I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 39

"You're all talk." The clansman grew angry. "Isn't that just unreasonable nonsense? What kind of ninjutsu could let you do all that in such a short time? I could say I know Wood Release too."

"You definitely don't know Wood Release." Uchiha Shingen vanished from where he stood and appeared behind the clansman. "But I know Flying Raijin. I can go anywhere I want in the whole village, forests included."

Rustle—

Everyone in the hall rose to their feet, utterly shocked. The clansman speaking to Uchiha Shingen turned around, his face blank with bewilderment.

"Shingen! When did you learn Flying Raijin!?" Uchiha Fugaku found this completely unreasonable. The clan library did have Senju Tobirama's Water Release techniques, but it did not have Flying Raijin—or rather, it had a version the Uchiha had pieced together themselves.

It was indeed a support ninjutsu, but that support ninjutsu had killed Mangekyo Sharingan users before!

"I watched it enough times, so I learned it. Clan Head, it's not like you don't know me." Uchiha Shingen spoke with perfect confidence. "I'm an Uchiha. If I can learn the Second Hokage's Water Release, isn't it normal for me to know a few other things too?"

"Then do you know Impure World Reincarnation?" Uchiha Setsuna suddenly asked.

"How could I know that? Who knows that thing? I've never even seen it."

"Is this why you dared to make such a bold assumption?" Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath and reminded himself not to lose his temper.

Fuck! Why hadn't he mentioned something this important?

No wonder he was worried about Uchiha Obito causing trouble. Since Flying Raijin had not allowed him to take Obito down, Obito probably had some similar method as well.

"You believe... the Nine-Tails could be exploited by someone using a similar method while it's vulnerable?"

"Make bold assumptions and verify them carefully," Uchiha Shingen said. "The ninja world is huge. There are plenty of unbelievable things out there."

"Enough unnecessary talk." Uchiha Setsuna spoke up. "I propose this first: if the Nine-Tails escapes, the Uchiha Clan must fight on the front lines! Everyone, vote."

The clansmen discussed it for a while, then began voting.

"I agree!"

"Me too!"

"That's right, this is a chance to prove the strength of our Uchiha Clan!"

"A chance, my ass! Do you even know how to talk?"

After the vote, everyone was in agreement. If the Nine-Tails escaped, they would take it down!

No one would be able to stop them.

"Then today's meeting is over. Everyone, disperse." Uchiha Setsuna finally declared the meeting adjourned.

The solemn atmosphere vanished at once. The moment they heard the meeting was over, everyone scattered in a rush.

The Nine-Tails was important, but getting off work was more important.

That did not conflict with protecting the clan. Love was something kept in the heart.

Uchiha Shingen also met up with his reliable partners and immediately set off for their destination.

With a great battle imminent, how could they not loosen their muscles and bring themselves into peak condition?

The jinchuriki was still in the village, so there was clearly still time. It would not be today.

And tonight, the full moon hung high in the sky. It was worth brewing a pot of good tea, quietly listening to a pure melody, letting oneself go in the silent hours, drinking in life's warmth and chill, and leaving behind a lingering fragrance.

Several days passed, and everything in Leaf Village seemed peaceful.

But attentive people had already noticed that the ANBU deployments differed from usual. Some of the ANBU had disappeared from the village.

The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was no longer working overtime in his office every night either.

Over those days, Uchiha Shingen had also made his preparations.

On one hand, he accumulated natural energy within his body. On the other, he maintained his chakra perception and kept the current jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina, firmly locked onto.

After revealing Flying Raijin at the clan meeting, he had gained far more freedom and had plenty of time to do these things.

Beyond that, there was nothing else he could do.

The Hokage Building kept an iron grip on where Uzumaki Kushina would ultimately give birth and how the related arrangements would be made. Uchiha Shingen had no way of finding out.

That meant he had no opportunity whatsoever to try and stop Uchiha Obito from releasing the Nine-Tails.

It was not that Uchiha Shingen was particularly cold-hearted. His heart was indeed not especially warm, but whether out of personal feelings or self-interest, he naturally still hoped the Nine-Tails would not be released.

The Nine-Tails being released was, in itself, an extremely unfavorable situation for the Uchiha Clan.

Who told the Nine-Tails to have such big eyes...

But what was coming would come eventually.

One day, Uchiha Shingen sensed Uzumaki Kushina moving.

He chose a nearby Flying Raijin mark and teleported there, appearing atop a building.

His Sharingan swept downward, and he spotted Uzumaki Kushina.

Uzumaki Kushina was heavily pregnant. Beside her stood Sarutobi Hiruzen's wife, Sarutobi Biwako.

Uchiha Shingen did not like this woman. She did not make much effort to hide her wariness toward the Uchiha Clan.

It was an utterly baffling attitude. What exactly was she trying to do by acting like that?

Unlike her, her husband, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was perfectly normal in this regard. This old fellow's governing philosophy was to fight without breaking apart—problems within the system were to be resolved through political games within the system.

No one could object to that approach. Everyone was playing the same game, so nobody should complain about having started at a disadvantage. That kind of talk was too childish.

If you clearly had resources in hand yet failed to make anything of them, that was a problem with your own ability.

The Uchiha Clan might have looked deeply dissatisfied with the Third Hokage, but what they were dissatisfied with was his attitude. Put bluntly—since they could not win the political game, they could only claim that the other side was biased against them.

The problem was that the Uchiha Clan's "grievance" could not stir up public opinion in the village. Clearly, the Uchihas were just as incapable of playing that game.

If they could not even manage the most shameless tactic of manipulating public opinion, then they really needed to look for the problem within themselves.

Still, the Uchiha Clan's reputation had indeed improved somewhat. The ice and snow exhibition had more or less brought them closer to the villagers.

But relying on nothing more than a slightly improved reputation to negotiate terms with the Hokage Building was still far from enough.

The spot Uchiha Shingen had chosen was decent. It was close enough—not likely to draw ANBU attention, yet still within the Sharingan's optimal observation range.

Through his Sharingan, Uzumaki Kushina encountered Uchiha Mikoto, who was holding a child.

Seeing her close friend, Uzumaki Kushina was clearly delighted, and the two began chatting.

But when Uzumaki Kushina moved slightly closer to Uchiha Mikoto, Sarutobi Biwako immediately grabbed her and led her off to one side.

Uchiha Shingen watched the scene indifferently.

There was no need to quibble with the dying.

Other than Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, no one present would survive. Uchiha Obito would kill them all as easily as slaughtering chickens.

Uchiha Obito, who could even kill his teacher's wife, would only be less polite toward everyone else.

If he had not been unable to do anything to Shingen back then, he would never have bothered speaking nicely.

They might have only fought for a short while, but Uchiha Obito had thrown more than ten genjutsu at him. Shingen had simply forced his way through every single one.

At the end of the day, the Mangekyo Sharingan was still a Sharingan, and it still had to follow the fundamental rules of the Sharingan. After withstanding one of Uchiha Shisui's genjutsu, Uchiha Shingen had gained a fairly clear understanding of his own resistance to genjutsu.

Uchiha Obito, who was not inherently skilled at genjutsu, could forget about taking him down with it.

Uchiha Shingen vanished from the rooftop once more.

He did not intend to follow them. There was no point even if he did.

Besides, the ANBU accompanying Sarutobi Biwako was skilled at counter-surveillance and capable of sensing chakra.

The moment Uchiha Shingen appeared, that man noticed him, though he made no move.

Likewise, Uchiha Shingen paid him no attention.

As he had said, one should be generous toward the dead.

Tonight, whether it was him or the Uchiha Clan, all they could do was choose the lesser of two evils. Handling everything perfectly was already impossible.

Using Flying Raijin, he instantly returned to the clan compound. The clansmen had long since gathered, each rubbing their hands together and itching for action.

"Tonight's the night. The jinchuriki has left the village." Uchiha Shingen did not waste words.

"Good!" Uchiha Setsuna immediately shouted.

The old man had even put on combat gear himself.

In his own words, an Uchiha could not die in bed, unless... well, that was too vulgar, so he would not say it.

In any case, if no one let him join the battle tonight, then nobody else could expect to fight in peace.

"If the enemy succeeds, then they must be extremely familiar with Leaf Village's defensive system. They will definitely release the Nine-Tails into the central district. I suggest that everyone operate around Hokage Rock tonight. That way, we can also clear a route to the shelters immediately."

"Any other intelligence?" Uchiha Fugaku asked, his expression grave.

This clan head had armed himself to the teeth. The only question was whether he actually possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan. After all... the animation studio had a habit of producing garbage, so its plot could not be used as reference.

Besides, this was already his second playthrough. Who the hell could remember the animation studio's details? Even of the manga's details, Uchiha Shingen only remembered the general direction of major events.

Things like "Naruto~~," "Sasuke~~," and "crackle crackle!!!"

Or "Nine-Tails, you're too dangerous!" and "This thing can actually kill people?"

Huh? Why were they all gag scenes!?

The him from his first playthrough had really been such an unserious bastard!!!

Pulling himself together, Uchiha Shingen faced the expectant gazes of his clansmen and spread his hands.

"There's nothing else, really nothing else," he said. "In short, once it happens, we can only fight head-on."

"That's right! Tonight, nobody gets to tell us what to do!" Uchiha Setsuna said murderously. "Whoever tries to stop us must be a spy from another village. Cut them down first!"

This guy was really fired up. Hopefully he would not end up making things worse.

"Elder, it won't come to that." Uchiha Fugaku forced himself to calm down. "Tonight's operation has two purposes: first, to prepare for any possible developments; second, if something does happen, to prevent the clan from falling into an irreparable situation."

"That's settled, then. I'll stand guard at Hokage Rock." Uchiha Shingen nodded and vanished before the crowd.

The next moment, he appeared atop Hokage Rock, sitting cross-legged as he looked down upon the city that never slept beneath his feet.

Obito, the Uchiha Clan was ready. What about you?

Without entering Sage Mode, Uchiha Shingen's chakra sensing range was roughly the size of the northern district. Any farther than that was impossible.

Uchiha Obito's first appearance naturally would not be here.

But Uchiha Shingen still sensed malicious chakra. Leaf Village's ninja were not the only ones watching the Nine-Tails.

Leaf Village was enormous—the greatest village in the ninja world, with a population in the hundreds of thousands. If it did not even have a thousand or so spies lurking within it, wouldn't that be a disgrace of epic proportions?

A ninja village was an open place. Barriers were useful, but they could only detect people entering the village through abnormal means.

Without question, the spies were also deeply concerned about where the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki had gone.

At last, the sky gradually darkened.

Sitting atop Hokage Rock, Uchiha Shingen suddenly sensed an abnormally violent surge of chakra.

It was not that his sensing range had expanded. This chakra was simply far too dense, its scale astonishing, sweeping across the Leaf Village like a storm. Any ninja with sensory abilities surely knew what it was.

At this level, with this degree of ferocity, it could only be a Tailed Beast.

Obito had succeeded after all.

Sarutobi Biwako might have been the Third Hokage's wife, but her strength was merely at the lower edge of jonin. As for the ANBU, whose ranks were primarily made up of special jonin, there was even less to say.

Uchiha Shingen had not counted on them. He had counted on Namikaze Minato.

Clearly, Namikaze Minato had failed to stop him, even after being given intelligence about "Uchiha Madara."

Why did these people think that just because Senju Hashirama's wife had been fine, Uzumaki Kushina would be fine too?

Where did that confidence come from?

Uchiha Shingen rose from Hokage Rock.

"Uchiha Clan ninja!"