Chapter 17: Gathering Once Again
That evening...
Nara Yoshino stormed out of Ryōko's house.
Without another word, she left the Nara Clan compound and headed straight for the home of Inoichi Yamanaka.
Knock. Knock.
Kaoru Yamanaka opened the door.
Seeing Yoshino standing outside with a flushed face, she blinked in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
"Let's talk inside."
Without waiting for a response, Yoshino grabbed Kaoru's hand and pulled her into the living room.
The moment she sat down on the sofa...
Her grievances overflowed.
Looking at her closest friend with tears welling in her eyes, she complained,
"Kaoru..."
"Do I look like some unreasonable shrew?"
"Of course not."
Kaoru immediately sat beside her.
Gently patting Yoshino's shoulder, she comforted her softly.
"When has the wife of the Nara Clan Head ever been a shrew?"
"Who's been saying that?"
"I'll deal with them for you."
"Hmph!"
Yoshino let out a long breath.
Turning toward the direction of the Nara Clan compound, she spoke through trembling anger.
"When my younger brother died..."
"I made it clear that my sister-in-law was free to remarry."
"But she said she didn't want a divorce."
"She wanted to keep protecting that home."
"So..."
"I respected her decision."
"Later, I told her..."
"If she ever changed her mind..."
"She only had to tell me."
"I'd support her."
"Living alone without a man is difficult."
"But now..."
"She's secretly bringing another man into the house..."
"...while still calling herself a widow."
"And..."
"...she even brought him onto the very bed where my brother used to sleep..."
Watching Yoshino tremble with anger...
Kaoru instantly understood who she was talking about.
The Ino–Shika–Chō clans all knew one another's family situations.
Yoshino's younger brother had died during the early years of the Third Shinobi World War.
His widow...
Was Nara Ryōko.
And if Kaoru remembered correctly...
Ryōko was also the clan head's cousin.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Taking several deep breaths, Yoshino barely managed to calm herself before continuing.
"I'm not an unreasonable person."
"If she wants to remarry..."
"Then remarry."
"But what infuriates me..."
"...is that this afternoon I hinted at it over and over."
"And she refused to admit anything."
"She even acted like I was forcing her to remarry."
"Using my dead brother's name as a cover..."
"Is she looking for some twisted thrill?"
"...Oh."
Now Kaoru completely understood.
No wonder Yoshino was so furious.
If Ryōko truly wished to remarry...
She only had to tell the clan.
Not only would everyone approve...
They'd probably even prepare wedding gifts.
Why hide it?
Kaoru immediately took her friend's side.
Looking at Yoshino's heaving chest, she asked gently,
"So..."
"What are you planning to do?"
"I'm going to catch them together."
"If that man isn't from the Nara Clan..."
"I'll convert my brother's inheritance into money..."
"Buy Ryōko a house outside the compound..."
"And let her move there."
"If he is from the Nara Clan..."
"She'll move into his house instead."
"As for my brother's home..."
"It'll go directly to my nephew."
As she spoke...
Yoshino rubbed her swollen eyes.
Looking pitifully at Kaoru, she pleaded,
"Kaoru..."
"You have to help me."
"I will."
"But stop getting so worked up."
"You're pregnant."
"Tomorrow I'll take you to the hospital."
"We should check on little Shikamaru."
"...Ah."
"I really wanted a daughter."
"After Ino is born..."
"How about we trade children?"
Kaoru laughed.
"That's actually not a bad idea."
---
The next morning...
Asuka stepped out of the Hokage Tower with a huge yawn.
An entire night had been wasted in discussion.
Returning to the Uchiha compound...
The aroma of breakfast drifted through the streets.
His tense expression instantly relaxed.
Then...
As though his soul had left his body...
His straight posture immediately slumped.
That all-night meeting had been even less productive than staying home asleep.
Nothing had been decided.
The Cloud Village kept sending small squads to harass the border.
If Konoha dispatched a large force...
The war might reignite.
If they sent only a small force...
The enemy would simply return after being driven away.
Someone proposed sending the Uchiha.
Danzō objected.
Someone suggested Root.
Danzō objected again.
Minato volunteered personally.
The Third Hokage objected, fearing a clash between Kage.
Someone proposed Orochimaru.
Danzō immediately found another reason to object.
Someone suggested recalling Tsunade.
She refused.
Someone suggested Jiraiya.
He refused too.
Someone even proposed deploying the Nine-Tails.
Both the Third and Fourth Hokage rejected that idea.
Kakashi volunteered.
Everyone else rejected him.
Recalling the chaos of the previous night's jōnin meeting...
Asuka rubbed his temples.
Being Hokage really isn't easy...
When are those old fossils on the Elder Council finally going to the Pure Land?
"Lord Asuka."
A chūnin suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
"The clan meeting has been moved forward."
"It begins in one hour."
"Got it."
Asuka waved weakly before changing direction toward the Naka Shrine.
---
As expected...
The clan meeting wasn't much different from the jōnin conference.
A gathering where very little was actually accomplished.
By the time he arrived...
Many elders had already assembled.
"Good morning, Elders."
After greeting everyone...
Asuka bit his thumb.
Poof!
Dozens of family-sized buckets of fried chicken appeared.
He casually distributed them before joining everyone for breakfast.
"This old man already ate this morning."
Elder Ryōichi patted his stomach while staring at the two buckets sitting before him.
"You only need one."
"Two will upset your stomach."
"Heh."
A cold laugh came from beside him.
The one-eyed elder looked at Ryōichi with open contempt.
"Lord Madara once said..."
"'The more desperately you try to protect something...'"
"'...the easier it is to lose it.'"
"'Whether it's your friends...'"
"'...your brothers...'"
"'...or even your descendants.'"
"Those words remain true today."
"Ryōichi."
"The more you try to protect your stomach..."
"...the sooner you'll lose it."
"You have to conquer it."
Burp.
After releasing an enormously satisfied belch...
The one-eyed elder looked toward Asuka while continuing to stare sideways at Ryōichi.
"Three more buckets."
"...?"
Ryōichi looked utterly bewildered.
Has this old man gone insane?
Eating fried chicken first thing in the morning was already excessive.
But four family buckets?
Is he trying to die before sixty?
Feeling everyone's eyes upon him...
Ryōichi slowly stood up.
Jumped twice in place.
Then snorted disdainfully.
"Three buckets?"
"Are you feeding a kitten?"
"Make it four."
---
When Fugaku finally entered the shrine...
The first thing he heard was thunderous applause.
The second...
Was the unmistakable smell of fried chicken.
"...Again?"
Thinking about a room full of elders gnawing on chicken...
His footsteps visibly slowed.
At this rate...
The clan meetings are eventually going to be filled with nothing but fat old men.
"...Burp."
"The Clan Head has arrived!"
"Good morning, Clan Head!"
"Come have some!"
Politely declining the enthusiastic invitations...
Fugaku walked straight to the raised platform.
Looking over the assembled clan members, he spoke solemnly.
"Elder Danzō has rejected our request to participate in the coming conflict."
"It appears..."
"The upcoming border clashes with Kumogakure will proceed without the Uchiha."
"...Burp."
Another impossibly long burp echoed through the hall.
Suppressing his nausea...
Ryōichi stood once more.
After hopping twice in place, he declared,
"As long as the Uchiha never produce a Hokage..."
"Our suppression will never end."
"The First Hokage..."
"Was stronger than Lord Madara."
"The Second Hokage..."
"Was stronger than every Uchiha of his generation."
"The Third Hokage..."
"Could suppress the strongest member of our clan."
"The Fourth Hokage..."
"Is another once-in-a-generation genius."
"So tell me..."
"Are you waiting for the Fifth Hokage to be a fool?"
"An idiot?"
"Or mentally deficient?"
Silence filled the room.
Ryōichi rested a hand on his noticeably larger stomach before continuing,
"We must cultivate someone powerful."
"Someone powerful enough to suppress everyone else in Konoha."
"As I see it..."
"Uchiha Shisui has that potential."
"He's also Kagami's descendant."
"That alone greatly increases his chances of one day becoming Hokage."
"...Hmm."
Looking around...
Asuka noticed almost everyone nodding.
He immediately slammed his hand onto the table and stood up.
"I object."
"I propose something simpler."
"Choose a talented girl from the clan."
"Then have the Clan Head spend enough money..."
"...to buy a disciple's position from Lady Tsunade."
"She's desperately short of money these days."
"If the price is high enough..."
"...she'll definitely sell one."
"The title of 'Tsunade's disciple'..."
"...is worth more than a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan."
"The Second Hokage has been dead for years."
"Kagami's bloodline no longer carries the same influence."
"But a disciple of one of the Legendary Sannin..."
"Still holds tremendous prestige."
"...How much would that cost?"
"Didn't Lady Tsunade lose millions of ryō every day?"
"...Would the Clan Head have to sell his house?"
Once the idea was raised...
The discussion instantly shifted.
Everyone began enthusiastically comparing the two plans.
Truthfully...
The Uchiha had never stopped nurturing talented children.
The problem was...
Every generation...
Those prodigies found themselves competing against the Hokage faction's own geniuses.
And almost every time...
They were suppressed.
Trying to have the greatest genius of one clan...
Compete against the combined resources of an entire village...
To be honest...
The odds weren't very good.
***
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