Just These Eyes

"Yan, it's been a while."

"Lord Hokage, it has."

The Third Hokage exchanged pleasantries with Yan as he entered the office, then asked about the battlefield.

If reporters had been there, tomorrow's Shinobi World Daily headline would probably have been about the Third Hokage visiting frontline soldiers.

Unfortunately, the Third Hokage had more than a visit in mind.

"Yan, what do you think of Orochimaru's proposal?"

Before Yan returned to the village, Orochimaru had submitted his proposal to restart the Wood Release experiments.

Wood Release was tempting, but if the experiments failed, the village leadership's reputation and its relationship with the Uchiha Clan would plunge to rock bottom.

The stakes were high. The Third Hokage had to think carefully.

Yan had expected the question. He answered slowly:

"I think the experiment is feasible. If the village supervises it properly, Konoha may regain the deterrent power it had under the First Hokage."

The First Hokage...

A flicker of nostalgia crossed the Third Hokage's eyes. Back then, Konoha had held the other four nations at bay. Now Kumogakure and Iwagakure had pushed it so hard that even children had to go to war.

His gaze returned to Yan. The opinion of a key figure among the younger generation mattered.

He thought back over Yan's contributions: strengthening the younger generation, reaching out to the village on behalf of the Uchiha Clan, founding a newspaper that filled Konoha's coffers, and earning the name Red Blade on the battlefield...

If someone like Yan thought it was feasible, the Third Hokage had no reason to hesitate.

Having made up his mind, he said to Yan:

"If you can persuade the Uchiha Clan to cooperate, I'll convene the village leadership, secretly assign people to supervise the work, and publicly call it a Physical Enhancement Drug."

The Uchiha Clan had extended an olive branch. The Third Hokage had no reason not to offer something in return:

"The village will pay for the Sharingan used in the experiments: two million ryō for a One-Tomoe pair, five million for a Two-Tomoe pair, and eight million for a Three-Tomoe pair. If the experiment succeeds, the Uchiha Clan will receive the first injections."

The Third Hokage was spending a fortune. Even with its monopoly on newspapers, the Heavenly Eye Society paid Konoha only twenty million ryō a year in profits. Including shares of mission rewards and land taxes, Konoha's annual revenue came to nearly fifty million.

After expenses, especially with the war ongoing, Konoha might have only around forty million ryō left each year.

Yan nodded. "My Brother-in-Law and I will handle the clan."

They shared a knowing smile. It was time to deal the clan's hardliners a crushing blow.

Three days later, inside the Naka River Shrine.

The Uchiha Clan held another gathering of its ninja. Every clan member who had awakened the Sharingan attended.

"Why hold a clan meeting during a war?"

"Is the clan head finally going to lead us in seizing power?"

The clan members whispered guesses about the meeting's purpose.

"Quiet!"

Fugaku entered the shrine, his authority as clan head on full display.

The shrine fell silent at once. But when the clan members saw Yan following him, their thoughts began to stir again.

Seeing their obedient expressions, Fugaku lifted his head, eager to show his brother-in-law how much authority he commanded.

Yan ignored Fugaku's little display and quickened his pace toward the seats.

Fugaku's eye twitched. If Yan sat down first, what would become of his dignity as clan head?

The two hurried to the front as if they were racing.

With so many people watching, Yan gave Fugaku some face. He let Fugaku sit first, then took a seat slightly behind him, playing the attendant.

Some of the more perceptive clan members had already noticed Yan's importance and began wondering which faction he belonged to.

"Ahem." Fugaku signaled the start of the meeting. "I've called you here today to discuss an important matter."

When Yan first raised the matter with Fugaku, Fugaku opposed it. Selling Sharingan was something the proud Uchiha would surely refuse.

But Yan told him the experiment might reveal the secrets of the Mangekyo and increase the chances of awakening the Sharingan.

Fugaku had always wanted it both ways. After the Night of the Nine-Tails, when the village leadership openly targeted the Uchiha, he had not dared to launch a coup and had kept the hardliners in check. Yet he had also wanted greater benefits, so he sent Itachi to infiltrate ANBU.

His dutiful son ended up brainwashed. Faced with a choice between the village and the Uchiha, Itachi chose to wipe out the Uchiha.

Now that Yan and the village had reached an agreement, the Uchiha had more money, and the villagers gave them fewer suspicious looks. Naturally, Fugaku was more inclined to support a plan that could strengthen the clan.

Once this cooperation was in place, the Uchiha could grow stronger quickly as long as the village continued to trust them. Fugaku had no reason to object.

Surely no Uchiha would lose his mind, control a Jinchūriki, and attack the village, driving its suspicion of the clan to its peak.

"The Third Hokage and Orochimaru have proposed an experiment that could make it more likely for Uchiha to awaken the Sharingan..."

Fugaku emphasized the terms the Third Hokage had offered and the experiment's benefits.

But the clan erupted after hearing him out. The moderates frowned deeply, while the hardliners jumped to their feet.

"Clan head, are you trying to sell out the clan?"

"Those old men are plainly after our Sharingan. I won't agree to this!"

"Neither will I!"

"I object!"

"Clan head, do you mean to surrender to Tobirama Senju's student? What do you stand to gain?"

Yan quietly watched the farce. The hardliners were making plenty of noise, but if asked to launch a coup right now, they would not dare.

The village had targeted the Uchiha since the Second Hokage's time. Tobirama Senju confined them to the Military Police Station, where most Uchiha went after becoming Chunin.

That kept the Uchiha from gaining power in other parts of the village. Law enforcement also made enemies easily. Combined with the Uchiha's proud temperament, it had gradually bred prejudice against them throughout the village.

Even after all that separation between the village and the Uchiha, only Uchiha Setsuna had led a rebellion. If Danzo and the Third Hokage had not gone further and further after the Night of the Nine-Tails, these people would never even have considered a coup.

"Hmph!" Yan rose and walked up to the clan elder who had asked what Fugaku stood to gain. His opening words were blunt:

"You old fossil. If you don't want your Sharingan, you can gouge them out!"

"You!"

The elder was too furious to speak. Who opened a speech at a clan meeting with an insult?

Yan pointed at the old man and continued:

"You asked what Fugaku gains from this. Let me correct two things. First, this isn't surrender. We're contributing to a village we're part of. Second, there are benefits—but not just for Fugaku. They're for the entire Uchiha Clan."

Yan swept his gaze over the clan members, lingering on the hardliners. "Has anyone here received too little money since we started running the newspaper with the village?"

Their faces stiffened. They had received quite a bit.

Yan turned back to the elder before him.

"If I remember right, you just renovated your house. You must still have plenty of savings left, too."

"Th-that was payment from my missions..."

"Hah." Yan sneered. "Didn't you join the Police Force as soon as you became a Chunin? Where did all that mission pay come from? Have you been selling yourself behind everyone's backs, you old fossil?"

The elder's face flushed red, but Yan had no intention of letting him off.

"And you chose to renovate right when the newspaper dividends came in. Nice timing, old man."

"I, I..."

The elder looked toward the other hardliners. They lowered their heads.

They had indeed received a great deal of money since the newspaper was founded. Their families had benefited even more.

The Uchiha Clan had many members, but ninja were a minority, and those who awakened the Sharingan were rarer still. Most were civilians.

In the past, prejudice against the Uchiha made it hard for civilian clan members to find work outside the clan or do business with outsiders.

Most lived on the clan's land-tax revenue. Without a ninja in the family, they lived only a little better than ordinary villagers.

Now the newspaper provided plenty of jobs for clan members. As the villagers' prejudice eased, their businesses could reach customers outside the clan as well.

Financially, they had benefited enormously.

With nothing left to say on that subject, another hardliner in his forties stepped forward to change the subject:

"How can you guarantee they'll actually run the experiment instead of trying to get their hands on our Sharingan?"

"With these eyes!"

Yan activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and stared coldly at the man. Startled, the hardliner activated his own Sharingan in response.

The other clan members stared at Yan in shock, their Sharingan activating almost unconsciously.

A Three-Tomoe Sharingan at seven years old!

"Hah." Yan pressed his advantage. "Only Two-Tomoe at your age? Go jump off Hokage Rock."

"You..."

Ignoring the man in his forties who had only reached Two-Tomoe, Yan turned to the rest of the clan.

"Do you see now? These eyes are my guarantee. I've already said this isn't a one-sided concession to the village. It's cooperation that benefits both sides!"

The clan members lowered their heads. In the ninja world, strength commanded respect. Otherwise, they would not have stayed silent when Madara Uchiha took so much from the clan.

Seeing this, Yan knew it was time to offer reassurance after his show of force.

"We're doing all this because the Uchiha are part of the village. If the village ever casts aside the Uchiha, one of its founding clans, then we'll leave! We'll take back everything the Uchiha contributed to it. If the Land of Fire has no place for us, we'll return to the Land of Lightning!"

Seeing that the moment was right, Fugaku called for a vote.

"Now, raise your hands to vote."

Yan's words had struck home, stirring something fierce in the clan members' hearts.

A Three-Tomoe Sharingan at seven. Perhaps Homura Uchiha would become a second Madara Uchiha. With someone like him, the clan would always have the strength to turn against the village if it had to.

What reason was left to object?

The clan members raised their hands one after another, including many hardliners. Even the most extreme among them reluctantly raised their hands, bowing to the situation.

The next day, the Uchiha Clan voluntarily signed an agreement with the village to sell the Sharingan of deceased clan members at a fair price.