Discussing the Move

After leaving the Hokage Building, Uchiha En did not head straight back to the clan compound.

He took Uchiha Yashiro and several Jonin on a detour toward the western side of the village center.

The farther they went, the fewer houses they saw.

The streets that should have been bustling were deserted.

Every shop along the road was closed, its doors and windows coated in dust.

The occasional villager who passed by spotted the Uchiha Clan crest, lowered their head, and hurried away, as if afraid bad luck might rub off on them.

Uchiha Yashiro walked beside Uchiha En. Looking around, he could not help sighing.

"This... used to be our clan compound."

His voice held a tangle of emotions.

"Before the Night of the Nine-Tails, this was one of the liveliest parts of Konoha."

"The streets were packed. Shops stayed open from morning till night, and children ran through the alleys..."

Uchiha Yashiro paused.

"Now..."

He did not finish.

But everyone knew what he meant.

Uchiha En stopped and surveyed the scene before him.

Most of the houses lining the street had fallen into disrepair.

Cracks webbed the walls, more than half the roof tiles were gone, and some houses had partially collapsed.

Weeds surged through the gaps in the stone road, nearly swallowing the entire street.

At the sound of footsteps, several stray cats darted from beneath abandoned eaves and vanished into the deeper alleys.

The whole area felt desolate.

"This whole area..."

Uchiha En looked at Uchiha Yashiro.

"Belonged to the Uchiha?"

Uchiha Yashiro nodded.

"Yes."

"From this street all the way to that hillside, it was all Uchiha Clan land."

"It covered a vast area. Back then, it was one of the largest clan compounds in Konoha."

Uchiha En said nothing.

He kept walking, his gaze sweeping over the buildings.

After about a hundred meters, he suddenly stopped.

His eyes had fallen on several new buildings beside the road.

Their style was completely different from the old, dilapidated houses around them.

New walls, new roofs, new doors and windows. They had clearly been built within the past few years.

Strangely, though, every one of them stood empty.

The doors and windows were shut tight, and the courtyards showed no signs of anyone living there.

Uchiha En frowned.

He stepped closer and looked at the plaque hanging by a doorway.

One character was written on it: "Saru."

He turned to look at the neighboring houses.

The same new construction. The same emptiness. The same plaques.

Every plaque bore the same character.

"Saru."

Uchiha Yashiro came forward as well. The moment he saw the plaques, his expression darkened.

Suppressed anger edged his voice.

"The Sarutobi Clan... built houses on our land."

Uchiha En said nothing.

He crouched, picked up a broken roof tile from the roadside, and weighed it in his hand.

The tile was new, made in recent years.

"And after building them, they left them empty."

"Interesting."

Uchiha En stood, brushed the dust from his hands, and looked at the new buildings with a cold smile.

"Our land was handed over to the Sarutobi Clan."

"They've already moved away, and the houses are sitting empty."

"They won't live in them, and they won't give them back."

"They're waiting to see if the Uchiha Clan gets wiped out for good."

"If we do, the land becomes theirs fair and square."

Uchiha Yashiro's face darkened further at those words.

"What a fair, selfless, and incorruptible Third Hokage!"

He spoke through clenched teeth, his voice full of fury.

"He puts on a show of serving the public good, but behind our backs, he's already started carving up Uchiha land!"

The Jonin beside them clenched their fists too.

Uchiha En did not respond.

He took one last look at the empty new houses, then turned back.

"Let's go."

His voice was flat.

"We're holding a meeting."

Uchiha Clan Compound, Meeting Hall.

Dusk was falling, but the Meeting Hall was brightly lit.

Every Jonin had come, along with the ordinary clan members.

Even Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto were there.

Fugaku sat in a corner with his arms crossed, saying nothing. Mikoto sat beside him, pale and red-eyed, but reasonably composed.

Uchiha En stood at the head of the hall and looked over everyone present.

More than a hundred people crowded the Meeting Hall, filling it to capacity.

Every eye was on him.

Uchiha En got straight to the point.

"I called the whole clan together today to discuss one thing... moving."

"We're moving back to our original clan compound."

The Meeting Hall immediately erupted in discussion.

"Moving back?"

"The original compound... you mean the place that's been abandoned for five or six years?"

"Can anyone even live there now?"

"The streets are overgrown, and the houses must be falling apart!"

Uchiha En raised a hand for silence.

"The old compound may have been abandoned, but its foundations are still there."

"The main structures are sound. The houses will be livable with some repairs."

"And..."

He paused.

"It's closer to the village center."

"Whatever we need to do, it will be more convenient than living here."

Some clan members' eyes lit up.

But many more looked hesitant.

A few seconds passed in silence.

Then a woman's voice rose from the crowd.

"Clan Head..."

Her voice trembled. Everyone turned toward her.

She was a woman in her forties, with disheveled hair, a haggard face, and dark circles beneath her eyes.

Her clothes were old, the cuffs worn pale.

Her name was Uchiha Ryoko.

On the Night of the Nine-Tails, her husband, her parents-in-law, and her two young children... had all died.

She was the only one left in her family.

Uchiha Ryoko took two steps forward, her voice hoarse.

"That place..."

"Whenever I close my eyes, I see their bodies."

Tears ran down her face.

"My husband died right in front of me. My two children... I never even found their bodies."

"That place..."

She covered her face, her words coming in broken fragments.

"I... I can't go back..."

The Meeting Hall fell quiet.

Many lowered their heads, tears welling in their eyes. The Night of the Nine-Tails had left a scar in their hearts too.

Uchiha En was silent for a few seconds.

Then another voice spoke up.

"Clan Head, I also think... moving back isn't a good idea."

The speaker was a middle-aged man.

"The old compound is too big, but now..."

He shook his head with a bitter smile.

"There are only a little over a hundred of us left."

"Such a huge place, with so few people living there..."

"It would only feel more desolate."

Many nodded at that.

"Yeah. Land that used to house thousands, and now there's only this handful of us. It's painful just to think about."

"And it's in the village center, with people coming and going. We lived there for generations, but going back now... it would feel so empty."

"We've lived here for seven or eight years. We're used to it."

"Moving back to a place that big all of a sudden would feel strange."

The discussion grew louder.

Uchiha En stood at the front and listened without moving.

His expression remained calm, but inwardly he scoffed. What a hopeless bunch.

They'd rather hole up in this miserable corner than take land in the village center?

They'd rather stay crammed in here than reclaim centuries-old homes? Because the memories hurt? Because it would feel desolate?

Uchiha En's mouth twitched. If so many of his plans did not require the title of Uchiha Clan Head, he would not have wanted to deal with these people at all.

He took a deep breath, pushed those feelings down, and spoke slowly.

"Aunt Ryoko."

"I understand what you're saying."

Uchiha Ryoko looked up at him through her tears.

Uchiha En met her gaze calmly, his voice steady.

"When you've lost family, memories will haunt you wherever you go."

"But I want to ask you something."

Uchiha Ryoko froze.

"If we stay here."

Uchiha En looked across the room at everyone present.

"Will we survive the next time someone tries to wipe us out?"

Silence fell over the hall.

Uchiha En went on, speaking quietly, but his words struck everyone hard.

"We were lucky not to be wiped out on Clan Massacre Night."

"Someone interfered and threw a wrench into the Konoha High Command's plan."

"But what about next time?"

Uchiha En's gaze sharpened.

"We've backed those leaders into a corner."

"When they catch their breath, what will they do?"

His voice turned cold.

"They'll do everything they can to wipe us out."

"And here..."

Uchiha En pointed at the ground beneath his feet.

"We're at the very edge of the village, farthest from the Konoha Military Police Force, the Hokage Building, and the Anbu headquarters."

"If something happens, we won't even have time to call for help."

"When that happens..."

He looked at Uchiha Ryoko.

"How many of the people standing here today..."

"...will still be alive?"

Uchiha Ryoko froze.

Her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face.

But she said nothing.

The Meeting Hall fell deathly silent.

After a long while, someone spoke.

"The Clan Head... the Clan Head is right."

It was the same middle-aged man who had spoken earlier.

His voice was hoarse.

"If we stay here, we might all die next time."

"But moving back..."

He clenched his fists.

"At least that's the center of Konoha. If something happens, everyone will know."

More and more people began to nod.

"That's right. It's close to the village center. If something really happens, the Anbu can get there right away."

"Moving back... is better than waiting here to die."

The expressions of those who had opposed the move began to waver.

Uchiha En watched them and scoffed inwardly. What a bunch of fence-sitters.

A moment ago, they had worried that going back would stir up painful memories, that it would feel desolate. The moment they heard they might die, they changed their tune.

But his face showed relief.

"Since everyone agrees, it's settled."

His gaze swept across the hall.

"We begin moving in three days."

"When the time comes, everyone in the clan must take part."

No one objected.

Uchiha En nodded and turned to Uchiha Yashiro beside him.

"Elder Yashiro, I'll leave the repairs to you."

Uchiha Yashiro nodded at once. "Don't worry, Clan Head. I'll take people over tomorrow and start by repairing the houses that are still habitable."

"Within three days, I'll make sure everyone can move in."

Uchiha En nodded.

"Take care of things here for now. I need to see someone."