Uchiha Takashi intended to encourage childbirth by having the clan cover part of the cost of raising children, increasing the birth rate that way.
At the same time, he would ensure the survival rate of the younger generation. Ryō Uchiha's idea of keeping children off the battlefield until they were eight was also fundamentally about ensuring the survival of the clan's younger generation.
Uchiha Takashi would take it a step further: increase the birth rate and ensure survival. Their numbers would grow, and then more people would be available to fight.
In the Warring States period, children had to go to war precisely because there weren't enough people on the front lines!
As long as the population grew, the front lines would naturally have enough manpower. Uchiha Takashi could even raise the required age for entering the battlefield to ten, twelve, or even eighteen!
And as children could enter the battlefield later and later, they could live longer and leave behind more descendants. The population would then keep growing, creating a positive-feedback virtuous cycle!
But this plan had one crucial requirement-money. The clan would need to pay most of the cost of raising the children.
Though the Uchiha had considerable wealth and holdings, they weren't so extravagantly rich that they could thump their chests and confidently guarantee they had enough money to raise so many children.
Everyone knew how important children were, so why did they still throw them onto the battlefield? Did they not want to keep them safe?
Insufficient manpower on the front lines was one factor, but another major reason was a lack of money. They couldn't afford to raise them.
Ultimately, the clan only had so much territory. Even its revenue depended on ninja taking missions and collecting payment for their services.
It wasn't a country. Where would it get the money to raise so many children?
After all, the daimyo of the major countries had explicitly forbidden clans from occupying villages. Each clan could only rely on its own members for production.
Uchiha Takashi was merely taking advantage of the daimyo's inability to reach him to pull something underhanded. He was already afraid of being discovered; he couldn't very well occupy village after village with great fanfare.
How would that be any different from raising a banner of rebellion?
But Uchiha Takashi wasn't worried. He had already thought of a solution.
Let's not forget that Tsukina Fujiwara, the sole heir to a branch of the Fujiwara Family, was currently a guest of the Uchiha Clan!
The name alone might not mean much, but what if you were told that this branch of the Fujiwara Family ran the Land of Fire's foremost merchant caravan, specializing in trade?
Tsukina Fujiwara's branch was known as the richest family in the Land of Fire! How rich were they, exactly? No one knew. Everyone only knew they were very rich; no one had any idea how much money they had saved.
Kai Fujiwara, Tsukina Fujiwara's ready-made father, was known as the richest man in the Land of Fire!
Kai Fujiwara was most likely dead, so wouldn't all his money pass to Tsukina Fujiwara? There shouldn't be any problem with the Uchiha Clan keeping that money safe on her behalf, right?
Would this so-called money problem even be a problem anymore? With that money in hand, anything related to money would no longer be a problem!
As Uchiha Takashi thought about it, he broke into a chuckle.
Just as his imagination was running wild, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Third Elder, we've finished assembling. We can leave at any time."
Uchiha Takashi turned to look and jumped in fright. It was Naka Chinoike, whose face had been beaten into a swollen mess.
"How did you get beaten up so badly? It was just a spar. If word of this gets out, people will think we Uchiha restricted your chakra."
As Uchiha Takashi complained, the corner of Naka Chinoike's eye twitched violently. Through gritted teeth, he said, "What kind of decent person opens with genjutsu? My Ketsuryūgan couldn't block it at all!"
Uchiha Takashi's gaze wandered. He stammered a little, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Why had the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning hired the Uchiha to guard the Chinoike instead of letting the Senju or the Uzumaki do it?
Because other clans generally had fifty-fifty odds against the Chinoike. The Chinoike could be called a miniature Uchiha Clan. Whoever they fought, as long as it was one-on-one, they could make it an even match.
The Ketsuryūgan's genjutsu was absurdly powerful. Only the Senju, who had developed some resistance to genjutsu through years of fighting the Uchiha, could gain a slight advantage, but even they couldn't establish an overwhelming one.
Only the Uchiha completely countered the Chinoike Clan. After all, even the strongest Ketsuryūgan of the Yukinoike was only equivalent to a two-tomoe Sharingan.
Most Ketsuryūgan were only as powerful as a single-tomoe Sharingan, and couldn't even match one in a contest of genjutsu. Any Uchiha with two tomoe could crush them.
Yet what the Chinoike took the most pride in was using their Ketsuryūgan genjutsu to create human bombs. That was their trump card, their lethal finishing move.
Against the Uchiha, however, that ability was effectively disabled. The Ketsuryūgan couldn't beat the Sharingan in a direct contest, and its user would even fall victim to Sharingan Genjutsu.
Being hypnotized by the very genjutsu they took such pride in-if word got out, the Chinoike Clan would be too ashamed to face anyone.
So the Uchiha Clan fighting the Chinoike Clan was like a father beating his son.
Before meeting the Uchiha, the Chinoike never looked anyone in the eye.
After meeting the Uchiha, the Chinoike never looked anyone in the eye.
Uchiha Takashi gave two awkward coughs and said to Uoyuki Uchiha, "Look what you've done to him. Couldn't you have gone a little easier?"
Uoyuki Uchiha said with a glum expression, "How is this my fault? I thought this kid had activated his Ketsuryūgan and resisted my genjutsu. It wasn't until I'd punched him several times that I realized he hadn't resisted it at all.
"I only noticed after I finished beating him. I'd been wondering how this kid could take so much punishment without making a sound."
Naka Chinoike: "..." That's a humblebrag, isn't it? That's definitely a humblebrag!
Uchiha Takashi said, "All right, enough. Since everyone's here, let's go. There's no reason to stay in a place like Hell Valley.
"I'm afraid breathing in too much of the dust here will make me stupid." As he spoke, Uchiha Takashi cast a pointed glance at Naka Chinoike.
Naka Chinoike suddenly felt as though someone had glanced at him, but after looking around without finding who it was, he could only snort.
Outside the hall, Chinoike clan members stood with their families and packed belongings. As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of people.
The Uchiha clan members Uchiha Takashi had brought were interspersed among them, both to escort the civilians and to prevent the Chinoike from rebelling along the way.
Looking at the large crowd, Uchiha Takashi was delighted. With these people joining the Uchiha, the clan's strength would rise to another level!
At the residence of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, a samurai standing guard suddenly saw a figure approaching. He immediately drew the sword at his waist and shouted.
"Who goes there!"
The figure didn't stop, but continued approaching. Only when he came close did the samurai finally make out an emblem on his clothing: the Uchiha Gunbai.
"U... Uchiha... It's an Uchiha! Hurry and inform the daimyo!" The samurai hastily sheathed his sword and bowed in apology. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you, Lord Uchiha!"
The Uchiha merely gave him an indifferent glance. The samurai immediately felt the pressure on him surge, as though a hand had clamped tightly around his throat.
Just as he was about to suffocate, someone emerged from the daimyo's residence and came to his rescue.
"Lord Uchiha, please come in. The daimyo is already waiting for you in the hall."
The Uchiha clan member then shifted his gaze away and walked slowly inside.
Once the enormous pressure lifted, the samurai immediately collapsed where he stood, gasping frantically for breath.
Watching the Uchiha clan member's retreating back as he walked inside, he felt a wave of lingering fear. So this is the oppressive presence of the Uchiha Clan? How terrifying...