Chapter 205: Family Development and Border Turmoil

205. Chapter 202: Family Development and Border Turmoil

The meeting ended, Danzo left with a gloomy face, the others followed behind with looks of schadenfreude, but after the east wind blew, they stared at the villagers and ninjas on the street and felt a bit bewildered.

The spread of ninjutsu ultimately could not be stopped; they also fought alongside Danzo and killed many people.

Yet Danzo was still alive and well, and with those newcomers who had joined the Shimura clan, the Root would not lack manpower for a short time.

Looking at it that way, they seemed to have gained nothing and only caused a lot of trouble.

"Why doesn't the Hokage stop Danzo from expanding his clan?"

Someone asked in confusion.

"He is the Hokage; it's an internal matter of the ninja clan. Do you expect him to intervene?"

A light, breezy explanation instantly made everyone understand.

"But if the Shimura clan keeps expanding like this..."

"Don't worry, he's already at his limit. Without the Hokage's support, where would Danzo get the money to expand his clan? Those mission shares aren't in Shimura's hands."

The goal has been reached, so Shisui naturally will no longer supply Danzo with blood; without his support, the Shimura clan's expansion stopped immediately.

Danzo was helpless; those ninjas who joined Shimura didn't come alone—many brought their families.

However, the Shimura clan had been weakened for too long; the few remaining clan members approved outsiders moving in, at least more people meant more safety, and everyone shared the same surname.

Danzo's attitude toward the clan remained complex—perhaps out of compensation, or simply to win hearts; in the end, Danzo never let those ordinary people leave.

Both sides quieted down, and the distribution of ninjutsu proceeded as scheduled, of course under the Hokage's name; with such great prestige, Shisui naturally could not hand it over to Danzo or the ninja clan.

Graduated ninjas also received supplemental ninjutsu; it was a full‑scale ninjutsu giveaway.

The mid‑rank and lower‑rank ninjas who received ninjutsu were all moved to tears of gratitude.

"The Hokage's kindness is never repaid enough!"

A few lower‑rank ninjas who received ninjutsu clutched each other, sobbing, and their mentor, also holding a ninjutsu, laughed and said, "Alright, alright, once you have the ninjutsu, you must train diligently to protect Konoha; that's the only way to repay the Hokage's kindness. As for today, the teacher treats us to ramen!"

"Eh? Isn't it barbecue?"

"Isn't it barbecue?"

"The teacher can't afford barbecue, so ramen; if you don't eat it, that's fine!"

"Eat!"

【5】 Throughout Konoha, laughter rang everywhere, while Shisui, in his office, used the Water Crystal Ball to glimpse the villagers' smiles, and let out a geigeigei laugh.

Throughout Konoha, laughter and merriment fill every corner, while Shisui is in the office using the Water Crystal Ball to peer at the villagers' smiles, and lets out a geigei smile.

"Shisui, what's with that expression? Pull yourself together."

The office was empty; Hui looked at Shisui's expression and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Shisui chuckled, casually set the Water Crystal Ball aside, and said, "Glad, huh? By the way, how are the clan's children?"

"Graduating from the clan academy is far harder than the ninja school, but everyone trains hard, and Uncle Yi watches strictly.

The Great Elder also praised the clan academy constantly; today he even came specifically to discuss with Uncle Yi, seemingly wanting to expand the academy."

Both Sima Yi and Yan Shifan placed great importance on the clan academy, after all only the Uchiha are considered true insiders.

Especially during the graduation assessment, even the Copy Wheel Eye is prohibited.

That was Sima Yi's point: as Uchiha, their chakra levels are already higher than ordinary people, so what those without the Copy Wheel Eye can do, they should be able to do even better without it.

Shisui had nothing to say to that; although the standards were high, he truly had already done his best to give the clan the best conditions.

Ninja schools across the lands, private training halls, gambling arenas, village shops, and the merchant caravans that Yan Shifan set up outside the village—all the profits were used to nurture the clan's younger generation.

Various medicinal baths, guidance from senior ninjas, and even sealing lessons and literature‑history classes personally taught by Sima Yi—these were beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

"The Great Elder is also here, sigh, I also want to expand the academy, but all age‑appropriate children in the clan have already been enrolled; the newborns of the past two years still need time."

Population has always been the Uchiha's Achilles heel; even though Yan Shifan constantly encourages childbirth, the base number remains, and two years only added 180 children.

Hui shook his head, indicating uncertainty.

Seeing this, Shisui didn't press further; after work that evening, when he returned home, he found the Great Elder, Sima Yi, and Fugaku chatting over tea in the garden.

However, the Great Elder's complexion wasn't good; his face was flushed and he seemed to be slamming the table.

"Great Elder, Grandpa, Uncle Fugaku."

Shisui stepped forward to greet; the Great Elder smiled as soon as he saw Shisui return.

"The Hokage's work is important, but your health is more important; don't overexert yourself."

Fugaku glanced at the smiling Great Elder, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.

Shisui looked at Sima Yi, then smiled and said, "Haha, with Brother Hui and Senior Suzaku helping me, I won't get exhausted."

Sima Yi, knowing Shisui's lingering doubts, explained, "The Great Elder is here to understand when you plan to relocate the clan's land."

The Uchiha's former clan lands were in Konoha's core area; although they have now moved to the outskirts, the old territory still remains.

When Shisui first became Hokage, the clan discussed relocation, but he worried that moving back too early would seem hasty, and the old lands still needed renovation and the Barrier required repairs, so the plan was temporarily set aside.

"No rush; if Shisui finds it difficult, we can relocate bit by bit."

The Great Elder waved his hand, smiling warmly, showing none of the earlier flushed anger.

"Eh ha ha."

Shisui, still familiar with the Great Elder, sensed his insincerity; after a moment's thought he said, "The Uchiha's reputation is quite good now, but moving the entire clan is a massive step. How about this: once the Barrier on the clan's land is repaired, we'll return in batches; the Barrier matter, we'll leave to Grandpa."

Sima Yi nodded and replied, "Don't worry, everything's ready."

"Hahaha, not bad, not bad, you guys are more reliable than Fugaku." The Great Elder nodded approvingly; this efficiency far surpassed holding a clan meeting.

Fugaku rolled his eyes silently; he shouldn't have come.

"Eh."

Shisui gave an awkward smile, apologized with a glance, and said nothing further.

The Great Elder made a few more small talk, briefly mentioned a few promising girls in the clan, saw Shisui was still being evasive and understood Shisui had no current plans, then left disappointed.

Fugaku stayed, took out a scroll and said, "This is a report from Orochimaru on the research status of the Eternal Kaleidoscope."

"Eternal Kaleidoscope!"

Shisui was delighted, quickly took it, "Did Orochimaru really manage to research it?" "You'll know once you see it." Fugaku was also a bit surprised; he hadn't expected that Orochimaru, an outsider, could actually produce something.

Upon hearing that, Shisui couldn't wait and took it out, seeing that it detailed Orochimaru's research results.

Orochimaru cross‑fused the chakra and cells that Shisui, Shiliuye, and Fugaku had left before they merged Zhu Gan cells, with the cells and chakra of the other two, and found that the compatibility between Shisui and Shiliuye far exceeded that of their fusion with Fugaku, but without external interference the final result would still show rejection.

Later he added Zhu Gan cells to the experimental conditions and finally discovered that any two of the three could fuse, though the fusion speed between Shisui and Shiliuye was far faster than the other pairings.

In the end, Orochimaru also fused the Obito cells that Shisui had sent with the other two, finding the fusion speed very slow and not recommending trying it.

After outlining the process in a letter, Orochimaru told Shisui that if he wanted to exchange eyes, Shiliuye would be the most suitable.

"Orochimaru truly is extraordinary."

Shisui exclaimed in amazement; he hadn't expected that within a few short months Orochimaru had discovered the reason for his and Obito's eye fusion and had even tested their compatibility.

No wonder they are the only two who fell under his Other Heavenly God.

"But didn't he ask me for cells before? How come after months of experiments he still has my old cells?"

Shisui suddenly realized something was off, his complexion changed instantly; it seemed Orochimaru had deceived him.

"Just some cells; if they can solve the problem that has plagued my Uchiha for so many years, it's definitely worth it."

Even Fugaku was a bit excited; although he had already merged First Generation cells and no longer faced the risk of blindness, the Eternal Kaleidoscope represents not only everlasting light but also far greater power.

"Uncle Fugaku is right, but currently only a few of us in the clan have awakened the Kaleidoscope, and Orochimaru is only testing among us; I wonder if he could also test those who haven't awakened the Kaleidoscope."

If testing is possible, one could understand before the Kaleidoscope awakens whose eyes are more compatible.

If both sides can directly fuse without relying on First Generation cells, it would undoubtedly be the best match for eye exchange.

"That's a good plan, but I don't want to take the lead; I'll have Jin Huo gather information, and then I'll send it to Tianzhiguo."

Shisui nodded, and after discussing some details, Fugaku finally left.

"We should consider cultivating some talent."

"What?"

Sima Yi's sudden suggestion made Shisui pause.

"Although you've used Other Heavenly God to control Orochimaru, that ability ultimately belongs to someone else; cultivating talent belonging to the family is paramount."

"I see, grandpa's words make sense; then let's select some graduates from this year's clan school and send them to Orochimaru to study. If we provide enough funding, he probably won't refuse."

Shisui followed Sima Yi's advice and also recalled Sima Yi's earlier remark that a clan's development direction shouldn't be too singular.

After the two discussed, Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief and was about to rest, but Sima Yi stopped him.

"Don't rush; the clan's external affairs have already been summarized, you need to look at the reports."

The Konoha Uchiha's external projects include: private salt trading starting from the East Sea Highway, ninja training institutions starting from the West River Route, underground gambling arenas starting from Kyoto, and itinerant merchants spread across all domestic and foreign routes, covering everything from grain export to technology research and development.

Of course, there are also the unspeakable great actions of bandits plundering Konoha across the routes.

Previously these were handled by Yan Shifan, but after Yan Shifan went to Kyoto, they fell into Sima Yi's hands.

And Shisui, looking at the stack of documents Sima Yi produced, was stunned; yet he had to read them to understand the clan's business situation.

"Alright, I'll eat something first, then I'll slowly go through them later. There shouldn't be anything else, right?"

Shisui felt completely deflated; Sima Yi, seeing this, smiled and said, "There's one more thing."

"."

"Listening to what you said about Fugaku, I suddenly remembered that I, too, am a Kaleidoscope now; send some of my cells over and see how compatible I am with you."

"No!"

Shisui instinctively refused, "How could I use grandpa's eyes!"

Sima Yi shook his head and insisted, "Even if the compatibility is real, it's only an exchange; I won't become blind. Let's try it first. If the Eternal Kaleidoscope's power is truly as the books say, the future unification will absolutely depend on this kind of strength."

"Alright then."

Shisui had no rebuttal and could only agree.

"Alright, go have dinner, and after the evening meal finish the matters early."

"Alright."

At night, Shisui stayed in his room reviewing the various project reports; among them, Shangcun Yizhi had already taken all the shares of the two coastal routes, but because nobles on each route needed money to train ninja, various taxes and tributes had increased considerably.

However, the construction of ninja academies outside the village was very successful; all ten nations of the Fire Country now have Uchiha ninja academies, and the dispatched ninja have gradually discovered some promising talents and recorded their information.

The expansion of the gambling arena was not smooth; after Kyoto took the lead, nobles across the lands began to imitate and compete with the Uchiha for profit.

The biggest trouble was the shortage of clan ninja; as enterprises expanded across the lands, their numbers clearly became insufficient.

Fortunately, the dispatched bandits had a complex composition and could be replenished at any time, so the revenue remained relatively stable; however, as noble power grew, this project was certainly not sustainable.

Shisui stayed up until late night, gaining further insight into clan affairs, and then noticed a clear difference this quarter compared to the previous quarter when Yan Shifan was in control.

A portion of profit appeared out of nowhere.

Or rather, the previous quarter inexplicably lost a portion.

Shisui pursed his lips; in an instant he almost understood what had happened.

He turned back and carefully compared the gambling arena's data, and indeed, since Yan Shifan took over, the revenue sent from that side had sharply declined.

However, Yan Shifan gave a reason: he intended to train a ninja army there.

"Sigh, none of them can give me peace of mind."

He sighed; regarding the two, Shisui could do nothing, so he simply put things away and went to rest.

Half a month later, the Barrier of the old clan lands was repaired, some houses were cleaned, and after Sima Yi organized an ancestral ceremony, he arranged a group of clan members to return first; Fugaku, who had just come back from Tianzhiguo, was also assigned to guard the clan lands.

Shisui had thought that both inside and outside the clan could finally settle down for a while, but the next day an urgent border message arrived.

Mist‑hidden ninja repeatedly appeared near the adjacent waters.

Rain‑hidden ninja began to operate in an organized manner in the Rain Country, Grass Country, Fire Country, and the tri‑nation border region.

The Konoha situation flared up again. (End of chapter)