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 many benefits they ceded to the Uchiha Clan, the conflict would not be directed at him.

Danzo watched the scene coldly, sneering inwardly.

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

"I can make the decision on the first three matters."

"As for the debts owed over the years, I propose paying them in installments. I wonder if the Uchiha Clan Head finds 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 those streets."

"Whether they are fallen heroes or living heroes, none of them should be insulted."

"The Uchiha Clan Head must have misunderstood us. We have always been actively distributing rewards for wartime merit. 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 continue escalating, so he agreed to whatever he could.

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

"The debts owed to the Uchiha Clan over all these years can remain unpaid for now. But tomorrow, the Uchiha Clan will personally take over those three streets."

"Tomorrow, I also want 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 merits earned by our clansmen."

"For every bit less, Konoha will have one less person."

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

At the entrance to the Hokage Office, Uchiha Kyu cast a sharp, wolfish glance back. His Mangekyō Sharingan bore down on the three men.

"Oh, right."

"I need 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 departed arrogantly.

Bang!!!

"Damn Uchiha Clan!"

Danzo angrily stood by the window, watching Uchiha Kyu leave the Hokage Building below as he vented his fury by slamming his fist into the wall.

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

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

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

"Kyu, why do they seem to be looking at us so strangely?"

Uchiha Shisui, who had hurried back from an out-of-town mission, happened to spot Uchiha Kyu and immediately came over to greet him.

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

But the overall situation had already been decided. Even Shisui could not change it.

"Come on. Return with me, and I'll explain everything properly."

Uchiha Kyu and Uchiha Shisui got along reasonably well. Unfortunately, Shisui stubbornly believed that he was right.

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

Once Uchiha Shisui heard everything that had happened the previous night, he immediately bristled and hurriedly voiced his concerns.

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

"Kyu, do you know that one misstep could plunge the entire Shinobi World into the mire of war again? More people will die then."

"Shisui, have you ever killed anyone?"

After making 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 bewildered.

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

"Ninjas are the fuse of war. Go kill all the ninjas, and then the world will be at 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 ways to make up for it.

Uchiha Kyu thought that perhaps he could use this opportunity to pull Shisui completely onto his side, so he told him every part of the plan.

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

Uchiha Shisui fell silent after hearing everything.

Uchiha Shisui did not hold the same extreme views as Uchiha Itachi. His unwavering belief had always been to maintain a balance between the clan and Konoha, allowing them to coexist peacefully.

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

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

"At the very least, we won this game."

"The Uchiha Clan will never again have to act according to others' moods."

Uchiha Kyu rose and patted Shisui on the shoulder, looking deeply into his eyes.

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

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

When Uchiha Shisui came back to his senses, he found that Uchiha Kyu had long since disappeared.

This clan meeting was the first major meeting Uchiha Kyu convened after officially becoming clan head.

It would lay the foundation for the Uchiha Clan's direction over the next decade.

The Uchiha Clan of the past had always thought only about today and tomorrow, with no long-term plans at all.

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

Only by deciding on a long-term goal could the Uchiha clansmen truly see a direction and stop wasting time on other matters.

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

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

Although the Uchiha Clan had never clearly divided itself into main and branch families, it strictly discriminated against those without the Sharingan.

Even if one possessed Jonin-level strength, 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 clansmen with decent talent but diluted bloodlines to suffer discrimination because they could not awaken the Sharingan.

Their ambition was crushed into nothingness, and they gradually sank into despair.

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.

Uchiha Kyu sat cross-legged in the seat of honor in the meeting room, his eyes closed as he rested.

Every clansman who entered felt their restless hearts calm down involuntarily upon seeing him.

Perhaps that was what a pillar of support did.