Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 212 Wanting to improve, yet reluctant to give up...

The next morning, before dawn, Orochimaru sent a summoning beast to deliver a message.

Not having time to make breakfast, Uchiha Gen went out to buy breakfast and then headed to the agreed-upon location.

After the meeting, Orochimaru gave Gen Uchiha a detailed structural diagram of the Root headquarters and Danzo's residence, and then summoned the Iron Pole Supporters.

These staunch supporters included Jonin, Special Jonin, and Chunin, totaling fifteen people.

In fact, Orochimaru's staunch supporters are not limited to these; they also exist in various border troops of Konoha, but those ninjas are not allowed to leave their posts.

Since Uchiha Gen was Orochimaru's disciple and already a renowned ninja in the ninja world, Orochimaru had done his homework beforehand, making the acceptance process very smooth.

Nothing unexpected happened, and no foolish ninjas jumped out to provoke them; everyone was very respectful.

The matter was settled, and everyone went their separate ways.

That afternoon, news of Orochimaru's withdrawal from the Hokage election spread throughout Konoha Village. This huge news left many Konoha ninja in disbelief and sparked much discussion.

Many of Orochimaru's supporters cannot understand his actions; in their view, Orochimaru is only one step away from becoming Hokage.

In reality, they were only one step away, but that step was an insurmountable chasm. The underhanded dealings and intrigues between high-ranking officials and between masters and disciples were beyond the reach of ordinary ninjas.

Let alone ordinary ninjas, very few even Jonin noticed anything amiss.

Even among the high-ranking members of the various families, only a few astute individuals noticed something amiss through a series of decisions made by the higher-ups during the small-scale wars.

Because they couldn't understand Orochimaru's actions and were disappointed, many of Orochimaru's supporters stopped supporting him.

That evening, after dinner, Uchiha Gen was invited by Itachi to a meeting at Fugaku's residence.

In the Fugaku family's tea room, the high-ranking members of the Uchiha clan gathered: the clan head, three elders, the clan head's wife, Uchiha Gen, and Uchiha Shisui.

Other squad leaders are not eligible to participate in the Uchiha clan's high-level meetings.

Initially, Xuan and Shisui mainly participated in the meeting through their special identities. Xuan's participation was also due to his intelligence, rather than his strength.

At that time, Gen and Shisui were much stronger than ordinary Jonin, but there was no qualitative difference between them and the Jonin of the Uchiha clan.

Inside the tea room, steam rose and the aroma of tea wafted through the air. The group sat on either side of a long table, each with a serious expression, though Uchiha Gen was only pretending.

"Sigh... Although Xuan had warned me before, it's still hard to accept that it actually happened."

"Why is the fate of our Uchiha clan so bumpy and uneven? Both of our potential Hokage have died prematurely," Fugaku sighed.

"God is unfair," Setsuna said with a heavy expression.

His greatest wish in life was to reclaim the power that the Uchiha clan deserved and to see a Hokage emerge from the Uchiha clan.

The other two elders also sighed upon hearing this.

"Clan leader, elders, there's no need to be too pessimistic."

"Shisui and I still have our identities, and we are still young. There's plenty of time ahead, and there might be opportunities in the future," Uchiha Gen comforted him with a smile.

"Xuan is right, we will definitely work hard," Zhishui agreed.

"Our Uchiha clan has Gen and Shisui in the past, and Itachi and Sasuke in the future. Sooner or later, we will produce a Hokage," Mikoto said with a gentle smile.

"I hope so."

"As long as Danzo isn't the Hokage, I can accept anyone else."

"Don't worry, clan leader. Danzo is no match for the Third Hokage. As long as the Third Hokage exists, Danzo will always remain in the shadows and will never become the light."

"Yes, I believe in the Third Hokage's methods."

"Chief, I have a suggestion."

Fugaku's eyes lit up and he said, "Speak quickly."

The others also looked at Uchiha Gen with curiosity, hoping to hear some useful advice for the Uchiha.

"Actually, it's not a new suggestion. The clan leader and the elders have been working on it for a long time."

"That means sending our Uchiha clan ninjas to more positions."

"Although the police department has considerable power and high security, it is easy to offend people and is too isolated."

"Being too content with one's own corner will limit the vision of the clan. Without a global perspective, or with a distorted global perspective, it will be difficult to gain the support of others."

"Without the support of ninjas from other departments, it's difficult to become Hokage, even with the support of the police department alone."

Fugaku sighed and shook his head, saying, "We understand what you're saying, but putting it into practice is just too difficult."

"So far, only you and Shisui have managed to escape the police department; everyone else has been blocked by the higher-ups."

"You have to give up something to gain something. What if the police department were open to all Konoha ninja?"

"This..." Fugaku exclaimed in shock.

The others were also taken aback, as they had never had such an idea before.

After a while, Zhishui said, "I think we can give it a try."

"This involves the interests of the entire clan and requires careful consideration."

"However, if the Konoha leadership agrees, it's worth a try."

After saying that, Fugaku quickly added, "The main problem is that if the Konoha leadership doesn't agree, the clansmen will have nowhere else to go."

"The clansmen need to support their families and they need to do things; otherwise, they are prone to causing trouble when they are idle."

While it's true that Uchiha clan ninjas receive bonuses, the distribution method is pyramidal.

The higher up the hierarchy, the more funds are allocated, and the funds are concentrated in the hands of a few. Most ninjas only receive a subsidy and mainly rely on their salaries.

The three elders also expressed their views, though their words differed, their meanings were essentially the same.

First, secure the core base before considering further action.

Uchiha Gen was speechless...

Does this mean that the police department ninjas or the Konoha high command gave up because they didn't agree?

The Konoha Police Department is a self-contained entity with immense power, including the authority to recruit its own members.

While the problems mentioned by Fugaku and others exist, they are not without solutions.

Recruiting new members does not mean laying off staff. The nine squads responsible for everything inside and outside Konoha are just enough, but not saturated.

With more people, the security of Konoha Village can be improved, and control over Konoha can be further strengthened.

Even if the police department is at full capacity, we can find ways to relocate our clansmen to other places.

Good places like Konoha Hospital, Ninja Academy, and the administrative department are hard to get into, but places like the border troops are not difficult to operate.

Moreover, anything is possible with human effort. Given the right opportunity and the willingness to pay, it is not impossible to reach an agreement with the Konoha leadership and send the clansmen to a better place.

The Uchiha clan is in a much better situation now than in the original story, and the prejudice against the Konoha F4 is relatively much smaller.

Danzo never even considered wiping out the Uchiha clan; at most, he only suppressed them.

In this situation, communication becomes easier and reaching a consensus is relatively more straightforward.

Perhaps it's precisely because there's little pressure that they don't want to make changes...

If we don't use force to suppress them, only a fool would agree to let other ninjas come and steal their food; they'd just stay in their comfort zone.

There's no benefit to it; only a fool would agree to the Uchiha clan expanding their influence.

If you want to improve but are unwilling to "give gifts," then how can you possibly improve?

Well, his life is pretty good now. He's not the clan leader or an elder, so he can't be bothered with that.

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly and said nothing more.

The atmosphere in the tea room underwent a subtle change, but that was all; the atmosphere remained pleasant.

After all, it's normal for ambitious young people to have disagreements with their steady and conservative predecessors.

This situation is common, from families to nations.

There is no fixed right or wrong. Sometimes being proactive and striving is not necessarily a good thing, and sometimes being calm and conservative is not necessarily a bad thing.

We need to analyze specific problems in specific ways.

No one took the little incident to heart, including Uchiha Gen.

How can you get emotional just because a suggestion wasn't adopted?

Don't be too hard on yourself; try to think more positively about everything.

The group continued discussing matters concerning the Uchiha clan and the police department, and after the discussion concluded, they all went home.

Upon returning home, Uchiha Gen did not immediately rest, but instead pondered how to rob Danzo of his wealth to help the poor...

This chapter is a bit frustrating, but let me give you a spoiler: the protagonist is about to seize power in the Uchiha clan and is about to take off.

(End of this chapter)