The large-scale demolition project, divided into three teams, had become such a grand spectacle that even the clan leaders sitting in the Hokage Tower's conference room were well aware this matter was now irreversible.
Danzo rested his chin in one hand, deep in thought. "Hiruzen's move is brilliant indeed. Gathering all the clan leaders together and taking action first before announcing—it's quite ruthless."
He understood that this approach would genuinely make Konoha flourish—far more effective than anything Hiruzen's own teacher could have achieved.
Yet inwardly, he felt resentful. "Such policies should have been pushed forward by me."
Feeling Danzo's gaze upon him, Third Hokage turned and exchanged glances, smiling so widely his eyes nearly shut.
"Hiruzen," Danzo said with a stiff smile, "I must admit you are truly impressive. But the title of Hokage..." His expression hardened slightly, though his voice remained calm. He hadn't abandoned his original plans.
Elder Kazushi, observing their silent exchange, fell into contemplation himself. "Looks like the biggest schemer has already agreed. The remaining clans won't be difficult to handle."
As the first family to brave the unknown externally, the Uchiha fully grasped the benefits of opening up.
Now that every major clan in Konoha was ready to collaborate openly, Kazushi believed it was high time for Commercial Street to undergo its second phase of expansion.
"Lord Third," Kazushi stood to propose a plan he had discussed with his youngest son the previous night—an initiative inviting all village clans to participate in the Commercial Street development.
Controlled primarily by the Uchiha, the market would expand across central Konoha while encouraging widespread participation, even from civilians.
He also suggested that the Uchiha could give up most of the benefits by openly sharing certain secondary manufacturing and processing techniques, charging only a small royalty fee proposed by his son in exchange for production rights.
"Everyone might also consider establishing a large corporate group, led by the Uchiha Corporation as the core force, forming an inter-village consortium." Kazushi took the concept of a family-run company and applied it across the entire Konoha.
Third Hokage was overjoyed. "Excellent! Absolutely excellent, Elder Kazushi!"
"I support this idea," Shūya voiced his agreement first.
With Uchiha and Uzumaki now closely connected, he figured if advanced techniques were opened up, his clan would surely gain earlier access than others.
The Uzumaki clan firmly intended to stick close behind the Uchiha—like picking a slice from the larger cake being shared.
After slight consideration, Meide also gave his approval.
Although the Hyuga was among Konoha's great clans, financially they simply couldn't compete with the Uchiha.
Believing the Uchiha showed sincere intentions, he decided it wise to stay low and develop quietly for now—once sufficient technical expertise had been built, he'd surpass the Uchiha and establish the Hyuga as Konoha's most prestigious clan.
With two major clans voicing support, the rest let go of their reservations and quickly followed suit.
While the Uchiha's actions appeared self-sacrificing at first glance, everyone understood—they had full confidence in remaining unchallenged.
Pride was the very essence of the Uchiha name.
Thanks to Shen's constant flow of new inventions, the Uchiha clan had practically become unbeatable.
All the clan leaders knew this fact well, but each one possessed confidence equal to the Uchiha's, believing that with enough time, they would certainly catch up with—or even surpass—the Uchiha.
Sitting at the head position, the Third Hokage observed all these enthusiastic clan leaders proclaiming their plans to create new products and felt deeply gratified.
"By abandoning the concept of family exclusivity and opening technology to promote healthy competition within the village, this child Shen has already proven in thought alone that he can bear the responsibilities of Hokage," he mused before recalling past unpleasant experiences. "But he still needs proper polishing and tempering. I'll give him a high-ranking position in a few years to test his abilities further."
Just as the Third Hokage was envisioning the future, Danzō—brooding and the greatest schemer among them—finally made up his mind.
"I approve," Danzō finally agreed, the last to consent.
In truth, he already loathed the Uchiha bitterly inside. If only they had released their techniques earlier, the Shimura household wouldn't have been constantly crying poor lately.
But under current circumstances, he couldn't afford to reject this "temptation" offered by the Uchiha.
In his view, the Uchiha's generous sharing of techniques must be an attempt to attract other clans and boost their prestige.
There definitely wouldn't be any advanced techniques available, and betting everything on Shimura's research carried far too much risk.
The Shimura family simply didn't have surplus resources for further R&D anymore. However, this "temptation" could actually benefit them—if slightly modified, those unsold items might finally find buyers.
Danzō believed this wasn't a betrayal of his principles but simply a matter of biding his time while enduring humiliation. Once the Shimura family recovered its strength in the future, he would immediately resume suppressing the Uchiha again.
This seemingly insignificant decision—motivated purely by personal grudges—certainly lived up to his reputation as the shinobi world's greatest schemer.
At the Hyūga clan compound, Shen's main body, operating a bulldozer, toppled the final section of wall under the resentful gazes of hundreds of Byakugan eyes.
"Farewell, everyone! I still need to hurry over to the Nara household for work!" Shen—who had been completely surrounded by Hyūga clan members—remained outwardly calm, though inwardly he had already panicked beyond belief.
He had just beaten more than a hundred of them yesterday, and now he dared to openly demolish their walls today. He felt that if he didn't leave immediately, he'd end up hung from the Hyūga gate as an example.
"Wait!" A tall, imposing Hyūga pushed through the crowd and approached Shen directly.
Realizing something bad was about to happen, Shen quickly stepped back several paces, wary of the muscular tough guy standing before him.
He had known from the beginning that the Hyūga wouldn't let yesterday's incident go that easily. Now that his demolition work had finished, they must have sent out a strong fighter to confront him.
"Jian," the main house representative from yesterday explained to the clan member facing Shen, "our clan leader said yesterday we were defeated because our skills weren't good enough. No one in the entire clan is allowed to retaliate against this kid."
"Lord Nara," Jian continued eagerly, eyeing Shen closely, "I just want to take a look at the Sword of Kusanagi. You should know that I've always been very interested in it."
Shen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "You should have said so sooner! The moment I saw this setup, I thought you guys were gonna string me up!"
Hyuga members rolled their eyes upward, revealing hundreds of genuine Byakugan (White Eyes) at once.
This was seriously too much. Right now, Shen couldn't help but feel totally awkward.
Probably in all of Konoha, he was the only one ever to get this kind of 'special treatment' from every single member of the Hyuga clan.
Ding! Congratulations to the player for unlocking a new achievement: Successfully drawing the gaze of three hundred genuine Byakugan from the Hyuga clan. Mentally groaning, Shen used this system notification to successfully relieve his embarrassment.
He found the whole Hyuga clan completely unbearable — always pretending to forgive him while secretly planning to hogtie him and leave him dangling from a tree when he wasn't looking.
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