Chapter 193: Fugaku, Do You Want a Wife or Not

193. Chapter 190: Fugaku, Do You Want a Wife or Not

'Lord Hokage, these are the assets seized from the Zhuan Nian Clan, plus the ill‑gotten gains they returned, totaling 2,303,600,000 taels.'

Near July, Nara Zhuque finished compiling the recent situation and handed the summary to Shisui.

Shisui took the document, glanced at it, and thought that over the years Konoha's losses were certainly more than this money, but the more there is, the harder it is to investigate and recover, and Shisui didn't want to press too hard.

But Shisui wasn't going to let those who still clung to a lucky mindset get away.

'I've already given them enough time; since they don't cherish it, they can't blame me.'

Senior Zhuque, notify the Police Department to start arrests.'

Nara Zhuque nodded in agreement; such money‑hungry, life‑throwing people are ultimately few, and there's no need for pleading.

'Shiliuye, how is the situation in the Village? Any abnormalities discovered?'

After Nara Zhuque left, Shiliuye, wearing an ANBU mask, instantly entered the office.

At this moment, Shiliuye had been appointed by Shisui as ANBU squad leader, leading ANBU to monitor Leaf ninja movements for Shisui.

The new Leaf law was swiftly revised and promulgated under Yan Shifan's guidance; ordinary Leaf villagers showed little reaction, but the ninja are literate and naturally understand the provisions.

'Ordinary ninja. Their attitude is relatively neutral, or rather they simply don't care about these.'

Being literate doesn't mean they'll study the provisions; Shisui had anticipated this, since the edicts issued by the second generation have been around for years, and few people deliberately examine them.

'Ninja interested in these provisions have varied attitudes; those unaffiliated with any division show support, while most ninja working in divisions have complaints.'

This change targets those people, so naturally they will have opinions.

'No problem; the total number of ninja across divisions isn't large, as long as the majority of villagers have no objections, it's fine.'

Shisui sighed; he isn't money—no matter how well he acts, he can't please everyone.

'How are things on Tuan Zang's side?'

'A secret scout reported that Tuan Zang is covertly spreading ninjutsu to recruit mid‑rank ninja in the camp, and he's moving fast; many mid‑rank ninja have taken his benefits, and Tuan Zang's reputation is turning. Should we bring him back early? As long as he leaves the main army, we can eliminate him on the road and later pin it on the Rock Hidden leader.'

Uchiha Shisui's hatred toward Tuan Zang was almost unabashed, and Shiliuye felt the same.

Shisui shook his head, smiled, and said, 'No need to mind him; Tuan Zang still has his use. I have another matter that requires you to go.'

Shiliuye found it interesting; the Village's ninja all seemed very obedient, leaving his abilities with nowhere to be used, which made him feel extremely stifled.

'Please have the Hokage give the order.'

'I intend to send you to Kyoto; this is a long‑term mission, and barring any mishap you won't be back before the end of the year. I'll give you two days off to spend with your family.'

'Long‑term mission?'

Shi?

'Hahaha, as expected of Shi, he'll tell you.'

Shiliuye sighed; compared to this protective mission, he'd rather stay in Leaf, at least he can see his child anytime.

But he obeyed the order, nodded and said, 'Understood.'

After Shiliuye left, Shisui turned to the two unopened reports sent by ANBU: one from the Water Country, one from the Rain Country.

Shisui's brows tightened as he read.

The Water Country news was relatively good; the overall situation is as follows.

A large‑scale upheaval broke out in the Water Country; Leaf spies seized the chance to infiltrate Mist Hidden Village and discovered that Mist Hidden ninja had split into two factions fighting each other within the village, a conflict that has lasted nearly half a month.

The turmoil in Mist Hidden is, for Leaf, not a bad thing, since the Water Country is isolated overseas and Leaf can't intervene.

Nevertheless, Shisui was curious about what exactly happened in Mist Hidden to become such a mess.

Immediately, Shisui summoned ANBU members to send a message to the garrison in the Whirlpool Country.

'Tell them to keep watch over the sea; if any Mist Hidden ninja cross the water, capture them alive to gather information on Mist Hidden.'

'Yes!'

Then came the Rain Country report; the ever‑mysterious Rain Country showed activity. Shisui dispatched spies scattered across Rain Country, who gradually sent intel: Rain Hidden ninja are mass‑exiting their village, sweeping the area of foreign ninja, and spies and wandering ninja from various nations suffer heavy casualties.

The report also mentioned an organization within Rain Hidden Village calling itself 'Dawn', whose members wear black robes with red clouds, appearing quite mysterious.

Shisui frowned, sensing something ominous; Rain Country borders Fire Country, and any movement could spark a battlefield in an instant.

'All these years Rain Country has been drained by other nations; Rain Hidden's strength shouldn't have recovered. Could it be that Ban Zang, now older, refuses to let it fade?'

Shisui originally wanted Shiliuye to go to Rain Country for intel, but Rain Hidden is too mysterious; he didn't want to provoke them prematurely, so he still sent Shiliuye to Kyoto.

'If only Grandfather were here.'

After a moment of thought, Shisui massaged his temples and recalled Sima Yi stationed in the north.

He has already become Hokage; logically, the plan to seize the garrison's power is now moot, but Sima Yi wishes to stay and train troops, accumulating experience, and Shisui can't persuade him.

At that moment, he had no clue, so he ordered the intel to be sent to Sima Yi, along with a letter expressing his longing and hoping Sima Yi can return to the village soon.

After finishing his current tasks, Shisui handed some trivial matters to Nara Zhuque and returned home alone.

Unexpectedly, Fugaku, who had been quietly staying in the shrine, was chatting in the study with Yan Shifan.

'Huh— Shisui is back.'

Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief at Shisui's return, said a brief farewell to Yan Shifan, and prepared to leave.

'Huh? Uncle Fugaku is about to leave?'

Shisui was startled; it was rare for Fugaku to visit, and how could he be leaving already? 'Hmm, I still have to accompany Itachi in training, so I won't stay.' Fugaku glanced at Shisui again, his expression a bit odd, repeatedly refusing to be detained and walked straight away.

'... Alright, Uncle Fugaku, take care.'

Shisui watched Fugaku's departing silhouette, curious, then turned and asked, 'Teacher, did Uncle Fugaku come for something?'

Yan Shifan handed the items on the desk to Shisui, saying, 'These are the materials Orochimaru asked him to bring back, related to the Eternal Kaleidoscope, and as for the rest…'

Yan Shifan smiled briefly, then, under Shisui's puzzled gaze, explained, 'You still remember his eye technique, right?'

'That's natural.'

The left eye, Vaisravana, can foresee images of the distant future; the right eye, Divine Emperor's Spirit Lord, can give birth to offspring with strong innate talent. "You previously said that after transplanting the first‑generation cells, the interval between uses of the eye technique would be greatly reduced; when he arrived today I asked him about it, and sure enough, his eye technique can already be used."

Shisui blinked, and after a moment suddenly realized, gaping wide as he asked, "This teacher isn't urging Uncle Fugaku to keep having children, is he?"

"That's obvious; you've seen Itachi's talent, Sasuke's talent is probably no less. If the clan produced a few more such geniuses, it would greatly benefit the clan and the Village."

Yan Shifan said this, feeling some emotion, and Shisui didn't care about it; otherwise he would never wish Fugaku's family to survive.

"You should properly persuade him, preferably have him take a few concubines to help."

Shisui's face turned green; no wonder Fugaku's gaze at him was so strange—he thought it was his intention.

Shisui hurriedly interjected, "Teacher, let's not bring this up again."

Having said that, he dared not linger, hurried away, fearing he might be swayed by Yan Shifan.

But the matter quickly spread across the entire clan lands, and the rumors grew increasingly absurd.

A few days later, Shisui finished work in the evening, returned to the clan lands and, as usual, greeted the clan members on the road.

However, for some reason, Shisui always felt that these people looked at him oddly.

He deliberately left, then turned back, and heard a woman say, "Did you hear? The clan head actually is matchmaking Lord Fugaku, looking for a wife."

"Lord Fugaku is already married and has children, isn't he? Why would the clan head do such a thing?"

"You don't know this, but I heard the clan head has taken a liking to Mikoto, and forced Lord Fugaku to divorce and take another wife!"

"Nonsense, the clan head's talent is not like that!"

"Exactly, the clan head is the Hokage; how could he possibly do such a thing?"

The woman, rebutted, blushed and explained, "I only heard it; I don't believe it either."

A few people kept talking while walking, leaving Shisui in the corner with a vacant stare.

"Who? Who's spouting nonsense there!"

Shisui's face flushed with anger; how could anyone spread such rumors? He has always respected Fugaku and his wife; this is downright slander!

He hurried toward his home, and near the courtyard saw three people standing at the main gate; Shisui stared, felt a chill down his spine, yet had to steel himself and approach.

"Jin Huo, why are Aunt Mikoto and Itachi standing at the gate?"

Jin Huo looked at Shisui, opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed it back and remained silent.

Shisui leaned forward and met Mikoto's gaze; although Mikoto smiled, it sent a chill down his spine, and Itachi standing beside her gave Shisui a similarly strange look.

Under such gazes, Shisui remained silent for a long time; neither side spoke. Finally, Shisui could no longer hold back and said proactively, "Uh, haha, it's been a long time since I visited Aunt Mikoto."

Mikoto still smiled and replied, "Lord Hokage is swamped with countless affairs, handling both major and minor matters inside and outside the clan; it's normal you have no time to visit."

Shisui's mouth twitched; awkwardly lowering his head, he explained, "Sorry, Aunt Mikoto, I only just learned of the clan rumors; I will handle them as soon as possible. As for the origin of this matter, I will ask Uncle Fugaku to explain it for me."

Shisui couldn't elaborate on the specifics, so he could only bow his head and apologize first.

Mikoto naturally wouldn't fully believe those rumors, but she had already confirmed part of them through Itachi, which made her come complaining with resentment; however, seeing Shisui's decent attitude, her lingering displeasure quickly faded.

She said, "Shisui, you are now the Hokage, surrounded by many and varied people; you must carefully discern what they say."

"Aunt Mikoto is right."

Shisui realized this was a dig at Yan Shifan; feeling helpless, he changed the subject, asking, "Aunt Mikoto hasn't eaten yet, right? Since you're here, why not stay with Itachi and have something to eat before you go back?"

Mikoto shook her head, "I still need to go back and cook for Sasuke and Naruto, so I'll leave now."

She looked at Itachi, who shook his head and said, "I have some matters to discuss with Shisui, I'll return later."

Mikoto smiled gently, patted Itachi's hair, and softly said, "Then Itachi, you should head home early."

"Mm."

After Mikoto left, Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Itachi suddenly asked, "Shisui, why did you tell my father to take concubines?"

"This."

Shisui sneered, then hurriedly pulled Itachi into the courtyard, explaining, "It's not me; I didn't say that. Don't listen to outsiders' gossip. My meaning was that I hoped Uncle Fugaku and Aunt Mikoto could help you have more younger siblings, not that I was urging Uncle Fugaku to take concubines."

Itachi tilted his head and continued, "But Father said that's what you meant."

In the end the matter was clarified, and the pot was tossed by Shisui to Yan Shifan.

Later Shisui had Gong Ping investigate the rumor's source, but didn't expect the rumor to come from outside the clan.

"Our clan is on the fringe of Leaf, with few outsiders nearby; how could the rumor originate from outside?"

Shisui's gaze changed, sensing something amiss.

"It seems someone deliberately disgusted us, or rather, tried to sow discord between you and Fugaku."

Yan Shifan sipped tea, his expression calm, but inside he was gloating at the misfortune.

"Can we identify who did this?"

Gong Ping shook his head, "Although few people reside near the clan lands, the market street has many traveling merchants; many people come in and out of Leaf daily, making it hard to trace."

"These guys!"

Shisui was speechless, but could only put it aside for now; fortunately, the person spreading the rumor didn't know the true details, so aside from a bit of disgust, it caused no real impact.

These are merely small episodes of life; the Ninja World and Leaf rarely enjoy peace, yet life must go on.

Two more days, Shi Liu Ye prepared everything, then took some funds and several ninja teams and left the Village.

After the 2.3 billion of illicit funds were deposited, Shisui finally had some financial leeway; the loot seized by twelve Jonin outside the Village could now be used openly, and each division's debts were paid immediately, with war mission rewards and relief funds also disbursed smoothly.

Shisui even assigned members of the ANBU and the Police Department to monitor the flow of this money; to his surprise, a few people actually dared to reach for it.

Shisui was unmerciful; after clarifying the situation, everyone received the maximum penalty, those crossing the line were executed outright, with no leniency.

Time flew by, and soon it was September.

The Ninja Academy once again opened admissions, and Shisui finally shifted his focus away from the various ninja divisions; these talents are the future of Leaf. (End of chapter)