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'Her daughter didn't even dare express her feelings. Could she really compete with Lady Tsunade's disciple? It seemed rather unlikely. Oh well, let the children handle their own matters.' Shaking her head, Hazuki decided not to worry about it anymore.
This time, she had indeed been a little too enthusiastic. While she was concerned about Kazuki, she mainly wanted to wake up both her daughter and Kazuki.
In the end, her daughter just stood there foolishly, smiling awkwardly, and scared Kazuki away instead.
The atmosphere in the village visibly started to change. Aside from the increased presence of the Anbu, many ninja squads also returned to the village, joining the patrols and security forces.
Rumors about the Wood Release and human experimentation began spreading from the Daimyo's ressidence.
The news reached Konoha, but the Third Hokage did not send anyone to intercept it. He had already prepared for the worst.
Kazuki sat quietly at the police department, eating melon and watching the drama unfold, allowing the situation to escalate.
He was also ready to attend the clan meeting and receive Danzo. Danzo had already been imprisoned and was receiving special treatment. Once the Anbu and the prison guards had arranged everything, the Uchiha clan members would be able to enter the prison and guard Danzo personally.
To put pressure on Konoha, the Daimyo even sent an envoy to the village to inquire about the matter.
More and more people in the village began discussing the incident. Everything was ready, just waiting for the situation to ferment over time.
After work, Kazuki went home to wash up, changed into clean clothes, and brought Izumi with him to attend the clan meeting. This was Izumi's first time attending a clan meeting. The little girl was very nervous, carefully following behind Kazuki.
On the way, every clan member they encountered on the way to the family shrine would stop and greet them.
To make a statement, Fugaku had even allowed the clan's chunin to attend this month's meeting.
Fugaku knew well that the younger generation of the clan almost universally admired Kazuki and looked up to him. With the participation of these younger clan members and Kazuki leading the way, they could surely force the hardliners to bow their heads.
Don't underestimate these young ninjas. If the young ninjas do not support you or even feel that you are unwilling to sacrifice for the clan and are merely holding onto your power, your reputation within the clan will surely plummet.
Since it was Izumi's first time attending the clan meeting, Kazuki brought her along to prevent her from making a fool of herself due to nervousness or getting scolded.
"Don't be nervous. Just act naturally. Although it's your first time attending a clan meeting and you and Aunt Hazuki are outsiders, as long as you don't make any mistakes, no one will bother you." On the way, Kazuki comforted the anxious Izumi.
"Besides, even if you make a mistake, what could happen? Don't forget, you are with me now. Whoever dares to trouble you will be going against me, Kazuki. Even the clan elders have to think twice."
"Is the captain really that powerful?"
After Kazuki's reassurance, Izumi slowly relaxed and followed behind him with a look of admiration.
However, since her body hadn't fully grown yet, her strides couldn't keep up with Kazuki's. Walking normally, she was too slow, but running was too fast. She had to take one step and then hop a bit to keep up, looking like a little bunny, bouncing along.
"Nonsense. Why else do you think people on the way warmly responded when you greeted them?"
As a newcomer and junior, Izumi had been respectfully greeting the elders heading to the shrine, and without exception, all of them had smiled and responded warmly.
Some even stopped to chat for a moment.
This gave Izumi the impression that the clan elders seemed quite easy to get along with.
But in reality… easy to get along with? Not a chance!
Even within the clan, if you don't have enough strength or the ability to intimidate, gaining everyone's recognition and respect is incredibly difficult. Among ordinary people, it might be easier, but among Uchiha ninjas, the stronger they are, the more they tend to keep a cold, stern expression.
"I thought everyone had become easy to get along with."
Izumi smiled awkwardly, staying close behind Kazuki, fearing he might leave her behind.
At the clan shrine, Fugaku had not yet arrived, but the guards from the clan leader's compound were already stationed there. When they saw Kazuki arrive, the guards nodded slightly in greeting, and Kazuki nodded back, leading Izumi into the shrine.
Since more people were attending this meeting and there would be no discussion about village matters, there wasn't a need for strict confidentiality.
The location of the meeting had been moved from the secret chamber to the main hall of the shrine.
"Kazuki!"
"Kazuki, you're here."
Upon Kazuki's arrival, many clan members stood up to greet him. Kazuki smiled and greeted them back, even introducing the little girl behind him.
"This is Uchiha Izumi, my assistant. It's her first time attending the clan meeting, so she's a bit nervous. Everyone, take it easy, don't scare the kid."
"Hahaha…"
At this, everyone burst into laughter.
Izumi was so embarrassed that she clenched her small fists, her face turning red as she bowed her head like an ostrich.
A few of the older jonin from the clan jokingly added:
"Being shy won't do! Since you're one of Kazuki's people, you have to learn from him. Back when Kazuki first attended the clan meeting, he completely ignored us old geezers!"
'You guys are something else. Even bringing up my own embarrassing history.' Kazuki smiled wryly, leading Izumi to sit down at the front. Jiro gave a sly grin, pushing the people beside him to make space for Izumi.
Izumi ended up being the only chunin sitting among a group of jonin and special jonin. This made the other chunin sitting in the back quite envious.
But too bad for them, Izumi had Kazuki to back her up, so she could sit at the front, but they couldn't. Even the clan elders wouldn't let them sit at the front. As for Izumi... well, they were just giving Kazuki some face.
Izumi obediently hid behind Kazuki, not daring to poke her head out.
As time passed, more and more clan members arrived.
The clan elders also arrived, but the hardliner elders had already realized that Fugaku was going to make a move at the meeting, and they looked worried.
Especially when they sat down and saw Kazuki not far away, their hearts sank. It was one thing for Fugaku to make a move, but what they really feared was Kazuki causing trouble.
If Kazuki got upset, he wouldn't care about clan rules. And with rumors that his bloodline disease had worsened, the elders were even more afraid that Kazuki would act more recklessly.
'If I'm already dying, why should I care about clan rules? If I don't like something, I'll deal with it. If I don't like someone, I'll go after them. After all, I won't live long anyway.'
Not long after the elders arrived, Fugaku entered, bringing Itachi, who was eligible to attend the meeting.
However, Itachi didn't sit in the front. He obediently sat with the chunin at the back of the room. Sitting in the clan leader's seat, Fugaku glanced at Izumi, who was hiding behind Kazuki. He didn't say anything and calmly announced:
"Let this month's clan meeting begin." With Fugaku's words, it was now time for anyone with important matters to bring them up for discussion.
"Clan leader."
Kazuki was the first to raise his hand and stand up.
'This guy better not be up to something.'
Seeing Kazuki stand up, the hardliner elders twitched, and the clan members were surprised, thinking: 'Is Kazuki really this eager? The meeting has just started. '