The Mind-Listening Clan's Choice

When Listening Yulong entered the office, his whole body was tense. He knew what Lu Zeming wanted to discuss.

He also knew that the choice he made next would determine the Mind-Listening Clan's future.

How could he not be nervous at such a turning point?

Lu Zeming spoke first. "Welcome, clan chief. You've had a look around today, haven't you? What do you think?"

Listening Yulong had barely sat down when he instinctively started to rise to answer.

Lu Zeming smiled. "No need to be so formal. By age, I ought to call you uncle. Stay seated."

Listening Yulong wiped the sweat from his palms. "Yuka showed me around. A lot of things haven't taken shape yet, but I believe this place will soon rival Kusagakure. No, it'll be even better."

Lu Zeming smiled and nodded. "I think so too. Now, you said you planned to bring your entire clan here. Is that true?"

Listening Yulong's back straightened at once. They were getting to the heart of it.

"Yes. The Mind-Listening Clan is sincere about this!"

He thought that answer would please Lu Zeming. Instead, Lu Zeming's expression turned distant. He looked plainly uninterested.

Listening Yulong was growing uneasy when Lu Zeming finally spoke.

"I don't need your sincerity. My plans don't include taking in an entire ninja clan."

"Why?"

Listening Yulong couldn't understand the refusal. Accepting a whole ninja clan would immediately strengthen Flower Village and provide experienced ninjas to keep it safe. Lu Zeming had no reason to turn them down.

He wasn't the only one baffled. Kumi Uzumaki, Yuka, and the others nearby couldn't understand it either.

This time, Listening Yulong truly couldn't stay seated.

"Have we done something wrong? Is our offer not enough? I'm willing to hand over all the Mind-Listening Clan's property. If that still isn't enough, I'll give you every secret technique scroll our clan has treasured for years!"

His heart ached as he said it, but he was ready to stake everything on this decision!

No matter what, he intended to attach himself to Lu Zeming, whose power was about to grow.

He believed that whatever he gave away now would return to him a hundredfold, even a thousandfold, in the future!

Lu Zeming still said nothing. Listening Yulong was nearly desperate enough to cry.

The atmosphere in the office grew stifling.

At last, Lu Zeming spoke.

"The village I want to build won't be like other ninja villages, where a few powerful clans control the authority and resources. I want a village where people are equal, where ordinary people have plenty of ways to advance."

"If your entire clan joins us now, while the village is still small, it might not seem like a problem. But what happens when the village grows? Your clan members will hold all sorts of important positions. When that happens, will they favor their own?"

"They might break no rules or laws. They might simply show a little preference out of personal loyalty—or even just feel more favorably toward their relatives. That alone could take away resources and opportunities that civilian ninjas barely have to begin with."

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Listening Yulong had been clan chief for more than a decade. How could he fail to understand? At least, he thought he understood.

Lu Zeming had put it tactfully. He had left the bluntest part unsaid.

If your clan holds every important position, won't you, its chief, have more power than I do as village chief?

Listening Yulong steeled himself, dropped to his knees, and bowed his head to the floor.

"My lord, please take in the Mind-Listening Clan. If you accept us, I'll give up my position as clan chief. From then on, you may personally appoint or dismiss whoever holds it!"

Listening Yulong had offered everything. It was an enormous gamble.

Yet Lu Zeming still shook his head.

"You still don't understand. I'll lay out my conditions. If you agree to them, I'll accept the Mind-Listening Clan."

Listening Yulong seized on the chance. "Name them. My clan will agree!"

"Listen to all of them first," Lu Zeming said.

"Yes, of course. I'm listening carefully!"

"First, Household Registration and Equal Citizenship. Every member of the Mind-Listening Clan must be registered. From then on, they belong to the village, not the clan;

"Second, Mandatory Household Separation. Clan members may not share property or live together as a single household. In any family with two or more sons, each son must establish a separate household when he reaches adulthood;

"Third, the clan property must be divided among the households. The clan chief may not collect funds from clan members in any form, and all existing clan property must be distributed to the families;

"Fourth, clan rules must be abolished. The clan chief may not punish members in any way. Those who break the law will be dealt with under village rules."

Listening Yulong wasn't the only one chilled by those conditions. Even Kumi Uzumaki felt a shiver run down her spine.

Lu Zeming meant to break the clan system at its roots.

Ruthless. Utterly ruthless! But brilliant, too. If he carried this out, Flower Village would never have to worry about clans growing too powerful to control.

Listening Yulong's face darkened. If he agreed, would the Mind-Listening Clan still be a clan at all?

Seeing his hesitation, Lu Zeming didn't press him.

"Take tonight to think it over. Give me your answer tomorrow morning. I'd also like you to assist Kumi Uzumaki with settling the refugees."

"Mm... Oh. All right!"

Listening Yulong had no idea how he left the office. He looked up at the bright moon hanging in the sky, his thoughts in turmoil.

Back in the office, Lu Zeming looked at Kumi Uzumaki's swollen belly.

"When are you due?"

Kumi Uzumaki blushed. "At the end of next month."

Lu Zeming worked through the Naruto World timeline in his head. Karin should be about the same age as Naruto Uzumaki. If Karin was about to be born, Naruto's birth couldn't be far off either.

Naruto's birth, the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, Minato Namikaze's death—those were all momentous events. Unfortunately, Lu Zeming wasn't strong enough to get involved.

The night passed without incident. At first light, Listening Yulong appeared outside Lu Zeming's office with dark circles under his eyes.

Clearly, he hadn't slept a wink.

Lu Zeming invited him in and asked,

"Have you made your decision?"

Listening Yulong straightened his clothes, knelt solemnly, and bowed his head. "The Mind-Listening Clan will follow your lead, my lord!"

"Good!"

Lu Zeming came around his desk and helped Listening Yulong to his feet himself.

"No need to kneel from now on. We're on the same side!"

Listening Yulong wrote a letter on the spot and sent Yuka's father and Haruki back with it to bring the clan over.

The roads were dangerous, and the Mind-Listening Clan would be traveling with their families. Lu Zeming was worried, so he sent Ikeda Masato, Hayato, and Yuki Kamimai along to protect them.

Over the next few days, Flower Village remained focused on settling the refugees.

Meanwhile, Lu Zeming searched among them for gifted children.

An initial count put the new arrivals at more than 1,730, including over 200 children.

After examining them, Lu Zeming found more than thirty children with promising talent.

As before, he taught them the Chakra Extraction Technique and prepared medicinal baths and acupuncture treatments.

Even without the baths and acupuncture, those thirty-odd children could become ninjas. It would simply take a long time.

Unfortunately, time was what Lu Zeming lacked. The baths and acupuncture would help them gather Chakra more quickly.

These newly awakened young ninjas had limited fighting ability, but they were more than capable of clearing land and farming it.

Lu Zeming was increasingly convinced that Ninjutsu ought to be used to boost productivity. Using it to kill was a terrible waste.