By the end, Renji rose to his feet, fists clenched.
He felt he had done well this time. Surely the plan would be adopted. What a plan it was he had spent hours hammering it out. He glanced at the two before him. Nobunaga still looked dazed. Fugaku…
Renji's younger brother suddenly shot to his feet, startling him. What now?
Fugaku turned to his father. "Father! Big brother is right! Everything he said is right! This is exactly what we should do. Let them choke on their own schemes until they shatter. Just hearing it is satisfying. Just thinking of it is cathartic!"
Renji nodded with the air of an old father. At last, his little brother had grown up and could speak sense.
Nobunaga snapped out of his stupor and slammed his hand on the desk so hard the wood nearly split. "Yes! That is exactly what we will do. Renji, write it out. I will convince the elders. Not only must we do this, we must do it well."
He knew he would have to hammer this into the skulls of those muscle-brained elites. The Uchiha might be the strongest clan in the shinobi world, but politically they were fools. Without explanation they would think he had lost his mind, giving up hard-won power to curry favor with the Hokage faction.
"I already wrote it. Here, Uncle." Renji pulled a scroll from his robe and handed it over. Inside were the details of his plan and the reasoning behind it. "Also, one more thing. Since little Fugaku is returning to the Police, he should have his own squad. I propose we younger ones select his teammates ourselves. Five will be enough."
Fugaku added, "Father, I agree with big brother. If I can choose my own comrades, we will work together far better."
Nobunaga nodded. "Very well. I will issue an order. You may recruit, but only with their consent. We are all family. Let us not make it awkward."
Renji smirked inwardly. Who would refuse a chance to serve under the future clan head? Only a fool.
When they left the office, Fugaku asked, "Big brother, who should we choose?"
"You mean you have no candidates yourself?" Renji frowned. "You only spent a few years on outside squads. Surely you kept in touch with some peers?"
"I do have a few, but they were just childhood playmates. I don't know their true skill," Fugaku admitted.
"No matter. I've prepared some already. Uchiha Yakumi you knew him as a boy. Reliable, with rare political sense and skill in logistics.
"Uchiha Mugetsu skilled in genjutsu, fire and lightning release, with a quality summoning hound. Strong in combo jutsu. He is the direct grandson of the Fourth Elder.
"Uchiha Motonao and Uchiha Yoshimoto fourth and eighth place in the clan's sword tournament.
"And Uchiha Ue-kun good with genjutsu and fire release, sharp-tongued, useful for cutting down enemies with words. Strong fighter as well, especially paired with his hound."
"These are the best of our young generation. If your friends are not among them, then their current level is nothing special."
Fugaku nodded, satisfied. "Then we go with your choices. I am not familiar with the clan's younger talent anyway."
Renji smiled but kept his thoughts to himself. These boys were loyalists, and Mugetsu and Ue-kun's fathers were hardliners. Being around them would shape Fugaku. He would make sure his little brother never turned traitor.
Together the brothers visited each candidate. Every one of them gladly accepted. Who would turn down being comrades of the future clan head?
Meanwhile Nobunaga carried Renji's scroll to the elders. A meeting was called. Aside from the Second Elder, away in the Land of Fire, all four elders attended.
Nobunaga rose. "Elders, uncles, we Uchiha have fought since the First Shinobi War to be accepted by Konoha, to stand as equals. For this we sent generation after generation of our best to die on the battlefield, for Konoha and for our clan. What did we gain? Endless slander, isolation, insult.
"What did we do wrong? Why this treatment? This morning my nephew Renji opened my eyes.
"For generations, we were mistaken! We never wronged Konoha. Nothing we did would ever have won acceptance. The reason is simple: we are too strong. Our bloodline is too powerful. A single pair of eyes guarantees a pillar of the village. Our numbers are vast. Left unshackled, the Uchiha are unbeatable.
"And the Hokage faction destroyed with their own hands the one clan that could have balanced us the Senju. With Senju gone, Uchiha have no equal. Do you think they will ever allow power to rest in our hands? In the hands of a clan they spent decades suppressing, insulting, and plotting against?
"Do they not fear our revenge? Do they not fear our reckoning? They will never allow us fair existence. They are too weak to do otherwise. The only way they sleep easy is to drown us, to turn us into the village's enemy."
"Bang!" The Fourth Elder, Silver Wolf, slammed the table. "Outrageous! Too much!"
"Now I see it," said the Third Elder, once soft toward Konoha. His face twisted with bitterness. "No wonder the old hostility resurfaces. We were fools. Our whole lives were nothing but a clown show for their amusement."
The Grand Elder leaned forward. "Renji. That boy must have devised a way forward. His mind is like none I've seen. Tell us his counter."
"Yes. Renji is our lucky star. He came back and in one night of clashing with Root, he wrote a counter-plan that will make them choke on their own medicine." Nobunaga unrolled the scroll. Every elder's eyes locked onto it.
"This is the Fallow Soil Plan."
The meeting lasted the whole afternoon. Lunch was brought in. Every elder poured their energy into patching and perfecting the plan. By the end, not only was the Fallow Soil Plan adopted, they also birthed a second, called the Sunflower Plan.
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