299. Uchiha Clan gathering.
----
Like Shikamaru, Uchiha Fugaku was also dealing with a headache.
Why? Because the Uchiha Clan was holding a gathering.
Unlike their usual meetings for festival prayers or ancestral rites, this was an official clan meeting.
The last time they had gathered like this was when Fugaku and Minato had worked together to ease tensions between the Uchiha and the village.
At the time, Minato had fulfilled his promises to the clan, and Fugaku had successfully persuaded the majority of Uchiha members.
Of course, some stubborn elders had refused to trust the village, insisting on a coup. But the younger generation either admired the Fourth Hokage or looked up to Shisui and Itachi, so no one really paid attention to the old troublemakers.
After the meeting, Fugaku personally visited each of those dissenters for a "talk."
The reasonable ones voluntarily stepped down from their clan positions, agreeing to leave the future to the younger generation while they enjoyed retirement.
As for the unreasonable ones…
Fugaku assigned them to "important" missions and high-risk jobs that only the wisest and bravest could handle.
Sure, these missions were extremely dangerous, but the clan believed in their abilities!
If they succeeded, well, they'd get another equally dangerous mission.
If they didn't… well, ninjas dying in action was perfectly normal, wasn't it?
Fast forward nearly a decade, and the Uchiha was now just another big family in Konoha, much like the Nara and Akimichi.
The Nara could be lazy.
The Akimichi could be gluttonous.
So what if the Uchiha were a little proud?
(Or, if we're being honest a little tsundere.)
"Where's Sasuke?"
Fugaku glanced at Mikoto and Itachi.
Mikoto shook her head. "Sasuke said that instead of coming to a boring meeting, he'd rather use his time to train and get stronger."
"This is an important pre-war morale meeting. He can't just skip it," Fugaku frowned. "Itachi, go bring him here."
"That might be difficult," Itachi replied with a small smile. "Sasuke went to Ryūchi Cave."
Fugaku sighed. "That boy… You two spoil him too much. He needs to learn to make decisions based on the situation."
"We'll let it slide this time," he relented. "But next time, no exceptions."
Mikoto covered her mouth, giggling. This wasn't the first time Sasuke had been "too stubborn" and every time, Fugaku had said, "No exceptions next time."
Itachi, on the other hand, kept a perfectly composed expression. He had been trained not to laugh at the wrong time.
Fugaku stood at the front, arms crossed, his sharp gaze sweeping across the gathered Uchiha. His stern expression, squared jaw, and slightly downturned lips created an intimidating presence.
"Everyone—"
As Fugaku spoke, the chatter in the hall gradually died down.
Well… except for one corner.
"294, 295…"
Fugaku ignored it and continued:
"Today's gathering is to discuss the upcoming war—"
"296, 297…"
"Once we step onto the battlefield, we will not be just Uchiha we will be shinobi of Konoha, members of the Allied Shinobi Forces—"
"298, 299…"
"We will obey the orders of the Fourth Hokage and our squad leaders without question—"
"300, 301…"
"Even if we must fight alongside people we dislike or even enemies"
"302…"
Fugaku: (｀д′) "GEN, DAIKI, JIRO!!"
The counting stopped immediately.
Three figures snapped up from the floor, standing at attention with military precision.
"Clan Leader, sir!"
Fugaku pointed to the door. "Get. Out."
"Yes, sir!" Gen and Daiki quickly made their way out. But as they reached the exit, Gen suddenly did a forward roll.
Jiro's eyes widened. "I see! Even when rolling out, I must not be outdone! Gen!" He followed with his own forward roll.
Daiki: "I won't lose either!" He, too, did a roll.
"Pfft—" Izumi couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. She immediately clamped her hands over her mouth, eyes darting around in panic.
"…Hahaha…" Another person chuckled.
"…Hahahaha…" A third.
Then, a fourth.
Like flipping a switch, the once-serious meeting dissolved into chaos.
Fugaku rubbed his temples. Where was I again?
Damn, it! I worked so hard to set the atmosphere—now I want to kill those three idiots!
But in the end…
"…Hah." Fugaku gave up. Forget it.
Back in the past, this type of meeting would have been monitored by a certain retired Hokage and a certain retired Hokage Advisor.
Fugaku had always been very aware of this and extremely annoyed.
But now?
Minato wouldn't even think of spying on him.
And even if he did, what was there to see?
A bunch of morons rolling around and cracking jokes?
"Knock yourselves out."
Meanwhile, Outside the Uchiha Meeting…
Gen, Daiki, and Jiro weren't disappointed about being kicked out. Listening to a speech? Boring.
Training with Might Gai? Now that was something that truly ignited their youth!
Perhaps inspired by Fugaku's "Get Out!" they had an idea.
After rolling out of the hall, they switched to backflips.
Their new goal? Backflip around all of Konoha!
As they continued flipping, they thought, "Gai-sensei must be doing something even more youthful right now!"
---
Somewhere Else…
"A YOUTHFUL CHALLENGE!" Might Gai declare, flashing a sparkling thumbs-up at Kakashi?
"…Alright." Kakashi lazily lifted a hand.
"NO!" Gai dramatically crossed his arms in an X. "We cannot settle a pre-war rivalry with just rock-paper-scissors!"
Kakashi sighed. "Then what do you want to compete in?"
"Hmm…" Gai stroked his chin, deep in thought. "What should we compete in?"
Kakashi exhaled and suggested, "How about a race? The first one to XX Bookstore wins."
Gai frowned. "A race is fine, but… why the bookstore?"
Kakashi replied matter-of-factly, "Because Jiraiya-sama's new book was just released. I finally have time to buy it."
Actually, Jiraiya had already gifted him a signed, limited-edition copy.
But Kakashi still wanted to buy another one.
Because Kakashi was Jiraiya's true No.1 fan.
"…Well then." Kakashi glanced at Gai. "Are we racing or not?"
----
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