"First, I do not want to hear any talk of rebellion within the clan from now on," Uchiha Douhuan announced solemnly.
"What?" The Uchiha youths, who had been swept up in a fervent frenzy just moments before, froze in utter astonishment. Shisui and Itachi, however, let out simultaneous sighs of relief. Thankfully, Uchiha Douhuan still possessed his reason and knew the clan could not afford to rebel.
Yet the next second, their hearts sank right back down.
"This village itself was founded jointly by Lord Madara and the First Hokage. To a certain extent, we of the Uchiha clan should be considered among the masters of this village. What we must do is simply take back the authority that is rightfully ours."
"That's right! This village should have been a part of the Uchiha clan from the very beginning!" Uchiha Inabi shouted fanatically.
"Second, the Military Police Force is facing a manpower shortage. Starting tomorrow, we will recruit civilian ninja. Within a week, I want to see the force's numbers doubled. The pay for these civilian ninja must at least match the standard of D-rank missions in the village. Furthermore, we will take out all jutsu from the clan archives—excluding those related to the Sharingan—along with the spoils of war the clan has accumulated over the years, and use them as rewards for ninja with outstanding achievements." Uchiha Douhuan dropped his second bombshell.
The uproar that followed was even more intense than before. Even Shisui and Itachi found themselves struggling to comprehend Uchiha Douhuan's true objective.
If the previous statement had merely been a matter of honor and pride, this new order was a literal piece of flesh cut straight from their own bodies.
"Quiet!" Uchiha Douhuan waited until the commotion below had died down somewhat before stepping forward to speak. "Most of you here serve in the Military Police Force. I believe you must have all encountered situations like this: even when we enforce the law impartially, villagers still hold grievances against us. On the surface, the Police Force holds high status and great power, but in reality, it has built a thick, towering wall between our Uchiha clan and the villagers. This is the trap that the inherently evil Senju old ghost laid down for our clan!"
"If we want to reclaim our power, the very first thing we must do is close the distance between ourselves and the villagers. The First Hokage said one thing that was entirely correct: becoming Hokage does not earn you everyone's recognition; rather, you can only become Hokage once you have earned everyone's recognition!"
"The Uchiha clan has been separated from the villagers for far too long. What we must do now is take the initiative to embrace them!" Uchiha Douhuan's voice was rich with infectious passion. His speech even made Shisui wonder briefly if he had misjudged the man. Wasn't what Uchiha Douhuan doing right now precisely what he himself had always wanted to do?
"Recruiting civilian ninja is understandable, but isn't sharing our jutsu going a bit too far?" an elder asked with a frown of doubt.
"The foundation of our clan's survival is our Bloodline Limit. Rather than letting these jutsu gather dust in the clan's archives, we are better off using them to build a bridge between ourselves and the village," Uchiha Douhuan replied.
"However, Douhuan, have you considered this? If we recruit so many civilian ninja at once and guarantee them at least D-rank mission pay, the clan's finances won't be able to support it for long. After all, the incident six years ago forced the clan to relocate away from the center of the village," Uchiha Fugaku reminded him from the side.
"Elder Fugaku, you need not worry about that. I will find a way to secure the funds for the clan," Uchiha Douhuan said with a calm smile.
"As long as you have a plan. Then, according to clan tradition, the head of the clan shall hold the position of Military Police Force Commander..."
"No, no, no," Uchiha Douhuan interrupted before Fugaku could finish. "Please continue to serve as the Police Force Commander, Elder Fugaku. I have far more important matters to attend to."
"More important matters?" Uchiha Fugaku asked, looking somewhat puzzled.
"Naturally, it is to complete the mission entrusted to me by the Third Hokage," Uchiha Douhuan smiled.
"Speaking of which, since you've accepted the task of investigating Danzo and the Foundation, shouldn't we begin that investigation as soon as possible?" an elder interjected.
"How could we possibly start the investigation right now?" Uchiha Douhuan offered a meaningful smile. "We have to give them a little time, after all."
A little time to destroy the evidence.
"Inabi, Naitou, starting tomorrow, the two of you will accompany me and take charge of this matter regarding the Foundation." Without going into further detail, Uchiha Douhuan turned and called out the names of the two clan members who had been following his lead all day.
"Understood!"
"Understood!"
***
While the Uchiha clan meeting was underway, deep inside the village's Foundation base, Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune were driving their subordinates without a moment's rest to burn and destroy Foundation documents. Because his abilities were naturally countered by ninja of the Uchiha clan, Yamanaka Fu had been left behind at the base by Danzo; Aburame Torune remained for much the same reason. During the Third Great Ninja War, Danzo had sent Torune to ambush Uchiha Douhuan, who was just beginning to make a name for himself. The two had clashed, and the insects Torune cultivated would lose all sense of direction the moment they came close to the electromagnetic field generated by Douhuan's Lightning Release ninjutsu. That time, Torune had barely escaped with his life.
Therefore, Danzo had left both of them behind at the base this time. Never had they expected that the news awaiting them would be of Danzo's direct death.
Brainwashed by Danzo over many years, the few remaining Foundation ninja operated like unfeeling machines, gathering the base's top-secret documents into piles and reducing them to ash with Fire Release jutsu.
As the night wore on and the cleanup neared completion, the two men received word that Uchiha Douhuan was leading a party straight toward the Foundation base.
Exchanging a glance, Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune looked over the remaining untended secret documents, nodded at one another, and walked out of the base together.
***
Uchiha Douhuan, accompanied by Inabi and Naitou, walked at a leisurely pace toward the location of the Foundation headquarters.
"This old bastard's turtle nest is tucked away in quite a remote spot," Uchiha Inabi muttered, unable to help himself after walking for a while.
Hearing this, Uchiha Douhuan chuckled and arched an eyebrow. "The little turtle is here."
As his voice trailed off, blue lightning surged around Uchiha Douhuan. All around the three of them, various kinds of insects suddenly materialized and dropped to the ground with a flurry of crackling sounds. The vegetation beneath their feet withered the very instant it touched the insects.
Seeing this, Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Naitou instantly drew kunai from their ninja pouches and assumed battle stances.
"An Aburame clan ninja? Did last time not teach you a lesson? These bugs are useless against me," Uchiha Douhuan called out clearly.
His response was a barrage of incoming shuriken.
Yet, the moment those shuriken reached within a foot of Uchiha Douhuan, they abruptly halted, hanging strangely suspended in mid-air.
With a soft pop, one of the shuriken burst into a puff of smoke, revealing Aburame Torune. He lunged straight for Uchiha Douhuan's throat with a kunai in hand.