Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

He could refuse the Third Hokage's verbal invitation, but he could not disobey the orders issued in the name of the Hokage. Originally, he was nominally in the police department, a power organ that the Second Hokage had personally promised to the Uchiha clan. It was both a prison for the Uchiha and a shelter from the wind and rain.

At the very least, even the Third Hokage cannot overstep his authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the police department; this is a power unique to the Uchiha clan.

The current situation is that Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the police department, plans to kick him out of the police department as a way of handing him over to the village and send him to the border guard force. Once there, he will naturally be at the mercy of the Hokage faction, who will mold him into whatever shape they want.

Thus,

He could eliminate the usurper himself without personally taking action, and still give an account to the village—a double win! No, it should be called a triple win!

"Tomorrow?"

Zongxian pondered the word that Uchiha Fugaku had repeatedly mentioned.

Suddenly,

Suddenly, he perked up and realized something.

Telling him about this in advance is like giving him a chance to struggle. If he can't seize this opportunity, he won't have any reason to cause trouble tomorrow because he's dissatisfied with the transfer order.

Killing three birds with one stone—this couldn't be better!

"Clan Chief, I originally thought you were a clan chief who had completely failed in his duties. In fact, I still think so now. However... it seems that you still care about the clan at least. At least for now, you haven't abandoned the clan as worthless trash."

As he said this, Zongxian stood up and strode towards the veranda. When he looked down from the veranda, he realized that his shoes were not there. He then turned around and went back, his footsteps making a loud "thump-thump" sound as he walked quickly.

"You're spouting nonsense again. I really don't know what's going on in your head all day!"

He heard the sound of the sliding door being opened and closed in his ear. Fugaku Uchiha shook his head helplessly, completely unable to understand where Sogen's prejudice against him came from. He knew that what he did was not perfect, but how could it be necessary to abandon the clan?

Immediately,

Then footsteps came from the outer corridor.

A woman wearing a beige apron walked into the room.

"Fugaku, are you really going to hand over the throne to that child?"

This quiet and elegant woman, with a gentle appearance and the air of a young lady from a secluded family, was none other than the wife of the Uchiha clan's patriarch, Uchiha Fugaku's wife, Uchiha Mikoto. Contrary to what Sogen had guessed, she did not go out. Instead, she sat in the next room, having clearly heard her husband's conversation with the boy named Sogen.

"Everything is for the family."

Fugaku Uchiha sighed.

"This time, the Hokage seized on the fact that our clan had contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and used this opportunity to pull all the neutral clans in the village onto the same side, forcing me to deal with Muneaki. However, the anger and resentment of the clan members are about to burst. If I really deal with Muneaki now, even if there is a legitimate reason... the clan members will go berserk."

"Furthermore, Zongxian... that child is very strong. I'm not confident I can defeat him, even against Zhishui. If he truly has the ability to seize the clan leader's throne tonight, then... let him experience how difficult it is to sit on this volcano. The clan is truly a volcano about to erupt... I've been thinking about the clan's future every night, but I haven't come up with any solutions..."

At this time, the children were all away. Itachi was out on a mission, and Sasuke had gone to the Ninja Academy. The clan leader, who was under immense pressure, rarely confided his worries and frustrations to his wife. He took off the tough mask that he wore in the eyes of the village and his clansmen, revealing the weakness and pain in his heart.

Uchiha Mikoto sat beside her husband, listening quietly to his outpouring of sorrow and distress, embracing him with the gentlest of hearts.

[Chapter 19. Usurpation, Begins! (Recommendations welcome!)]

As the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes. Life's journey is always full of unpredictable surprises. However, Zongxian doesn't dislike such surprises. A future that can be seen through at a glance is really boring and makes people lose the motivation to act. An unknown, unpredictable, and unclear future is more worthy of people's expectations and anticipation!

Regardless of what others think, Zongxian enjoys this exciting and fun-filled life!

This gave him a real sense of being alive.

"I underestimated you! Chieftain, your three-birds-with-one-stone technique is truly brilliant..."

Zongxian walked briskly on the bluestone path, with cherry blossoms in full bloom overhead. The wind carried an intoxicating and elegant fragrance, but a fire seemed to be burning in his heart. His fighting spirit was ignited, and his scarlet eyes shone brightly.

After leaving the clan head's mansion, Zongxian didn't go straight home. Instead, he took a detour along the bluestone path, following the shortest route he had drawn in his mind. One by one, he gathered up his die-hard supporters: Uchiha Arashiyama, Uchiha Chihaya, Uchiha Akitarou, Uchiha Futaba, Uchiha Jun, Uchiha Hokuto...

At last,

Even Shisui joined the team.

"Zongxian, isn't it a bit too fast to do this now?" Shisui was a little uneasy. Making up his mind didn't mean he could completely get rid of his confusion. He was just the kind of person who was born to be busy.

"Time waits for no one."

Zongxian shook his head slightly. "If we get through tonight, we might have to spend our days on the border, eating sand or sea fish."

"I hate seafood."

Uchiha Chihaya, the beautiful but overly serious girl, frowned. As Sogen's childhood friend, they had fought together on the eastern battlefield, slaughtering the Mist Ninja and eating all sorts of seafood.

The main problem is that the chef's skills are terrible.

They just handled it casually, cooked it casually, and everyone just ate whatever they could find. After a while, they naturally grew to dislike seafood, and Zongxian was no exception.

"So in order to avoid eating seafood, we must succeed in usurping the throne today! Otherwise, we either obediently eat seafood or take up our knives and fight those old bastards to the death." Zong Xian encouraged everyone.

"Then I choose to kill that old bastard Danzo."

Uchiha Hokuto, that little troublemaker, gripped the hilt of his katana tightly, a smile of excitement spreading across his face. This brat knew nothing of fear, like a cocky rooster, always ready to fight someone at any moment.

"What are you talking about? Zongxian will definitely become the clan leader tonight. Then we'll have plenty of ways to deal with that old bastard Danzo."

Uchiha Arashiyama slapped the little troublemaker on the back of the head, suppressing the belligerent individual.

On the bluestone path under the cherry blossom trees,

A group of young people swaggered by, their noisy chatter attracting the attention of many clansmen at home. When they discovered that these young people were all Jonin, many observant people immediately realized that something might be about to happen again, and boldly speculated that these young people might be planning to instigate the clan leader to support a coup.

Zongxian had no time to pay attention to the conspiracy theories of his clansmen. After gathering his men, he led them straight home. His parents had gone to the studio, his sister had gone to the ninja academy, and only the old man, Uchiha Genji, was at home, sitting under the old cherry tree admiring the blossoms.

"grandfather."

Zongxian stepped forward.

"Ready to begin?"

Uchiha Genji seemed oblivious to the group of people following behind his grandson, calmly pouring sake from the bottle into a Shimizu-yaki ceramic bowl, the deep red liquid swirling within.

"Yes, the chief has given me a difficult problem. If I can't achieve my goal tonight, I'll have to take up a post in the border guard tomorrow. Based on my understanding of the village's upper echelons, if I dare to leave the village, they probably won't allow me to reach the border alive."

Zongxian said earnestly.

"Not bad. It seems that we old folks weren't really blind to support Fugaku's succession as clan leader."

"No, the more powerful the clan leader is, the greater the damage he will cause to the clan if he decides to abandon it." Zongxian's attitude remained as firm as ever. The fact that Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito, those two cold-blooded monsters, were able to successfully slaughter so many people in the Uchiha clan was directly related to the fact that Uchiha Fugaku, the clan leader, gave up resistance.

The clan had many Jonin, including many battle-hardened experts who could rival Hatake Kakashi in a few years. However, due to the lack of a clan leader to coordinate the overall situation, the panicked clan members fought each other and were eventually defeated one by one. The clan destroyed the strongest clan in Konoha without paying much of a price.

"Sōken, why do you always feel that Fugaku will abandon the clan?"

"Just intuition!"

Zongxian answered frankly.

Although some things may not happen now, that doesn't mean he will get along with Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha, father and son, without any reservations.

To put it bluntly, he didn't like the father and son.

Uchiha Genji stared at Sogen for seven or eight seconds, holding the earthenware bowl, before looking away. He tilted his head back and drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp, then placed the empty bowl on the blue stone beside him and asked, "What exactly do you plan to do?"

"Grandpa, please go to Elder Ryuji and Elder Kamaru and use their authority to convene a gathering of the clansmen at the Nanga Shrine."

"not enough."

Uchiha Genji shook his head and waved three fingers of his right hand.

"The three of us are not enough. If the other three don't support us, and the clan leader also objects... the request to hold a temporary meeting will not be approved. We need at least four people. We need to find another person so that nothing unexpected happens."

As he spoke, he looked at Shisui, who was not far behind Zongxian.

The Uchiha clan currently has six elders assisting the clan leader in handling affairs. Uchiha Genji is Sogen's grandfather and naturally supports Sogen. Elder Ryuji is also a good friend of Uchiha Genji. His granddaughter is Uchiha Chihaya, a rather unfortunate but beautiful girl, who is also Sogen's childhood friend.

Adding Elder Huowan, who expressed his support for Zongxian last night, that makes three.

“Zhishui, I need your help to persuade Elder Jun to support me.”

Zongxian turned around, looked directly into Shisui's eyes, and made a request.

Although Shisui didn't have many close friends in the clan, he had the support of an elder behind him, Uchiha Shun, who was the cousin of the famous Uchiha Kagami. Unlike his short-lived cousin, this old man not only lived to this day, but was also an elder in the clan.

“I…I understand.”

Shisui hesitated for a second, then agreed.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Shisui."

Zongxian didn't waste too much time arguing with Shisui. Holding a meeting at the Naga Shrine was just the beginning. He needed more support from his clansmen. Such a major event as the change of clan leader couldn't be decided by just a few elders. The Uchiha clan, with its ancient tradition of holding meetings, still valued the opinions of its members.

of course,

All the clansmen who could participate in the gathering were ninjas; those who were not ninjas would not get involved in this matter.

In order to gain an advantage at the gathering, Zongxian needs to win over as many clansmen as possible in the time leading up to the gathering.

Fortunately,

His small team helps him connect with many supporters.

[Chapter 20: The 180 Steps of Nanga Shrine (Seeking Recommendations!)]

The question of which deity Nanga Shrine enshrines puzzled Munen for a long time during his childhood. As a public venue used by the Uchiha clan for clan gatherings, the shrine is considered one of the clan's private properties. However, unlike the clan's ancestral home which has been moved several times, Nanga Shrine has always been located in a corner of the village.

Interestingly, the two relocations actually brought the Uchiha clan's territory closer to the Naka Shrine.

“Sōken, I remember when you were little, you would run around investigating the identity of the deity enshrined at the Naga Shrine. You would climb up and down the shrine every day, and the old man who looked after the shrine would often complain to others that you were too annoying.” Uchiha Arashiyama stood under the torii gate in front of the shrine, looking at the ancient building with its long history, and said with deep emotion.

Staying in a corner of the village may not necessarily be a bad thing.

At least during the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage, the Nanga Shrine was not affected in any way.

"Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out which deity the Nanga Shrine actually enshrines." Zongxian also recalled his happy childhood. Before he was sent to the battlefield, his childhood was quite pleasant and free.

In order to maximize the power of the invisible treasure, "Knights Never Die Barehanded," he led a group of friends of similar age, including Uchiha Chihaya, Uchiha Futaba, Uchiha Jun, and Uchiha Hokuto, in a treasure hunt game, hoping to unearth hidden treasures from the Uchiha clan's territory.

The result was naturally a waste of effort.

With a ninja possessing radar-like perception abilities, any treasures would have been discovered long ago; there's no way he could possibly snag one.

However, during the treasure hunt, the question of what kind of deity the Nanga Shrine enshrined inadvertently became entangled with Zongxian, perplexing him for a long time and remaining unanswered to this day. After all, although the Nanga Shrine was a shrine, the statues of the deities it enshrined had been destroyed and disappeared at some point.

He had asked his grandfather, "Why doesn't the shrine enshrine any gods?" He received a dismissive reply, "The shrine has always been like this!" He was very dissatisfied with this and had also looked through the books in the family library. However, the Uchiha clan was full of ruthless killers, and apart from a large number of outdated and old ninjutsu scrolls, there were hardly any proper history books in the library.

“Sōken, you’ve always noticed things that others have never noticed. If you hadn’t asked why there were no gods enshrined in the shrine, I probably wouldn’t have thought there was anything strange about the Naka Shrine even now,” Uchiha Arashiyama said with a smile.

That's because you lack curiosity.