Chapter 44: Conflict!!

"Uchiha Kinya, the clan is facing difficulties. You refuse to contribute?" 

Uchiha Itachi questioned Uchiha Kinya, his eyebrows furrowed but his face expressionless. "As a member of the Uchiha clan, you should be willing to help, not burden the clan. It's a disgrace to the Uchiha name!"

As he spoke, the muscles on Kinya's face deepened.

However, Uchiha Fugaku, standing nearby, didn't stop Itachi. Instead, he looked somewhat pleased. 

Itachi was truly his son, voicing what needed to be said. It was unbelievable that Kinya would want to refuse to help the clan.

After all, Kinya's business had thrived largely due to the Uchiha clan's reputation; otherwise, it would have been taken over by other clans long ago.

"Uchiha Itachi, what do you mean by burdening the clan?" Genya stepped forward to meet Itachi's gaze, continuing despite the astonished looks from the crowd. 

"Not only do we shelter Uchiha members during the clan's crisis, but my father is also spending a lot of money to build a hospital for the clan and the sick from Konoha. Everything he does is for the clan!"

As he spoke, Genya took a few steps closer to Itachi, his youthful face showing anger. "You come asking for money right away. Is giving money the only way to contribute to the clan? If so, my father's contributions over the years far exceed those of the clan leader. Do you even know how much we've donated?"

Genya's words were forceful, each point hitting hard.

Especially the last point: his father's donations to the clan. 

"You're making unreasonable troubles! Every clan member has their own responsibilities!" Itachi was growing annoyed with Genya's relentless questioning. 

"The clan leader has his duties, just as you should donate money to the clan, and in return, the clan protects you!"

"The clan protects us?" Genya laughed upon hearing this. Looking at Itachi's righteous expression, he continued, "We donate so much money every year, yet you see us as lowly merchants who contribute nothing. How can you say the clan will protect us? Ridiculous."

Genya had no doubt that if the business had faced problems in previous years, Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't have offered help.

"You—" Itachi was momentarily at a loss for words due to Genya's barrage of questions, but he focused on the main issue. "Let's not discuss anything else. The Uchiha Police Force is the foundation of our clan, yet you've recruited them into your business. Isn't that ruining the Uchiha's future?"

He intended to make Kinya the clan's scapegoat, suggesting that Kinya was betraying the Uchiha clan.

"If the business hadn't recruited those clan members, the Uchiha wouldn't be in this situation!" Itachi's anger grew as he glanced at Genya standing in front of him, his confidence returning. "This is all your fault! A merchant meddling too much is bad for the clan!"

In Itachi's mind, the village and the clan came first, but Kinya was clearly breaking the rules.

"Haha, our fault?" Genya laughed mockingly. "The Police Forces aren't getting paid, and my father hiring them is wrong? If that's the case, it's the ones who suggested giving up half the Police Forces who are betraying the clan!"

He showed no fear in the face of Itachi's questioning. 

His subsequent remarks clearly mocked Uchiha Fugaku for suggesting giving up half the Uchiha Police Force.

Hmph, Itachi Uchiha insults his own father like that. If he dares to disrespect his own dad, I won't hold back too.

"You brat… it was the whole clan that decided to give up half the Police Force!" Uchiha Fugaku's face turned red with anger at Genya's words.

"The whole clan? Not everyone agreed. You didn't listen to the many opposing voices in the clan!" Genya took a couple of steps back, sensing Fugaku's urge to strike but kept talking.

"You have no manners speaking to me like this! Today, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of your father!" Uchiha Fugaku was at a loss for words and tried to step forward to hit Genya.

But Genya quickly dodged behind his father.

Uchiha Kinya's expression darkened as he looked at Uchiha Fugaku. "Clan head, I'm still alive, so you don't need to teach my son a lesson for me!"

With Kinya present, Fugaku wanted to discipline his son, which was a clear sign of disrespect.

As Uchiha Kinya stepped forward, the dozens of ninjas behind him also moved in support, glaring at Uchiha Fugaku. 

Their stance was clear: if Fugaku dared to attack, they would step in to stop him.

They understood who had provided for their current lives.

If the Clan head wanted to disrupt their lives, he would be their enemy. No matter his title, they wouldn't allow anyone to harm Uchiha Kinya.

"Are you all ready to fight?" Itachi stepped forward, his gaze piercing through the dozen Uchiha clan members behind Kinya, filled with a fierce killing intent.

In truth, he had long been displeased with those betraying the Uchiha clan and wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson if given the chance.

"Ready to fight?" Genya saw Itachi stepping forward arrogantly to confront the group of ninjas, a glimmer of excitement flashing in his eyes.

If he acted here, could he take the opportunity to eliminate Itachi? That way, the threat of Uchiha Itachi's massacre would be gone.

However, Genya shook his head again.

Setting aside the idea of killing Itachi, would the Third Hokage move against the Uchiha clan first? Uchiha Fugaku had already awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. If he used Susanoo here, it would be troublesome.

After all!

Susanoo is the Uchiha clan's top-tier combat power, and its strength can reach the level of a Kage, but there's a downside: using Susanoo consumes a lot of chakra.

The people present could exhaust Uchiha Fugaku, but the people from the Merchant Association would likely suffer heavy losses as well.

Now was not the best time to act against Itachi.

"Itachi, come back!" Uchiha Fugaku hadn't expected things to escalate this much. 

With a dark expression, he called Itachi back and then looked at Uchiha Kinya, softening his tone: "Kinya, you know the difficulties our clan is facing. How about you let the clan members resting in the Merchant Association come to the Police Force? It would ease some of the pressure on the other clan members there."

This time, his tone was more of a suggestion than a command.

He realized that as the clan leader, he couldn't easily control Uchiha Kinya.

"You want to use our clan members from the Merchant Association? Fine," Uchiha Kinya replied after considering Uchiha Fugaku's calmer words. "Right now, we have several clan members without escort missions. If you cover their salaries, I'll send them to the Police Force!"

He paused, worried that Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't understand, and added, "I forgot to mention, their base salary with me is twelve thousand ryo!"

Twelve thousand ryo!

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