Chapter 14: The Once Glory is Gone

Reijin wrote down most of the well-known names in Konoha on the list. At this point, his gaze shifted outwards, towards the other four Great Ninja Villages! But unfortunately, his current strength was far from enough.

Wanting to go to other villages to poach people was basically out of the question.

"Tekka, come in!"

Reijin called out to the figure outside the door.

Uchiha Tekka immediately walked into the room, his eyes falling on the scroll. The scroll was filled with names, but he didn't know their purpose.

Reijin rolled up the scroll, tied it securely, and handed it to Uchiha Tekka.

"Tell Elder Setsuna that I've added quite a few names. Have him take action as soon as possible! The Uchiha clan can't afford to wait any longer."

Reijin looked at Tekka seriously. Originally, it was Uchiha Itachi who was supposed to wipe out the clan. But now, with his presence, who knows if it would cause other changes.

What he feared the most now was Konoha launching a lightning strike, leaving him no chance to accumulate power.

"Yes!" Uchiha Tekka respectfully took the scroll and carefully tucked it into his chest.

He understood that what they were doing now was something that would decide the fate of the Uchiha.

He couldn't afford to make any mistakes in this matter.

It didn't matter if he died, but delaying the clan's affairs would be a grave sin.

Uchiha Tekka turned and quickly left.

...

The news of the Uchiha's polarization into two factions spread throughout the village within a few days. The villagers were disgusted with the Uchiha clan members who wanted to stir up trouble.

The Fourth Hokage had passed away, and the war with the Hidden Mist Village had just ended. Everyone in the village was now afraid of the coming of war.

Five years ago, the Nine-Tails appeared, shattering countless families. All they wanted now was to live in peace for another decade or two.

But now, the Uchiha were causing trouble again.

They disrupted the temporary peace in Konoha!

The villagers' perception of the Uchiha dropped once more.

It even plummeted to freezing point!

They were no longer afraid of seeing Uchiha members!

If they had something in their hands, they would throw it at them, or even curse them to their faces!

In the past few days, the jail cells in the Police Force Headquarters were completely packed.

"Reijin! What do you think of the recent events in Konoha?"

Today, Fugaku specifically came to visit Uchiha Reijin.

Reijin was now the second-in-command of the Uchiha clan.

As long as he spoke up, the position of deputy clan head was his for the taking.

But this young man clearly didn't value that position.

The Uchiha clan's martial faction was something he had never been able to subdue, they only obeyed Reijin's orders.

So Fugaku had no choice but to come here to visit Reijin!

"What do I think? Clan Head Fugaku! Does this have anything to do with me?"

Reijin looked at Uchiha Fugaku playfully.

Fugaku becoming the Uchiha clan head was a completely wrong choice.

He didn't have the talent to lead a clan, he couldn't even achieve the most basic goal of maintaining the status quo.

The current fragmentation of the Uchiha clan was ultimately due to Uchiha Fugaku.

As for the martial faction, it had existed since the founding of Konoha.

Reijin merely led this faction.

"The division within our Uchiha clan has already become a laughingstock for the other clans in Konoha. If this continues, I'm afraid the reputation of our thousand-year-old clan will be ruined."

Fugaku took a sip of tea and said with a serious expression.

He looked like he had two ping pong balls stuffed in his cheeks.

"Thousand-year-old clan?" Reijin's expression was a bit strange.

He didn't expect Fugaku to still bring up such a thing.

The Uchiha were once a prestigious clan!

Remember, it was once!

Not now! 

Now the Uchiha clan is just a bunch of insignificant people.

How many people are there in total, including the old, the weak, women, and children?

The fighting force of the Sarutobi clan alone is 3,000! They can't even compare!

That's what a prestigious clan is! They're at most a medium-sized clan now, if they even qualify as that.

"It seems you're still dwelling on past glories!"

Reijin looked at Fugaku with disdain.

"The clan's honor will never be forgotten." Uchiha Fugaku glared at Reijin.

Especially seeing the disdain in Reijin's eyes when he spoke of the Uchiha.

This look made Fugaku furious.

"Would a prestigious clan live in a corner? Would a prestigious clan not have a single friend in Konoha? Even be targeted by everyone in Konoha?" Reijin looked at Fugaku with pity.

He was always supported by honor, but where was the Uchiha's honor now?

The so-called honor had long been fed to the dogs.

Their prestigious clan was on the verge of collapse.

Just waiting to be destroyed by Konoha with a justifiable reason!

"..."

Fugaku's face turned pale!

These all happened during his tenure as clan head.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but couldn't utter a word.

"But, Itachi is about to enter Konoha's upper echelons. We, the Uchiha clan, cannot lose our reputation at this time."

"We don't have many opportunities left. The Third Hokage is old, and Konoha's Hokage will soon be replaced. Reijin, as long as you lead the Uchiha behind you back, I can have Itachi recommend you to become the Fifth Hokage."

"All of this is for our Uchiha!"

Fugaku earnestly tried to persuade Reijin to prevent the Uchiha from further division.

If this continued, all his years of effort,

And his son's bright future would all be for naught.

"Clan Head Fugaku, have you finished? If you're done, you can go back. I'm sure Mikoto has prepared hot soup for you."

"We Uchiha don't have many opportunities to have a warm meal these days. Enjoy it while you can."

Reijin looked at Fugaku coldly, and after finishing speaking, directly dismissed him.

"What do you mean? Are you planning to lead the martial faction in a coup? Are you crazy, Uchiha Reijin! Do you know what the consequences will be for our Uchiha clan if you make such a decision?"

Fugaku sensed something was wrong with these words, it felt like the last meal before the guillotine.

He widened his eyes and suddenly stood up, roaring at Reijin continuously.

In his view, Uchiha Reijin had no other choice but to launch a coup in Konoha.

"In the end, it's just the demise of the Uchiha clan. Rather than being treated like dogs here, it's better to die fighting back."

Reijin glanced at Fugaku coldly!

...

Moments later, Fugaku left Reijin's house, his face pale.

He looked somewhat dispirited, as if he had suffered a major blow.

"Haha, that boy Fugaku is becoming more and more regressive. Konoha can no longer tolerate us, yet he still holds onto delusions, pinning all his hopes on his son. Bah! Fool!"

A dark, aged voice came from the courtyard. Elder Setsuna spat fiercely in the direction Fugaku had left.

With Reijin's appearance, Setsuna now found Fugaku more and more unpleasant.

He wished he could just chop off the boy's head right now.

"He doesn't have many choices. Unless he leads the clan to become Konoha's dogs, allowing them to be slaughtered, he can only play by the rules set by Konoha's top brass."

Reijin's face returned to calmness, Fugaku's arrival hadn't affected him in the slightest.

"Reijin, I've already placed everyone on your list under surveillance. Once you give the order, we can take them all away."

"In addition, we've also stockpiled food and weapons."

Elder Setsuna didn't want to talk about Fugaku anymore.

He directly changed the topic to the preparation of supplies.

Is the pacing a bit too fast? I actually want to write about the One Piece world sooner, but I feel like I've omitted a lot of the process.

(End of Chapter)