Chapter 57

Hearing that his parents were safe, Uchiha Jin exhaled a long breath.

Thank goodness!

It seemed his reasoning was correct: as long as he rose to power and revealed his capabilities, Danzo would never truly harm his parents, but instead keep them as a hidden card to use against him.

On the contrary.

Had he chosen to storm the Root headquarters alone, even with his Mangekyo Sharingan, rescuing his parents would have been uncertain; even if he succeeded, he would have been branded a traitor.

He would have been hunted by the entire Hidden Leaf Village—even the Uchiha clan would have pursued him!

If he were alone, he wouldn’t have feared any of this—he could simply become a traitor.

But no, he couldn’t.

As a lone traitor, he would have struggled to protect his parents while on the run.

So.

Uchiha Jin had endured it, pondered deeply in his mind, and ultimately chose to join the radical faction.

Now, at last, his plan had succeeded!

Though his scheme appeared cold and heartless, it was the path with the highest chance of success.

“Thank Itachi—I owe Itachi all a great debt. Extra words would sound hollow; just watch my actions from now on!”

“I promise—I will restore the Uchiha to greatness!”

Uchiha Jin, slightly agitated.

At this moment, he had truly made up his mind and was willing to shoulder the Uchiha banner.

At this moment, he truly made up his mind and was willing to truly shoulder the banner of Uchiha.

Before, he had never cared about any of this—he would help the Uchiha only if it was easy, like when he warned Fugaku during the Nine-Tails attack, but as soon as he realized they were beyond saving, he prepared to flee without hesitation.

In the past, he had barely cared about these matters; for the Uchiha, he would offer help only when possible—like when he warned Fugaku during the Nine-Tails attack—but once he realized they were beyond saving, he turned on his heel without a word.

He knew clearly that he owed the Uchiha a debt; without the Uchiha clan behind him, he had no standing to challenge the Hidden Leaf leadership—just having a Mangekyo Sharingan was far from enough.

He knew well he owed the Uchiha a debt; without the backing of the Uchiha clan, he would never have had the standing to challenge the Hidden Leaf’s high command—just a Mangekyo Sharingan was far from enough.

Even after eliminating so many Anbu and Root members, the village leadership still dared not use the fact that his parents were Uchiha against them.

His parents’ safety relied entirely on Uchiha protection!

It was only now, having fully understood this, that Uchiha Jin truly became one of the Uchiha.

“Jin, no need to say more!”

“Jin Elder, this is what we all should have done.”

“Elder Jin, this is merely what everyone should do.”

Those present all spoke up at once.

Even Fugaku could not help but step forward: “As the saying goes, without proper authority, words lack legitimacy. I propose Itachi take the position of clan head and assume the role of Police Force Commander.”

The others quickly nodded in agreement.

At this moment, everyone had full faith in Uchiha Jin.

They had no objection to him becoming clan head.

But, unfortunately.

Uchiha Jin paused, then slowly shook his head.

“No—not yet.”

“To hold a position is to fulfill its duties. The current situation is still unstable—Fugaku, Itachi must remain in charge a little longer.”

“Only after we’ve eliminated the Hidden Leaf leadership will I take the clan head position!”

Upon Uchiha Jin’s refusal, those present said nothing more.

They knew their own minds were insufficient; since Uchiha Jin had not refused outright, only delayed, they would simply follow his orders.

They knew full well their own minds were inadequate; since Uchiha Jin had not refused, only said it was temporarily impossible, all they needed to do was follow his orders.

No one even asked why—this alone showed the height of Uchiha Jin’s prestige.

No one even asked why—this alone was enough to show how high Uchiha Jin’s prestige stood.

Uchiha Setsuna stepped forward, his tone calm: “What do we do next?”

Uchiha Setsuna stepped forward and spoke in a calm voice: “What do we do next?”

The entire room fell silent.

All eyes turned to Uchiha Jin, eager to hear what their leader planned for the future.

Everyone turned to Uchiha Jin, eager to hear what their leader might have planned for what came next.

Uchiha Jin paused briefly, then invited everyone to take their seats—guests and hosts arranged accordingly.

He sat at the head, Fugaku at the second seat, the elders followed, and finally the three-tomoe elites.

Compared to Fugaku’s clan meetings, even those with two tomoe had no right to sit.

“What we do next—we’ll analyze later.”

“First, let’s report the situation: tonight’s clash with Danzo nearly wiped out an entire Anbu battalion, and all of Root’s elite were likewise destroyed, with only a handful escaping.”

“First, let me report the situation: tonight’s clash with Danzo left an entire Anbu battalion nearly destroyed; all of the Root’s elite were likewise wiped out, with only a handful managing to escape.”

Uchiha Jin’s tone remained even.

After briefly recounting his own actions, he turned to Fugaku and Hachida.

After briefly explaining his own situation, he turned his gaze toward Fugaku and Hachiyo.

Even though everyone had prepared themselves, they still couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath.

As Uchiha Jin spoke, even though everyone had braced themselves, they still couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath.

An entire Anbu battalion—Danzo’s elite—just wiped out like that?

An entire Anbu battalion—Danzo’s elite—just wiped out like that?

After exchanging glances, Uchiha Hachida spoke: “There weren’t many personnel stationed at the Root base, but Root’s deeds were too filthy—I teamed up with Fugaku and killed them all.”

After exchanging glances, Uchiha Hachiyo spoke: “There weren’t many personnel left at the Root base, but since Root’s deeds were so filthy, Fugaku and I killed them all together.”

Even Fugaku’s face wore a frosty chill.

“I never imagined the village leadership had decayed this far.”

“Root’s experiments were too cruel—I saw many missing ninja from the village inside, but they were all worse than dead, begging me to kill them…”

“Only our Uchiha members were relatively better off—perhaps because the Sharingan is so valuable, they were treated as the most precious experimental subjects, so Root used them more cautiously. That’s why we managed to rescue most of them tonight.”

“Only our Uchiha people fared somewhat better—perhaps because Sharingan eyes are so valuable, they were treated as experimental material, but among the most precious batch, so Root used them with relative restraint. That’s why we were able to rescue most of them today.”

“Root’s past mission records, various ninja scrolls, explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, food supplies, and a large sum of silver notes…”

“These materials are too varied—we haven’t finished inventorying yet!”

Uchiha Jin’s eyes lit up.

This was good news!

Though the Uchiha were a millennia-old noble house, they had been suppressed by the Hidden Leaf and were financially destitute, surviving only on their ancestral reserves.

With this massive influx of wealth, things would be much easier from now on.

As for him running a business?

He had never considered it.

Though he understood some commercial tactics and capital operations, in this world where strength ruled supreme, he had no interest in focusing on such things.

Only if the Uchiha became truly stable after eliminating the Hidden Leaf leadership and he became the Fifth Hokage might he consider necessary reforms.

Unless the Uchiha truly stabilize in the future, completely eliminate the Hidden Leaf’s high command, and he himself becomes the Fifth Hokage, he might then enact necessary reforms.

What business scheme is faster than robbery?

The Uchiha’s ancestral wealth is deep enough—we don’t need any of that now. His sole goal is clear.

Eliminate the Hidden Leaf leadership!

Until he achieves that, he has no interest in other distractions.

Before reaching that goal, he had no interest in meddling in other trivial matters.

“Organize this batch of supplies as quickly as possible for use. Classify the ninja techniques, and process the Anbu mission records—these can become a powerful weapon if used well!”

“Organize this batch of supplies as quickly as possible for reserve use; categorize the ninjutsu; and compile the Anbu mission records—this could become a trump card if used well!”

“As long as the Police Force issue remains unresolved, the Anbu’s reputation will keep deteriorating—the longer we wait, the better it is for us!”

“I’m curious how Hiruzen Sarutobi will break this deadlock.”

“I’m quite curious how Sarutobi Hiruzen will break this deadlock.”

“If Itachi’re all bored, there’s one thing Itachi could do.”

“Kakashi Hatake!”

“Since Itachi’ve got nothing better to do, why not bleed the Hidden Leaf leadership a little more?”

"Since I've got nothing better to do, I might as well bleed the Hidden Leaf leadership a little."