The Less Konoha Gives, the Fewer People It Has

Chapter 16

Minato Namikaze instinctively looked toward Lord Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally signaled for Minato Namikaze to speak. With Minato taking the blame for him, no matter how much benefit he ceded to the Uchiha Clan, the backlash would not be focused on him.

Danzo watched coldly, laughing disdainfully to himself.

After receiving permission, Minato Namikaze was overjoyed. Mistaking it for the Third Hokage's trust in him, he naively made his decision.

"I can make the call on the first three."

"As for the debts owed over the years, I propose paying them in installments. Would the Uchiha Clan Head find that acceptable?"

"As for the three streets surrounding the Uchiha Compound, too many people are involved. I have decided to grant the Uchiha Clan the right to use one of them."

"Whether they are heroes who died in battle or heroes still living, none of them may be dishonored.

"The Uchiha Clan Head must have misunderstood us. We have always actively distributed war merit rewards; it is simply taking some time, and the Uchiha Clan's turn has not come yet."

At this stage, Konoha's stability was the most important thing. Minato Namikaze did not want this matter to escalate any further, so he agreed to whatever he could.

Uchiha Kyu slowly rose to his feet and held up three fingers at Minato Namikaze.

"The debts Konoha has owed the Uchiha Clan all these years need not be repaid for now. But tomorrow, the Uchiha Clan will personally take over those three streets."

"Tomorrow, I also expect to see the compensation for every member of the Uchiha Clan who died during the Third Shinobi War, as well as the rewards for the great contributions made by our clansmen."

"For every bit less, Konoha loses one person."

Uchiha Kyu showed Minato Namikaze no respect at all. After leaving those domineering words behind, he flicked his sleeve and headed for the door.

Standing by the door of the Hokage Office, Uchiha Kyu cast a sharp glance back. His Mangekyō Sharingan bore down on the three men.

"Oh, right."

"I want to see a stable Konoha. I do not want my clansmen to suffer discrimination of any kind while walking through their own Konoha."

"Remember... discrimination of any kind."

Uchiha Kyu swaggered away.

Bang!!!

"Damn Uchiha Clan."

Danzo stood furiously by the window, watching Uchiha Kyu leave the Hokage Building below as he vented his anger by punching the wall.

Walking down the street, Uchiha Kyu suddenly turned to look back at the Hokage Building.

The Uchiha Clan was determined to claim the position of Hokage.

It was not that Uchiha Kyu was obsessed with the mere position of Hokage. He intended to use it as a stepping stone toward the entire Shinobi World.

"Kyu, why does it feel like they are looking at us strangely?"

Uchiha Shisui, who had rushed back from completing a mission elsewhere, happened to spot Uchiha Kyu and immediately came over to greet him.

A hint of surprise flashed through Uchiha Kyu's eyes. He had not expected Shisui Uchiha to return at this time.

But the greater situation had already been decided. Even Shisui Uchiha could not turn it around.

"Come on. Go back with me, and I'll explain it to you properly."

Uchiha Kyu and Uchiha Shisui got along fairly well, but unfortunately, Shisui Uchiha stubbornly believed that he was right.

After returning to the clan, Uchiha Kyu handed Uchiha Shisui over to Uchiha Ying, signaling for him to clearly explain the situation to Shisui Uchiha.

After hearing everything that had happened the previous night, Uchiha Shisui immediately bristled and hurriedly voiced his concerns.

"This is too risky. It has already affected Konoha's stability and could even trigger a war."

"Kyu, do you know that one wrong move could drag the entire Shinobi World back into the mire of war? More people will die then."

"Shisui, have you ever killed anyone?"

After pouring himself some tea, Uchiha Kyu calmly took a sip.

"I have. What does that have to do with what I said?"

Uchiha Shisui looked at him, somewhat baffled.

Uchiha Kyu tossed out a kunai. It landed on the tea table and slowly spun.

"Ninja are the fuse of war. Go kill all the ninja, and the world will have peace."

Faced with such twisted logic, Uchiha Shisui could only sigh helplessly.

"So you just came back from the Hokage Building. What was the result?"

Uchiha Shisui stopped dwelling on what had already happened and could only think of a way to make up for it.

Uchiha Kyu thought that perhaps he could use this opportunity to bring Shisui Uchiha completely to his side, so he told him all of his plans.

It would not matter if Uchiha Shisui turned around and sold him out to Konoha's higher-ups. It would be a good chance to get rid of a traitor anyway; what he hated most in life were traitors.

After hearing everything, Uchiha Shisui fell silent.

Uchiha Shisui did not have Uchiha Itachi's extreme way of thinking. He had always firmly believed in maintaining a balance between the clan and Konoha, allowing them to coexist peacefully.

What Uchiha Kyu was doing now ran completely contrary to what Shisui Uchiha wanted, but the outcome had exceeded Shisui Uchiha's expectations.

"The process is not important. The result is."

"At least in this game, we won."

"The Uchiha Clan will no longer have to act according to other people's moods."

Uchiha Kyu stood and patted Shisui Uchiha on the shoulder, gazing deeply at him.

"There will be a clan meeting shortly. I hope you will be there too."

Uchiha Kyu gave Shisui Uchiha's shoulder a heavy pat, then left on his own.

By the time Uchiha Shisui came back to his senses, Uchiha Kyu had already vanished.

This clan meeting was the first major meeting held after Uchiha Kyu officially became clan head.

It would be the meeting that determined the Uchiha Clan's direction for the next ten years.

In the past, the Uchiha Clan had always lived for today without thinking about tomorrow. They had no long-term plans at all.

As a result, the entire clan had wandered in circles like a headless fly, leaving its development stagnant.

Only by deciding on a long-term goal could Uchiha clansmen truly see their direction and have no time to concern themselves with other matters.

Uchiha Kyu did not exclude ordinary clansmen from this meeting. This was a matter for the entire Uchiha Clan.

Among the ordinary clansmen, Uchiha Kyu would also select some capable representatives to attend the meeting.

Although the Uchiha Clan had no clear distinction between the main house and branch houses, there was still severe discrimination against those without the Sharingan.

Even if one had the strength of a Jonin, as long as one had not awakened the Sharingan, one still could not be regarded as a true member of the Uchiha Clan.

This caused many talented clansmen with diluted bloodlines to suffer discrimination because they could not awaken the Sharingan.

Their ambition was beaten out of them, leaving them to languish in decline.

The entire Uchiha Clan was in an extremely unhealthy state of development.

This was what Uchiha Kyu least wanted to see and most wanted to change.

At the head seat of the meeting room, Uchiha Kyu sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting his mind.

Every clansman who entered found their restless hearts calming involuntarily after seeing him.

Perhaps that was the role of a pillar.