Daoist Arts to brush the dust off his body.

He trotted toward the living room; for a child, nothing was more important than Mom calling for dinner!

Yu was no exception. He was currently in a growth spurt, and since he hadn't reached the Inedia Stage in his cultivation, eating was incredibly important for a practitioner.

Missing a meal made him feel famished. Don't listen to those who claim that eating grains is detrimental to cultivation—what would a mortal know about the Dao?

Besides, this was his mother's cooking. Yu had to polish off three bowls of rice every day just to feel half-full; after all, the "Refining Essence into Qi" process required the essence found in food.

As usual, under Mikoto's gentle gaze, Yu devoured four bowls of white rice. He waited quietly for Itachi to finish his meal slowly, then stood up to help his mother clear the table before happily taking Itachi to school.

Today was another day of harvest. He brought his younger brother to Izumi's doorstep and knocked lightly two or three times. A tiny figure opened the door, revealing a small head.

When she saw it was Yu, a blush appeared on Izumi's face, followed by a flicker of excitement in her eyes. "Yu-kun, good morning!"

"Izumi, morning! Let's go to school together today!" Yu greeted her with a smile.

Izumi nodded hurriedly, then opened the partially obscured door and stepped out, looking dainty and pretty.

The three of them walked to school, and the villagers continued to cast meaningful glances at Yu and his companions.

"Yu-kun, what made you think of waiting for me to go to school today?" Izumi asked playfully.

"Because I want to be friends with the cute Izumi! Didn't we agree yesterday? We're friends, and friends should naturally go to school together."

As Yu said this, the system in his mind chimed again: +10, +10...

How could Yu let his treasure girl go?

Izumi's face flushed, and she turned her head slightly. "Yu-kun, you really are a smooth-talking boy."

"Haha, Izumi, I'm just telling the truth. You're naturally very cute!"

Itachi, walking behind them, watched the two chatting and laughing. A sense of melancholy suddenly rose in his heart; he felt as if his beloved older brother was being snatched away. Even the villagers' gazes, which he usually cared about, suddenly seemed less important.

Meanwhile, at the Hokage Building, the Konoha 4F group sat opposite each other as usual.

Sarutobi flicked his pipe. "Have you determined the cause of the battle that broke out at Fugaku's house yesterday?"

"Not yet. The battle was too brief, and since it was late at night, no one observed the specific situation," Danzo replied with a gloomy face.

Sarutobi nodded. "I suppose the Uchiha clan meeting has already been convened. I wonder how their discussions are going."

"Hmph! If they are told to move, do they dare refuse? The Nine-Tails Rebellion hasn't been over for long, and the Uchiha clan is still under suspicion. Based on that alone, they wouldn't dare defy the village," Danzo said with a hard tone.

"Sigh! I hope the Uchiha can understand the village's difficulties," Sarutobi sighed leisurely.

"Sarutobi, you are too soft-hearted. Why be so polite to the Uchiha? You saw the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes that night, and then there's last night's incident. The rumor spreading from the Uchiha compound is that a mysterious person attacked their clan head's residence again. It's simply absurd; that's not how you clear your name.

"Especially that brat from Fugaku's family—he has no Will of Fire at all. I think we should increase surveillance on the Uchiha to prevent an uprising!"

Sarutobi was silent for a second or two, then took a puff of his pipe. "I'll leave this matter to Root. Be mindful of the impact! After all, the village is still at war. We don't want the front lines to be strained while the rear is a laughingstock for outsiders to see."

"Hmph!" Danzo let out a dissatisfied snort and left the Hokage Building, leaning on his cane.

At the same time, in the Uchiha Clan Meeting Hall, the entire room was in an uproar after Fugaku proposed the relocation of the clan compound.

Fugaku sat on the dais, feeling a massive headache.

"Why should we move to the banks of the Naka River? Is that relocation? They're exiling us!"

"Clan Head, I absolutely do not agree!" one of the elders stood up angrily to speak.

"This is definitely a conspiracy by the higher-ups!"

"That's right! That's right! Clan Head, we absolutely won't move!" the clansmen below began to clamor.

"Quiet!" Fugaku shouted. Instantly, the clansmen below glared at him with their Red Eyes; clearly, this matter had touched the bottom line of many.

"You must realize that the clan's main Jonin force has been sent to the Cloud Village border. Even if everyone shouts as loud as they can, we are currently powerless to resist the village's decision."

After Fugaku's words fell, many in the hall calmed down significantly.

However, this calm did not last long.

"Even so, we cannot move. I don't believe the village dares to force us. Because of the Nine-Tails Rebellion, our Uchiha clan has already been pushed to the edge of power, and now they want to exile us to the edge of the village. Are they trying to isolate us completely?"

A radical elder shouted, and the meeting room, which had just calmed down, became noisy once again.

This argument continued until the end of the meeting without stopping. Seeing this, Fugaku could only agree to discuss it again in the evening.

When Yu, Izumi, and Itachi returned from school, the three of them clearly felt that the atmosphere in the clan compound was wrong. The Uchiha clansmen coming and going all had gloomy faces, appearing exceptionally depressed.

After saying goodbye to Izumi, Yu took Itachi home and saw his father sitting at the dining table with a gloomy expression.

Usually, at this time, his mother would have already prepared the meal, but the table was empty today, and his mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Father! Is something wrong?" Yu and Itachi knelt on the cushions and asked in a low voice.

"Yu, you are also a powerful ninja. You will come with me to the clan meeting tonight!" It was clear that Fugaku was under immense pressure and had to use his genius son as leverage to gain a voice within the clan.

Yu naturally knew what it was about—nothing more than the relocation of the Uchiha compound. Although he didn't know how it was resolved in the original plot, with his participation this time, he would absolutely not let the Third Hokage and the others get away with it so easily. They wanted the Uchiha to move without giving them anything? In their dreams.

"Understood! Father!" Yu replied, his eyes flickering.

Itachi, standing to the side, looked a bit anxious; he wanted to go too.

Fugaku seemed to see what Itachi was thinking and was silent for a few seconds. "Itachi can come too! But you cannot enter the meeting; you can only listen from the door!"

Itachi nodded with a slightly disappointed expression. He knew the rules of the clan meeting: one had to prove their strength to the clansmen. Although he had the strength of a Genin, it was far from enough for his father to make an exception for him.

It seemed he had to work harder, graduate from the ninja academy early like Shisui, and prove his strength to his father and the clansmen.