Early the next morning, Zongyan did not rush to report to the Security Force. He stopped by Fugaku's study first.
Fugaku was reviewing the clan treasury's accounts. He was not surprised to see him enter and set down his scroll, waiting for him to speak.
Zongyan closed the door and sat down beside the desk. "Father, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Go ahead."
"I have an iron mine," Zongyan said without beating around the bush. "But the problem is, if we Uchiha mine it ourselves and Konoha discovers it and uses it against us, we'll be on the defensive."
Fugaku's gaze paused at the words "iron mine," and his curiosity stirred.
"Oh? Where is this iron mine? Did you find it on your trip?"
"No. Well, the iron mine came from the same source as the Altar!"
Zongyan fell silent for a moment, then revealed a little of the truth to his father.
"The iron mine has no fixed location. Wherever we need it to be, it can exist there."
"Oh!"
Although Fugaku only uttered a single word, he understood that this was his child's secret, and that he did not want him to ask further.
So he set down the scroll in his hand, rested his gaze on Zongyan's face, and fell silent for a moment.
"No fixed location?" he repeated. "In other words, you've come to discuss where to put this iron mine?"
"Yes."
Zongyan nodded. "But once its location is set, the iron mine can't be moved again, so we have to choose carefully."
Fugaku tapped the edge of the desk twice with his fingers, a habit of his when thinking.
Zongyan did not rush him, sitting quietly across from him and waiting.
"I'd like to know how you intend to solve this problem. Since you've come to me, you must already have some ideas of your own."
After thinking for a moment, Fugaku looked up into his eyes, his gaze deep as he waited for him to continue.
"I gave it some thought last night."
Zongyan leaned forward a little and continued in a lowered voice.
"We could take control of a small country on the fringes beyond the Land of Fire and have them handle the mining, processing, and refining."
"Then we arrange for a group of clansmen to 'die in action' and secretly go there to manage the mine and transportation."
"Finally, we use the clan's summoned beasts to perform Reverse Summoning and send the finished products straight back to the Clan Grounds."
Fugaku did not respond immediately after hearing him out, but his fingers tapped faster.
"In the Shinobi World, the daimyo control supplies, money, and provisions," Fugaku finally said.
"No matter how powerful the Five Great Shinobi Villages are, they still have to obey the daimyo's orders."
"Do you know what it would mean if we Uchiha did this?"
"I do." Zongyan met his gaze. "It means the Uchiha can grow strong quickly!"
Fugaku's voice was quiet, but the certainty in his tone made Fugaku's heart jolt.
The room fell silent for a moment, leaving only the rustling of leaves in the courtyard outside the window.
Fugaku watched him with a deep gaze.
Only after a long while did he speak. "Do you have a location in mind for the iron mine?"
"Yes," Zongyan said. "The Land of Rice Fields."
Fugaku was somewhat surprised by the name. "The Land of Rice Fields? That small country northeast of the Land of Fire?"
"Yes." Zongyan nodded. "The Land of Rice Fields has little territory, weak national strength, and no shinobi village of its own. It has long depended on the surrounding great nations for survival."
"And its terrain is mostly mountains and hills, with quite a few mineral resources of its own. Once we're there, as long as we don't cause an enormous commotion, the surrounding great nations won't pay attention to it."
As Fugaku listened, he reviewed the Land of Rice Fields' location and the routes in his mind.
After quite some time, he spoke. "Put that way, the Land of Rice Fields is indeed suitable for establishing a secret foothold."
He watched Zongyue quietly, weighing the benefits and dangers this move would bring.
"You've already done enough for the clan. Leave the actual implementation to the adults."
"I'll work out the details of the subsequent operation with Yashiro and the others. Once we've settled those details, you can go to the Land of Rice Fields and put the iron mine in place!"
Hearing his father's words, Zongyan thought, That settles it.
"All right, Father."
"Just let me know once you've finalized everything."
With their discussion settled, Zongyan rose to take his leave. "Father, I'll head to the Security Force for duty now."
Fugaku nodded. "Go on."
Zongyan pushed open the door and left, following the corridor toward the Security Force.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku knelt behind the desk in his study in silence for a moment, then summoned a servant. "Go invite the three Clan Elders, Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi."
The servant acknowledged the order and withdrew.
In less than an hour, the three arrived at the study one after another.
Fugaku closed the door and, without much small talk, recounted Zongyan's entire plan from beginning to end.
After listening, Yashiro frowned deeply, his hands resting on his knees without a word.
Tekka was the first to speak, his voice extremely low. "You intend to secretly control the Land of Rice Fields? If this gets discovered, the entire Uchiha clan will go down with it."
"That's why we can't let anyone discover it," Fugaku continued. "For personnel, we must choose people who are reliable and who haven't had much of a presence in the village to begin with."
Uchiha Inabi had remained silent, sitting quietly in the corner and listening.
Only after both men had finished did he speak.
"Clan Head, you understand the Uchiha's current position in Konoha better than I do."
"Konoha High Command won't leave us alone just because we do nothing. Since that's how it is either way, we might as well do everything we need to while we can."
After finishing, he stressed one more point.
"As long as the Uchiha are strong enough, whether it's the daimyo or Konoha, none of that needs to be a consideration."
Uchiha Tekka thought it over, then nodded without a word as well.
Uchiha Yashiro also remained silent for a while before finally speaking. "If we're doing this, we must do it cleanly, and quickly."
All four nodded in agreement and immediately began discussing and finalizing the candidates.
That day, Zongyan patrolled South Street with Takuma, Naoki, and Yuta.
The weather was pleasant, the morning sunlight warm. White steam rose from the breakfast stalls along the street, and the people coming and going made it fairly lively.
They walked slowly, following their usual patrol pace down the street, occasionally stopping to check whether any vendors had set up stalls that blocked the road.
As they approached a tea shop, a few hushed remarks drifted out, mixed with sighs and the smacking of lips.
Zongyan did not stop, but he had already caught the words.
"Hey, have you heard? The Uchiha introduced some kind of contribution system a while ago. Apparently, you can exchange contribution points for anything in the clan. Good grief, those Uchiha have been acting like they're on stimulants, taking missions and rushing out like their lives depend on it."
"Tell me about it. That Uchiha boy next door to me barely used to put any effort into patrols. Ever since that system came out, he's been fighting to take missions outside the village every day. You couldn't stop him if you tried."
"And what happened? It's barely been any time at all, and they've already lost several people. Even a Squad Leader died."
"That's why I say the traditional clan system of the Shinobi World is the best. Nothing beats living your life quietly. Look at all this fuss the Uchiha have made. What good has come of it? Now look-they've even lost their lives."
"Exactly, exactly. The clan system is the right way."
The people in the tea shop sighed, their voices carrying a measure of regret and a measure of gloating.
Takuma's steps suddenly faltered.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zongyan saw his fists clench, as though he wanted to turn toward the tea shop.
Beside him, Naoki reacted quickly and grabbed his arm, saying in a hushed voice, "Don't do anything rash."
Yuta also hurried half a step forward, placing himself between Takuma and the tea shop, and added quietly, "The captain's right ahead."
Takuma gritted his teeth. His fists remained clenched for a while before loosening, and only after taking a deep breath did he start walking again to catch up.
When he reached Zongyan's side, his voice was still tight as he said quietly, "Captain, I'm fine."
Zongyan did not turn around. He merely murmured an acknowledgment and kept walking.
He knew that Takuma's father was among those recently reported killed in action.
With a loved one having "passed away," stronger emotional reactions were inevitable.
Any Uchiha clansman would have found those words painful to hear.
But he also knew what those people were talking about-Clan Elder Yashiro had already "died in action" along with a group of people. The foothold in the Land of Rice Fields should already be taking shape.
Zongyan walked on with lowered eyes, his pace neither fast nor slow and his expression unreadable.
He silently counted the time in his mind: half a month.
From his raising the matter with Fugaku to Clan Elder Yashiro's "death in action," only a little over half a month had passed.
Before you continue