Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Of course, this was just what he was thinking; he didn't reveal the slightest flaw on his face.

"By the way, Sogen, what happened to Shisui? Judging from his appearance last night, did you subdue him?" After the cherry blossom rain subsided, Uchiha Genji reluctantly withdrew his gaze and suddenly brought up Shisui.

Saying it was sudden isn't quite right either.

Zongxian had been waiting to be asked about this!

Uchiha Shisui, despite his young age of only fifteen, the same age as Sogen, is renowned for his "Body Flicker" skills, which are known to both the Cloud and Iwa ninja. His influence among the younger generation in the clan is comparable to that of "Enma" Sogen.

In addition, although Uchiha Kagami died young, he still had a group of supporters in the clan, including an elder.

Therefore, Shisui's attitude did indeed have a significant influence on Zongxian's success or failure.

"I guess you could say that!"

Zongxian nodded slightly, picked up his tea and took a sip. Ninjas under the age of twenty were not allowed to drink alcohol, and the Uchiha clan also followed this rule. Alcohol is a poison that burns through the intestines, and lust is like a steel knife that scrapes the bones... For young ninjas, alcohol and lust are often harmful and not beneficial.

To be precise, regardless of age, getting caught up in these two words is not a good thing.

"Strictly speaking, the reason why Zhishui chose to support me was only because he had seen the cruel reality clearly and found that he had no other choice but me... He could only support me. Of course, he could also try to go it alone, but unfortunately his personality meant that he could not do such a thing."

"Don't be careless."

Uchiha Genji took a sip of wine, his face flushed, and said tipsily, "In the end, your plan to protect the clan, Muneki, is not so desperate that you are indispensable. If Fugaku changes his attitude, given his prestige in the clan, you will probably have a hard time bringing him down. You must always keep this in mind and not become arrogant and careless just because success is in sight."

"I'm not worried about that."

Zongxian smiled nonchalantly, "As the saying goes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. Our clan leader's indecisiveness and tendency to follow the wind are not so easy to change. Besides, we Uchiha ultimately believe in the strong. As long as my fists are strong enough, the clan members will naturally know who to follow."

After saying that, he looked up at the sky, stood up,

"Grandpa, you can enjoy the cherry blossoms at your leisure. I'm going to pay my respects to our clan chief."

[Chapter Seventeen: The Clan Chief]

On a spring afternoon, Zongxian walked under the cherry blossom trees in full bloom, listening to the soft rustling of the wind through the branches and leaves. He came to a magnificent mansion with two open gates. The courtyard was filled with beautifully trimmed plants. Looking along the path paved with gray stone bricks, there was a sliding door at the end.

He went in without any ceremony, opened the sliding door, and asked, "Is anyone home?"

No one responded.

Zongxian took off his shoes at the entrance and stepped onto the wooden-floored corridor. This was not his first time visiting the clan leader, who had an elder grandfather. He had visited the house several times before as a guest, otherwise Sasuke would not have called him "Brother Zongxian" when they met.

He wouldn't say he knew the layout of the house inside and out, but he was familiar with the general areas used for entertaining guests. The kitchen and dining room were on the right side of the corridor, but he didn't see any busy figures inside. The clan chief's wife was probably not home.

To the left was a room about six tatami mats in size, neatly furnished with a low table and futons. Seated in the center was the current head of the Uchiha clan—

Uchiha Fugaku.

This was a very dignified man with short black hair, a rectangular face, and an expressionless face that gave off an indescribable sense of oppression. He wore a dark blue long robe with a flame fan emblem in the center of the back.

"Zongxian, come in!"

"It was Fugaku Uchiha who spoke."

"Chief, I apologize for disturbing you."

Zongxian entered the room and sat down on the futon opposite the clan leader.

On the low table was a teapot and two teacups, the tea in the cups still steaming, with emerald green tea stems floating in them.

"Have you heard recently that you want to replace me as the clan leader?"

Without the slightest hint of subtlety, Fugaku Uchiha cut to the chase.

"Oh dear! Chieftain, you already knew? I was planning to give you a surprise when the truth was finally revealed!"

"Surprise? More like a shock!"

"It feels pretty much the same, doesn't it? Surprise, shock... being startled is the most important thing."

"Stop talking nonsense, Zongxian, you've always loved spouting nonsense." Uchiha Fugaku stared at Zongxian with a frighteningly cold expression.

"Now that you, clan leader, already know...aren't you angry?" Zongxian asked curiously.

It's not surprising that Fugaku Uchiha knew about his actions. The Uchiha clan isn't very large, only a little over a thousand people. Some things can't be hidden just because you want to. The more a plan goes on, the bigger the commotion becomes, so it was bound to be discovered. Fortunately, Sogen didn't intend to play any tricks. He wanted to take the position of clan leader from Fugaku Uchiha fair and square.

"If it were five years ago, I would probably hang you up and give you a good beating, then throw you into the border guard force so you'd never have time to cause me any trouble in your life."

five years ago?

Is it the Nine-Tails' rampage?

Zongxian seemed to be deep in thought. Indeed, the clan leader's brows had become more and more furrowed in recent years, and his heavy and gloomy aura had become increasingly strong.

“And now… if you really have the ability to replace me, it might not be a bad thing for me or the clan.” Uchiha Fugaku rubbed his temples, the deep dark circles under his eyes proving that he probably hadn’t slept all night.

It may not just be last night; the clan leader may not have had a good night's sleep for a long time.

With the conflict between the village and the clan becoming increasingly acute, how could he, as the clan leader, sleep peacefully?

If that weren't the case, there wouldn't only be Itachi and Sasuke as children; perhaps a third child would already have been born...

"Of course, all of this is on the premise that you really have the ability." Fugaku Uchiha stared at Sogen and said, word by word, "Want the position of clan leader? Fine, it's right here with me. Come and try to take it! Let me see what you're capable of."

"I won't keep you waiting too long, Chieftain."

"Then I'll wait and see."

After saying this, the two fell silent. Zongxian picked up his teacup and slowly sipped his tea, his gaze turning to the lush courtyard outside the veranda. Under the spring sunshine, the plants in the courtyard were growing very well, showing that the owner had been diligently pruning them. Every branch and leaf was neat and orderly, and the whole courtyard was harmonious and without any disharmony.

It's like—

Like a clan chief who strictly adheres to the rules.

"Did you summon me here just to expose my ambitions, Chieftain?"

Zongxian broke the silence first, picking up the teapot to add tea to his cup.

Fugaku Uchiha casually pushed the empty teacup towards him.

The teacup was once again filled with a bluish-green tea, which rippled with each shake of the hand.

"I called you here..." Fugaku Uchiha looked at the tea in his cup and said slowly, "I went to see the Hokage last night. He subtly suggested that you, Sogen, shouldn't get too close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... To be more precise, he hoped that the Uchiha clan would keep a certain distance from the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Intimidation?"

"That's right, it was intimidation. Not only was the Hokage present, but also the heads of the Hyuga, Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Kurama, Inuzuka... No one wanted to see the Uchiha get too close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. That night five years ago is still fresh in many people's minds."

"Hyuga... I thought the death of Hyuga Hizashi would make them resent the Hokage!"

"The Hyuga branch family exists to protect the main family. In the eyes of those in the Hyuga main family, Hizashi probably deserved to die like that." When mentioning the Hyuga main family and branch family, Fugaku Uchiha rarely showed a hint of contempt.

"Then what do you, clan leader, decide to do? Will you punish me for this? The Third Hokage praised me last night for protecting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Zongxian asked.

"Just because the Hokage praises you doesn't mean he can't punish you."

"How shameless!"

“I need to give the village an explanation.” Fugaku Uchiha paused, then continued, “The Uchiha are part of the village, and the matter of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is no longer just an internal affair of the clan. The other clans in the village are watching us. If we don’t give an explanation… those clans that were originally neutral will probably all stand against our clan.”

"A neutral family?"

Zongxian laughed sarcastically, "I really didn't know there were neutral factions in the village. Aren't members of those families widely employed in the Anbu and Root? Can that be called neutral? It's probably just that the declining Kurama clan wasn't favored by the Anbu and Root."

"Don't confuse those who joined the Anbu and Root with the clan. Those people don't represent an entire clan. Shisui joined the Anbu, didn't he? Does he represent the Uchiha clan?"

"...Alright! You have a point, so...what is the punishment?"

[Chapter 18. Tomorrow]

"A fine of five million taels."

"Uchiha Fugaku replied."

"That simple?"

Zongxian raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Five million taels of fine may seem like a huge amount, but for Zong Xian, it's just a matter of making a few more high-difficulty missions. Besides, he has a private workshop at home that makes explosive tags. He can just stay there for a while and make a batch of high-quality explosive tags. It's easy to raise the five million taels of fine.

The creation of an explosive tag requires a ninja proficient in Fire Release techniques to infuse refined Fire Release chakra into the tag. When used, the sealed Fire Release chakra is detonated in one go using the sealing technique on the tag, thus achieving the purpose of injuring the enemy.

The Uchiha clan's Fire Release techniques are considered second to none in the ninja world, with no one daring to claim the top spot.

Manufacturing and selling explosive tags has been a business that the Uchiha clan has been running since explosive tags first appeared in the world. This is the Uchiha clan's biggest source of wealth. Even without going on missions, they can make a fortune just by manufacturing and selling explosive tags.

after all,

The price of an explosive tag ranges from 2000 to 12000 taels, varying according to the maker's skill. A powerful tag can obliterate a person, while a weak one will at most injure them. The explosive tags produced by the Uchiha clan are undoubtedly among the best in the ninja world.

Zongxian, nicknamed "Flame Demon," could sell a single explosive tag for a record-breaking price of 12000 ryo.

Fortunately, Zongxian also has a cheat called [Magic Release (Flame)], which allows him to create explosive tags several times faster than others. If it weren't for the limitation of his chakra, he could easily make tens of thousands of explosive tags a day.

To be honest, Zongxian guessed that Konan's six hundred billion explosive tags were first made using a secret technique, and then given to Nagato to infuse with fire-style chakra.

The Vortex Clan, which can be described as 'Chatonla', can probably produce hundreds of thousands or even millions of explosive tags a day.

otherwise,

Six hundred billion detonating tags,

Even if they sold the entire Akatsuki organization, they probably wouldn't be able to raise that huge sum of money by buying it.

And it's not certain that we can buy that many.

Detonating tags are strictly speaking important military equipment. They are strategic materials that are subject to regulation in any country or village. Small-scale sales are fine, but large-scale purchases will definitely attract attention. No one would sell large quantities of detonating tags to unidentified individuals.

"This isn't over yet! This fine is just a small bonus!"

Fugaku Uchiha stroked the Shimizu-yaki teacup in his hand. "I'm going to send you to the border guard unit."

"Hey, Chieftain, didn't you say you would only do something like this five years ago?"

“I never said I wouldn’t do this kind of thing five years from now… But I’m just the head of the police department, and I can’t get involved in the border defense forces. I’m going to submit an application tonight, saying that the Uchiha are willing to share the burden and serve the village by sending people to be stationed on the border. Your name will be listed first, and I’m sure the village will agree to the application.”

"If things go smoothly, you might be packing your bags to go to the border by noon tomorrow. No, the application will definitely be approved very quickly. If you submit the application tonight, you might be able to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Hear this,

Zongxian realized that this clan leader was indeed quite capable.