The Orphan and Widow Problem · Watching from the Sidelines

After today's classes ended, Uchiha Hara saw Kurenai Yuhi off and leisurely made his way back to the clan.

As he walked, he observed the state of the entire clan, only to find that the Uchiha residential district remained as peaceful as ever. Children occasionally played about, adults spoke in low voices, and there was no sign of unrest or tension.

After returning home, he immediately shut the door, cutting off the sounds outside.

He first swallowed a Fish Blood Essence and a Soul Essence, then practiced his forms twice to settle his emotions. Afterward, Uchiha Hara sat cross-legged on his bed and began to think.

"Three people died, including an elder, and things are this calm?"

At first, he was somewhat surprised, but after giving it some thought, he found it perfectly reasonable.

Although Uchiha Jiang, the Third Elder, held a high position and great authority, he was already old. His power had long since been hollowed out, and he usually stayed secluded at home. He was a textbook lonely old man.

If he did not leave the house for a day, who would deliberately check on him? They would probably assume he was cultivating quietly at home.

Uchiha Amano did go out, but his main "official duty" was visiting widows at night to "take care" of them.

When he failed to appear last night, the widows he had bullied were probably relieved and secretly celebrating. How could they possibly go looking for him? They might even pray that he would never come again.

Uchiha Osamu had only just joined the Security Force. It was perfectly normal for a young man in a bad mood to skip work for a day now and then.

His colleagues would probably assume he was merely throwing another "young master tantrum" and could not be bothered to make an issue of it. At most, they would make a note of it.

Most importantly, Uchiha Hara had cleaned up too thoroughly.

The bodies? Stored away.

The bloodstains? Refined.

Signs of battle? Virtually nonexistent. They had all been killed instantly.

Even the enormous amount of supplies and money stored in their homes had been swept clean, as though the three men had never existed.

There were no bodies, no bloodstains, and no obvious signs of intrusion. Naturally, there would be no stench of corpses or trails of blood drawing the neighbors' attention.

Even if the Uchiha clan noticed that all three had lost contact at once, their first thought would only be "missing," not "dead."

And investigating disappearances, especially ones potentially involving absconding with funds—if they realized the money was gone—would take time and be conducted more discreetly. They certainly would not make a huge spectacle of it.

"So, in the short term, there shouldn't be any major upheaval within the clan." Uchiha Hara came to a conclusion. "And even if there is, it has nothing to do with me, a five-year-old dead-last student at the Ninja Academy."

With his mind somewhat at ease, his attention returned to the mountain of wealth inside the Demon Refining Pot.

A practical problem stood before him: what would happen to the pensions of the orphans and widows whom Uchiha Amano had originally been "responsible" for?

Although Uchiha Amano skimmed off their pensions, he still handed out 1,500 ryo every month, barely enough to keep those families from starving.

Now that the person distributing the money was gone, those families who had lost their breadwinners would probably fall into hardship very soon.

"Should I distribute it?" Uchiha Hara weighed the "wealth" in his hands.

By his calculations, giving each person 3,000 ryo a month would be enough to ensure they were fed and clothed, with even a little left over for their children's education or to improve their lives.

It was a clever figure. It could guarantee their basic livelihoods without suddenly making them wealthy enough to arouse suspicion.

But another problem immediately arose.

If Uchiha Amano disappeared while the pensions continued to be distributed as usual, even an idiot would know something was wrong.

The clan would inevitably step in to investigate and monitor the flow of funds.

Whether he handled it personally or had Kuromai do it, the risk of exposure would be extremely high once the clan began investigating deliberately.

Then came the fatal question: "You are an orphan whose parents both died, living off the lowest possible pension. Where did you get the money to distribute pensions?"

Uchiha Hara had no way to explain the answer to that question.

"Then if I do nothing, will these people really starve to death?" He considered the matter from another angle.

After carefully reasoning it through, he believed they would not.

With the Third Elder's faction collapsing, the power vacuum and these "burdens" left behind were also opportunities for ambitious people to earn merit.

After all, caring for orphans, widows, and the elderly was considered a good deed in any society.

Even a complete villain like Danzo bullied the orphanage director in secret.

Orochimaru had even been driven to defect from the village for using orphans as test subjects.

This showed that even in a mercenary, assassin, and spy training ground like Konoha, orphans still held considerable standing.

Even if it was only for appearances.

The new Third Elder, or whoever acted in his place, would likely take over this work in order to stabilize the situation and win people over. At the very least, they would maintain the pensions on the surface to show how they differed from their predecessor.

And even if the new elder did not care, what about Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku?

"Fugaku is a decent man..." Uchiha Hara recalled both the original story and his current impressions. "And he isn't stupid."

Most of these orphans were between four and eight years old, precisely the age when they were highly moldable.

If they grew up with Fugaku's support, then in a few years, they would become a loyal force with great potential, deeply grateful to Fugaku personally.

For Fugaku, who was still relatively young and whose footing within the clan might not yet be entirely secure, this was an extremely worthwhile long-term investment.

"As long as Fugaku has enough political instinct, he won't let this opportunity pass." Uchiha Hara made his judgment.

Thus, he made his decision: watch from the sidelines.

He would first see how the clan responded. If both the new elder and Fugaku handled things properly, he would naturally be happy to take it easy.

If no one truly cared and the widows and orphans were left without support, then he could think of a way to help them in secret later. That would be far safer than rashly stepping forward now.

Then he thought of himself.

"I'm one of the orphans too. If Fugaku decides to take in these orphans and uses the opportunity to recruit me, should I accept or refuse?"

If he accepted, it would mean owing Fugaku a favor, and he would inevitably have to work for him in the future.

But Uchiha Hara's future plan was to be a "spectator" on the Night of the Clan Massacre. He even wanted to refine Fugaku's corpse and take Fugaku's wife...

If he ate the man's food, how could he bring himself to act against him later?

"I need a reason to refuse." He quickly came up with an excuse.

That was, he was not short on money.

Even a bad man wanted to maintain a great and righteous image, so only Uchiha Amano himself knew that he had embezzled Hara's family inheritance.

Now that Amano was dead and unable to testify, Hara could simply claim that his parents had left behind other savings. He had just failed to find them before, but had "happened" to uncover them later while demolishing the house to build a training ground.

If Fugaku asked why every other orphan was poor while he alone had money?

Simple—

"I'm only five. How would I know? Maybe my parents had better foresight!" A perfect use of his age advantage.

Finally, he considered the safety of that enormous fortune.

2.5 billion ryo in cash, along with silver, gold, chakra metal...

The wealth was great enough to tempt even the Hokage. If the Uchiha clan learned that so much money had vanished along with the Third Elder's faction, they would investigate like mad.

But after sorting through Uchiha Jiang and Uchiha Amano's memory fragments once again, he relaxed.

This problem was still not a problem.

The clan members only knew that the Third Elder's faction was powerful and wealthy, but exactly how wealthy they were, how much liquid capital and strategic supplies they possessed—those were absolute secrets. Other than the people involved, outsiders had no way of knowing.

In the world of the Hokage, the affairs of the upper ranks were highly closed off. Just as no one knew how much Sarutobi Hiruzen had embezzled during his decades as Hokage, no one knew how much the Third Elder had accumulated over all his years as an elder.

The words "clan secret" were enough to block the vast majority of prying eyes.

So, the other Uchiha clan members only knew that "the Third Elder was rich," not "exactly how rich he was."

Without knowing the amount of money involved, the disturbance naturally would not be too great.

Furthermore, the three were now "missing," so the investigation would likely be directed toward "absconding with funds." After all, moving such an enormous amount of assets could never be completed in three to five days. It would certainly require long-term preparation and actions carried out over an extended period.

That could instead explain their recent abnormal behavior and their eventual disappearance.

"After all, who would imagine that something like the Demon Refining Pot exists—a spatial treasure capable of storing everything in an instant?" The corner of Uchiha Hara's mouth curved upward.

He ran through every clue and possibility in his mind again and again. Once he confirmed there were no obvious loopholes, Uchiha Hara let out a long breath.

"At first glance, it seemed like danger lurked everywhere, but after carefully untangling it, there doesn't seem to be anything major after all?" He scratched his head, his mood finally relaxing completely.

"Since that's the case, I'll just pretend nothing happened." His gaze returned to calm. "Cultivate as usual, train as usual, go to school as usual."

He buried last night's slaughter and gains deep within his heart, turned his gaze toward the deepening dusk beyond the window, and began tonight's cultivation.

Let the undercurrents within the clan surge on their own. For now, all he needed to do was continue accumulating strength and wait for the wind to rise.