Lu Ming stood on the high platform of the Great Arena, looking down at his clansmen.
He summoned the God-Level Clan System interface.
A screen of light unfolded before his eyes.
[Host: Uchiha Lu Ming]
[Clan Level: Level 1]
[Clan Luck Value: 100/1000]
[Methods to Obtain Luck: Increase the clan’s overall strength, expand the clan’s economic territory, and improve the clan’s political status in the Ninja World.]
[System Prompt: When Luck Value reaches the limit, the Clan Level can be upgraded. With each upgrade, the host and the clan will receive extremely generous Law-level rewards!]
Lu Ming looked at the panel.
Wasn’t the Konoha High Command trying every possible way to weaken the Uchiha?
Wasn’t Danzo dreaming of exterminating the Uchiha entirely?
Then he would do exactly the opposite!
He would not only make the Uchiha stronger, but also ensure they flourished in economy, politics, and military, turning the Uchiha into a behemoth of the Ninja World!
Closing the system panel, Lu Ming looked down at the assembled clansmen.
“Everyone, listen to my orders!”
Lu Ming’s voice echoed throughout the Naka Shrine.
The clansmen fell silent, hundreds of Sharingan eyes focused on the new Clan Head.
“In the past, the Uchiha were like loose sand, easily manipulated by the High Command. But from tonight onwards, that history ends completely!”
Lu Ming spread his arms wide.
“I announce that the comprehensive reformation of the clan has officially begun! The first step: the establishment of the Uchiha Temple!”
“Temple?”
Exclamations of surprise rose from the crowd.
The Great Elder and several other elders looked at each other, the term sounding unfamiliar to them.
“That’s right!”
Lu Ming raised his voice.
“The Temple will exist independently of the Konoha Police Force, becoming the core military organization of the Uchiha Clan.”
“It will gather the young elites of the clan and consolidate our scattered power!”
Lu Ming looked at the elderly members of the conservative faction.
“Establishing the Temple is not about us taking the initiative to go to the Hokage Building to die, nor is it about starting a civil war!”
Lu Ming pointed out the core issue.
“Dignity only exists upon the edge of a blade; we must use strength to exchange for peace.”
“As long as the Temple’s blades are sharp enough, the Third Hokage and Danzo will not dare to harbor any improper thoughts about us!”
“Strength for peace!”
“Well said!”
Uchiha Yashiro shouted loudly.
“Exchange strength for peace! Let them be wary! Let them feel fear!”
“Establish the Temple! Establish the Temple!”
The clansmen shouted in unison.
Looking at his people, Lu Ming nodded.
“Uchiha Tekka! Uchiha Nanami!” Lu Ming called out sharply.
Led by Tekka and Nanami, thirteen Elite Jonin leaped from the crowd and knelt on one knee before Lu Ming.
Thirteen pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun in the night.
“We are here!” the thirteen shouted together.
Lu Ming drew a short sword, the blade pointing toward the sky.
“In the name of the Clan Head, I officially appoint the thirteen of you as the Captains of the Uchiha Temple’s Thirteen Court Guard Squads!”
“You have only one task: select elites from across the clan, break conventions, and conduct combat training.”
“I want you to forge an invincible fighting force for the clan in the shortest possible time!”
“By your command! We pledge our lives in loyalty to the Clan Head!”
Lu Ming looked toward a youth in the corner of the crowd.
“Uchiha Itachi, step forward!”
The entire assembly looked at the eleven-year-old Itachi.
Itachi walked forward and knelt before Lu Ming.
“Clan Head.”
“Itachi, you are exceptionally gifted and possess a meticulous mind.”
Lu Ming announced.
“I appoint you as the Captain of the Temple’s Division Zero! Division Zero will not participate in regular operations; as my direct personal guard, you will take orders only from me!”
Whoosh—
Whispers broke out among the crowd.
Itachi looked up.
He had thought that publicly opposing his father earlier would lead to being ostracized by the clan; he hadn’t expected Lu Ming to entrust him with such a heavy responsibility instead.
“Yes! I will not fail my mission!” Itachi lowered his head.
Near the ruins not far away, Uchiha Fugaku watched this scene.
“The second reformation!”
Lu Ming did not stop, continuing to issue his decisions.
“Effective immediately, all Uchiha Clan members serving in the Konoha Anbu are to submit their resignations and withdraw from the Anbu entirely!”
The entire Great Arena fell silent.
“Clan Head, this…”
The Great Elder spoke up.
“There is nothing to worry about!”
Lu Ming interrupted the Great Elder.
“The Anbu is nothing more than a tool the High Command uses to monitor and divide us.”
“Staying there will only turn our geniuses into Danzo’s lapdogs!”
Lu Ming spread his arms.
“We are a founding clan of Konoha; we must stand at the pinnacle of Konoha with a transcendent status.”
“After withdrawing from the Anbu, the Temple will establish our own intelligence and assassination network.”
“We will monitor the Konoha High Command in turn and counter Danzo’s Root. If anyone dares touch a single hair on our heads, we will chop off their hands!”
“Withdraw! Withdraw first thing tomorrow morning!”
“We’re done taking crap from those high-ups! We only listen to the Clan Head!”
“The final item!”
Lu Ming sheathed his short sword.
“I have decided to establish the highest level ‘Hall of Honor’ within the Temple!”
“The Hall of Honor represents the Uchiha Clan’s supreme combat power and ultimate glory.”
“Only those who have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan are eligible to enter.”
“The status of Hall members is second only to the Clan Head, and they enjoy the right to participate in and veto the clan’s highest decisions.”
The whole arena was silent.
Lu Ming turned his head, looking at Uchiha Shisui standing to the side and Uchiha Fugaku by the ruins.
“Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku!”
Lu Ming announced loudly.
“In the name of the Clan Head, I officially grant the two of you membership in the Hall of Honor!”
Shisui took a step forward and knelt on one knee.
“Shisui accepts the command!”
Fugaku, by the ruins, looked up.
“Thank you… Clan Head!”
Supported by two clansmen, Fugaku bent his waist and gave a deep bow.
The cheers of the clansmen echoed over the Great Arena.
As evening fell, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the streets of Konoha Village.
Just as he pushed open the courtyard gate, a small figure blocked his path.
“Big brother is a big liar!”
His seven-year-old younger sister, Uchiha Runa, stood with her hands on her hips.
“You clearly promised this morning to pick me up from the Ninja Academy! I waited until the sun went down, and I didn’t even see a shadow of you!”
Looking at his sister, the dominance Lu Ming had displayed at the Naka Shrine vanished completely.
He crouched down to coax her.
“Be good, Runa. Something big happened in the clan today, and I couldn’t get away. Tomorrow, I promise I’ll be the first one there to pick you up, okay?”
“Hmph! I don’t believe you!”
Runa turned her head away and pulled a small boy hiding behind her to the front.
“Since big brother didn’t come to pick me up, I took a little lackey for myself!”
Runa said, patting her small chest.
“He was being bullied by older kids at school today, so I helped him chase them away!”
Lu Ming looked where Runa was pointing.
He saw the little boy’s appearance clearly.
Spiky blonde hair, azure blue eyes, and six whisker-like marks on his cheeks.
The boy was wearing an old T-shirt, clutching the hem of his shirt with his head down.
Uzumaki Naruto!
Lu Ming looked at him.
“Oh, Lu Ming is back?”
The sliding door to the kitchen opened, and Lu Ming’s mother, Mrs.
Uchiha, walked out carrying a plate of grilled fish.
When she saw Naruto standing in the courtyard, she stopped in her tracks.
“Runa brought a classmate home to visit?”
Mrs.
Uchiha stepped forward and took Naruto’s hand.
“Good boy, you must be starving, right? Go wash your hands quickly. Auntie made a lot of delicious food today, so stay and have dinner with us.”
Naruto stood frozen on the spot.
He looked up, his eyes filling with tears.
“I… can I really stay?”
Naruto asked.
“Of course you can! You’re my little lackey now!”
Runa grabbed Naruto and ran toward the sink, skipping along.
A moment later, in the residence’s dining room.
Warm yellow light spilled over the dining table as the family sat together.
“Auntie, this tempura is so delicious! I’ve never eaten anything this good!”
Naruto held a fried shrimp, wolfing it down as fast as he could.
As he ate, tears pitter-pattered into his bowl.
“Eat slowly, don’t choke. There’s still plenty in the pot.”
Mrs.
Uchiha wiped the oil from the corner of Naruto’s mouth with a handkerchief and added more food to his bowl.
Runa waved her chopsticks nearby, telling the family about Naruto’s experiences at school.
“Mom, those people were too much.”
“They didn’t just call Naruto a demon fox; they even threw his bento on the ground and stepped on it.”
“If I hadn’t known a couple of taijutsu moves big brother taught me, Naruto would have been beaten up today!”
Mrs.
Uchiha stroked Naruto’s blonde hair.
Meanwhile, Lu Ming sat quietly in the head seat.
He held his teacup, watching the blonde boy across from him who was crying while wolfing down his food.