Fugaku Was Still Under Pressure

"Why do I have to recite something like that in my head?!"

Obito grumbled inwardly, then gave the Bell a casual shake without reciting the prayer.

"Obito, you didn't recite it, did you?"

Obito stared wide-eyed at Yan, who stood behind him.

"How did you know? Can you read minds?"

At the thought of Yan seeing all his daydreams about being with Rin, Obito wanted to curl his toes hard enough to carve out a new Hokage Rock.

Yan looked at the words "Wish Not Made" beside Obito's name on the system's Member List and smiled without a word.

Under Yan's heavy-handed pressure, Obito was forced to pray again.

Once everyone had made their wishes, Yan opened the system's organization module.

Sure enough, reaching a certain number of Wish-makers unlocked a treasure chest.

There were three thresholds: 10 people, 50 people, and 100 people.

The organization now had Yan, Kakashi, Obito, Anko, Rin Nohara, Asuma, Ebisu, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Genma Shiranui.

They had hit the first threshold exactly.

[Treasure chest unlocked. Received 10 Gold Coins.]

Yan looked at everyone with growing warmth. What good people they were, earning him Gold Coins.

Thinking back on yesterday's performances, Yan divided the ten of them into three groups:

"First, Might Guy and I will practice Taijutsu."

"Next, Kakashi and Asuma, you both have solid foundations in Ninjutsu. You can learn from each other."

"Everyone else will practice Tree Walking and Water Walking to improve your Chakra control."

Hidden nearby, Orochimaru silently praised the arrangement. Apart from the Taijutsu group, which he didn't understand, he would have divided the others the same way if he were teaching them.

As soon as Yan finished speaking, Anko raised her hand. "I've already practiced tree climbing."

"You haven't practiced Water Walking yet, have you? Once you've finished that, try this Ninjutsu."

Yan handed Anko the scroll for the Dragon Fire Technique. She snorted and snatched it from him.

Yan couldn't make sense of her reaction, but Kurenai Yuhi understood perfectly.

After Yan walked away, Kurenai glanced at Anko with her ruby-red eyes and chuckled.

"Looks like Anko would rather train with Yan than work on the basics with us!"

Anko's face flushed at once. "Who wants to train with that guy?!"

"Sure, sure. I won't say another word."

Kurenai kept teasing Anko, prompting Anko to reach over and squish her cheeks.

"That'll teach you to tease me. Why don't you go train with Asuma? Isn't he always sneaking looks at you?"

"Anko!"

Of course, Obito wasn't happy with the arrangement either.

"Why do I have to work on the basics? I'm really strong, you know."

Obito thumped his chest, trying to show off his manliness in front of Rin. Unfortunately, Rin kept sneaking glances at Kakashi.

"You can talk when your Fireball stops turning into a tiny flame."

Yan's words shut down Obito's boasting. Then Yan created a Shadow Clone to watch over everyone's training.

Yan himself walked over to Might Guy.

"Might Guy, mind if I train with you?"

"Really? Yan, you're actually willing to follow my training plan?"

Yan nodded. "When it comes to Taijutsu, you're a genius. I'm not as good as you."

Guy flashed him an excited thumbs-up and declared:

"Let our youth burn bright!"

The Third Hokage had only just recovered from Yan's bizarre wish when he saw Yan hand Anko the scroll. His eyes gleamed.

The Dragon Fire Technique isn't an advanced Ninjutsu, and the village has a copy. But that Scroll is still from the Uchiha Clan's Book Collection. If Yan does this, won't the clan elders...

The Third Hokage shook his head. Yan might seem impulsive, but he handled matters carefully. He must have already worked out a way to deal with it.

Just as the Third Hokage expected, Yan had already prepared for the clan elders' reaction.

While Yan and the others began training, Fugaku was weathering the pressure at the Naka River Shrine.

"Why did you let Yan give a Scroll to outsiders? That's a treasure of the Uchiha Clan!"

"What right do outsiders have to use the Uchiha Clan's treasures?"

Fugaku sat in the seat of honor, besieged by elderly clan elders.

He recalled complaining to Yan that morning about the trouble Yan had caused him yet again. Yan had replied:

Who's in charge of the Uchiha, you or them?

Those damn old men talk about Uchiha glory all day and look down on the villagers. Now even the younger generation can't get along with anyone in the village.

When Fugaku took over, he had resolved to ease the clan's tense relationship with the village.

But these elders came out and meddled every day. If they were so radical, why hadn't they left with Madara back then? They could at least have taken their chances with Uchiha Setsuna.

They had kept quiet then, but now they were berating him.

Fugaku was so angry he was close to activating his Sharingan. Outwardly, though, he forced down his anger and explained to the elders:

"Yan is doing this to change how the village sees the Uchiha..."

"Bullshit! What can a child do? And who gave him permission to take a scroll from the Uchiha Book Collection?!"

Fugaku's fists slowly clenched. These old fossils...

"I gave him permission. What, do you have a problem with that?"

An old man with snow-white hair and beard entered the shrine. The elders were about to rebuke him, but once they saw who it was, they swallowed their words and forced out a stiff greeting:

"Yashiro, what brings you here?"

"Hmph. If I hadn't come, you lot would have raised hell."

With that, old Yashiro walked over and sat beside Fugaku. He swept his gaze across the elders, then spoke slowly:

"When Madara Uchiha defected, you didn't go with him. When Uchiha Setsuna plotted rebellion, you didn't follow him either. And now you've decided to act like radicals?"

"If you really cared about Uchiha glory, you'd be sitting in a Konoha prison cell with Setsuna right now."

Yashiro left the elders speechless. A long while passed before one of them stammered:

"We... we're just afraid the clan's treasured knowledge will leak out."

"Treasured knowledge?"

Yashiro gave a cold snort. "You call a B-rank Ninjutsu a treasure? Has the Uchiha Clan fallen that far?"

The elder who had spoken lowered his head.

Yashiro continued:

"The village has had a copy of the Dragon Fire Technique for years. Our Scroll only has a few extra notes from our predecessors' training. How important are those notes to people with the Sharingan?"

"Why wouldn't we use something that matters so little to us to improve the Uchiha Clan's image? Don't forget, the Senju gave all their treasures to the village, and even their clan members became part of Konoha."

"And if we're talking about secrets getting out, shouldn't the first person held accountable be Madara Uchiha, who took the Uchiha Gunbai and advanced ninjutsu like the Flame Formation with him?!"

Seeing that his old friends had fallen silent, Yashiro rose and walked toward the door.

"All of you chose me over Uchiha Setsuna back then. I let you down. I didn't improve the Uchiha Clan's situation. But now, I hope you can put your faith in Yan."