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"Sakumo-san, this is a gift, high-quality nourishing lamb meat. Even now that it's farmed for sale, only a few are sold each year."
Yoichi presented a box of lamb meat. The meat of the magical goats was unique; even frozen for months, the freshness of the lamb remained intact. Even when simply boiled in water, it made for an excellent dish.
After the delicious taste of magic goat meat spread among the nobility of the Fire Country, it quickly gained popularity.
Sakumo had also tried this lamb meat. Initially, Kakashi brought some back, and indeed, it was a delicacy unmatched by any other in the shinobi world, addictive even upon first taste.
"This kind of gift, I truly cannot refuse. Thank you, Yoichi-kun. Please, come in and try the red bean soup I've made."
Sakumo accepted the gift box with a smile, then welcomed Yoichi inside.
Yoichi felt a bit odd as he entered; why would one serve red bean soup to a guest? But once inside, he just hoped the red bean soup was the regular kind.
The living area in front of the Hatake house wasn't very large, but counting the dojo for sword practice and the courtyard, it was quite spacious.
Not long after Yoichi sat down, Sakumo brought over the tea and sweets for the guests, along with the red bean soup.
"Sakumo-senpai really likes sweets, huh."
Yoichi tasted a bit to ensure it was just regular sweets, relieved. He was worried Sakumo remembered his last comment about liking spicy food and might have prepared a spicy filling for the dumplings.
"Yoichi-kun, what brings you here today?"
"Well, it's about serious matters. I wanted to ask if Sakumo-senpai has any intentions of becoming the Hokage?"
Yoichi put down his red bean soup and asked directly.
"Hokage, huh?"
Sakumo didn't seem surprised; instead, he looked thoughtful and then responded, "To take on the responsibility of protecting everyone and the village, if it's entrusted to me, I would certainly accept. But to actively seek out the position, I might not have that much motivation."
"Even though I am a shinobi, every member of the Hatake family finds a principle to believe in for life. I've found my principle, and it's just slightly different from being Hokage."
Yoichi sighed inwardly after hearing this. He felt it was a pity to hear that Sakumo didn't wish to be Hokage.
"Sakumo-senpai, as I mentioned before, if the next Hokage continues to uphold the Second Hokage's will, it's inevitable that the Uchiha clan will clash with the village. It won't be the village that gets destroyed; it will be the Uchiha clan that vanishes."
Yoichi spoke calmly, "I'll be taking on the role of clan head soon, and I also aspire to be Hokage. So, I hope you become the Fourth Hokage first and give the Uchiha clan a fair chance."
Sakumo was slightly surprised by this statement, then said, "Yoichi-kun, that sounds a bit exaggerated."
"Not at all. Because of Madara's actions, the Second Hokage and his successors will always see our clan as untrustworthy. The evolution of the Sharingan requires intense emotions, which further cements their perspective.
The Second believed the Uchiha posed a rebellion risk, and his followers will continue to uphold this belief. If we want a Hokage they choose to make a change, we must either remove them from power or ignore them altogether. Sakumo-senpai, who else in the village could accomplish this?"
After some thought, Sakumo realized that no one could really break out of the teacher-student cycle, not even Orochimaru.
His dealings with Orochimaru, though limited, made it clear that Orochimaru had his own beliefs and aspirations, which were not focused on the Hokage title.
Once in power, faced with tedious tasks, the Hokage might delegate village matters to others; this would just be entering another cycle with Orochimaru's teacher and the former Leaf advisers.
Sakumo sighed, "Yoichi-kun, can't we get along better with the next generation? If by that time you become the Uchiha clan head, it's not impossible that the Fourth Hokage could accept you."
"I see no reason to follow someone inferior to me, or even to align with them. If I were to run for the Fourth Hokage now, the current Third Hokage and the Leaf advisers, along with their networks, would do everything in their power to stop me.
So, the chances of me becoming the Fourth Hokage are slim, as there is no fairness."
Yoichi paused, then continued, "My abilities are strong enough to enrich every member of the Uchiha clan, and eventually, I could do the same for every villager. I have the capability, but not the platform."
"If someone else becomes Hokage, then the Uchiha clan and the village cannot coexist peacefully. Sakumo-senpai, do you think the Third Hokage or the next one would want the Two-Tails Jinchūriki?"
Sakumo didn't respond. The importance of a Jinchūriki was clear, and it was unlikely they would agree. His faith in Yoichi stemmed from several interactions, believing Yoichi wouldn't act against his principles.
Although Sakumo didn't know why the Third Hokage hadn't demanded that Yoichi turn over the Jinchūriki during the Jōnin meeting, it was clear that the village's high command wouldn't easily let go of that idea.
"Yoichi-kun, I need to think about this."
Sakumo didn't immediately refuse this time. If a civil conflict truly arose between the Uchiha and the village leadership in the future, that was not something he wanted to see.
"Right now, there is absolutely no one else who could compete with Sakumo-senpai for the position of Fourth Hokage. Once Sakumo-senpai becomes Hokage, you can provide fairness to the Uchiha clan. Then, you'll see, the Leaf will become the center of the shinobi world."
Yoichi was now confident he could persuade Sakumo to accept the role of Hokage, even if he was reluctant. Even a few years in the position would suffice.
In those years, Yoichi was confident he could become the next Hokage. There wasn't enough time to influence things during wartime, and a new Hokage might be selected as soon as the war ended.
"I understand. I'll make a decision when the time comes, Yoichi-kun."
After Sakumo spoke, he pushed the plate of dumplings forward, saying, "Try these dumplings; Kakashi liked them a lot when he was young."
"Really? Then I'll try them."
Yoichi put a dumpling in his mouth, tasted it, and then asked, "Does Kakashi still like them?"
"That's what puzzles me. He used to love them, but now he suddenly doesn't care for them anymore. Ha ha, maybe it's because he's grown up."
"No, maybe they're too sweet."
After tasting one, Yoichi put the dumpling back and suggested to Sakumo, "Next time, put less sugar, Sakumo-senpai."
————————————————
After leaving the Hatake household, Yoichi felt like he needed a spicy hotpot to counteract all the sugar in his system.
However, all the hotpot in the Leaf Village was sukiyaki-style, which didn't suit his palate at all; fortunately, the commercial area he was constructing was nearly finished. Once it was done, he definitely planned to open a spicy hotpot restaurant there.
Half of the area would be used for a supermarket, and the other half for various food stores; a small initial loss didn't matter, as the population of the Leaf would grow, and the money would come back.
Eventually, if he spent one hundred ryō in the Leaf, he would earn two hundred ryō in return.
And now, he was practically making money hand over fist. In a few more years, once the magical goat breeding operation was up and running, he might as well be lying on a mountain of money.
After all, ninja wars often stemmed from insufficient resource distribution, and ninjas weren't concerned with development. When they earned less money, what could they do besides start wars? They had to resort to what they were best at to earn resources.
After having lunch outside and bringing back a portion for Yugito, the captive girl still showed no signs of yielding and continued to look at him with that gaze.
Thus, Yoichi ate the lunch he brought back right in front of Yugito.
Frustrated, Yugito stood at the dining table glaring at him for a while, then stamped her foot clad in white socks and shouted, "I won't eat then!"
After saying that, she ran back to her room.
After finishing his meal, Yoichi checked the cupboard. He had left three bowls of ramen yesterday, and now there were two left.
Knowing how to cook ramen for breakfast wasn't too bad.
Then, Yoichi headed to the forest behind the house, as it was about time to meet Fugaku.
...
The forest wasn't very large; walking about four to five kilometers would take you close to the Leaf Village's barrier.
Just as he entered the forest, Yoichi sensed not only Fugaku but also Uchiha Hachidai's chakra.
Was he worried Yoichi might use the Mangekyō against Fugaku?
Yoichi smiled, then quickly located Fugaku.
"What do you want? Just say it."
Fugaku asked coldly upon seeing Yoichi, with no intention of beating around the bush.
"Clan Head Fugaku is indeed straightforward. If you hadn't pushed me back time and again, perhaps we wouldn't be this estranged. Elder Kenji took care of me, but you, Clan Head..."
Yoichi chuckled, seeing Fugaku's increasingly pallid face, and got straight to the point: "Clan Head Fugaku, please get a divorce."
"What?!"
Fugaku was stunned, thinking he might have misheard, but upon reflection, he realized he had heard correctly. Was he really being asked to get a divorce?
"Why? Why not ask me to give up the position of clan head?"
"Why ask for something I can take on my own? You don't think I'm capable of that, do you, Clan Head Fugaku?"
The blood-red pupils appeared, with three tomoe spinning rapidly, forming a hollow triangular shuriken.
Feeling the gaze of these eyes, Fugaku felt an immense threat and pressure.
"This is the Mangekyō."
"That's right. After activating the Mangekyō, two special Dōjutsu reside in both eyes, along with a third Dōjutsu, Susanoo. Clan Head, do you want to know what my other two Dōjutsu are?"
After finishing, Yoichi saw Uchiha Fugaku nervously activate his Sharingan, chuckled, and continued, "Do you accept my proposal? Choose between divorcing your wife and being disgraced. You know what I'm capable of, Clan Head Fugaku."
"Why make me divorce Mikoto?"
Fugaku asked with a pained expression. Divorce might be a common affair for others, but for him, it was a disgrace, especially being forced into it.
"Are you trying to humiliate me?"
"Don't overthink it. It has nothing to do with you. Mikoto-san's capabilities merit my actions. She can handle business well and be a great assistant. But with you, she can only be a spy!"
The Mangekyō in Uchiha Yoichi's eyes slowly rotated, bringing immense pressure to Fugaku.
He felt as if a small mountain was pressing down on him, making it hard to even stand straight.
"I don't want to lose this assistant, so I must ask you to divorce her. If you refuse, then let's bring this up at the clan meeting; by then, I'll be clan head, and all clansmen will be involved."
"You..."
Fugaku's face turned an ashen blue. When Yoichi had previously attempted to kill him at the gate of the police force, it was Sakumo who had stopped him, causing enmity between them. However, those who witnessed that incident were mostly from Yoichi's faction.
No one would testify for him!
But his orders for Mikoto to steal information and his hints for her to go to the combat uniform research factory—if all clansmen knew, he would be despised by everyone in the clan.
"Fine, I agree to the divorce. As for after the divorce..."
Yoichi interrupted Fugaku's words, saying, "After the divorce, you two have no relation. Later, I'd like to pursue Mikoto-san myself. This way, she can fully utilize her capabilities, rather than just being a spy."
"Bastard."
Fugaku couldn't help but want to strike, unable to bear such a situation!
But just as he was about to make a hand seal, someone grabbed Fugaku's arm, stopping his movement.
"Calm down, Fugaku. This is clan territory!"
Hachidai said, feeling somewhat relieved that he had intervened in time. Fugaku might not have noticed, but he had been using his Sharingan to watch Yoichi. The astonishing chakra that could be unleashed was definitely not something Fugaku could handle.
He had been standing far enough away not to hear what the two said, but it was enough to enrage Fugaku.
"Oh, Hachidai-senpai is here too."
Yoichi feigned surprise, having just noticed, then said to Fugaku, "That's my condition. Do you agree or not?"
Fugaku's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Yoichi, fury bubbling up inside him, but Hachidai held him firmly.
After a while, Fugaku's teeth were gritted audibly, and he said, "Fine, I agree!"
After saying this, Fugaku felt as if a gust of air had been drawn from his body, but suddenly, he seemed to recall many past events.
(End of Chapter)