"Oh, little Haruma, come take a look at my place."
"Grandma Wang, what's wrong?" Haruma had only just stepped outside when he ran into his white-haired next-door neighbor, Grandma Wang from the retirement quarter.
"It's you, of course, boy. You took my money but didn't do a proper job. The slightest breeze makes my iron gate creak nonstop. I can't even sleep properly at night."
Grandma Wang hunched over as she complained to Haruma, "It's only been broken for a month, and you've already fixed it four times!"
"You've charged me four times, so why does it stop working again every few days? It even gets louder each time! Don't tell me you haven't been fixing it properly at all!"
"How could that be! Grandma Wang, don't you trust my character?!"
Haruma thumped his chest with righteous conviction. "Don't worry. When I get back, I'll fix it for you one last time! If I still can't fix it this time and something goes wrong again, I'll repair it for free from then on until it's fixed!"
Grandma Wang thought it over. Both the boy's parents had died on missions when he was little. With his poor talent, he had moved into the retirement quarter early on and had been getting by here for years.
He often helped the elderly in the retirement quarter repair broken furniture or do chores. Though he always charged a small fee for their thanks, it was still much cheaper than hiring someone specifically to fix things.
There was just one problem: the boy bragged too much. He always claimed he could fix anything and do anything.
Yet every time he repaired a piece of furniture, it would develop a new problem within days, and they would have to get him to fix it again.
Still, over the years, he had managed to earn himself a good reputation here for respecting the old, caring for the young, helping others, and being sunny and cheerful.
"All right, then. I'll trust you one more time. Come fix the gate as soon as you're done!"
Haruma nodded with a smile. After watching Grandma Wang return home, he murmured softly, "Forget it. I'll fix her gate for good this time. Five repair fees in a month is about enough."
Luckily, his voice was quiet enough that Grandma Wang didn't hear him.
Otherwise, who knew how she might thank him! What a kind soul!!!
On his way from the retirement quarter to Clan Head Fugaku's home, Haruma made another fourteen solemn promises to seven old men and six old women.
He nearly gave himself internal injuries from all the chest-thumping.
After fighting his way through one obstacle after another, he finally arrived at Fugaku's house.
"You came."
"Yes, I came."
"You shouldn't have come now."
"But I'm already here."
"Then now that you're here, don't leave!"
"Seriously! Clan Head, are we exchanging code phrases first thing in the morning?" Haruma looked speechless. "Didn't we agree I'd come get the money today?"
"So you do know it's first thing in the morning! Did you have to be in such a hurry?!"
Fugaku sounded equally annoyed. "There's a clan meeting later. I need to figure out the arrangements for resigning from the Konoha Military Police Force. I can also squeeze a little more cash out of the elders for you."
"And here you are, blocking our door at dawn to demand money. What are you trying to do?! Even robbers don't start this early!"
Hearing that Fugaku planned to ask the elders for money at the meeting, Haruma instantly changed his expression and gave him a sheepish smile. "My fault, my fault! Please don't be angry, wise Clan Head. Go take care of your business. Your humble servant will just wait in the room."
"Enough! I'll have Mikoto make you some tea in a bit. Since you're here, don't leave yet. Wait in the room, and we'll talk after the meeting."
With that, the expressionless Fugaku glanced at Haruma and strode toward the clan meeting room.
"Pah! What kind of person is he!"
"Yesterday, he said he'd cooperate and behave himself as a puppet. Today, he's already giving me attitude!"
Alone in the clan head's room, Haruma sipped hot tea and grumbled indignantly, "That old bastard Fugaku! You've really done it now! Just you wait!"
"You'd better not let me catch you slipping! You'll be in for it!"
Meanwhile, in the meeting room at the Uchiha compound.
As clan head, Fugaku emphasized two topics at the meeting.
First: members of the Konoha Military Police Force who had received complaints from villagers in previous years were to be dealt with strictly.
Second: they were to make a greater effort to accept highly paid missions assigned by the village or the clan.
The elders and the clan's powerful Jonin were momentarily dumbfounded by the clan head's two topics!
Quite a few Jonin even secretly put their hands behind their backs to form hand seals, already beginning to suspect they were caught in a genjutsu.
Punish police force members who had received complaints? Including those from previous years?
Fuck, he might as well just fire every Uchiha in the police force.
And weren't they supposed to accept missions with the aim of honing their strength and fighting other ninja?
Hadn't he himself emphasized improving their strength at last month's clan meeting?! He had told them not to take easy missions with high pay.
What, was he playing at changing faces now?!
The Uchiha had never been interested in the easy missions commissioned by wealthy people in the Land of Fire.
After all, very few members of the Uchiha Clan lacked money.
Out of respect for the clan head's strength and authority, no one in the meeting room spoke up.
More and more ninja merely began forming hand seals in secret. Some even stirred up surging chakra and sent it rampaging through their bodies, traces of scarlet spilling from their mouths. After all, self-harm was also a way to break genjutsu.
A moment later,
The ninja, blood at the corners of their mouths, exchanged bewildered looks. It wasn't a genjutsu.
Could it be that they weren't the ones being controlled?
At that thought, everyone turned in unison toward Clan Head Fugaku, who was still talking at length.
Meanwhile, up front, Fugaku's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Even if his eyesight was poor and he couldn't make out the little movements behind their backs,
How could he possibly fail to sense so many surges of chakra roiling below him?
Facing all those puzzled gazes, Fugaku's eyes began to transform!
A scarlet gaze, the unmistakable Mangekyō Sharingan, and an aura comparable to Kage level!
The puzzled gazes from below instantly became serious.
The clan head standing before them was real. He had even activated his Mangekyō, so he probably wasn't under a genjutsu either.
Could it be that something was wrong with his mind...
The ninja's thoughts began wandering further and further afield.
"Enough! The meeting is over! Elder Setsuna, stay behind! Everyone else, you're dismissed."
As everyone left the meeting room in twos and threes,
Only the Uchiha Clan's grand elder, Uchiha Setsuna, remained.
With his conspicuous spiky hair, thin frame, and sinister eyes, one look was enough to tell he wasn't easy to get along with.
Setsuna was not only the clan's grand elder but also the captain of the police force, second only to Fugaku.
He had inherited Madara Uchiha's will and firmly believed in ruling everything through absolute power.
Extremely dissatisfied with the Uchiha Clan's situation, he had once come to blows with the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, because the Uchiha had no place among the village's upper ranks.
Though he had quickly been subdued and imprisoned, after he had been held for several years, the clan had paid a heavy price to get him out.
He was a top figure wielding real power among the clan's hawks.
"Was there something else you wanted to keep me behind for, Clan Head?"
Setsuna's hoarse voice rang out.
Fugaku said, "Give it up, Setsuna!"
P.S. Give it up, A-Sha! See you handsome readers next chapter.