Holding a Meeting

Uchiha Hirotomo dragged his somewhat weary body as he slowly pushed open his front door. The moment he stepped inside, he still felt as if he were caught in an illusory dream.

Everything that had happened today felt unbelievable. While establishing diplomatic ties with the Sarutobi Clan had been expected, it was, after all, a matter of great significance.

As Hokage, maintaining the peace and stability of Konoha and promoting unity and cooperation among the various ninja clans was the most urgent priority.

However, what truly surprised Uchiha Hirotomo was the agreement to cooperate with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. It was well known that the three clans had always been tightly knit, acting as one, and had never established a formal cooperative relationship with any other ninja clan.

Yet now, their Uchiha Clan had managed to break convention and initiate cooperation with Ino-Shika-Cho; this was undoubtedly a groundbreaking move.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Hirotomo couldn't help but look up toward the courtyard where Uchiha Xiao resided, sighing inwardly. He had to admit, Uchiha Xiao truly possessed extraordinary ability and foresight.

Compared to those old fogies within the clan who did nothing but emphasize the so-called "glory of the Uchiha" all day long, Xiao was far more formidable.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Xiao was alone in his room, focused on tallying the generous rewards granted by the system. Suddenly, a crisp, pleasant notification sounded: "Ding! Congratulations on completing the hidden achievement—'Sending Charcoal in Snow.'

As the first clan to invest in Sarutobi Hiruzen, you are rewarded with a peerless weapon—the Blazing Heaven Fan (folding fan).

The blades of this fan are imbued with raging flames; not only can it be used as a lethal close-quarters weapon, but when performing Fire Release techniques, a simple flick of the fan will significantly amplify the power of the jutsu." Upon hearing this message, a satisfied smile appeared on Uchiha Xiao's face.

"Ding!" Another crisp notification rang out. Uchiha Xiao felt a surge of joy; because he had successfully reached a cooperation agreement with Ino-Shika-Cho, he had triggered another hidden achievement—"Few Enemies, Many Friends."

Accompanying this pleasant sound, the system generously granted him 6,000 points as a reward. At this moment, his total points had reached an impressive 20,050.

Uchiha Xiao's lips curled into a satisfied smile. He reached into his robes and carefully withdrew the Blazing Heaven Fan.

The fan's blades shimmered with a cold light, sharp beyond compare, while the fan itself possessed a translucent, bright texture, as warm and delicate as red jade. It was adorned with a lifelike fire dragon pattern that seemed as if it could soar from the surface at any moment.

"What a treasure!" Uchiha Xiao couldn't help but exclaim to himself. With a thought, the Blazing Heaven Fan in his hand vanished, stored away into the system space.

He then slowly closed his eyes, looking utterly exhausted. As it turned out, in order to gain Uchiha Hirotomo's attention, he had forced himself to activate his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Doing so consumed a massive amount of his mental energy. Despite this, he had endured the fatigue, kept his spirits up to accompany Uchiha Hirotomo to the Sarutobi Clan Compound to build rapport with Sarutobi Hiruzen, and immediately followed that with a psychological sparring match against Nara Rokumei. After such a series of mental battles, Uchiha Xiao was physically and mentally drained.

Finally, he dragged his heavy feet back to his own residence within the clan compound.

As soon as he entered, he didn't even have the energy to take off his clothes before collapsing onto his bed and drifting into a deep sleep. However, the sleeping Uchiha Xiao did not know that by the next morning, those in the village who had once slandered the Uchiha Clan had vanished as if they had evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace or news of them ever again.

Members of the Uchiha Police Force stepped out of their homes, full of vigor, to carry out their duties. Along the way, they sensed an atmosphere entirely different from the past.

The villagers they passed not only cast looks of friendliness and respect, but some enthusiastic villagers even stepped forward, smiling as they handed each of them a cup of cool water.

This unprecedented, kind treatment left the members of the Uchiha Police Force both surprised and delighted.

These heartwarming scenes were quickly reported to the head of the Uchiha Clan—Uchiha Hirotomo.

At this moment, Uchiha Hirotomo stood by the window, gazing at the bright sunshine outside, his lips curling upward involuntarily. He pondered to himself, "As expected, Xiao's approach was absolutely correct!"

Recalling their visit to the Sarutobi Clan Compound last night to invest, combined with the reports from the police force today, his mind felt as clear as a mirror.

This very morning, an important post-war meeting was to be held. Unexpectedly, Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had specifically dispatched his own Anbu personnel to the Uchiha Clan Compound to personally notify Uchiha Hirotomo to attend the meeting.

Furthermore, the Anbu member had specifically reminded him before leaving: "Don't forget to bring Uchiha Xiao along as well."

Upon receiving the message, Uchiha Hirotomo dared not delay and immediately set off for Uchiha Xiao's residence. When he arrived at the door, he knocked a few times, but there was no movement from within.

He knocked harder and shouted, "Xiao, wake up!"

However, the only response was a string of incoherent mumbling: "Hey, what are you doing~ I haven't slept enough! Let me sleep a bit more~" Clearly, Uchiha Xiao's morning grumpiness had kicked in, and he was lying in bed, refusing to get up.

Seeing this, Uchiha Hirotomo's eyes rolled, and a plan formed. He performed a series of hand seals and shouted, "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Instantly, two scorching fireballs streaked through the air like meteors, flying straight toward Uchiha Xiao's quilt.

Uchiha Xiao woke up instantly. Once he sensed the chakra, his grogginess vanished, and he shifted directly into combat mode.

"Magnet Release: Great Unity Wind Curtain!" With that, Uchiha Xiao leaped up, raised his hands, and a curtain of iron sand appeared, instantly extinguishing the Phoenix Sage Fire upon contact.

Only after Uchiha Xiao reacted did he retract his chakra; after all, the Great Unity Wind Curtain was absolute—no matter what tricks one had, they weren't getting through!

"I say, Clan Head, what time is it? It's not even eight o'clock, and you're waking me up. I don't want to start my morning at eight!" Uchiha Xiao grumbled.

Uchiha Hirotomo was speechless. "The Hokage is holding a meeting and specifically asked for you. Why don't you go tell him that yourself?"

I have postgraduate entrance exams tomorrow and the day after, so I'm taking a leave of absence.