[NTU] [ARC-10-UCHIHA] Chapter : 134 (Patreon)

**Three days later**

"What? They want us to move?"

In the Uchiha Shrine, a voice filled with surprise, dissatisfaction, and anger echoed loudly.

“What does the village mean? They excluded us when dealing with the Kyuubi, and now they want us to move?”

“Exactly! Isn’t it obvious that this was their plan from the beginning? Now they want us to relocate near the Naka River? They don't trust us even after all these years!”

As Fugaku relayed the village’s orders, whispers and discussions erupted among the clan members gathered in the shrine. Most expressed their strong opposition.

“The current village layout was planned during the Nidaime’s era. It’s outdated,” Fugaku explained, looking at the angry faces below. “The village elders and the Sandaime want to take this opportunity to restructure the village layout.”

Fugaku felt a headache forming as he listened to the increasingly agitated responses. He hadn't anticipated such an announcement from the village leadership.

“Captain! I cannot agree to this under any circumstances.”

“Yes! Whoever wants to go to a remote place like Naka River can go themselves!”

“Toshiro…what do you think?” Fugaku asked, looking at Toshiro, who had been silent. “In this Nine-Tails incident, you performed well, and your reputation in the village has greatly increased. I want to hear your thoughts.”

“I'm willing to move! But I have some conditions.”

Toshiro’s response surprised everyone. The Sandaime and the other elders had proposed relocating the Uchiha from the village center, possibly as a test of their loyalty and attitude.

“Moving to that place near the Naka River? Has the clan leader considered how ordinary clan members running small businesses will survive?” Toshiro continued. “Without Konoha’s huge foot traffic, relying solely on the clan’s small population, their business will suffer.”

Since the clan escaped from the Warring clans era, their third branch had few ninjas left. During the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Toshiro’s outstanding performance led his branch to elect him as their representative. Now, as their spokesperson, he had to consider their livelihoods, as many small merchants and workers in the clan were from his branch.

“This…”

Fugaku, primarily focused on ninja matters, hadn’t considered the impact on the ordinary clan members’ living conditions.

“One more thing,” Toshiro added, “if we move there, what compensation will the village provide?”

“Compensation?”

Fugaku was left speechless by Toshiro’s questions. He had never heard of such a thing.

“Ha! There's no way that we'll just move there quietly, right? Not even compensation?”

“Fugaku-sama, Our current location is in the heart of Konoha, where land prices are extremely high. It's not an exaggeration to say that every inch of land is valuable!”

“The village wants us to move to a place where even dogs won't go for food. Isn't it because they want our prime land?”

Why can Tsunade travel the world in style, gamble, and borrow a lot of money? It’s because she inherited a lot of valuable land in the center of Konoha, generating significant rental income every month.

“In short, if these two points aren’t addressed, our third branch will not move!”

Despite saying this, Toshiro had already decided that even if the village solved these issues and offered generous compensation, he still wouldn’t move. With the fourth Hokage dead, if the village planned to target the Uchiha as in the manga, being in the central area would make the Sandaime and others more cautious.

“That’s right! Captain, we can’t let the village dictate everything. We have to consider our people's livelihood!”

Toshiro immediately gained a supporter in Asuka’s eldest brother, whose father was one of the first branch leaders before being killed in battle, allowing him to become their spokesperson.

“However, this is also an order from the village… We Uchiha still have to cooperate with the Hokage’s overall plan!”

An old man with gray hair and a weathered face spoke up, expressing a different opinion.

“Elder Yinagi, I know the second branch has always supported the Hokage’s policies, but even if you support them, you need to understand what they entail!”

“This move clearly harms Uchiha’s interests. Don’t you care about the ordinary members of the clan?”

“Relocating to the Naka River will also inconvenience the police force. What about the livelihood of our people?”

“Could it be that some in the village are eyeing our land for personal gains for their own clans?”

“How is that possible? How could the Hokage do such a thing…”

Faced with Toshiro’s logical words, Elder Yinagi didn't have any answers and was quickly defeated in the debate. He turned his attention to Uchiha Fugaku.

“Toshiro, in the village’s overall plan, not only our Uchiha clan will be relocated. The Aburame, Hyuga, and other families are also on the list. We Uchiha can’t stand alone.”

During today's high-level meeting, he raised objections, but afterwards, the Hokage called him into the office, had a thorough discussion, and successfully convinced him. The Hokage also assigned him the task of persuading Toshiro not to get involved in Danzo’s matter, saying that this would bring the Uchiha and the village closer. He agreed to these tasks one after another, like an idiot.

However, it now seemed quite difficult to convince Toshiro. No longer the brat who awakened the Sharingan nine years ago, Toshiro had grown to a point where even the Hokage had to treat him with caution.

“My father, mother, and grandparents all lived here, and I was born and raised here. I don’t care whether others move or not. I plan to live here forever. Even if the Sandaime Hokage himself were here, my stance wouldn’t change. In short, we’re not moving!”

Toshiro had made up his mind. Even if the Sandaime himself came, he wouldn’t back down. Could they really accuse him of being a traitor over this? If it came to that, he’d have to "discuss" it with them, using force if necessary.

“Toshiro, I have something else to discuss with you!”

After the clan meeting ended unhappily, Fugaku, looking frustrated, quickly called out to Toshiro, who was striding away. The Sandaime Hokage had asked Fugaku to act as a lobbyist regarding Danzo's matter.

“It's better for you to come to my house and sit for a while! This is not the place to talk of such matters.”

Since the clan leader invited him, Toshiro agreed to go and sit with him. At Fugaku's home, sipping hot tea and feeling a slight bitterness in his mouth, Toshiro listened to Fugaku’s words.

Toshiro didn’t expect that the Sandaime would use Fugaku as a lobbyist to resolve the matter with Shimura Danzo.

“Fugaku-san, I wonder if you have ever thought about it. If I hadn’t been prepared at that time, what would our clan's situation be?”

Looking at Fugaku across from him, Toshiro curled his lips in a frown. The Sandaime just threw a bone, and Fugaku got so excited. How can he still say that he is a kage-level powehouse and the leader of the Uchiha clan?

“But it’s a great opportunity!”

“It’s rare for the village to open a door for the clan. If Toshiro can make a difference in the ANBU, the clan will be honored as well!”

Seeing Fugaku's excitement, Toshiro was speechless. The Sandaime had a good plan: recognizing Toshiro's power, he decided to target him, hoping to leverage his abilities for his own agenda.

It’s truly laughable. If I fall into the Sandaime’s hands as an ANBU, who knows how many dangerous missions will await me in the future? And if I end up ambushed by some enemy for no apparent reason, There won't even be a need for a proper explanation for the cause of his death.

And Fugaku, can’t you see the Sandaime’s obvious plan to kill two birds with one stone? With just one ANBU quota, he wants to take away the strongest member of our clan and keep them quiet about Danzo. No, it’s more like killing three birds with one stone if you include moving the Uchiha compound and planning for the future.

“I will never work in the ANBU. The Konoha Warden position is perfectly fine for me.”

Putting down the tea cup, Toshiro rejected Fugaku’s suggestion outright.

“Also, if the Sandaime Hokage can’t provide a satisfactory explanation regarding Danzo, I will seek one myself. Please convey my exact words to the Sandaime Hokage.”

How could he let Danzo off so easily? If that bastard hadn’t escaped so quickly last time, and if he hadn’t had to worry about the Kyuubi, he wouldn’t have let him go so easily.

“Toshiro! Don’t be impulsive…”

“If you act irrationally, it will make things very difficult for the clan!”

“And the Sandaime has promised to remove Danzo from his position as the root leader. I think this should be sufficient.”

If it were an ordinary Uchiha member, a mere look from Fugaku would be enough to make them comply. However, facing a rare strong figure in the clan, he had to be more persuasive.

“Fugaku-sama, have you really considered the implications?”

“Once the clan moves from its current location, it will be vulnerable to further marginalization by the village. How will we handle that?”

Seeing his good-natured patriarch trying to convince him further, Toshiro had no choice but to change the topic.

"Although our clan members don’t often interact with the ninjas and civilians of the village, there are still some connections. Moving near the Naka River, the increased distance will make it almost impossible for us to integrate further into the village.

In this way, the efforts of Kagami-sama, Shigeyama-sama, and even you, Chief Fugaku, to integrate our clan into the village will be wasted in a single day.

Have you considered such an outcome, Chief Fugaku?"

As a part of Konoha, the succession of the Uchiha clan leader is still influenced by the village to some extent. Each succeeding clan leader may be biased towards clan glory and increasing clan influence, but aspects such as the overall situation and the Will of Fire are also impacted.

There is nothing that can be done about this. The higher-ups control the village’s narrative and monitor all Uchiha members. They select some Uchiha they are satisfied with, give them favorable missions, and then publicize it.

"If there is an emergency, the clan living in a remote corner will truly be in trouble!!"

Our clan’s reputation in the village isn’t good to begin with, so why move to such a remote place? Wouldn’t this mean we are directly isolating ourselves?

"An emergency? Toshiro…you mean something like the Kyuubi incident happening again in the village?"

"What do you think?"

Looking at Fugaku, whose eyes were twitching and whose face was gloomy, Toshiro knew that the other man was not a fool but was simply deceiving himself about certain things.

"This time, the Sandaime directly excluded us, Uchiha from the ninjas that intercepted the Kyuubi. I don’t need to explain how much he distrusts us!"

Although Toshiro’s words were soft, they hit Uchiha Fugaku like a thunderbolt.

"Impossible!"

So anxious was Uchiha Fugaku at the thought of some extreme measures, that he couldn’t even hold the tea cup, dropping it on the table with a clang.

"In any case, we Uchiha are also the founding clan of Konoha. It is impossible for the Sandaime to do such a thing."

He still felt that Toshiro was being too pessimistic. How could the Sandaime do such a thing?

"If the village does this, all the clans in Konoha, big and small, will never look at the Hokage same way!"

Once this is done, it can be said that the Hokage will immediately lose credibility among the big clans in the village. They may not show it openly due to the Hokage’s authority, but there are some aspects that even the third Hokage cannot control.

'So, this guy just needed a proper reality check!'

Looking at Uchiha Mikoto, who came to check after hearing the noise, and the small figure following her, Toshiro thought quietly.