Chapter 20 - Relocation of the Uchiha Compound

"Aozora!"

Suddenly, a voice called from behind. Uchiha Aozora quickly turned around.

He saw two Uchiha clansmen he had met the previous day walking side by side toward him.

Uchiha Yuichi had ignored him completely since finding out Aozora was Shisui's younger brother, and today was no different. Looking down on Aozora both literally and figuratively, he kept giving him a condescending stare.

Uchiha Sozu, though expressionless, approached and greeted Aozora.

"First time attending a gathering?"

Aozora nodded. "Yeah, this is my first time since graduating this year."

"Don't worry," Uchiha Sozu said. "Family meetings aren't too strict. If you feel nervous later, you can sit beside me."

"..."

As they were talking, suddenly a murmur rose from the crowd before falling into complete silence.

Following everyone else's gaze, Aozora looked over and saw a group of Uchiha clansmen wearing ninja vests gradually walking toward the Conference Hall.

Leading them was a man with short black hair who wasn't wearing a forehead protector. His eyes had noticeable dark tear troughs, giving him an extremely imposing look.

Just like other clansmen, Aozora bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Clan Head!"

Crossing the crowd with his arms folded, Fugaku Uchiha opened the Conference Hall's massive doors.

"You may enter now!"

Upon hearing the clan head's command, Aozora followed the other clansmen into the Conference Hall.

When he entered, Aozora couldn't help feeling surprised.

The Uchiha clan was one of the most prestigious families in Konoha, yet their conference hall was surprisingly simple and plain. The spacious room contained not a single piece of furniture.

Fugaku Uchiha sat alone against the wall while everyone else sat cross-legged facing him casually.

Roughly arranged according to strength, Jonin took seats in the front rows while Genin sat at the back.

Following Sozu's invitation, Aozora sat beside him right in the middle of the crowd.

After everyone was seated, Fugaku Uchiha announced directly: "Everyone, it has nearly been a year since the Nine-Tails' Invasion. Konoha has passed its hardest time, and revival is imminent. At such a critical moment, the village has decided to launch a [Reconstruction and Revitalization Plan]."

Hearing this, many clansmen questioned confusedly: "Reconstruction plan?"

"Yes, a reconstruction plan," Fugaku continued. "Taking this opportunity for rebuilding, the village plans further urban planning for Konoha's district. Our Police Force headquarters suffered attacks during the Nine-Tails' Invasion. Although repaired, it still remains somewhat damaged. Therefore, the village has decided to help us rebuild entirely."

At this point, Fugaku paused briefly.

Within the crowd, reactions varied.

Some Uchihas felt joyous, believing the village finally intended reconciliation with the Uchiha.

Others sneered repeatedly, considering this merely poisoned honey coated with sweetness.

But no one saw it coming.

The next words from Fugaku Uchiha sent waves of outrage across the entire hall: "The new Police Force headquarters will be built near Mount Yougan and by the Nanaha River. Once relocated, our residential compound will also move there to guard the headquarters from all sides."

"What?!"

Hardly had Fugaku finished speaking when chaos broke out below.

"How could the village do this?"

"Is this relocation... or exile?"

"Clan Leader, you haven't agreed to this, have you?"

"Why not?"

"

"

Uchiha Yuichi standing beside him was undoubtedly the most agitated. Aozora and Sozu both tried to stop him, but Yuichi shot to his feet anyway, shouting furiously, "This is a conspiracy by the upper echelons! They want us moved away from Konoha's center!"

"Be quiet!"

Fugaku Uchiha had long held power, his strength and prestige unmatched within the Uchiha.

Under Fugaku's commanding shout, Yuichi reluctantly sat back down, while other clan members also stopped arguing.

Yet the fire within their hearts had not been extinguished. Many had bloodshot eyes from anger; no one could imagine what might happen next.

Under the burning gazes of the gathered clan members, Fugaku spoke emotionlessly, "This is a family meeting, not a bunch of women squabbling. This isn't about who shouts loudest!"

"I'm not someone who rules unilaterally. Anyone with opinions may voice them."

Fugaku pointed at Yuichi and said, "Regarding the village's directive, what do you have to say?"

Yuichi's voice had lowered somewhat now, "Clan Head, this is a conspiracy by the higher-ups. They want us removed from Konoha's center so we'll completely lose control over Konoha."

As Yuichi spoke, Aozora secretly thought: Control? Did the Uchiha ever really have control over Konoha?

Other clan members voiced their agreement upon hearing this.

"That's right!"

"Yuichi speaks the truth!"

"The village fears we'll seize power!"

...

Following Yuichi's remarks, many Uchiha clan members echoed his sentiments, with more radical individuals rising to call for rejecting relocation.

Hearing those words, Aozora felt an even stronger sense of his clansmen's misplaced confidence.

At the same time, he found it strange there were no moderates present. He quietly asked Sozu beside him, "Sozu-niisan, weren't you saying earlier that there are different factions within the clan? Then why is everyone so radical today?"

Sozu turned to Aozora and explained, "Most of those moderate clan members loyal to the village have been dispatched to reinforce the border with Kumogakure. The remaining moderates lack leadership."

Aozora nodded in agreement. Indeed, with the current crisis on the border, most Uchiha who remained loyal to Konoha had already gone to assist.

As Aozora and Sozu whispered to each other, the atmosphere inside the conference hall grew increasingly heated.

The two young captains of the Police Force sitting in the front row took turns speaking.

Uchiha Hachidai said, "Wasn't the reason they didn't deploy us Uchiha during the Nine-Tails incident because they feared our Sharingan ability to control the Nine-Tails?"

Uchiha Inabi also chimed in, "More than that, some people in the village actually claim the Uchiha were behind the Nine-Tails incident itself!"

"Forcing us to live in a corner of the village is nothing but a way to restrict our movements. Since the Second's era, we've already been concentrated into the village's outskirts, effectively isolated. Now they're forcing us even farther away. Clan Head, the village has always suspected us!"

The words from these two senior officers fueled the radicals' anger even more.

"That's right! The village has never trusted us!"

"Clan Head, we can't accept this relocation!"

"Exactly, we must stand firm against it!"

...

Shouts came from every direction, and once again the conference hall erupted like a storm breaking loose.

Uchiha Aozora didn't glance at the clan members' reactions. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Uchiha Fugaku.

While the clan members argued furiously below, Uchiha Fugaku actually closed his eyes.

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku unmoved like a mountain, Aozora knew the meeting's result had already been decided.

Strike while the iron's hot—by the second strike, the heat fades; by the third, there's nothing left.

Though Uchiha Fugaku had never heard this saying before, he certainly understood its meaning.

The hotheads' best chance came right after Uchiha Fugaku announced the "Reconstruction and Revitalization Plan."

Unfortunately, Uchiha Yuichi got too excited, stood up first to speak, and was immediately silenced by Uchiha Fugaku's single word of rebuke due to his lower prestige.

Next, if Uchiha Fugaku crushed this second outburst, the clan's spirit would be completely broken.

While Aozora watched Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Fugaku himself was scanning the entire room.

In observing the clan members' reactions, Uchiha Fugaku noticed an anomaly within the crowd—Uchiha Aozora, who remained unusually calm.

Suddenly, an idea surfaced in his mind.

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