The Uchiha Clan's Sun

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent!

The way everyone looked at Minato Namikaze changed!

This kid is really a hothead!

Can you say this casually?

It should be noted that neither the third, second, nor first generation Hyuga clan leader ever inquired about the main or branch families of the Hyuga clan.

This is, after all, a family matter. Even if you are the Hokage, it's overstepping your bounds to interfere in such matters!

"Hmph! This is a matter for my Hyuga clan, no need for you to concern yourself with it! Farewell!"

Hyuga Hyuzo looked displeased and stormed off.

Fugaku Uchiha didn't even say hello before walking straight outside.

Seeing this, the others hesitated for a moment before getting up to say goodbye.

Although I still observed the proper etiquette, the enthusiasm I had before was gone.

Before even taking over, Minato Namikaze had already offended the village's top two families, causing things to change and forcing them to reconsider whether they really wanted to put all their eggs in one basket with him!

What they didn't know was that after they left, Minato Namikaze's expression changed, and he revealed a relieved smile!

Acting is really tiring!

Chapter 122 Danzo: Who else but me deserves the Hokage position!

That very evening, news that Minato Namikaze had offended both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans spread throughout Konoha.

Almost everyone knew that Minato Namikaze intended to interfere in the internal affairs of various clans after becoming Hokage, and they all expressed different opinions on this.

Most ordinary ninjas believed that Minato Namikaze's idea was correct, as many clans in the village were still using inhumane systems from the Warring States period, which definitely needed to be corrected.

Many ninjas also believe that Minato Namikaze has overstepped his bounds, and that letting him rise to power may not be a good thing!

Among them, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans reacted the most fiercely!

Most of the Uchiha clan ninjas declared that they would never relinquish power over the Konoha Police Department, and they would not compromise even if Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage!

The Hyuga clan reacted even more strongly, with several elders of the main branch speaking out one after another. They said that Minato Namikaze was out of touch with reality and that becoming Hokage was definitely not a good thing. They firmly opposed Minato Namikaze becoming the Fourth Hokage!

......

"Hahahaha! That brat Namikaze has truly cut off his own path!"

At the Root Base, Shimura Danzo couldn't help but burst into laughter after learning the whole story.

He originally planned to wait until Minato Namikaze took over before finding an opportunity to provoke conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village, thereby triggering a larger war and forcing Minato Namikaze to step down as the scapegoat.

When the village faces a shortage of young talent, he will step forward to take charge and assume the position of Fifth Hokage.

But now it seems that he might be able to compete for the position of the Fourth Hokage!

"Uchiha and Hyuga... Terai, please arrange a meeting with Hyuga Hiashi for me. I need to meet him tomorrow at noon! Also, please compile a detailed account of all the clans in the village, clearly marking their current predicaments and needs!"

After much deliberation, Shimura Danzo decided to first test the attitudes of the various families.

"Yes!"

A Root ninja emerged from the shadows, and Danzo Asashimura bowed respectfully.

"Wait!" Shimura Danzo suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Let's postpone the meeting with Hyuga Hiashi tonight. Go to Laboratory One and prepare Experiment Number One and Tenzo. I'll go see Orochimaru tomorrow!"

Danzo Shimura knew in his heart that he had to hold a trump card when negotiating with those families!

The more cards you have in your hand, the more likely those families are to compromise or bet!

If he can persuade Orochimaru, then Orochimaru will become his trump card!

With Orochimaru as his trump card, his chances of persuading the Hyuga clan increase!

If he can persuade the Hyuga clan, then the Hyuga clan will become his trump card!

Once he has Orochimaru and Hyuga as his trump cards, will he still be afraid that other small clans will not bow down?

When he has more and more cards in his hand, even the Uchiha will have to kneel before him and sing "Conquer"!

Danzo Shimura is determined to become Hokage!

......

At almost the same time, Minato Namikaze, who was already in bed, was also woken up by the Anbu ninja and rushed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's house overnight.

"Minato, you were too impulsive!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned ashen, and he reprimanded Minato Namikaze with some anger at his son's lack of ambition.

Minato Namikaze remained calm and said, "Hokage-sama, I wasn't acting impulsively; that was my true thought! Don't you think the work of the Konoha Police Department is unsuitable for the Uchiha clan?"

"Furthermore, the conflict between the main and branch families of the Hyuga clan has a long history. The main family members, the Hyuga clan, can even execute members of the branch family on a whim, which is unfair to the branch family! The branch family members are also members of our village!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, looking at the serious Minato Namikaze with a sense of helplessness.

That's the logic, but that's not how things are done!

However, if it weren't for the fact that Minato Namikaze was too inexperienced, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have chosen him as his successor!

After a moment of contemplation, Hiruzen Sarutobi said earnestly, "Minato, not everything in the world is perfect. You must learn to compromise!"

"Take the Hyuga clan for example. They probably know best about the internal conflicts within their clan, but in order to prevent their blood from being spilled outside, they had no choice but to make this decision!"

"The members of the branch family did suffer injustice in this matter, but they were both willing to accept the situation, and even as the Hokage, I could do nothing about it!"

Upon hearing this, Minato Namikaze said in a deep voice, "Was it truly a voluntary decision by the branch family? Or were they forced to agree? You must know that the life and death of the branch family are in the hands of the main family!"

"I believe there are people in the Hyuga branch family who are willing to compromise for the sake of the family bloodline, but there are definitely also people in the Hyuga branch family who are dissatisfied with this unfair treatment but have no choice but to bow their heads!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "What you said might be true, but as Hokage, you must first consider the bigger picture!"

"What the village needs is a stable Hyuga. As long as Hyuga can handle his own problems and not affect the stability of the village, what does it matter if we turn a blind eye?"

There's one more thing that Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't explicitly say.

That is, he needs a Hyuga with internal conflicts more than a united and prosperous Hyuga!

Only in this way can he better control Hyuga when he needs to use him!

Minato Namikaze fell silent; he truly fell silent.

Although there was an element of acting involved in what he did, he genuinely wanted to resolve the issues between the main and branch families of the Hyuga clan.

He guessed why some villages hadn't stepped forward to resolve the issues between the Hyuga clan's main and branch families, but when he actually heard Hiruzen Sarutobi say the reason, he couldn't help but fall silent!

He genuinely found it difficult to agree with Hiruzen Sarutobi's political beliefs!

"Alright, let's not bring these things up again, at least not now!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that the power he held would eventually be handed over to Minato Namikaze, so he just needed to ensure that no trouble would occur while Minato still had the strength.

As for what happens after he relinquishes power... who cares about the deluge after he dies!

After a pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Whether it's the Uchiha or the Hyuga, they are both major clans in Konoha. Their Jonin clans hold the voting power! Whether you can become the Fourth Hokage might depend on their votes!"

"I'll find a way to ease your tensions with them. These next few days, just follow my instructions: attend classes at the Ninja Academy, show your face at the Konoha Hospital, and help out at the orphanage!"

"I'll take care of the rest for you!"

"In short, the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; and if you do nothing, you make no mistakes! You are at a critical juncture right now, and you absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes!"

Minato Namikaze sighed softly and nodded, saying, "I understand!"

Chapter 123 Uchiha Clan Festival!

The next morning, dark clouds covered the sky above Konoha Village, and a light drizzle began to fall from dawn.

Within the Uchiha clan compound, the various negative emotions that had always shrouded the compound—such as irritability, excitement, and anger—had all vanished today, replaced by feelings of oppression and sadness.

Today is the day the Uchiha clan holds a clan festival to commemorate those Uchiha who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. Clan members, from eighty-year-old elders to three-year-old children, all got up early, changed into black clothes, and made preparations.

Although the village holds a memorial service for all the ninjas who died on the battlefield, it is only held after all the ninjas except for the regular garrison troops have withdrawn from the front lines. Until now, no specific date has been set. The Uchiha clan naturally cannot wait indefinitely, so they held their own clan festival ahead of schedule.

Of course, the significance of a clan's ancestral worship ceremony and a ceremony held in the village are different, so there is no such thing as holding them twice.

In fact, it wasn't just the Uchiha clan; most families in the village, and even ordinary ninja families, did the same thing, just on different scales.

Oh, no!

Compared to other ninja clans in the village, the Uchiha clan's festival is a little different!

That means the Uchiha clan's ancestral festival is held in the ancestral land of the Uchiha!

The ancestral home of the Uchiha clan is located on the banks of the Naka River, south of Konoha Village. There is a shrine for the Uchiha clan there, and the Uchiha clan has lived here for generations for thousands of years.

Konoha Village was built on the foundation of the Uchiha clan's territory!

In a sense, all the land that Konoha Village uses now was actually Uchiha territory for decades.

The Uchiha clan simply donated all of this land free of charge because they were cooperating with the Senju clan to build the village!

In the original storyline, after the Nine-Tails' attack, the village used this as a reason to expel the Uchiha from their new clan territory in the center of Konoha and move them back to their old clan territory.

Such an experience, such an end, is truly tragic and lamentable!

As it approached eight o'clock, the members of the Uchiha clan came out of their homes and gathered in the clan's courtyard square.

Without any further orders, everyone refrained from making a sound and simply waited quietly.

Once everyone had arrived, Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan, waved his hand and led thousands of Uchiha clan members out of the clan compound.

Ordinary Uchiha walked in the middle, surrounded by Uchiha ninja guards, forming a long line of thousands.

The Root and Anbu ninjas who were originally openly guarding the entrance to the Uchiha clan's territory had now retreated hundreds of meters and concealed themselves.

Although they had all received orders not to leave the clan compound at will, attending the clan festival was no casual matter!

They dared not provoke the Uchiha clan at this time!

Not only the Root and Anbu ninjas, but even the common people on the street dared not gossip as usual after seeing the Uchiha group.

They're not stupid. If they go looking for trouble with the Uchiha now, the Uchiha will really kill them! And if they die, it will be for nothing!

In this way, the Uchiha clan's group arrived smoothly at the Nakagawa Shrine on the banks of the Nakagawa River. After some of the ninjas dispersed to maintain order, several Uchiha clan elders stepped forward to preside over the clan festival.

This clan festival is different from the usual ones. It not only commemorates the ninjas who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield, but also honors the ancestors. It will last for a whole day.

All of this was in preparation for the Uchiha clan's grand assembly that evening!

All the Uchiha had heard more or less about the cause of this clan assembly, and knew that this assembly would be a meeting that would determine the fate of the Uchiha, so no one complained.

It wasn't just the Uchiha clan; because Uchiha Jin didn't intentionally hide it, various forces within Konoha Village were also somewhat aware of the importance of this Uchiha clan meeting and focused their attention on it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the Hokage's office, had even donned a battle suit beneath his Hokage robes, just in case!

Twelve hundred elite ninjas, drawn from the Root, Anbu, and those who had retreated from the front lines in recent days, were also hidden in the shadows under the leadership of Minato Namikaze, ready to fight!

Even Orochimaru, who hadn't been seen for many days, was dragged out of the laboratory by Hiruzen Sarutobi and placed on standby in the Hokage Building!

The rain grew heavier, the clouds in the sky grew thicker, and the atmosphere in Konoha Village became increasingly oppressive, filled with a tense sense of unease and fear.

Everyone is waiting for the results of the Uchiha clan's general assembly!

At that very moment, on a small riverbank by the Naga River, Uchiha Jin, dressed in a straw raincoat, sat leisurely on a large rock, fishing.

Behind Uchiha Jin, Uchiha Shisui, whom he hadn't seen for many days, was speaking to Uchiha Jin with a solemn expression.

“Brother Jin, although the Great Ming agreed to our request, he also put forward a very harsh condition.”

Uchiha Shisui looked somewhat tired. He had been traveling between Konoha and the Daimyo's residence for several days without a proper rest, all in preparation for Uchiha Jin's backup plan.

Uchiha Jin's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, and he said, "Why don't you contact me directly in the Daimyo's residence using a summoning beast?"

Uchiha Shisui explained, "Although the conditions are very harsh, the Daimyo seems unconcerned that we won't agree. He has already given me what we want and is telling us to take our time to consider it."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Jin asked, "What are the conditions?"

"A marriage alliance!" Uchiha Shisui said with a wry smile, "The Daimyo said that their previous cooperation with the Senju clan was to use marriage alliances to solidify their relationship, and our Uchiha clan is naturally no exception!"

"Our Uchiha clan hasn't had any outstanding women lately..." Uchiha Jin raised an eyebrow and said, "So, the Daimyo has taken a liking to you? Wants to take you as his son-in-law?"

“It’s not me!” Uchiha Shisui shook his head and said, “If it were me, it wouldn’t be such a harsh condition. I’m willing to make sacrifices for the clan! But unfortunately, my status isn’t high enough. The Daimyo wants the head of the Uchiha clan or the head’s son!”

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Jin frowned and asked with difficulty, "Clan Head Fugaku is already married, and Itachi is only five or six years old this year, right?"