Family Reforms: The Temple Thirteen Squads!

Ren stood on the Great Arena's raised platform, looking down at his clansmen as he summoned the God-Level Family System interface.

A screen of light unfolded before his eyes.

[Host: Uchiha Ren]

[Family Level: 1]

[Family Fortune: 100/1000]

[Ways to Gain Fortune: Increase the family's overall strength, expand its economic reach, and raise its political standing in the Shinobi World.]

[System Notice: When Fortune reaches its maximum, the family level can be upgraded. Each upgrade will grant the host and the family immensely valuable rewards at the level of natural laws!]

Ren studied the panel.

Wasn't the Konoha Leadership trying every way it could to weaken the Uchiha Clan? Didn't Danzo dream of wiping them out?

Then Ren would do the exact opposite!

He would make the Uchiha Clan stronger in every way—economically, politically, and militarily—until it became a force that towered over the Shinobi World!

Ren dismissed the system panel and looked out over the assembled clan.

"Everyone, listen up!"

Ren's voice rang throughout Naka Shrine.

The crowd fell silent. Hundreds of Sharingan fixed on their new Clan Leader.

"In the past, the Uchiha Clan was scattered and divided, letting the leadership push us around. From tonight onward, that ends!"

Ren spread his arms.

"I hereby declare the start of sweeping reforms across the clan! First, we establish the Uchiha Shrine!"

"The Shrine?"

Startled voices rose from the crowd.

The Grand Elder and several other elders exchanged looks. The term was unfamiliar to them.

"That's right!"

Ren raised his voice.

"The Shrine will stand apart from the Konoha Military Police Force and become the Uchiha Clan's core fighting force."

"It will bring our young elites together and unite our scattered strength!"

Ren looked toward the conservative elders.

"Establishing the Shrine doesn't mean marching to the Hokage Building to get ourselves killed, much less starting a civil war!"

Ren drove his point home.

"Dignity rests on the edge of a blade. We'll secure peace through strength."

"As long as the Shrine's blade is sharp enough, the Third Hokage and Danzo won't dare make another move against us!"

"Strength for peace!"

"Well said!"

Uchiha Yashiro shouted.

"Strength for peace! Make them wary of us! Make them afraid!"

"Establish the Shrine! Establish the Shrine!"

The entire clan roared its approval.

Ren looked at his clansmen and nodded.

"Tekka Uchiha! Nanami Uchiha!"

Ren called their names sharply.

Thirteen Elite Jonin, led by Tekka and Nanami, leaped out of the crowd and knelt before Ren. Thirteen pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan turned in the darkness.

"At your command!"

The thirteen shouted as one.

Ren drew his short sword and pointed its blade at the sky.

"As Clan Leader, I formally appoint the thirteen of you captains of the Uchiha Shrine's Thirteen Squads!"

"You have one task: select the clan's best fighters, break with convention, and train them for real combat."

"I want you to forge an invincible fighting force for the clan as quickly as possible!"

"As you command! We pledge our lives to the Clan Leader!"

The thirteen captains bowed their heads low.

Ren turned toward a boy at the edge of the crowd.

"Itachi Uchiha, step forward!"

Every eye turned to eleven-year-old Itachi.

Itachi walked up to Ren and knelt on one knee. "Clan Leader."

"Itachi, you're exceptionally gifted and meticulous."

Ren made his announcement.

"I appoint you captain of the Shrine's Zero Squad! Zero Squad won't take part in regular operations. You'll serve as my personal guard and answer directly to me!"

A stir ran through the crowd.

Itachi looked up. He had thought opposing his father in public would make the clan shun him. Instead, Ren had entrusted him with a vital role.

"Yes! I won't fail you!"

Itachi lowered his head.

Near the ruins, Fugaku Uchiha watched the scene unfold.

"The second reform!"

Ren pressed on with his next decision.

"Effective immediately, every Uchiha Clan member serving in the Konoha Anbu will submit their resignation and leave the organization!"

The Great Arena fell silent.

"Clan Leader, this..."

The Grand Elder began to speak.

"There's nothing to worry about!"

Ren cut him off.

"The ANBU is nothing but a tool the leadership uses to watch and divide us."

"If our people stay there, our finest talents will become Danzo's hounds!"

Ren spread his arms.

"We're one of Konoha's founding clans. We should stand above its factions, at the very top of the village."

"After leaving the ANBU, the Shrine will establish an intelligence and assassination network of our own."

"We'll turn the tables and watch the Konoha Leadership. We'll keep Danzo's Root in check. If anyone lays a finger on us, we'll cut off his hand!"

"We'll quit! First thing tomorrow morning!"

"No more taking abuse from that leadership! We answer only to the Clan Leader!"

"The final reform!"

Ren sheathed his short sword.

"I've decided to establish the Hall of Glory at the highest level within the Shrine!"

"The Hall of Glory will represent the Uchiha Clan's greatest fighting strength and highest honor."

"Only those who have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan will be permitted to enter."

"Its members will rank second only to the Clan Leader, with the right to participate in and veto the clan's highest decisions."

The crowd went quiet.

Ren turned toward Uchiha Shisui beside him and Fugaku Uchiha near the ruins.

"Uchiha Shisui! Fugaku Uchiha!"

Ren announced in a ringing voice.

"As Clan Leader, I formally name you both members of the Hall of Glory!"

Shisui stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Shisui accepts!"

Fugaku raised his head beside the ruins.

"Thank you... Clan Leader!"

Supported by two clansmen, Fugaku bent forward in a bow.

The clan's cheers echoed over the Great Arena.

That evening, the setting sun cast its last light across Konoha's streets.

After finishing the clan's handover arrangements, Ren returned home.

He had barely opened the courtyard gate when a small figure blocked his way.

"Big Brother, you liar!"

His seven-year-old sister, Uchiha Runa, planted her hands on her hips.

"You promised this morning you'd pick me up from the Ninja Academy! I waited until sunset, and you never showed up!"

At the sight of his sister, Ren's imposing manner from Naka Shrine vanished. He crouched down to coax her.

"Luna, be good. Something big happened with the clan today, and I couldn't get away."

"Tomorrow. I promise I'll be the first one there to pick you up tomorrow, okay?"

"Hmph! I don't believe you!"

Luna turned her head away, then pulled a little boy out from behind her.

"Since you didn't come get me, I found myself a sidekick!"

Luna patted her chest.

"Some older kids were bullying him at school today, so I chased them off!"

Ren followed Luna's gesture and got a clear look at the boy.

Spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes, and six fox-whisker marks across his cheeks.

The boy wore an old T-shirt. He tugged at its hem and kept his head down.

Naruto!

Ren stared at him.

"Oh, Ren, you're home?"

The kitchen's sliding door opened, and Ren's mother came out carrying a plate of grilled fish.

When she saw Naruto standing in the courtyard, she stopped.

"Did Luna bring a classmate home?"

Mrs. Uchiha walked over and took Naruto's hand.

"You poor thing, you must be starving. Go wash your hands. I made plenty of good food today, so stay and have dinner with us."

Naruto stood frozen. When he looked up, his eyes were full of tears.

"Can... can I really stay?"

Naruto asked.

"Of course! You're my sidekick now!"

Luna grabbed Naruto's hand and skipped toward the sink.

A little while later, in the house's dining room,

warm yellow light fell across the table as the family sat together.

"Ma'am, this tempura is so good! I've never had anything this delicious!"

Naruto gripped a fried shrimp and wolfed it down. As he ate, tears fell into his bowl.

"Slow down, or you'll choke. There's plenty more in the kitchen."

Ren's mother wiped oil from the corner of Naruto's mouth with a handkerchief and put more food in his bowl.

Beside them, Luna waved her chopsticks as she told the family what had happened to Naruto at school.

"Mom, those kids were awful."

"They called Naruto a demon fox. They even threw his lunch on the ground and stomped on it."

"If Big Brother hadn't taught me some Taijutsu, Naruto would've gotten beaten up today!"

Ren's mother gently stroked Naruto's blond hair.

Ren sat quietly at the head of the table.

Holding a cup of tea, he watched the blond boy across from him wolf down his food through his tears.