Early the next morning, Uchiha Ren woke up before dawn. Together with Fugaku Uchiha , Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna, and Second Elder Uchiha Ya, he headed toward the Hokage Tower.
This Jōnin Council was different from the previous emergency meeting. This time, all officially registered jōnin of Konohagakure were qualified to attend. That was why Setsuna and Ya insisted on coming along as well—they wanted to see how things would unfold.
Inside the large conference hall of the Hokage Tower stood a long meeting table capable of seating over a hundred people. On both sides of the room were rows of tightly arranged chairs.
The seats at the central table were reserved for department heads of Konoha and the clan leaders of the major families.
The chairs lining both sides of the hall were for jōnin without official positions—whether from minor clans or civilian backgrounds.
Altogether, the hall could accommodate several hundred people.
Although it was not yet nine o'clock—the scheduled start of the meeting—the room was already nearly full.
Uchiha Ren and the others took their seats in the section reserved for the Uchiha Clan. Sitting beside them, just like last time, were the Hyūga brothers: Hiashi Hyūga and Hizashi Hyūga.
However, this time several Hyūga clan elders had also come to attend the meeting.
Ren casually chatted with the two brothers to pass the time.
After a while, Hiashi lowered his voice and asked quietly:
"Ren, I heard that shortly after you returned yesterday, Elder Mitokado and Elder Shimura went to see you. And when Elder Mitokado left, he looked furious."
"What exactly happened?"
Ren's eyes flickered slightly.
"There's no real secret to it," he replied with a faint smile. "Those old fellows will probably bring it up during the meeting anyway."
"I reached an agreement with the Fire Daimyō and secured a new funding channel."
"I took away one of the Finance Department's revenue sources."
The only funding channel connected to the Daimyō, of course, was the subsidy funds allocated by the Fire Daimyō's Court to Konoha.
Hiashi couldn't help sighing.
"Ren… you really made a huge move without anyone noticing."
"You've essentially grabbed hold of a weakness of the village leadership."
Ren only smiled.
"That's hardly the biggest matter today."
"Later on, I might have a surprise for you."
Hiashi was startled. Although he had no idea what Ren meant, he suddenly found himself looking forward to it.
After a brief pause, Hiashi glanced back at the Hyūga elders behind them. Seeing that their attention was elsewhere, he lowered his voice again.
"There's something else."
"I'm afraid the matter regarding the Hyūga Archer Unit can't be hidden much longer."
Ren asked calmly,
"What do the elders of your clan intend to do?"
Hiashi's expression darkened.
"They want Hizashi to hand over control of the Archer Unit."
"Hizashi couldn't refuse that demand… so he transferred command to me."
Ren immediately understood.
The Hyūga Archer Unit had been personally established by Ren and Hizashi. Its members were all trustworthy Hyūga clansmen.
Furthermore, their missions on the Kirigakure battlefield had mostly been small-scale encounters, allowing the unit to remain hidden until this war.
But during the Battle of Kikyō Mountain Fortress, the Hyūga archers had performed brilliantly.
Naturally, many observant people had taken notice.
Hiashi continued in a low voice:
"Several elders in the clan have already received reports. They've asked me about the Archer Unit several times."
"They're extremely wary of it."
Ren chuckled softly.
"Of course they are."
"After all, its existence is a direct threat to them."
Within the Hyūga Clan, despite sharing the same bloodline, the Main House controlled the lives and deaths of the Branch House.
Over time, the status of the Main House had become almost untouchable, treating branch members like servants—or even livestock.
Under such a system, resentment naturally accumulated among the Branch House members.
Since the creation of the Main House–Branch House system, rebellions had occasionally occurred.
And the method of rebellion was simple:
assassinating members of the Main House.
However, due to the existence of the Caged Bird Seal, these rebels—who relied primarily on taijutsu—rarely even had the chance to approach their targets before being killed.
But now things were different.
The Branch House had produced something new.
The Hyūga Archer Unit.
A group of sharpshooters capable of killing enemies from hundreds of meters away.
For the Hyūga Main House, this was an extremely dangerous development.
Ren thought for a moment before replying:
"This matter can't be rushed."
"Orochimaru and Kushina Uzumaki are still researching the Caged Bird Seal."
"At the very least, we must wait until Minato Namikaze becomes the Fourth Hokage and firmly establishes his authority."
"Only then will the timing be right."
Hiashi gritted his teeth slightly.
"I'll delay things as long as I can."
Ren nodded.
"And if possible, we should minimize casualties. That requires the right opportunity."
Hiashi's pupils suddenly contracted as he understood Ren's meaning.
For a moment, shock filled his eyes.
Because he realized—
Ren was not merely talking about reform.
He was talking about completely overturning the Hyūga Clan's thousand-year-old system.
Time passed.
Soon it was nine o'clock.
Just as the final seats in the conference hall were filled, the leaders known as Konoha's "F4" pushed open the doors and entered.
However, something immediately caught everyone's attention.
Among the four main seats normally reserved at the head of the table—
one was empty.
Only Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane , and Shimura Danzō walked toward the central seats.
Meanwhile—
Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly took a seat slightly forward along the side of the conference table.
The curtain on the Jōnin Council had officially risen.
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