"Lord Ren... are you saying the Uchiha and Senju are actually..." Itachi's voice tightened.
"That's right."
Ren looked at Itachi.
"The Sage of Six Paths founded Ninshū. Every shinobi clan in the world today descended from its splintered branches!"
"We Uchiha inherited the blood of Indra, the Sage's eldest son, and perfectly inherited the Sage's Eye: this Sharingan, which can see through all things and command genjutsu!"
"The Senju clan inherited the body of his second son, Asura, and with it the Sage Body. That's the source of their immense vitality and Wood Release!"
Ren spread his arms. His Mangekyō Sharingan radiated imposing power.
"That's why, across the entire Shinobi World, only our two clans can stand above all others! We were born at its summit!"
Itachi felt his scalp prickle.
No wonder the Uchiha Sharingan had such terrifying potential to evolve.
No wonder Hashirama's Wood Release could subdue the Nine Tailed Beasts! This was the power of a god!
"But look at them now."
Ren gave a cold laugh.
"To 'integrate into Konoha,' the Senju clan gave up its family name. Now it has withered away completely. It can't even produce a younger member capable of representing it!"
"Across the Shinobi World today, only we Uchiha can use this divine bloodline to crush everything with absolute strength!"
Ren walked up to Itachi.
"Itachi, what are you still hesitating over?"
"If we restore the Uchiha to greatness, if we gain the absolute power to hold the entire Shinobi World in check, we won't need to beg for peace!"
"When that day comes, if the Uchiha say one word, who will dare start a war? Who will dare kill? With a single word, we can bring peace back to the world!"
Itachi's blood surged.
Bring peace to the world with a single word.
What vision! What overwhelming force of will!
Itachi raised his head and gritted his teeth.
"But... Lord Ren, power without restraint becomes a disaster."
"If the Uchiha gain the power to subdue everything, who can guarantee that ambition won't drive it out of control and bring even greater war to the Shinobi World?"
Ren smiled at Itachi.
"Good question. That's why I need you and Shisui."
"What?" Itachi froze.
"I promise to bind the clan's power with ironclad rules. I will never let our strength become a tool for starting wars."
Ren patted Itachi on the shoulder.
"And you and Shisui will be the two safeguards behind that promise!"
"You two desire peace more than anyone else in the Uchiha Clan, and you're the most clearheaded."
"If the Uchiha's power ever does spiral out of control, if I'm ever consumed by ambition and become a monster who plunges the Shinobi World into chaos..."
Ren stared into Itachi's eyes.
"Then use the blades in your hands and your Mangekyō Sharingan to stop me!"
Those words broke through Itachi's last defenses.
He looked at the new Clan Leader before him, his eyes reddening.
Ren had personally given him and Shisui the power to keep him in check!
What breadth of spirit! What resolve!
Every doubt in Itachi's heart vanished.
Thud!
Itachi dropped to both knees and pressed his forehead to the bluestone floor.
"I, Itachi, swear to follow you to the death, Lord Clan Leader! For the greatness of the Uchiha, I will shed my last drop of blood!"
Itachi Uchiha had truly become a blade in Ren's hand.
Early the next morning.
In the central square of the Uchiha District.
Everyone looked toward the raised platform at the front of the square.
Ren strode onto the platform in a black Divine Robe symbolizing his position as Clan Leader, a short blade at his waist.
Behind him stood Uchiha Shisui, Fugaku Uchiha, and the Temple's thirteen captains, lined up side by side.
"Greetings, Lord Clan Leader!"
Thousands of clan members knelt on one knee, their cries ringing to the heavens.
Ren raised a hand, signaling them to stand.
"Today is my first day formally serving as Uchiha Clan Head and head of the Konoha Military Police Force."
Driven by Chakra, Ren's voice reached every corner of the square.
"The Uchiha of the past were scattered and easily pushed around. Starting today, those days are over!"
Ren swept his gaze across the crowd.
"I declare that, as of today, the Uchiha Clan will undergo sweeping reforms!"
Everyone held their breath and listened, afraid to miss a word.
"First resolution!"
Ren raised one finger. "We will establish the Hidden Dragon Hall within the clan!"
"From today onward, children under ten will no longer be left to the old, unstructured education they received at home."
"They will all enter the Hidden Dragon Hall for unified, intensive training in a closed environment!"
"Elite ninja from the Temple will personally teach them the finest Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu!"
"They will be assessed every year. The outstanding will advance directly into the Uchiha Shrine and become the clan's core fighters! The rest will join the Military Police Force or regular mission teams according to their strengths!"
The square erupted in an uproar.
Below the platform, the great elder's beard trembled.
"Train them together? With the Temple's elite teaching them personally?"
Tears streamed down the great elder's face.
"Wonderful! We used to leave children to figure things out themselves or learn from their parents. How much talent did we waste?"
"Lord Ren means to build an endless army of prodigies, starting at the foundation!"
The clan members with young children flushed with excitement.
The Temple's elite were top-tier fighters, every one of them possessing the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Having fighters of that caliber personally teach their children was a privilege they had never dared imagine!
"Second resolution!"
Ren gave them no chance to catch their breath before continuing.
"We will establish a Secret Arts Hall within the Temple!"
Ren turned his gaze toward several elders below the platform.
"Great Elder, Second Elder, and the rest of you: you may be too old to fight on the battlefield, but your minds hold the priceless knowledge the Uchiha Clan has accumulated over thousands of years!"
"The elders will personally oversee the Secret Arts Hall."
"Your task is to research, refine, and improve the clan's ancient secret techniques, and uncover the wealth of ninjutsu we've overlooked!"
The elders shook at his words.
They had thought Ren would see them as old bones in his way and push them aside once he took power.
Instead, he had entrusted them with the clan's core ninjutsu!
"Rest assured, Lord Clan Leader!"
The great elder leaned on his cane, his voice trembling.
"Even if it costs me this old life, I'll make sure the Uchiha's secret arts flourish!"
Ren nodded, then announced the centerpiece of the day's reforms.
"Third resolution: beneath the Secret Arts Hall, we will establish the Hundred Arts Pavilion!"
"The Hundred Arts Pavilion?"
The clan members exchanged puzzled looks.
The name sounded unrelated to combat or ninjutsu.
"That's right, the Hundred Arts Pavilion!"
Seeing their confusion, Ren explained loudly.
"It will operate in food, clothing, transport, research, medicine, and every other line of work!"
"I want every clan member who hasn't awakened the Sharingan or isn't suited to combat to join the Hundred Arts Pavilion. They'll use the advantages we have as ninja to do business and earn money!"
Everyone's eyes widened.
Business? Money?
"Lord Clan Leader..."
Uchiha Yashiro could not help stepping forward, confusion written across his face.
"We are the noble Uchiha Clan, Konoha's elite fighters."
"Having us do the work of ordinary merchants... it's beneath our standing!"
"Yes, Clan Leader. We can earn generous rewards from high-ranking missions. Why get involved in food and clothing?"
Ren sneered.
"Beneath our standing? Rewards from high-ranking missions?"
Ren pointed at Yashiro and demanded sharply,
"Yashiro! How much of the Military Police Force's funding did the Konoha Leadership withhold last year?!"
Yashiro stiffened and answered through gritted teeth.
"Almost... almost thirty percent."
"Then answer this!"
Ren pressed on.
"How many of the village's high-ranking missions have been assigned to the Uchiha?!"
Yashiro lowered his head, his face burning red.
"None. The leadership gave all the lucrative missions to ANBU and the other clans."
"Exactly!"
Ren swept his sleeve through the air, his voice echoing over the square.
"You fools! Do you still not see it?!"
"In the past, the Uchiha had no economic foundation. The entire clan depended on meager mission pay from the village and the Military Police Force's funding for everything we ate, wore, and used!"
"The Konoha Leadership has always held our economic lifeline in its hands."
"They could do whatever they wanted to us."
"If they cut off our funding, we won't even be able to eat. What use is noble standing then? What use is talk of returning to the top?!"
His words tore away the veil over the Uchiha Clan's blind arrogance.
Faces went pale across the square, and cold sweat broke out.
They realized how laughable and fragile the pride they had cherished was in the face of harsh economic reality.
"Money can't do everything. But without it, we can do nothing!"
Ren stood on the platform, looking down at the clan members who had finally understood.
"I'm establishing the Hundred Arts Pavilion to change that at its root!"
"I want the Uchiha Clan to have not only the strongest fighters in the Shinobi World, but also wealth to rival a nation's!"
"Once we control the economic lifeline of Konoha, and even the entire Land of Fire, the Konoha Leadership will have to depend on us to eat!"
Ren's grand vision stunned every clan member.
Wealth to rival a nation's. Control of the economic lifeline.
Make the Konoha Leadership depend on the Uchiha to eat.
Fervor and greed flared in the eyes of those who had thought commerce beneath them.
"Lord Clan Leader is brilliant!"
"Establish the Hundred Arts Pavilion! We'll earn every coin in Konoha!"
"To hell with the leadership! The Uchiha will decide our own future!"
Thousands of clan members pumped their fists, their roars deafening.
Ren watched the square below, his Mangekyō Sharingan turning.
He knew only by pursuing both paths could he build a force that was truly unassailable.
He would give the Uchiha not just unmatched fighting strength, but vast wealth as well.
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