Chapter 66 Clan Assembly (Ch 66)

After breakfast, Naraku was washing dishes in the kitchen. Kakashi was scrubbing the pot next to him when he heard a knock on the door.

Naraku shook the water off his hands, wiped them on the towel, and ran to open the door.

It was one of the Uchiha who asked them to go to Fugaku’s house last time, and he was always very polite to him.

Naraku smiled a little: “Good morning, what’s up?”

The other party probably didn’t expect to receive such a smile, and his expression became visibly kinder: “The clan leader asked me to inform you that you should go to the clan site to attend the clan meeting at 7:30 tonight.”

“Can I…?”

“Don’t be nervous. As long as you are a member of the tribe who has opened your eyes, you are qualified to be present.”

He paused, then said, “You may not know the way. I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock.”

“Thank you,” Naraku suddenly remembered that he had never asked someone’s name, and he felt a little embarrassed. “Senior, I don’t even know your name.”

“Feng Yao, Uchiha Feng Yao.”

“Then thank you for your help, Senior Feng Yao.”

“Um.”

After seeing off Uchiha Fengyao, Naraku pondered the purpose of Fugaku’s convening of this clan meeting.

If it’s just routine, then there’s nothing wrong with going there.

…

At seven o’clock, Uchiha Fengyao came to pick up Naraku on time and took him to Nanhe Shrine.

When we arrived inside the shrine, many Uchiha had already found their seats, quietly waiting for the clan meeting to begin.

Naraku’s arrival attracted a lot of attention.

He was really too young. There were children in the tribe who had opened their eyes at the same age as him, but they only had one magatama.

Uchiha Fengyao led Naraku to the front and explained that this was the clan leader’s request.

Naraku had no choice but to sit down, feeling the countless gazes staring at him from behind, and straightened his spine unconsciously.

You can’t feel guilty in front of Uchiha.

Luckily, Fugaku arrived on time, and when he arrived, most people’s attention was on the head of their family, waiting for him to start speaking.

Fugaku and several elders sat at the front, facing more than a hundred tribesmen, announcing their latest decision.

“I believe everyone has heard that one of our clansmen has opened the second magatama at the age of eight.”

He looked at Naraku and whispered, “Come forward, Naraku.”

Naraku walked to the front of the stage and knelt down at the lower left side of Fugaku facing everyone so that everyone could see his face clearly.

“The news is indeed true…”

“Shinji? That drunkard…”

“Eight years old, that guy didn’t grow up that early…”

“Finally, another Uchiha genius has emerged…”

Naraku listened to the discussions from the audience without changing his expression. His indifferent look made most people recognize his talent and character, and subconsciously respected him more.

When the voices gradually faded away, Fugaku spoke again: “Not only that, Naraku is also a disciple of Hatake Sakumo. Everyone can see White Fang’s status in Konoha.”

“Given time, we will definitely be able to break through the blockade imposed on us by the top leaders and gain a certain degree of voice in Konoha.”

“Therefore, the clan will fully support Uchiha Naraku’s needs, including but not limited to various secret techniques, ninjutsu, and supplies.”

“If anyone has different opinions, please raise them now and provide detailed explanations. If not, this resolution will take effect immediately.”

The conservative-minded tribesmen are naturally happy to have such a gentle and appropriate way to improve their situation and will not oppose it.

The more radical ones did not object. After all, Naraku’s talent was there. He would definitely be the backbone of the Uchiha clan in the future, so it was only natural for the clan to give him some support.

The meeting room was silent for a few breaths. Fugaku looked around and said with satisfaction, “It seems that no one has any objections. Then this matter is settled.”

After receiving Fugaku’s signal, Naraku bowed his head and stood up and sat back in his original seat.

Several measures were then announced, which were basically trivial matters. Naraku felt drowsy after listening to them. He could only lower his head slightly and look at the ground, pretending to be thinking.

When the clan meeting was over, he was about to leave with the others when Fugaku stopped him.

“Naraku, please stay. I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

Most people had left, and Fugaku led Naraku towards his home, asking casually as if chatting: “Naraku, how do you feel about attending your first clan meeting?”

“Everyone seems to be quite friendly.”

“Hahaha,” Fugaku, who knew the true face of his tribesmen, laughed, “You haven’t seen how they quarrel. It’s very scary.”

“Do people quarrel too?”

“Of course, Naraku, each of us is a different individual, and naturally we have different ideas. There will always be times when we disagree.”

Fugaku looked at Naraku who seemed to be in deep thought, and said earnestly:

“Although we quarrel sometimes, we are still a family connected by blood. As Uchiha, this is a bond between us that cannot be severed. You can try to spend more time with your clan members, and they will not let you down.”

“I understand, Patriarch.”

Naraku nodded, smiling: “Everyone is actually very nice, the uncle and aunt at the ninja tool shop, the grandmother selling meatballs, Senior Feng Yao who brought me to the shrine, and you and the elders, everyone is very nice to me.”

“Good boy.”

Fugaku was relieved that Uchiha finally had someone who was less troublesome. He should be able to relax a lot more when Naraku grows up.

“Master Patriarch,” Naraku thought again and again, and decided to remind Fugaku and give him a shot of prevention, “I met someone on this mission.”

“Who is it?”

“The fourth son of the Matsukata family said…”

As Naraku continued to speak, Fugaku gradually fell into silence. The night wind grew colder, ruffling the hair of both people.

After Naraku finished explaining Matsukata Seigang’s hints about the Uchiha clan’s situation, the two of them stayed there in silence for a long time.

Fugaku took a deep breath and looked at the brightly lit Konoha Village in the distance, and inexplicably felt a chill on his back.

“Do you feel it, Naraku?”

“Well, I always hear people talking about it. Before, I didn’t think much about it. But…”

Fugaku saw Naraku’s troubled and sad look, and he couldn’t help but admire the boy’s sharpness. He understood Uchiha’s predicament just from a few clues and hints.

“It’s okay, Naraku, we won’t get to that point.”

Fugaku smiled, and the depression in his heart was relieved a lot when he thought that Sakumo and Uchiha were almost allies.

“You probably don’t understand what kind of person your master is. He is an upright and powerful ninja. He may very well become Hokage in the future. When that happens, with you as a bridge between Uchiha and Konoha, our situation will be improved.”

This method sounds like there is nothing wrong with it, but Sakumo…

Naraku felt powerless.

He didn’t know whether he could successfully stop the other party from committing suicide.

Naraku didn’t say these words out loud, but just nodded silently.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the clan leader’s residence. Naraku followed Fugaku in and drank a cup of hot tea and had some snacks in the tea room.

Light footsteps approached, someone opened the door, and a gentle voice came from behind Naraku.

“Excuse me.”

Naraku quickly swallowed the pastry in his mouth and turned to salute the clan leader’s wife.

“lady.”

“Don’t be so polite, Naraku, just call me Aunt Mikoto.”

Uchiha Mikoto put down the box in her hand, looked at the bandages on Naraku’s body with a smile, with a hint of heartache in her eyes.

“You’ve been on missions lately, haven’t you? Here are some herbs for nourishing your body. Take them back and eat them with Kakashi. This way your injuries will heal faster.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Seeing a slightly angry expression on the other person’s face, Naraku had to hesitantly change the address: “…Aunt Mikoto.”

“That’s right, Naraku. Come to your aunt’s place often and bring Kakashi with you. You don’t have to pay attention to your clan leader, who is so old-fashioned.”

Mikoto very kindly helped Naraku to tidy up his hair. The dignified Uchiha clan leader, who was known as “old-fashioned”, could only drink tea with a stern face to hide his embarrassment.

“Okay, Naraku is still young, it’s time for him to go back to sleep and rest.”

Fugaku saw that his wife had more to say, so he quickly interrupted her, fearing that his image in front of the younger generation would completely collapse.

“Really? I just got here.”

Although Mikoto complained, she was still understanding of Fugaku’s little thoughts. She smiled at Naraku and got up and left.

Naraku declined Fugaku’s offer to send him back, and walked out of the gate alone, pursing his lips tiredly and looking at the sky.

When he turned around, he saw Kakashi waiting not far away, with his hands on his hips.

The light from the street lamp shone on his head, casting a warm color.

“Kakashi!” Naraku was surprised and ran over to him with a smile, “Sorry, have you been waiting for a long time?”

“I’ve said it before, your clan leader is really slow.”

“No, the clan leader cares about me…”

“What’s this?”

“Let’s take the tonic my wife sent us…”

The two boys huddled close to each other, their shadows stretched long on the ground.