The first thing, Uchiha Douhuan announced sternly,
From this day on, I do not want to hear anyone in the clan speak of rebellion.
Huh?
The Uchiha youths who had been fervent moments ago froze in confusion.
Shisui and Itachi, however, exhaled in relief—
Good. Uchiha Douhuan still had some sense. He understood the clan couldn't rebel.
But the very next moment, both of their hearts sank again.
"This village was founded by Lord Madara and the First Hokage together.
In a way, the Uchiha should rightfully be one of the owners of this village.
What we must do… is reclaim the authority that belongs to us."
"That's right! The Uchiha deserve a share of this village!"
Uchiha Inoka shouted passionately.
"The second matter," Douhuan continued, throwing out another shock,
"The Konoha Police Force is understaffed.
Starting tomorrow, we will recruit civilian ninja.
Within one week, I want the Force's manpower doubled.
These civilian ninja will receive salaries equivalent to at least a D-rank mission in the village.
Additionally—
all clan jutsu not directly related to the Sharingan,
and all battle spoils accumulated by the clan over the years—
will be used as rewards for ninja who show outstanding merit."
This stirred an even louder uproar.
Even Shisui and Itachi couldn't understand Douhuan's intentions anymore.
If his first decision was merely ideological,
this one was a direct cut into the clan's own flesh.
"Silence!"
Douhuan spoke once the chaos reached its peak.
"Most of you here work in the Police Force.
You should have all experienced this:
Even when we enforce the law fairly, the villagers resent us.
The Police Force seems powerful,
but in reality, it has built a thick wall between the Uchiha and the villagers.
A trap set by that cursed Senju old ghost!"
"To reclaim our rightful authority, the first step is closing the distance between us and the villagers.
The First Hokage once said it well:
To become Hokage, you must first earn the people's recognition—
not the other way around."
"We Uchiha have been separated from the villagers for far too long.
Now is the time for us to embrace them."
Douhuan's words were powerful, inspiring.
Even Shisui began to doubt whether he had misunderstood him.
Was Douhuan not doing exactly what he himself had once dreamed of doing?
"Recruiting civilian ninja is understandable, but… giving out jutsu as rewards feels too valuable,"
One elder voiced hesitantly.
"Our clan's foundation lies in our bloodline,"
Douhuan replied.
"These jutsu—unused and gathering dust—
are better used as bridges between us and the village."
"But Douhuan," Fugaku interjected,
"Have you considered that hiring so many civilian ninja, each with D-rank equivalent pay… the clan can't sustain it for long?
Ever since what happened six years ago, the clan's finances have been stretched thin."
"Elder Fugaku, you don't need to worry about that."
Douhuan smiled calmly.
"I will get the clan more money."
"As long as you have a plan."
Fugaku nodded.
"Then, according to tradition, the Clan Leader serves as the Captain of the Police Force—"
"No, no,"
Douhuan cut him off immediately.
"Elder Fugaku, please continue serving as Captain of the Police Force.
I have more important matters to attend to."
"More important matters?"
Fugaku frowned in confusion.
"Of course—
completing the mission assigned to me by the Third Hokage,"
Douhuan said with a faint smile.
"Speaking of that," an elder added,
"Since you accepted the task of investigating Danzō and Root, shouldn't we begin immediately?"
"How could we start now?"
Douhuan smirked meaningfully.
"We need to give them a bit of time."
Time to destroy evidence.
"Inoka, Zaidō—starting tomorrow, the two of you will accompany me in investigating Root."
He didn't elaborate further.
He simply called on the two Uchiha who had followed him all day.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
—
While the Uchiha held their clan meeting,
Inside Root's secret base, Yamanaka Kaze and Aburame Ryōma were working nonstop, directing their subordinates to destroy Root's documents.
Because the target of the Third Hokage's investigation was a Uchiha,
Yamanaka Kaze—whose abilities were naturally countered by the Uchiha—had been kept at the base by Danzō.
Aburame Ryōma had been left behind for similar reasons.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Danzō had once sent Ryōma to assassinate the rising Uchiha Douhuan.
They had fought before—
But the insects Ryōma cultivated became disoriented the instant they entered the electromagnetic field created by Douhuan's Lightning Release.
He had barely escaped with his life.
Thus, this time, Danzō left both of them in the base.
But what they received instead… was the news of Danzō's death.
After years of conditioning, the few Root operatives remaining moved like machines—
collecting classified documents and burning them with Fire Release.
By the time dawn approached, most things had been destroyed.
But just as they finished, both men received word—
Uchiha Douhuan was bringing people to the Root base.
They exchanged looks,
then glanced at the documents still unburned.
Finally, they nodded to one another and headed toward the entrance.
—
Uchiha Douhuan walked leisurely with Inoka and Zaidō toward the Root base.
"This old bastard's turtle nest is really out of the way."
Inoka grumbled after a while.
Douhuan chuckled, then raised a brow.
"Speak of the devil—here comes the turtle spawn."
The moment he spoke, blue lightning flared around him.
All around them, numerous insects appeared from the shadows—
only to drop dead instantly.
Even the plants beneath the trio's feet withered the moment the insects touched them.
Inoka and Zaidō quickly drew kunai, entering combat stance.
"Aburame clan," Douhuan called out loudly,
"Did you not learn your lesson last time?
These things don't work on me."
His answer was a volley of shuriken.
But as soon as the shuriken came within a foot of Douhuan,
They froze unnaturally in midair.
With a bang, one shuriken burst into smoke—
Revealing Aburame Ryōma lunging forward, the kunai aimed straight at Douhuan's throat.