No matter how urgently Uchiha Yoru wanted to devote himself entirely to cultivation, no matter how detached he wished to remain from fame and gain, a cultivator could never escape the four essentials:
Law, wealth, companions, and land.
Before this, Uchiha Yoru had felt that aside from a dao companion, he had nothing.
His path was unclear.
His foundation incomplete.
Money was hard to earn.
There were simply too many things he still needed to pursue.
But it had to be said—
Uchiha Yoru's luck was not bad.
By fishing around and talking smooth nonsense, he had managed to hook Uchiha Nobuhiro out from behind Uchiha Shisui, obtaining the Uchiha Revival Fund—a fortune wealthy enough to rival an entire village.
He no longer lacked money.
By treating the ninja cats and passing the path of Sage cultivation to them through Miwa Masayo, he had formed a solid relationship with the Ninja Cat clan and turned Cat Castle into one of his own dens.
When he broke through the Foundation Establishment stage, he had actually entered sudden enlightenment, merging with heaven and earth for an instant and catching sight of the road ahead.
Because of that, he had obtained the framework of his own cultivation path.
And of course—
There was also the translucent fish from the underground river, which had allowed him to formulate his first extraordinary ingredient.
One trip out had not merely given Uchiha Yoru a clearer understanding of his own strength.
It had also greatly completed his own wealth, law, companions, and land.
And through the translucent fish, he had further confirmed something:
This ninja world truly possessed what could be called heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
The miraculous effects of the dried fish, and the way it promoted cultivation, made Uchiha Yoru understand that compared to ordinary money in circulation, the translucent fish was real wealth.
In the future, if he wanted to devote himself fully to cultivation, he would have to spend time traveling across the ninja world and searching for all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
That meant he neither could nor wanted to remain the Uchiha Clan Head for long.
But gathering heavenly materials and earthly treasures required manpower.
Something like the translucent fish, especially, required long-term labor and maintenance.
That in turn meant he needed a powerful force—one capable of managing and operating resources across the entire ninja world on his behalf.
No wonder powerful cultivators in novels always founded sects, and those cultivation sects always interfered downward into mortal kingdoms.
It was a hard necessity for cultivators.
A cultivator's time was incomparably precious. How could it be wasted on things that could be handled by newcomers—or even by ordinary mortals?
Uchiha Yoru's understanding of just how important a white glove was grew deeper and deeper.
And with it, the value he placed on Shisui rose accordingly.
To be honest, handing the underground river's translucent fish over to the Ninja Cat clan still did not reassure him.
The Ninja Cat clan was not his kind.
Aside from the uniquely special Miwa Masayo, he did not believe his interests and the cats' interests could remain aligned forever.
Besides—
Having a bunch of cats watch over his fish pond…
That was practically the same kind of mistake the Jade Emperor had made by assigning Sun Wukong to guard the Peach Garden.
If he had truly had another choice, how could Uchiha Yoru possibly have made such a decision?
It was precisely this helpless frustration that made him certain of one thing:
He had to become the Uchiha Clan Head.
He had to seize the clan's highest authority.
Aside from a few freaks, Uchiha clan members were usually quite simple people.
And they knew how to repay gratitude.
As long as Uchiha Yoru could lead the clan out of its current predicament in the short term, then even if he later handed the clan head position over to Uchiha Shisui, the clan members would still continue to work for him.
From then on, he could remain behind the curtain, providing military deterrence for the clan, guaranteeing both the safety of its members and the clan's continued access to power and wealth.
In turn, the clan would provide him with manpower, manage the locations that produced heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and collect and process the various resources he required.
That was the management model Uchiha Yoru wanted.
Only when every participant could profit, and there were no direct conflicts of interest between them, could such a model last for the long term.
As someone who had stepped onto the path of immortality, every issue had to be considered from the perspective of the long term.
Only under a sustainable model could Uchiha Yoru obtain the leisurely, safe life he desired most—
And cultivate with his whole heart.
Uchiha Nobuhiro received a satisfactory answer and also felt Uchiha Yoru's sincerity.
Naturally, that put him far more at ease.
Besides, now that he had regained his health and could likely live to at least ninety, he would be able to watch Uchiha Yoru complete the initial stages of his plan and watch Uchiha Shisui grow into a young man.
What was there left for him to worry about?
Old man Nobuhiro suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Where's breakfast? This old man is starving. Hurry up and make me breakfast—I want meat! Bring out everything you're best at. I feel like I could eat an entire cow!"
"Once I'm full, I'm heading straight to Fugaku's place."
"Tonight, I'll make you the president of that study group."
"A bunch of idiots become elders and suddenly start treating me like I'm invisible. They hear me speak and treat it like farting."
"Today I'm going to remind them that I'm still their uncle!"
And so—
At the Uchiha clan meeting, there appeared the astonishing sight of an eighty-something old man beating up a whole group of old men in their forties and fifties.
Uchiha Nobuhiro had the highest seniority, the oldest standing, and now once more possessed the hardest fists.
Since Uchiha Fugaku said nothing at all during the entire affair, Nobuhiro's proposal was naturally passed in full.
Fugaku even smiled and asked whether any additional support was needed.
Nobuhiro did not stand on ceremony.
"We need a direct order from the Clan Head, some funding, some of the free time of the younger shinobi from the Police Force, and finally, transfer Yashiro over too so he can help watch the children."
To be honest, the old man's tone was aggressive.
But his requests themselves were not excessive.
For the Uchiha clan's wealth, this was no problem at all.
After only a moment's thought, Uchiha Fugaku nodded repeatedly and agreed without hesitation.
"Your considerations are extremely thorough. Everything will be done according to your request."
All of Uchiha Nobuhiro's demands were met in full.
But while he laughed, no one noticed that the disappointment and regret in his eyes were almost impossible to conceal.
[How the hell did I ever think Uchiha Fugaku could be clan head?]
Every one of Fugaku's reactions had been predicted by Uchiha Yoru.
His initial refusal to get involved.
His smoothing things over once the situation became clear.
And his habit of quietly mixing sand into the arrangement and inserting his own people.
Because Nobuhiro already had the mental script Yoru had described to him in advance, every one of Fugaku's actions now appeared especially foolish and sluggish in the old man's eyes.
As the head of a great clan, Fugaku naturally had to pretend not to see many things.
As the saying went:
"If you are not deaf and not blind, you are unfit to be head of the household."
A clan head absolutely could not nitpick every tiny detail.
Otherwise, internal contradictions would easily explode, and the entire clan would descend into conflict, power struggles, and ceaseless chaos.
But that was only a necessary method for preserving everyday harmony.
It did not mean that a clan head ought to play dumb in every matter.
A clan head had to know which matters were important.
When it came to crucial affairs, he had to haggle over every ounce and keep them entirely within his grasp.
In Uchiha Yoru's view, the Uchiha clan currently had only three matters worthy of true emphasis.
First, reforming the Police Force's law enforcement methods.
Second, responding to the coming war.
Third, properly educating the younger generation of ninja between the ages of ten and eighteen.
The first matter was an old chronic illness of the Uchiha clan.
Without sufficient prestige, it was impossible to move it at all.
The current Uchiha Fugaku likewise lacked the prestige necessary to push through such reforms.
And besides, in wartime, what mattered most was stability.
Everyone understood that only strict and merciless enforcement could most effectively guarantee the village's safety.
During this period, the villagers would not talk too much nonsense either.
Even if a few individuals complained, the Third Hokage would take the initiative to deal with those individuals.
So this was not the right time to solve that problem.
It would have to wait until after the war, once Konoha's environment had changed.
The second matter was extremely important and already close at hand.
Naturally, Uchiha Yoru, as an insignificant minor figure within the clan, had no qualifications to interfere directly.
But he had explained his views on it to Uchiha Nobuhiro.
In his opinion, whether for Konoha or the Uchiha clan, the most important thing in preparing for war was to determine the objective of the war—
Or to put it another way, the purpose of the war.
From Konoha's perspective, the Third Hokage needed to decide who to fight and to what degree, and at what point to end the war appropriately.
From the Uchiha clan's perspective, Uchiha Fugaku needed to decide what benefits the clan intended to obtain.
Only with a concrete objective could one then consider how to act accordingly.
Uchiha Yoru had only mentioned this casually at the time.
But Uchiha Nobuhiro's expression had darkened at once.
Because the clan had held many meetings already, yet not a single person had ever spoken about what collective benefit the Uchiha clan ought to obtain.
Every single discussion had been nothing but fantasies about how glorious their fame could become.
Even Nobuhiro himself had never considered what the Uchiha clan needed to gain from the war.
The third matter was equally important.
These children were all going to the battlefield in this war.
Strengthening their education and teaching them combat methods and battlefield survival skills was of immense importance to the clan.
Increasing the survival rate of young ninjas was the most important measure for preserving the clan's vitality.
And for Uchiha Yoru, this was an important entry point for winning the hearts of the younger generation and expanding his own influence and power.
It even related directly to the crucial steps for toppling Uchiha Fugaku from the clan head position.
This was how he had put it to Uchiha Nobuhiro:
"If I were Clan Head Fugaku, I would support the study group with all my strength."
"And I would personally serve as its president. Even if I didn't have time to teach in person, I'd still appear often and at least let all the young ninjas get familiar with my face."
"The Third Hokage handles this very well. Every few days he goes to the Academy to lecture about the Will of Fire. He is willing to set aside the dignity of being Hokage and get close to the students, and naturally he has earned their admiration. By now, that's already become a broad trend."
"Education is one of the great matters of winning hearts."
"It absolutely cannot be handed off to someone else."
Then Uchiha Yoru smiled and predicted:
"Unfortunately, our Clan Head Fugaku doesn't have that awareness. What he wants is probably to insert a steady, trusted ninja into the study group—someone to keep an eye on me so I don't cause trouble and create headaches for him."
"But if Clan Head Fugaku overlooks that point, then things will be much easier for me later."
"So when the time comes, just directly propose that Captain Yashiro join as well."
"Clan Head Fugaku will absolutely accept happily."
"Of the four captains in the Police Force, Captain Yashiro is my old superior and also the one most able to understand my way of thinking. If he enters the study group, that will benefit me more than anyone else would."
Uchiha Nobuhiro had followed Yoru's prediction exactly and made the proposal.
Sure enough, it was met with Uchiha Fugaku's warm and thoroughly satisfied approval.
Watching Uchiha Fugaku be calculated down to the marrow without realizing it in the slightest…
Watching the bright, satisfied smile on his face…
And then comparing him to Uchiha Yoru, calm and unhurried, with every move already under control…
An idea rose spontaneously in Uchiha Nobuhiro's heart:
Even if it cost him his life, he had to help that boy Yoru ascend.
He had to get this outwardly strong and sharp, but inwardly weak and muddle-headed clan head off the throne as soon as possible.
Otherwise—
The Uchiha clan was in danger!!
Of course, the old man was not a transmigrator.
Nor did he possess any ability to foresee the future.
He could not possibly know that the Uchiha clan's fate was currently racing toward destruction.
The crisis he saw was, in fact, Uchiha Yoru himself.
Throughout its history, the Uchiha clan had always produced both a great many strong people and a great many madmen.
And those two groups overlapped heavily.
In his more than eighty years of life, Nobuhiro had never seen a clansman like Uchiha Yoru.
Compared to Uchiha Kagami or Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Yoru was the one who truly did not resemble an Uchiha at all.
He was too intelligent.
Too self-aware.
And above all, he possessed a terrifying kind of wisdom that made the old man shudder.
There had never been anyone like him in the clan's history.
The only person Nobuhiro could compare him to was…
Senju Tobirama.
Even their temperaments were strikingly alike—seemingly gentle on the surface, but cold underneath, willing to use whatever means were necessary to achieve their goals.
Uchiha Nobuhiro's instincts told him that if Uchiha Yoru failed to bring the Uchiha clan under control, then one day he might turn around and become the clan's greatest threat.
The old man's instincts were very accurate.
Uchiha Yoru, as a transmigrator—and one serving as a kind of adviser within the Uchiha clan—did not truly care about the Uchiha clan itself.
But he absolutely would not accept the future of total extermination.
After all, when the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain whole?
If the Uchiha clan were destroyed, then as one of the few surviving members, no matter how strong Uchiha Yoru became, he still would not be able to stop the endless harassment that would come from the Five Great Ninja Villages and all manner of organizations.
Unless he burrowed into deep mountains, became a wild hermit, and completely severed all contact with human society.
But there was a world of difference between entering the mountains in pursuit of tranquility and cultivation—
And being driven into the mountains by others, forced to hide and never show his face.
Those were two entirely different circumstances.
And for a cultivator, their effects on one's mental state were even more profoundly different.
The first was enjoyment.
The second was a dead end.
Uchiha Yoru did not care about his surname.
Nor did he feel any sense of belonging to Konoha or the Land of Fire.
What he cared about was only his own safety—
And cultivation.
That was why his tolerance for the Uchiha clan's various conditions was actually extremely high.
At its best, Uchiha Yoru hoped to properly manage the Uchiha clan, turning it into the worldly force he possessed in the ninja world, one of the foundations for his ascent on the immortal path—
Perhaps even the most important one.
At the lowest acceptable limit, what Uchiha Yoru wanted was merely for a great many Uchihas to remain alive and well.
As long as that kept him from becoming the target of every ninja in the world and allowed him to live contentedly and safely, that would already be enough.
If what the Third Hokage wanted to eliminate was the Uchiha clan as a political entity rather than every single living Uchiha clansman, then Uchiha Yoru's plan would be to take the initiative and destroy the Uchiha clan himself.
He would make the Uchiha clan fall apart the way the Senju clan had, perhaps even voluntarily abandoning the Uchiha surname and allowing that bloodline to completely merge into Konoha.
But if what the Third Hokage wanted to eliminate was the Uchiha bloodline itself, rather than merely the political threat posed by the Uchiha clan, then Uchiha Yoru's plan would be to tear the clan apart and lead a portion of its lower-ranking members in rebellion, away from Konoha.
Uchiha Yoru would never consider defecting to a small hidden village.
The Uchiha clan was simply too strong.
Even if only half of its ninjas broke away, they would still be stronger than Amegakure.
Any small hidden village would be too weak. The Uchiha would inevitably overwhelm it from within after a period of chaos, reducing it to a servant state under Uchiha control.
And even then, they still would not gain enough strength to resist the inevitable retaliation from Konoha, nor fend off the greed of the other Four Great Ninja Villages toward the Uchiha bloodline.
In the end, the Uchiha would be torn to pieces under constant attacks and vanish completely from the ninja world.
Perhaps the bloodline itself would not be extinguished.
But Uchiha Yoru's purpose in hiding himself would have utterly failed.
So if they rebelled and left Konoha, then Uchiha Yoru could only take the clan to one of the Four Great Ninja Villages.
Sunagakure was already in decline and would only continue to deteriorate in the future. It would be too busy saving itself.
Not even a dog would go there.
Kirigakure was mired in brutal internal strife, and was even being watched by Uchiha Madara. It could barely protect itself.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure, on the other hand, both possessed great strength and large populations.
They were capable of sheltering the surviving Uchiha.
And among them, Iwagakure was the most suitable.
Kekkei genkai were scarce there, and Iwagakure specialized mainly in Earth Release—
Which was perfectly countered by the Lightning Release widely used in Kumogakure.
In two ninja wars, Iwagakure's ninjas had been bullied terribly by Kumogakure on the battlefield.
They could only repel Kumogakure's offensives by relying on numerical superiority and paying a far greater price in lives.
If the Uchiha clan joined Iwagakure as a whole, it would amount to Iwagakure suddenly gaining an entire ninja force capable of independently defending against Kumogakure.
Ōnoki would laugh in his dreams.
Once Iwagakure's eastern military forces were freed, it could concentrate more than five times as many troops in an offensive against the Land of Wind.
That would inevitably bring decisive victory—
Perhaps even the annexation of the entire Land of Wind.
There was no way Ōnoki would refuse the Uchiha clan's allegiance.
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