I'm retrieving corpses in Konoha.

Uchiha Natsu arrived late, walked around from the side to the front, and sat down on one side.

The Uchiha clan members had all arrived and had been waiting here for more than ten minutes.

But no one urged the clan meeting to begin; everyone was waiting for Uchiha Natsu.

Now that Uchiha Natsu has returned, the clan meeting cannot be held without his presence.

As soon as he sat down, Uchiha Natsu nodded to Fugaku, who was standing in front of him, and the clan meeting officially began.

First, I summarized the general course of the incident and the losses to everyone.

Finally, as a father, he apologized to the entire clan.

Although Itachi Uchiha is dead, the mess he made must be cleaned up by his father, Fugaku.

After all, he gave birth to and educated this child.

However, Fugaku was relieved that Itachi had not succeeded in killing Izumi's mother and Tetsuka's mother.

Otherwise, Fugaku would truly feel that he could not atone for his actions even if he were to die a hundred times.

The two who accepted the apology were Tekka and Izumi, but they both knew that Fugaku's suffering was far greater than theirs.

Although Tiehuo's mother was in a coma, she was at least still alive and there was still hope for her recovery.

As for Fugaku, his wife and son had all died, leaving Sasuke as his only remaining family member.

Therefore, both of them quickly issued statements to bring this apology ceremony to a close.

Everything that needed to be explained has been covered; now it's time to get down to business.

"I intend to step down as clan leader and let Natsu take over." Fugaku looked solemnly at Uchiha Natsu, his face bearing an indelible weariness and vicissitude.

This was the result of his careful consideration, and the occurrence of this incident filled him with dejection.

Now, he only wants to teach Sasuke well and prevent him from going astray like Itachi.

Conversely, he was powerless to help his clan.

Hearing Fugaku say this, the Uchiha clan members below the hall were all surprised.

But at the same time, they all agreed in their hearts.

Because Uchiha Natsu is the "savior" of the Uchiha clan, it is the popular choice for him to become the clan leader.

Uchiha Natsu smiled slightly, stood up, and went to Fugaku's side.

"Clan Chief Fugaku, you can now lay down this heavy burden. However, it is not I who should be taking over."

Uchiha Natsu turned his gaze to Uchiha Yatsushiro standing to the side and said, "Captain Yatsushiro is the best candidate to take over as clan leader."

In reality, it was impossible for Uchiha Natsu to hold this position.

Holding the title of clan leader is like a constraint; when he becomes Hokage in the future, the clan leader will definitely be given priority.

Uchiha Natsu has other things to do and won't be the Hokage himself, so he needs to choose a trustworthy person from the Uchiha clan.

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha was the most senior member of the Uchiha clan and, after the war, greatly admired Uchiha Natsu, making him the perfect person to stand up for him.

When the clansmen below heard Uchiha Natsu say that someone else had taken over, they were all somewhat in an uproar.

After all, Uchiha Natsu currently holds the highest prestige within the clan, making him a suitable candidate to serve as clan leader.

When Uchiha Natsu mentioned the name of Uchiha Hachiho, the clan members felt some regret, but they also acknowledged it in their hearts.

Aside from Fugaku and Uchiha Natsu, only the Eighth Hokage is most suitable for this position.

Uchiha Yatsuhoku was visibly taken aback, never expecting Uchiha Natsu to recommend him, so he waved his hand dismissively and said:

"Xia is more suitable than me. My strength and magnanimity are not enough."

From the moment he was wounded in the war, the Eighth Hokage of Uchiha had been reflecting on himself, a practice that could be described as "self-examination three times a day".

Now, arrogance has disappeared, and one has fully recognized one's own limitations.

During daily training, the forty-something Eighth Generation was the most diligent, often studying ninjutsu by lamplight until late at night.

However, even so, he knew the gap between himself and Uchiha Natsu.

That's why they made excuses.

Uchiha Natsu, however, stated very firmly:

“This position of clan leader is indispensable to me. After we become Hokage, I may have to travel frequently and won’t stay in the village, so this position is the least suitable for me.”

[A book-reading app recommended to me by a friend I've known for ten years, Wild Fruit Reading! It's damn good! I use it to read aloud and listen to books while driving or before bed to pass the time. You can download it here.]

Upon hearing about the Hokage position, the clansmen visibly became excited.

They knew that Uchiha Natsu would definitely lead the Uchiha clan to prosperity.

But Shisui, who was at the very back, felt a jolt in his heart.

But since these words came from Uchiha Natsu, he hesitated for a long time before falling silent.

He would refute others who said this, but he never questioned what Uchiha Natsu said.

Shisui always sought a balance between the clan and the village, not wanting the two to develop irreconcilable conflicts.

However, what Itachi did made Shisui begin to doubt himself.

He knew very well that Itachi couldn't have come up with such an extreme idea on his own; there must have been a mastermind behind it.

The mastermind behind this couldn't possibly be the Uchiha clan; that leaves only the Hokage and Danzo.

Zhi Shui is now in a very complicated situation.

He was unwilling to admit that the Konoha leadership had orchestrated everything, but he was even less willing to deny Uchiha Natsu's will.

So he simply kept quiet and buryed his head in the sand like an ostrich.

If you can't hear it or see it, then nothing has happened.

Since Uchiha Natsumi had said so, the Eighth Hokage could no longer refuse and could only nod and say, "Then I will accept this important task."

Fugaku glanced at Uchiha Natsu, then at the Eighth Hokage, a complex emotion welling up in his eyes.

I finally felt relieved, like a burden I had carried for a long time was finally lifted, and I felt much lighter all of a sudden.

He turned his head, looked at little Sasuke in the corner, and couldn't help but smile, a rare occurrence for him.

Just then, Tie Huo raised his hand and said, "Senior Xia, shouldn't we start considering a coup?"

Upon hearing this, the other members of the clan echoed his sentiments.

This incident has further damaged their impression of Konoha's leadership.

The two sides were almost locked in a life-or-death struggle, and only when one side withdrew from the stage of history could the conflict be resolved.

As the clansmen cheered, Uchiha Shisui, standing at the back, lowered his head further and further.

Finally, she hugged her knees with both hands, buried her head between her legs, and pretended not to hear anything.

Uchiha Natsu glanced at Shisui, then raised his hand expressionlessly, making a pressing motion.

The scene immediately fell silent.

Yashiro was very self-aware, standing still without moving, having become a mere tool as soon as he took office.

Uchiha Natsu said calmly:

"Be patient and wait for the right opportunity. The higher-ups may take some action against us soon. When that happens, we should follow their orders and then act accordingly."

Just then, Shisui suddenly stood up.

Chapter 99 Surprise

Inside the hall, everyone's eyes were fixed on Zhishui.

Uchiha Natsu's gaze also fixed on Shisui, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Shisui opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

He hesitated for a long time without saying a word.

"What's wrong, Shisui?"

After a while, Tiehuo, who was sitting in front, asked.

Shisui's face turned bright red under Uchiha Natsu's gaze.

Finally, he slowly sat down and stammered, "No, it's nothing."

Even now, Shisui hasn't told his clansmen about the Mangekyou Sharingan, not even Uchiha Natsu.

Just now, Shisui wanted to say that he possessed the Kotoamatsukami Sharingan, which allowed him to alter the will of Konoha's higher-ups.

This might prevent the outbreak of conflict.

At first, Shisui believed that it was because his own people were too ambitious.

He even considered using Kotoamatsukami to control the clan chief Fugaku in order to prevent a coup.

But now, he realized that it was a few people in Konoha's upper echelons who had been targeting the Uchiha.

Therefore, he wanted to control the upper echelons so that they would stop targeting the Uchiha clan and thus persuade them not to stage a coup.

In this way, everyone can still live in peace and return to normal life.

However, when he stood up, Uchiha Natsu looked at him.

Shisui felt as if an immense pressure, like that of a mountain, was descending from the sky.

Shisui was a little scared. In front of so many people, he couldn't say a word and could only sit down silently.

Uchiha Natsu didn't know what Shisui wanted to say, but he did know a bit about Shisui's personality.

In short, they definitely wanted to prevent a coup or a war.

But this is not possible.

After making the arrangements, Uchiha Natsu looked at the Eighth Hokage behind him.

The Eighth Hokage of Uchiha stepped forward at the opportune moment and said in a deep voice, "Then let's end the clan gathering here for today. After we return..."

The newly appointed clan chief, the eighth generation, explained some less important matters, and then the clan association was dissolved.