Chapter 117: What They Lost Was Only Freedom; What the Clan Gained Was the Future

After leaving the room and moving far away from where the elders were imprisoned, Shisui immediately patted his face, recalled the threats he had just made, and couldn't help shaking his head; this trick was actually inspired by Hui, and he only hoped these people would honestly cooperate.

Otherwise—otherwise he couldn't really deal with these elders' families along with them; leaving aside the blood ties between them, the mere fact that some of their family members were right now standing outside the gate joining the others in shouting to have their own old men dealt with already left him quite helpless.

Since they had already gone to such lengths, at most he would just treat them somewhat harshly in terms of resources afterward.

But that was already the limit.

Of course, even if they were unwilling to apologize at the clan meeting, it would have no effect on the big picture; he could still smoothly take over all of the clan's industries and power.

It just wouldn't be as smooth as when he took over the industries Fugaku had left behind, and there might be some disturbances in the future, but he was confident he could handle them; doing this was only to make things as perfect as possible.

After talking with the several elders, Shisui had no mood for sleep, so he simply went alone to the study; after putting away a peculiar scroll on the desk, he began studying sealing arts.

Sima Yi had once classified sealing arts into four types and seven stages according to different difficulties and functions.

They were respectively: alert, isolation, Barrier, seal (inanimate objects), seal (chakra and foreign chakra), seal (space), and seal (living beings).

Shisui's talent was astonishing; under Sima Yi's guidance, he mastered the first six types in just a few short months, though to varying degrees; he inherited Sima Yi's virtue of humility, daring only to say he had a "slight understanding" of sealing arts, and still studied them day after day.

It was not until the sky grew bright that Shisui, hearing movement, immediately tidied up the desk again, adjusted his expression, and walked out looking haggard.

The moment he stepped out of the study, he ran into Sima Yi, who had just finished washing up.

"Not bad."

Sima Yi looked at Shisui's appearance and nodded; although he hadn't been teaching Shisui about clan affairs lately, he had watched every step Shisui took.

He had thought the other party would drag it out until just before winter to complete the centralization of power; he hadn't expected that man's plans couldn't match heaven's designs—the Third had given an opportunity, and Shisui had seized it in one go, accomplishing everything in a single step.

Hearing praise he hadn't received in a long time, the haggardness on Shisui's face instantly vanished, and he couldn't help chuckling.

"They're all waiting at the entrance; you can eat something first."

Shisui shook his head and refused, "No, I need to stay in condition; let's just hold the clan meeting like this!"

Sima Yi raised an eyebrow and said with a light smile, "I mean, get them something to eat."

After saying that, Sima Yi walked toward the main hall.

"Eh?"

Left behind alone and dumbfounded, Shisui looked at Sima Yi's retreating back and suddenly felt wronged; he had thought the other party was concerned about him, but it turned out—"Wait, Grandpa is giving me an idea!"

Suddenly, Shisui's eyes lit up, and he immediately realized what was happening, wild with joy; this meant he had already passed the test.

Although his methods were a bit ugly, and he had even been expelled from the Uchiha, the result was good.

After figuring it out, Shisui put his hands on his hips, and the smile on his face couldn't be stopped no matter what, until Jin Huo and Ying Shu passed by in the courtyard.

"Clan Head, good morning~"

"Ah? Right, good morning~"

Shisui coughed, hastily composed his expression, and then ordered, "Forget the kitchen, there's no time; you two go outside and buy breakfast for the clansmen at the gate."

"Yes!"

Having received their mission, the two's ninja souls instantly awakened, and they left at top speed.

By the time breakfast was delivered, the sky was already fully bright; quite a few clansmen who had risen early to work noticed nearly a hundred people sitting outside Shisui's gate and began discussing it among themselves.

And these ninja couldn't help but feel moved after receiving breakfast; last night the clan head had clearly been so dejected, yet after daybreak he could still remember to prepare breakfast for them.

"The clan head is truly a gentle person!"

"Yes, those elders are truly despicable, to treat the clan head like this—they must be severely punished!"

"They must be severely punished!"

The crowd shouted, and after they finished breakfast, the clan meeting commenced as scheduled in Shisui's courtyard; the courtyard had already been fully arranged, and when everyone entered, they saw the five elders already seated beside Shisui, eyes shut tight, not saying a word.

In principle, convening a clan meeting certainly required inviting the Grand Elder, but Shisui deliberately overlooked this; he hadn't even called over those from the Police Department.

Everyone's attention also fell on the five elders, and no one minded.

After the clan meeting began, Shisui got straight to the point.

"I have already read through the account books investigated last night, and I am clear about the entire sequence of events; since Ancestor Madara left, the clan has been without a clan head for many years, and the actions of the several elders can be considered acts of necessity."

"Clan Head..."

The crowd was puzzled; this was different from what had been agreed upon yesterday, and just as they were about to ask, they saw Shisui raise his hand to signal them to be quiet.

Then, Shisui continued, "But facts prove that the clan's industries in the elders' hands will only cause the clan to weaken continuously, so today I convene a clan meeting to hold a vote on whether to take back the clan's industries and reclaim the power in the several elders' hands."

After he finished speaking, Jin Huo, who had been waiting for a long time, came over with the tools, and everyone made their choice without hesitation.

The result was naturally a unanimous vote; Shisui would rightfully abolish the several elders' privileges and take back those industries.

Of course, this was merely going through the motions; even if it hadn't passed, Shisui had already taken de facto control of these things.

"Next is the matter of dealing with the several elders."

Taking the results, Shisui continued, and everyone immediately looked in unison at the five elders.

The five, hearing this, also looked at them; when they saw their own descendants among the crowd, their expressions varied.

The Second Elder's expression was complicated, and in the end he only sighed.

The Third Elder was furious, his face flushed red, his eyes glaring wide, making his own grandson in the audience silently lower his head.

The Fourth Elder's face turned completely green; he coldly snorted and didn't want to say more, while the other two couldn't bear to watch and simply closed their eyes.

Shisui naturally noticed their expressions and asked with a straight face, "Several elders, do you have anything to say?"

Shisui's voice was low, very much like the tone he had used when threatening them last night, and the several naturally understood his meaning.

At this point, their own family members had already defected to the enemy; what could they still do—they couldn't really force Shisui into bringing disaster upon their families.

The Third Elder flushed red at these words, opened his mouth but said nothing, and the other three were also very awkward.

The Second Elder knew the several couldn't bring themselves to save face, so he had to speak up himself: "The ancestor entrusted the clan to our hands, yet we brought it to this state; we are ashamed before the ancestor, ashamed before our clansmen, and even more ashamed before the clan head's trust; at this point, we have nothing left to say, and only ask the clan head to punish us!"

The elders admitted their fault!

Everyone stood stunned, immediately looked toward the Third Elder, and seeing him say nothing, almost thought they had seen wrong.

They had thought the five elders would glare furiously, then grit their teeth and hold out, then stubbornly refuse to admit fault, even continue to berate the clan head; they hadn't expected it to go this smoothly.

Thinking back, it seems it was the same when Fugaku stepped down last time? Shisui's expression softened, and he hurriedly said, "No one is a saint; who can be without fault? You are all elders of Shisui, having toiled for the clan for decades—though there may be no achievements, there is still hard work."

Today's incident all stems from the lingering disaster left by Ancestor Ban. If we were to punish severely, Shisui cannot bear it in his heart, so I ask you elders to endure a bit of grievance, and together with senior Fugaku guard the ancestral hall.

The second elder, hearing this, first offered thanks, and the other four reluctantly nodded. Among the crowd, the direct relatives of these elders also breathed a sigh of relief; they were startled this morning when they calmed down, for after all this is their father (grandfather). If he truly died here because he wouldn't submit, they found it hard to accept.

Fortunately it was only seclusion; although they lost their freedom, the clan gained a future! "I never expected that something Fugaku hasn't achieved in all these years could be accomplished by you using this method."

Three days after the clan council ended, Shisui was invited to the Great Elder's residence.

Unlike the other elders, even though the council had passed a resolution, the Great Elder's entire authority and the assets he oversees were not mentioned to Shisui.

However, although he did not mention it, every ninja who participated in the council, as well as the Police Department ninjas who later learned the news, urged him to immediately reclaim all clan assets.

Shisui always wore a troubled expression, hesitated greatly, and then repeatedly rejected those proposals, citing the Great Elder's contributions to the clan.

Nevertheless, talk spread like wildfire; the whole clan was discussing. In just three days, the Great Elder's lineage was labeled as an obstacle to the clan's revival and faced criticism from the clan members.

Under these circumstances, the Great Elder suddenly took the initiative to invite Shisui.

"Ahem, it was just luck; the third‑generation elder gave the chance, and that's why it succeeded in one go. Without this opportunity, we might have had to wait several more months."

Facing the Great Elder, Shisui felt inexplicably uneasy.

The Great Elder smiled, "As long as it can be achieved. The Uchiha clan has been divided for too long; with you here, I believe the Uchiha clan can surely return to its former glory."

Although the method was somewhat unorthodox, Shisui's strength and wisdom are among the few the Uchiha possess, which made the Great Elder increasingly pleased.

Seeing that the Great Elder was unperturbed, Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Great Elder, for your understanding."

"Well, I called you here today for three matters. The first concerns the clan's discussions; many from my line have already approached me, urging that those assets be voluntarily handed back to you."

"It seems you truly are an outlier among the Uchiha, managing to achieve this without a single blade being drawn. I was right about you from the start."

"The same method—this is the third time Shisui has used it, and the Great Elder participated once. If one couldn't see that Shisui did it deliberately, he'd have lived in vain."

Shisui gave an awkward smile, unsure whether this counted as a compliment.

"The second matter concerns Fugaku."

"Uncle Fugaku?"

"That's right; it was him who acted that night, wasn't it?"

It wasn't a question; the Great Elder's tone was very certain. He watched Fugaku grow up, and even though the other had his face covered and changed his form, he still recognized him solely by his gaze.

"Huh."

Shisui hesitated slightly, and the Great Elder immediately understood, continuing: "Sure enough it's him. Hmph, that kid—I see he really intends to strike at me, utterly disrespectful of elders!"

Speaking of Fugaku, the Great Elder's anger flared instantly; he had helped secure the clan head position and such an outstanding wife, yet the other still wanted to plot against him.

He literally blinded that pair of kaleidoscopes.

Seeing this, Shisui could only explain, "Well, Uncle Fugaku didn't actually act; in his heart he must still respect the Great Elder."

"Hmph, if he didn't have that intention he wouldn't have come to me. He just saw that I had many people around and hesitated."

"That stinky brat! I'd just as well dig out his eyes and transplant them to you, to help you awaken the Eternal Kaleidoscope."

"Eternal Kaleidoscope?"

"Yes, that's the third matter I called you here for. Now that you've become clan head, you'll rarely visit me; I keep some of the clan's secrets here, and it's time you saw more of them, lest one day I have an accident and the inheritance is broken."

The Great Elder's body is growing increasingly frail; he may not last many more years.

Shisui suddenly felt sorrowful and could only comfort, "Great Elder, you are a pillar of the Uchiha; you must persevere until the clan's revival."

The Great Elder heard this and immediately joked, "Hehe, I'm no longer a pillar; I'm actually an obstacle to the clan's revival."

"This."

Shisui could only give a shy smile, bow his head, and say nothing.

"Alright, that's enough idle talk; come with me."

The Great Elder rose, led Shisui back to that secret chamber, and said, "The seal here can preserve some scrolls and books very well."

"Therefore, try not to take these items out; some of the confidential ones must not be seen by clan members. Over the next few days, come here several times and record them."

"Especially this one; it contains the secret of the Eternal Kaleidoscope. You may take this volume back for a close look, but keep it confidential, and after reading, remember to bring it back."

The Great Elder took a scroll from a wooden box, his expression solemn, and handed it to Shisui.

"Understood."

Shisui received it with a solemn face; as he looked at the scroll, his heart stirred slightly.

"Eternal Kaleidoscope? Could it be a method to prevent blindness after using the Kaleidoscope?" "Those assets, I will have people hand them over to you; the ledgers and remaining family wealth have also been organized, and soon someone will deliver them directly to your home."

"Great Elder, you have many descendants; keep that money for your use."

Shisui was moved and quickly said that although the Great Elder hadn't helped in consolidating the clan's power, this was already the greatest assistance he could offer.

Without the Great Elder's deliberate neglect, those actions would likely have been blocked by the elders long ago.

One must know that the Great Elder's line controls nearly thirty percent of the clan's strength; if he acted, Shisui could not openly confront the elders.

"Hoho, you needn't worry about the money; there are a few incompetent youngsters in my household, so feel free to take it."

The Great Elder waved his hand, showing he didn't care at all.

"Thank you, Great Elder, for your generosity!"

Seeing the Great Elder's resolute attitude, Shisui did not decline, bowed and expressed thanks.

Then, after a few more pleasantries, Shisui took the scroll and left temporarily.

Once back home, he hurried to the study and relayed everything the Great Elder had told him to Sima Yi.

"Hmm, you've done well. Now the clan's assets and ninjas are entirely at your disposal. After a period of stability, you may begin reforms, but keep the moves subtle, especially those involving external policies; proceed cautiously and observe internal and external reactions carefully."

Sima Yi took the scroll but did not rush to open it; instead, he began discussing the Uchiha's future development with Shisui.

Shisui's face lit with joy, and he immediately said, "Grandfather, over the past months I've often contemplated the reasons for the clan's decline and its future path. I've summarized a few points and would like your guidance."

"Oh? Please elaborate."

Sima Yi was surprised; he hadn't expected Shisui to contemplate the clan's future before completing centralization, and not with those 'annoying' revival schemes.

Shisui began to set his sights farther, also began to focus on the fundamentals, analyze the causes, and no longer consider short‑term pros and cons; that is growth.

"Yes, Grandfather."

(End of chapter)