When being a ninja couldn't save the Uchiha—
Having children could!
Sasuke's eyes were filled with fervor, his voice carrying the characteristic fanaticism of the Uchiha.
Anyone seeing him like this—even without the clan crest or the Sharingan—could clearly tell he was a pure-blooded Uchiha!
The Third Hokage opened his mouth, but for a long moment, no words came out.
Uchiha Kuro coughed lightly.
"Hokage-sama, the former clan head Fugaku's revival effort was cut short midway. Now the world is divided, and the clan is exhausted—this is truly a critical moment of survival…"
"However, the Uchiha still possess a great foundation. We will carry forward the legacy of six generations, produce many descendants, and revitalize the clan…"
Uchiha Kuro rambled on with a bunch of nonsense, then added one more line in response to Sasuke's proposal:
"If the female ninja possesses a special Kekkei Genkai, the Uchiha are willing to pay extra."
"Cough, cough."
The Third Hokage rubbed his temples, his face dark. "Uchiha Kuro, I understand your desire to revive the Uchiha, but for a ninja clan, shouldn't you focus on restoring your former prestige and making the Uchiha name resound across the ninja world?"
He tried to steer Uchiha Kuro back toward the path Sasuke had originally envisioned.
But Uchiha Kuro answered without hesitation:
"No, Hokage-sama. I have a clear understanding of my own talent. Let alone making a name that shakes the ninja world—even avenging the clan will likely depend on Sasuke's growth."
"The only thing I can do is continue the Uchiha bloodline. Before that, everything else is meaningless."
"Please allow the Uchiha clan to issue this mission—to strengthen our bloodline."
The Third Hokage: "..."
He fell silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"If you expand your clan this way, your personal reputation will be completely ruined."
At Sasuke's age, he obviously couldn't be the one to carry out such "missions."
So the responsibility would fall entirely on Uchiha Kuro.
The mighty Uchiha—once known as the strongest clan in the ninja world—now having a clan head reduced to breeding?
"Compared to my personal reputation, the clan is more important!" Uchiha Kuro replied firmly.
"…Very well. As you wish."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
…
Uchiha Kuro, Sasuke, and the others left the Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched their departing figures and sighed inwardly.
"What a pity… It looks like Uchiha Kuro has no intention of leaving the village for missions…"
The Uchiha clan's inheritance was extremely substantial. As long as Uchiha Kuro—the only adult Uchiha—encountered a little "accident" while outside the village, Konoha would have ways to gradually take control of those assets.
In fact, if not for the aftermath of the Uchiha massacre still lingering—making it risky to stir up more trouble and provoke dissatisfaction among the other clans—
Uchiha Kuro might have already been assassinated within the village.
"But perhaps this is fine…"
If the Uchiha grew stronger again, it would also benefit Konoha.
Hiruzen understood this clearly.
The Uchiha of the past were Konoha's greatest threat.
But the Uchiha now—reduced to just a handful of survivors—were the most reliable Uchiha.
As long as proper indoctrination continued, future generations of the Uchiha could be fully brought under control.
Thus, Hiruzen suppressed the greed in his heart and deliberately avoided looking at the Uchiha clan's "price list" on the desk.
Damn it!
The Uchiha were really rich!
Even at the lowest tier, a Chūnin could earn ten million ryō and a powerful B-rank ninjutsu through this mission.
From the "effort" to pregnancy, to childbirth and postpartum recovery…
Assuming the "mission" took about a year—
That meant a Chūnin could earn ten million ryō annually!
Ten million ryō…
A minimum S-rank mission would require an elite jōnin team working for about a month, yet the reward was only around one million ryō!
And that had to be split among team members!
By comparison, this was equivalent to a Chūnin continuously completing mid-tier S-rank missions all year long…
Not to mention the additional reward of a rare and valuable B-rank ninjutsu!
And for jōnin and Kage-level female ninja, the rewards skyrocketed even further!
Damn it… calculating all this, even Hiruzen himself felt tempted to send a few female ninja from the Sarutobi clan…
"Cough!"
The Third Hokage quickly coughed to interrupt his thoughts and waved to his female assistant.
"Junko, put this mission proposal on the task board."
However, his assistant stood there in a daze, absent-minded.
"Junko? Junko? Junko!"
Hiruzen raised his voice, snapping her out of it.
"Ah! Yes, Hokage-sama!"
She hurriedly began working, but after a moment, she casually asked:
"By the way, Hokage-sama, this year's jōnin promotion exam should be coming up, right? When will it be held?"
"Oh? Are you thinking of taking it?" Hiruzen smiled, pleased to see initiative in his subordinate. "It should be about three months from now. If you want to participate, you'll need to prepare well—"
"Ah, that long?" Junko looked disappointed. "Looks like I'll have to take the mission as a Chūnin then. Otherwise, by the time three months pass, all those little vixens will have snatched it already."
"Forget it. Even if the reward is lower than for jōnin, I'll grab it first."
With that, she swayed her hips and walked off in her high heels to post the mission notice.
Hiruzen stared blankly at her retreating figure.
From confusion… to awkwardness… to sheer disbelief.
"My female assistant… got poached by the Uchiha?!"