Returning to Konoha and attending the clan meeting

The male protagonist followed his two teachers' advice and had the others quickly make preparations.

The male protagonist took charge of watching Kawano Shinji, while the others scattered to search for the corpse they needed.

With a ninja's speed, they returned in less than half a day.

Uchiha Makoto opened a Summoning Scroll. With a bang and a puff of white smoke, a corpse appeared on the ground.

The others looked it over. Its build and height were very similar to Kawano Shinji's.

Then Uchiha Makoto and Uchiha Kiyoshi began doctoring the corpse, using Fire Release to burn away most of its bodily tissue.

Then, to Kawano Shinji's horror, they removed some of his bodily tissue and attached it to the corpse before making him perform ninjutsu, leaving his distinctive ninjutsu traces on it.

"That should do it."

Uchiha Kiyoshi crouched beside the corpse and examined it for a while longer, then stood and dusted off his hands. "Unless the Third opens the coffin and examines the body himself, this thing should pass without any trouble."

Zongyan sealed the corpse back into the scroll and called for the others to head back to the village.

After several days of traveling at full speed, they reached the Konoha Gate. During the routine inspection, the guards merely glanced at the scroll and let them through without further questions.

Uchiha Takuma took the corpse and mission scroll to the Hokage Building to report their completion, while Zongyan led the others to an inconspicuous hidden door at the base of Konoha's perimeter wall and smuggled Shinji inside.

By the time Kawano Shinji was locked in a side courtyard, it was completely dark. The clan grounds were quiet, and no one had been alerted.

Zongyan closed and locked the door, then turned toward the main residence.

The room Fugaku usually used to handle clan affairs was still lit. The silhouette behind the paper window sat steadily, as though waiting for him.

When Zongyan pushed the door open and entered, Fugaku was sitting beneath the lamplight, leafing through a clan affairs ledger. Hearing the noise, he looked up.

When he saw that it was his second son, a hint of delight entered his eyes, though his expression remained stern. "You're back? Did the mission go smoothly?"

Zongyan shut the door behind him and sat down beside the desk. "The mission itself wasn't difficult, but there was an unexpected complication."

At the mention of a complication, Fugaku frowned and was just about to ask about it.

Zongyan continued, "I didn't kill the target. I brought him back. He's locked in the side courtyard right now, with Teacher Lie personally guarding him."

Fugaku lowered the ledger in his hands, his brows shifting slightly. "Kawano Shinji? You didn't kill him? Then how did you report the mission completed?"

"We found a corpse with a similar build and disguised it, then had Takuma take it to the Hokage Building to turn in the mission."

Zongyan continued, "The substitute has Kawano Shinji's chakra traces on it, and we burned the corpse too. It should pass."

Fugaku did not immediately respond. His gaze lingered on Zongyan's face for several breaths as he waited for an explanation.

Zongyan did not beat around the bush either. He told him the most important things he had learned from Kawano Shinji that day.

About the Third pocketing Kushina's estate, Danzo colluding with Orochimaru to conduct human experimentation, and the most crucial point:

Members of the Uchiha Clan had been secretly abducted by the Anbu and sent to the Human Experimentation Laboratory.

When Fugaku heard that last statement, his entire presence changed.

He sat motionless for a long while before finally speaking. "Are you certain?"

"Kawano Shinji said it himself, and his memories can serve as evidence too. We can use ninjutsu to show them when the time comes."

"Besides, we've already brought him back. We can soon verify whether it's true."

Hearing this, Fugaku still did not immediately state his position.

He straightened in his seat, silently thinking something over.

At last, he spoke, his voice carrying a measure of solemnity. "This is a major matter concerning our clansmen. The clan happens to be holding its regular meeting in a few days, and every ninja with Jonin-level strength will attend. Bring him to Naka Shrine then."

Zongyan nodded. "All right."

Being home really did feel different. Even Zongyan slept much more soundly.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the regular monthly clan meeting arrived.

Apart from the two earlier visits when he awakened his Sharingan, Zongyan had never returned to Naka Shrine.

Under the clan's rules, clansmen who came here to discuss matters had to possess Jonin-level strength or have awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Ordinary Genin and Chunin did not even know which way its doors opened.

Zongyan stuffed Kawano Shinji into a burlap sack, tied it shut, and carried it on his back.

Fugaku walked ahead. Father and son passed one behind the other through the quiet corridors of the clan grounds toward Naka Shrine.

Occasionally, they passed clansmen on duty along the way, who merely nodded in greeting.

Upon reaching the shrine's main hall, Fugaku stopped before the seventh tatami mat from the right at the very back. He lifted it, revealing a flight of stone steps descending beneath it.

Several oil lamps were set into gaps in the walls on either side of the steps. They had already been refilled, and their flames danced steadily, casting a dim yellow glow over the stone stairs. The far end of the descent vanished into shadowy darkness.

Zongyan followed his father down, one behind the other.

The stairway was short. At the bottom, the space suddenly opened into a basement measuring fifteen tatami mats in all. Its four walls were rough rock, and the only conspicuous feature was the Stone Tablet standing in the center.

The one left behind by the Sage of Six Paths, recording the secrets of the Uchiha Clan's bloodline origins-or so it appeared.

Zongyan knew the truth. Black Zetsu had long since altered the contents of the Stone Tablet, replacing the true history with instructions leading toward "Infinite Tsukuyomi."

None of that mattered. He already knew what it said anyway.

People arrived one after another, around twenty in total, all Jonin who had awakened at least the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

None of them spoke upon entering. They exchanged nods in greeting, then each found a place to sit.

Some sat cross-legged against the stone walls, while others sat on small stools they had brought. No one raised their voice or made a commotion.

Once everyone was seated, Fugaku sat against the wall at the far end, a low table before him with only an oil lamp on it.

He briefly surveyed the room, confirmed that everyone expected was present, and spoke in his usual unhurried tone:

"Everyone's here. Let's begin."

As usual, they began with reports on major clan affairs.

No sooner had Fugaku finished speaking than Uchiha Yashiro spoke up.

As a squad leader in the Military Police Force, he held a sufficiently high position.

His brows were drawn together, his fists resting lightly on his knees. His voice was very low, but it could not conceal his anger.

"Clan Head, last month's income from clan property fell by nearly twenty percent compared with the previous two months."

"The village also sharply reduced our supply allotment, citing tight funding for postwar recovery."

At this point, resentment entered his voice. "Anyone with eyes can see they're deliberately putting pressure on us Uchiha."

"I've already had people check the supply accounts repeatedly." Fugaku's brows knitted tightly as his fingertips lightly tapped the edge of the low table, his expression grave. "There's no more room for negotiation with the Hokage Building."

"No room for negotiation?!"

Uchiha Tekka suddenly spoke up from the side, his deep, rough voice especially jarring in the quiet hall.

He was powerfully built, and even his kneeling posture radiated a barely restrained viciousness.

"To put it plainly, they're targeting our clan! We've listened to the Third's talk about the village's greater good year after year!"

As his words fell, murmurs of agreement rose throughout the hall.

After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha had been driven to the edge of the village, and the Konoha Military Police Force faced restrictions at every turn.

On the surface, they relied on the Uchiha to maintain public order, but behind the scenes there was nothing but suspicion and wariness. By now, these successive cuts had long since become routine.

Fugaku briefly closed his eyes, and a different glint flashed through them.

In past clan meetings, whenever he heard his clansmen begin discussing these matters, he could never help feeling irritated.

Because he had no choice. He understood his clansmen's resentment toward the village very well, but as clan head, he could not let their emotions drive the entire clan into a hopeless situation.