The next day, inside Naka Shrine.
The Uchiha's Jonin, elders, and clan head had gathered for a meeting.
Uchiha Kei spoke directly, "Yesterday, Uchiha Yato proposed reforming the Uchiha Clan's educational policies."
"Today, I'm bringing this matter to the table to hear everyone's thoughts."
The Uchiha could essentially be divided into three factions: the moderate faction, the militant faction, and the neutral faction that sided with neither.
Among the four elders, the First and Fourth Elders belonged to the moderate faction.
The Second Elder was part of the militant faction, while the Third Elder was neutral.
Uchiha Kei himself was a moderate, leaning more toward the Hidden Leaf's side.
This was also why Uchiha Fugaku later became a moderate—same family, same stance.Uchiha Yato was a rather special neutral faction. He didn't have high hopes for either the Hidden Leaf or the current situation of the Uchiha clan.
In the original story, throughout several great ninja wars, there were hardly any Kage-level powerhouses or notable Jonin from the Hidden Leaf who died in battle.
However, quite a few Kage-level figures were backstabbed.
The famous White Fang of the Leaf and the Sannin could all be considered victims.
It was precisely these internal factors that made other villages restless when they saw the Hidden Leaf's numbers dwindling.
If you want to weaken the Hidden Leaf Village, it would be more effective to stir up the ambitions of people like Shimura Danzo and let the village tear itself apart from within. That would inflict far greater casualties than launching a shinobi world war.
Thus, Uchiha Yato's core value was to protect the Uchiha Clan and unite them as one.
Even if war raged outside, he would never let the children of the Uchiha Clan suffer.
After Uchiha Kei proposed reforms to the Uchiha's educational policies and repeated the words Uchiha Yato had previously spoken in his home...
The Great Elder and Fourth Elder, representatives of the moderate faction, fell into deep thought, while the neutral Third Elder remained silent with downcast eyes.
The Second Elder was the first to speak among the elders: "What do you mean by this?"
"Are you suggesting we abandon the Uchiha's glory?"
"What do those commoners know? Without our Uchiha Clan, the Hidden Leaf Village might never have been founded in the first place."
Typical Uchiha rhetoric.
Forever drowning in past glories without self-reflection—this was the Uchiha Clan's greatest flaw.
Uchiha Yato cut straight to the point: "Second Elder, do you think our Uchiha Clan has any chance of producing the Fourth Hokage?"
The moment this topic was raised, every Uchiha in the room pricked up their ears.
Since the First Hokage's era, the Uchiha Clan had repeatedly missed their chance at the Hokage position.
The Second Hokage, being the First's younger brother and undeniably capable, deserved the title without question.
As for the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen—many still held reservations about him. It was only through Uzumaki Mito's gradual transfer of power that Hiruzen eventually solidified his position as Hokage.
Given the Uchiha's temperament, they firmly believed the Fourth Hokage must come from their clan. As co-founders of the Hidden Leaf alongside the Senju, they had every right to make such a claim.
By raising this question, Uchiha Yato was clearly setting up his counterargument.
"We can't become Hokage," Yato stated. "The village leadership would never allow an Uchiha to hold that position."
His words immediately provoked an emotional outburst from one Uchiha Jonin: "Why can't an Uchiha be Hokage? We helped create the Hidden Leaf alongside the Senju! We're major contributors! Why shouldn't we have that right?"
This sentiment was echoed by many other Uchiha in the room, as it touched upon their clan's pride.
After the commotion died down, Uchiha Yato continued calmly: "Let me ask you all—what qualifications do we have to become Hokage?"
"In the shinobi world, might makes right. Only the strong have a voice."
"Are we strong enough?"
This silenced the room. The Uchiha Clan had no shortage of Jonin—many present held that rank—but they all understood Yato's implication: they lacked a Kage-level powerhouse.
Yato pressed on: "Prime-aged Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Shinobi World's Darkness Shimura Danzo, the Sannin, the White Fang of the Leaf..."
"If you plan to seize power by force, every other clan would become our enemy. How many could we realistically defeat?"
"And in a prolonged conflict, could our clan's resources possibly match those of the entire Hidden Leaf Village?"As Uchiha Yato brought up one weighty topic after another, many of the Uchiha Jonin gradually fell silent.
The first to speak was the Second Elder. As the leading figure of the war faction, he now faced a serious crisis in combat ideology. He needed to say something that would leave Uchiha Yato speechless—not just for his own pride, but also to steady the resolve of the war faction Uchiha.
Similarly, there was another observer present—Uchiha Madara.
Back in the day, he had actually entertained some thoughts about the position of Hokage. However, after learning of the Moon's Eye Plan and deciding to pursue his own ideals, he left the village, thus forfeiting any chance at the title. Now, listening to his descendant analyze the Uchiha Clan's current predicament, it felt like making up for that past regret.
The Second Elder said, "So, according to you, if we follow your reforms, the Uchiha Clan will produce a Hokage?"
Uchiha Yato replied, "Let's stick to the facts. At the very least, making changes won't leave us worse off than we are now."
"And as I made clear from the start, we must start with the children."
The Second Elder remained silent, and the other Uchiha waited for Uchiha Yato to continue.
Yato went on, "First, the new generation of Uchiha must shed their arrogant tendencies."
"Right now, there are a few promising young Uchiha who can be properly nurtured. The elders should refrain from making those outrageous statements."
No one interjected this time, because it wasn't just the elders—most of these Jonin had children of their own, and many had indulged in some self-aggrandizement.
Yato continued, "I previously surveyed six children, and five of them looked down on the Academy's Three Basic Ninjutsu, dismissing them as too simple."
"Of course, it's possible they've already mastered them, in which case there's no point wasting time."
"But if the children disdain the Academy's Three Basic Ninjutsu, then let them earn new techniques from the clan through their own labor."
"Remember my condition—they must earn the new techniques through labor."
"Techniques taught by their parents don't count, and any techniques obtained from the clan cannot be privately shared with outsiders."
At this point, Uchiha Kei chimed in, "Learning Ninjutsu requires a place. Why not permanently designate the Second Training Hall for the Uchiha children? That way, they won't have to sneak off elsewhere to practice."
Yato nodded. "All of us here—including the elders and the clan head—should make an effort to teach the children the techniques they've earned in that hall, unless we're away on missions or outside the village."
"Of course, every ninja who participates should receive a supervision fee—not just for teaching, but also for protecting the Uchiha children."
"Can the clan fund this supervision fee?"
As he said this, Yato's gaze settled on Uchiha Kei.
Uchiha Kei didn't speak, merely nodding slightly to indicate his agreement.
Spending just a small amount of money could ensure the children's education, provide proper supervision, and guarantee Jonin received fair compensation—why wouldn't they do it?
At the same time, a Jonin interjected, "Didn't we previously discuss changing the civilian ninjas' perception of us?"
"If we don't allow them to participate, won't that just make them resent us more?"
Uchiha Yato replied, "I have other plans regarding that."