Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI - Chapter 202 - The Strict Clans of Konoha 02.

[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, Year 41.
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The Hyuuga clan was not the only clan dissatisfied with its members, while the Uchiha clan, also in the center of the village, was holding a meeting at that very moment.

All the elders and main members were gathered inside one of the houses where they usually convened. The Uchiha clan was concentrated in a single camp, as it had been their demand, and the Hokage ended up agreeing to it. However, they were still sent on specific missions and even deployed to various borders, mainly the eastern border against the Land of Water due to the heightened tension in that area.

But now, all of them had returned in recent days, making the Uchiha one of the first clans to be fully present in the village after the war.

Mazu, alongside all the elders — who had not participated in the war but were kept informed of all events in real time — sat in the large room. Everyone had their designated place, while the central seat was occupied by the current clan leader.

“Fugaku, you may leave, along with everyone else,” Mazu spoke calmly to the young man standing before him.

“You too... the meeting is over, and we need to talk alone now,” another elder said.

“You as well.”

“But clan leader...” Fugaku tried to argue.

“You're not ready yet, Fugaku. We’ll talk a bit later,” Mazu said, and despite his frustration, the young man nodded.

It wasn’t just Fugaku leaving — several other young members who assisted the elders and worked as their guards and aides due to the elders' advanced age also left the room, leaving only the elders and the clan leader behind.

“He seems a little impatient,” one of the elders said directly to Mazu, who nodded.

“Yes... but he’s still young. He’ll learn how to lead with time,” Mazu remarked as he watched the others walk away, then turned his attention to everyone present. “He’s our best candidate to take over as clan leader after me,” he added.

“Very well... we’ll deal with that later. Right now, we have other, much more important matters to handle,” an elder stated, and the others nodded in agreement.

“Let’s begin... I imagine the first topic will be about what happened at the northern border...” the leader commented as some of the elders nodded.

“First, we need to talk about the 53 missing ninjas and the 144 who died. We lost many of our ninjas in this war. A significant part of the clan perished, and it will take us years to recover our ranks,” one of the elders said.

“Yes... but we still remain the largest clan in Konoha, while the Senju are at rock bottom... it's somewhat ironic,” another commented.

“But we didn’t achieve any major feats in this war...” someone else pointed out, causing tension to ripple through the group.

“That’s true, Mazu. I expected better. We are disappointed with your performance during the war... we should even consider electing a new leader,” an elderly man said in a severe tone.

Mazu showed no sign of displeasure as he looked at the elder. “I can’t deny that the Uchiha didn’t stand out in the war,” he admitted.

“We shouldn’t have forced the Hokage to authorize the entire Uchiha clan to remain in a single camp,” one of them stated.

“But you yourself fought for that decision, you fool!” another elder exclaimed angrily.

“I chose what was best for the clan!” he retorted.

“Look at what you and some of the other elders here have done!”

“Enough!” Mazu raised his voice before those old men started quarreling right there. Everyone seemed to calm down as Mazu sighed, knowing how stubborn those elders were.

“It was indeed a mistake not to diversify our members across various battlefields...” Mazu commented. “And we must not make that mistake again. We need to let our members be assigned to different battlefields where they can perform better,” he said.

“No name from our clan is known across the world from this war. Our clan is declining... soon, we’ll be in the same state as the Senju,” another elder responded.

“As the Senju? I think you're a bit outdated. The granddaughter of the First Hokage became quite famous during this war. Even before becoming one of the Legendary Sannin, she stood out by combating Suna’s poisons and implementing her plan to have a medical ninja in every squad on that front, which proved to be a success and even turned the tide of a war against two countries in Ame’s lands,” one of the elders recalled those events.

“It seems we’re a failure, with no great shinobi born in this generation...” someone lamented.

“The White Fang, the Legendary Sannin, even the Yellow Flash, not to mention Elder Danzou’s performance with the Hokage in the eastern region and how the Uzumaki clan helped turn that battlefield around, even without the Hokage present. So many names...”

The Uchiha clan was too proud, always standing out in wars, which is why they had been one of the most powerful clans in ancient times and still remained the most powerful group in the village. However, despite not performing poorly in the war and providing necessary support when needed, they had done nothing extraordinary like the names mentioned above. This was a direct blow to their pride.

“I believe Fugaku will become a new name for the clan in the coming years,” Mazu said.

“We hope so, clan leader. In any case, we’ll work on creating a name for the clan over time. But we have another problem... we’ve lost many, but that’s not the most concerning issue... it’s the missing ninjas...” one of the elders brought the subject back.

“About that... we’ve tried to investigate several times. It wasn’t just the Uchiha... but it’s highly suspicious,” Mazu murmured and began speaking about their efforts to find answers. In the end, nothing had been discovered about the disappearance of the Uchiha and other ninjas — it was as if they had vanished from existence.

“What do you think this is? Was it the Cloud Village?” one of the elders asked Mazu.

“I can’t say for sure. Although it only happened on the northern border, there haven’t been any mysterious disappearances of ninjas from other battlefields. Not in that number.” Mazu paused before continuing.

“Clearly, everything points to the Cloud Village trying to get their hands on our ninjas and others. This can be evidenced by the classified mission involving Kushina Uzumaki’s rescue, the current Nine-Tails jinchuuriki. It was a secret mission that only a few people know about, including the northern border camp leaders. But it proves that the Cloud Village is behind this,” he stated.

“This is outrageous! We can’t allow them to get their hands on the Sharingan of our members. We must do something!” one of the elders spoke in a harsh, worried tone.

“Yes, we’ll need to handle this personally. I will speak with the Hokage since the village is trying to establish peace agreements with many other villages soon, alongside the feudal lords,” Mazu said with a serious expression.

“This could be a huge problem... Sharingan in the hands of others? Who are the ones missing?” another elder asked.

“Many jounin, but most of them are chuunin. And among those chuunin were two boys from the elite class,” Mazu responded.

“So we no longer have any surviving members from that Hokage program? That’s truly disgraceful,” one of the eldest commented, visibly disappointed.

“There’s another issue,” another elder murmured as the atmosphere in the room grew darker. At that moment, even Mazu’s expression became serious upon hearing those words.

“Losing the Sharingan to another village in one instance... And in another, are we going to lose our bloodline to someone outside the clan?” one of the elders asked with a severe tone.

“How did you let your daughter get to this point, Mazu? You’ve truly brought shame upon us,” another elder spoke, showing no restraint.

Mazu didn’t respond immediately. Even as the clan leader, he knew he had to listen to the elders. And, in a way, they were right — he would have done the same if he were in their position.

"Are we bowing before just one boy now?" one of the elders sneered. "And we’re accepting this? What nonsense!"

"We should kill him," suggested one of the more radical elders.

"Kill the man who managed to defeat the Raikage? Good luck with that," another elder mocked the idea, shaking his head in disbelief.

"So, what then? We bow? Are we going to let a boy from outside the clan simply take one of our members and start a family? Are we going to let our genetics slip from our grasp? The power of the Sharingan no longer bearing the Uchiha name? Is that what you want? We are still the Uchiha clan! Since when did we become cowards?" another elder retorted, his voice filled with indignation.

The elders continued to debate among themselves until one of them turned again to Mazu.

"Mazu, how did you let things get to this point? We cannot allow this to happen!" one of the elders said firmly.

"We could respond with an attack," another suggested.

"Great. Now we’re at the mercy of a boy. How did it come to this? Didn't the boy challenge Fugaku, your favorite?" one elder remarked with disdain.

"It wasn’t through Mikoto’s hand, but rather through her pride," Mazu sighed. "I don’t think we’re going to get my daughter back."

He hadn’t revealed anything about his daughter’s Mangekyo Sharingan. After all, that would make everyone even more furious. So, he withheld that information, subtly protecting his daughter. Though reports of the yellow skeletal giant had already reached the elders’ ears, they believed it was Mizu who had awakened the Mangekyo. Most of them had lived during Madara’s time, so they recognized a Susanoo.

Even so, the atmosphere of indignation continued to grow among the elders, and one of them slammed his hand forcefully on the floor.

"How? How did you let this happen, Mazu?" one of the elders shouted in anger. "We shouldn't agree to this! Let’s go talk to the Hokage!"

"Since when did we become cowards who run to the Hokage?!" another elder roared. "The boy challenged the entire clan, and we’re going to run? I don’t care what kind of prodigy he is! No one can defeat the Uchiha clan!"

"We’ll deal with the boy later. First, we need to talk about Mazu’s daughter. After all, what she did is unforgivable," one of the elders reminded them, and slowly the others began to calm down.

"Mikoto Uchiha turned her back on the clan to follow an indecent love," another elder said with disdain. "And I blame Mazu for this, both as her father and as the clan leader. But that’s not the issue right now."

Another elder stroked his beard, deep in thought, before continuing. "Still, she turned her back on us. Therefore, I vote for the expulsion of Mikoto Uchiha. If we manage to separate her from that boy, she must pay with her life."

"I accept the vote," another elder spoke up. "Mikoto Uchiha has dishonored the Uchiha name and must pay with her life."

"Let’s deal with her accordingly!" another suggested, as more and more elders raised their hands and voiced their opinions.

All their positions led to the same conclusion: Mikoto’s elimination, once she was separated from Minato.

Mazu remained silent for a long time. With his eyes closed, no one knew what he was thinking. Finally, he opened them and nodded, confirming the will of all the elders present.

His daughter must be eradicated — for the good of the clan.