Chapter 90: More Radical Than the Radicals—And Yet They All Got Divorced
"He lived for a very long time, so there are probably plenty of tricks he hasn't used yet."
Asuka walked toward the Naka Shrine, deep in thought.
A truly effective plan often didn't require the planner to take action personally. All he needed to do was arrange for the right people to appear, then let a series of coincidences unfold until everything fell perfectly into place.
For example, bringing Jiraiya into the picture.
Neither the other shinobi clans nor the Uchiha clan could refuse to cooperate with one of the Legendary Three Ninja.
And if Uchiha Itachi's parents eventually divorced, Itachi's mother wouldn't be able to vent her anger on him anymore.
After all, his intentions were good.
He was merely trying to help his clan escape its predicament.
As the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku was naturally the main force responsible for overcoming their difficulties.
But, to be fair...
Asuka looked up at the azure sky and muttered,
"I feel like I've become the mastermind behind the scenes."
Still, simply having everyone eat together probably wouldn't be enough to deepen their relationships.
He remembered the three unbreakable bonds between men from his previous life.
Hmm.
When he arrived at the clan meeting venue, he discovered that everyone else had arrived before him.
At this moment, there were hardly any empty seats left in the hall.
After sitting down, Asuka glanced at the empty seat to his left and asked in surprise,
"Where's Elder Ryoichi?"
"Didn't he used to love attending clan meetings?"
"Why hasn't he shown up for the last two?"
Uchiha Saburo, the Grand Elder, glanced at the empty seat.
At present, he was the only person in the entire clan who knew that Ryoichi was carrying out an important mission.
Looking at Asuka, he said,
"The old man has recently decided that clan meetings are too boring. He's been staying home and sunbathing instead."
"That's true!"
Asuka rested his elbow on the table in agreement.
Clan meetings really were unbearably boring.
None of these discussions ever led to a result.
The argument over who should become Hokage had already been going on for fifty-one years.
It was practically an academic rebellion.
"Elder, what are we discussing today?"
Hearing this, the Grand Elder lowered his head and looked at the blank sheets of paper spread across the table.
He said casually,
"The clan head's outstanding son has recently come up with a very constructive idea together with Shisui."
"He wants our clan to disband and merge the Uchiha's original bloodline into all the inhabitants of Konoha, turning the Uchiha into the backbone of the village and making Konoha as a whole stronger."
"Some Uchiha happened to overhear this and reported it to me."
After hearing this,
Asuka propped up his head with one hand, paused for a moment, then gave a thumbs-up toward the empty seat at the head of the table.
He praised,
"It must be our young clan head. His ideas are more extreme than anyone else's."
"I think this young clan head is definitely going to awaken the clan's Ultimate Eye."
At this moment, Uchiha Mato, who was sitting not far away, suddenly turned his head toward Asuka.
Seeing Asuka's lazy posture, he sneered,
"He's an idiot."
"From now on, I've lost one more candidate for clan head."
Asuka turned toward Uchiha Mato.
"Elder Mato, I heard the child next door to you awakened the Three-Tomoe?"
"That's right. Shisui is a genius."
A smile suddenly appeared on Mato's face.
Although he was merely Shisui's neighbor, having a genius appear nearby still brought him some honor.
He had watched Shisui grow up.
However...
Considering that Shisui's loyalty to the village was higher than that of most Uchiha, and that he was extremely close to Uchiha Itachi, Mato couldn't help feeling worried.
"That child isn't planning to disband the clan too, is he?"
Asuka tapped his fingers against the table.
He glanced at the Jonin sitting in the distance who had a good relationship with Shisui and said,
"My suggestion is that from now on, every clan meeting should be held in Konoha Prison."
"Why?"
"Let Shisui and the others argue with old men like Uchiha Setsuna."
"Keep them occupied so they don't have time to overthink things."
"Heh heh~"
Hearing Asuka's terrible suggestion, Mato sneered and turned his head away.
Because of the influence of Uchiha Kagami, a subordinate of the Second Hokage, many Uchiha had abandoned their narrow clan-centered thinking and begun considering matters from Konoha's perspective.
At the same time, Uchiha clan members represented by Uchiha Setsuna believed that they had inherited Madara's will.
They were extremely dissatisfied with the Second Hokage's policies toward the Uchiha clan and had always wanted to reclaim their clan's authority from the Senju.
Now, those who had lost the struggle for power were all locked up in prison.
As Uchiha Feihe's grandson, those people had personally witnessed Asuka's birth.
"Old man, don't overthink it!"
Seeing Mato's expression constantly changing, Asuka handed him a bucket of fried chicken.
Then, thinking about how he had long since abandoned his clan-centered way of thinking, he couldn't help boasting,
"I'm an Uchiha, but I think from the Hokage's perspective."
"I abandoned narrow-minded clan thinking a long time ago."
"Heh heh~"
Mato accepted the food Asuka handed him.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he sneered,
"Uchiha Setsuna and his companions said the same thing back then."
"They often thought from the Hokage's perspective."
"But they weren't the Hokage, and that made them extremely uncomfortable."
"So they chose to rebel."
"You should still support the clan head's divorce."
"At least that idea gives me a sense of security."
Soon, another strange mixed smell filled the meeting hall.
Yet nobody inside seemed to notice it at all.
Sigh!
Uchiha Saburo, the Grand Elder, picked his teeth while observing the Uchiha clan members below doing the same.
For the past six months, the most harmonious moments during the entire clan meetings had always been when everyone was eating.
It was just that smell...
They said it was extremely unpleasant, but he couldn't smell it.
He straightened his clothes and said calmly,
"Does anyone else have anything to say?"
"If not, let's disperse."
"I've eaten my fill and need to take a walk."
At this moment, the person sitting near Asuka's neighbor suddenly raised his hand.
He supported himself against the floor with one hand, his stomach visibly swollen from overeating, and said,
"Shisui intends to meet with Elder Danzō."
"As Kagami's descendant, he should receive special treatment."
The Grand Elder glanced at him, then rubbed his stomach with both hands and burped.
"He's a free man. He has the right to choose his own future."
"Be careful."
"Danzō isn't someone easy to deal with. He may not give him special treatment simply because of the Will of Fire."
"I'll tell him!"
After saying a few perfunctory words, the man simply lay down on the floor, looking somewhat uncomfortable as he stared at the ceiling.
Perhaps Shisui not attending clan meetings was the correct choice after all.
Eating too much really was uncomfortable.
After most of the Uchiha clan members had finished speaking, the Grand Elder looked toward Asuka, who had been unusually quiet throughout the entire clan meeting.
He asked in surprise,
"Asuka, don't you have anything to say?"
Asuka lay on the floor, rubbing his swollen stomach with both hands while staring at the ceiling.
"No."
"My stomach is too full. It hurts."
"Really nothing?"
"Nothing."
Hearing this, the Grand Elder suddenly felt a toothache coming on.
During previous clan meetings, the discussion would always somehow drift toward the subject of [divorce].
So why had everything suddenly become so quiet?
Could Uchiha Madara have suddenly implanted something inside him?
Thinking of this, he shuddered and asked again,
"Are you really sure there's nothing you want to say?"
Seeing the old man repeatedly questioning him, Asuka impatiently waved his hand.
"I just heard the young clan head's proposal to disband the clan."
"I don't really agree with it."
"His proposal is completely impractical."
"Why not simply give the clan head a few more wives and concubines?"
"That would strengthen Konoha's power as well."
"Having the clan head produce more children would accomplish the same thing."
"..."
"Your suggestion is temporarily shelved."
The Grand Elder nodded.
He seemed to think Asuka's words made some sense.
Then he waved his hand and slowly said in his aged voice,
"Meeting adjourned!"
Back when Asuka held the second clan meeting, he and Old Ryoichi had discussed certain matters.
And apparently, the Grand Elder had overheard them from behind.
He had actually asked Ryoichi:
"When are we going to launch the coup?"
That young man's ideas really were dangerous.
Why launch a coup when everything was going smoothly?
He couldn't guarantee that Konoha wouldn't react if the Uchiha attempted a second coup.
The radicals in the clan meetings were currently merely dissatisfied with Konoha and demanding fair treatment.
But people like Uchiha Setsuna, who believed they had inherited Madara's will, directly transformed that dissatisfaction into action and resisted through actual deeds.
Asuka's suggestion about divorce was actually quite good.
That place was extremely safe for the clan.
Even if he really did carry it out, the clan would still be perfectly safe.
Let the clan head suffer a little.