Inside the primary meeting hall of the Uchiha clan compound, incense smoke curled lazily toward the ceiling, mingling with the heavy tension that always accompanied these wartime councils.
Uchiha Sōsuke and the clan Elders gathered in a tight circle for their regular tactical discussion and casualty report.
"Clan Head, here is the comprehensive summary of the casualties we have suffered across all fronts thus far," the First Elder, Uchiha Ken, announced grimly. He slid a sheet of crisp parchment across the table, detailing the clan's sacrifices during the global conflict.
As Sōsuke scanned the numbers, his expression darkened. "…27 Jonin, 292 Chunin, and 21 Genin."
"Yes," Ken nodded grimly. "Of those losses, 11 Jonin, 169 Chunin, and all 21 Genin were from the older generation—men and women well over the age of fifty or sixty who volunteered to bolster our ranks. From our active Military Police divisions, we lost 16 Jonin and 123 Chunin."
Ken paused and carefully monitored Sōsuke's stoic demeanor before offering a silver lining.
"We were incredibly fortunate that Uchiha Naka successfully awakened Kamimusubi during his deployment. Otherwise, we would have permanently lost at least thirty more Jonin and two hundred more Chunin—a casualty list that included several of our most promising young elite Jonin."
The Second Elder, Uchiha Ryōma, and the Seventh Elder, Uchiha Shiro, nodded in silent, heavy agreement. As the Elders directly responsible for commanding active combat units and training the clan's youth, they knew exactly which high-tier Uchiha Jonin would have perished on the Uzushio front had Naka not rewritten their deaths.
"Kamimusubi… the legendary dōjutsu of our predecessor, upon which Izanagi was originally conceptualized," Sōsuke muttered under his breath as he traced the text on the parchment.
"Yes, Clan Head. This marks only the second time in our clan's long history that a kinsman has successfully awakened this specific authority," Uchiha Shiki, the Tenth Elder in charge of safeguarding the clan's secret jutsu repository and historical records, spoke with palpable excitement.
"Kamimusubi is an exceptionally rare manifestation of the Mangekyō Sharingan. To think Naka achieved it! However, an ability that powerful demands an astronomical price in ocular power. I cannot help but worry if the boy's eyes are structurally stable right now..."
"What do you mean, Shiki? Is there a inherent danger to utilizing Kamimusubi?"
Uchiha Shino, the Eighth Elder and head of the Uchiha medical division, questioned, her medical instincts instantly flaring with anxiety.
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Shiki quickly clamped his hand over his mouth. He looked up, only to find Sōsuke and Ken glaring at him with intense, piercing gazes that practically commanded silence.
"Haah~" Sōsuke let out a deep, heavy sigh, breaking the tension. "It is fine, Elder Shiki. I am certain the council is, to a certain extent, already aware of the taboo. The unique techniques of the Mangekyō Sharingan aggressively consume the user's sight depending on how frequently they are unleashed."
The gathered Elders nodded slowly, their expressions grim.
"I will clarify the historical context, Clan Head," Shiki took over as he eagerly adjusted his posture.
"Kamimusubi is a supreme dōjutsu capable of completely altering the reality of a fatal experience, much like Izanagi. Uchiha Shinnosuke, the first ancestor to awaken it, utilized this absolute authority to completely turn the tide of cataclysmic battles when facing overwhelming foes. However, deploying it on a grand, army-wide scale extracted a terrible toll, causing him to lose his light at an accelerated rate. Worried that such an invaluable asset would be permanently lost to our lineage after his death or blindness, Shinnosuke meticulously studied the exact chakra fluctuations and sensory mechanics he experienced while Kamimusubi was active. Through that agonizing research, he successfully manufactured a new technique: Izanagi. It replicated Kamimusubi's reality-warping effect, but at the steep, irreversible cost of sacrificing the sight of a standard Sharingan."
A collective gasp echoed through the chamber.
While every Elder present was aware of Izanagi's existence as a myth, only the First and Second Elders actually possessed the knowledge to perform it. Ken had inherited the forbidden hand seals from his predecessor, and Ryōma had been entrusted with the secret only upon ascending to the rank of Second Elder after his predecessor fell in combat against the Senju clan. Following a ancient, bloody civil war sparked entirely by the abuse of that technique, the Uchiha clan had established an absolute decree: only the Clan Head and the top two ranking Elders were permitted to hold the hand seals to cast Izanagi.
Shiki pressed on, but this time, his voice turned somber.
"Izanagi served its purpose, continuously saving our clan from absolute annihilation long after Shinnosuke's passing. However, commanding the power to rewrite reality corrupted many of our ancestors. Driven by a maddening desire to monopolize Izanagi and avoid their own deaths, certain factions turned on one another, igniting a horrific internal civil war. The conflict ultimately concluded with devastating casualties for our bloodline, and Izanagi was permanently classified as a Kinjutsu—a forbidden technique."
The meeting hall fell into a profound, reflective silence. The weight of their clan's bloody history pressed heavily upon them.
"HAHAHAHA! Truly, our modern bloodline is blessed by the heavens!"
The heavy silence was suddenly shattered by Uchiha Haka, the Sixth Elder and Deputy Leader of the Military Police Force, who began laughing uncontrollably with sheer elation. His dual responsibilities as the clan's chief judiciary officer and the deputy commander of the police force had subjected him to immense, crushing stress for years. He had lived in constant paranoia that the Uchiha would eventually collapse under the mounting political pressure and military operations of the Senju and the Konoha council.
But now, his normally stern, heavily lined face was completely flushed with glee. "Our younger generation is absolutely overflowing with unparalleled geniuses! Senju Tobirama and the Konoha brass will never dare look down upon the Uchiha clan again!"
The Elders and Sōsuke frowned slightly at the Sixth Elder's uncharacteristic behavior but ultimately just shook their heads in resignation. They could tell that Haka desperately needed to relieve the immense structural stress he had accumulated over the past few years; it was simply that the time and place were entirely inappropriate.
Bypassing the outburst, Sōsuke smoothly redirected the flow of the council meeting. "Elder Sakura, what is the status of our food supply reserves?"
Uchiha Sakura, the Fifth Elder, immediately responded, her eyes bright with capitalistic excitement.
"Clan Head, we made an absolute fortune this time. Utilizing the surplus food supplies we systematically stockpiled under your direct orders, we exported the majority of our grain reserves to the Daimyōs of the Land of Rivers, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Hot Springs at a premium. We successfully earned back twenty times the initial Ryo we spent to secure those grains!"
"Magnificent," Sōsuke approved with a slow nod. "And what of our surplus war supplies, Elder Kyōsuke?"
Kyōsuke, the Ninth Elder, replied with a visible trace of pride warming his tone.
"While we did not secure the staggering profit margins that the Fifth Elder managed, we earned immense political favor from the other allied clans in return. Furthermore, we recouped three times the original Ryo spent to manufacture those weapons and explosive tags."
"So... we are looking at a grand total of forty-five billion Ryo," Sōsuke murmured, scanning a fresh sheet of parchment that Ken slipped into his hands. "And that is the net balance after deducting the expenses for our clan compound renovations, welfare provisions, and full pensions for the families who lost kinsmen to the front lines... These Daimyōs truly possess a staggering amount of liquidity. Huh."
"Yes, sir. To be frank, we initiated the negotiations by proposing absurdly high numbers, intending to slowly compromise down to a reasonable market price," Sakura explained, a hint of lingering bewilderment touching her face as she recalled the closed-door diplomacy.
"We never anticipated they would accept our opening offers without a single counter-proposal. We started by quoting ten times the standard price in the Land of Hot Springs, and we were shocked when the Daimyō signed off on it instantly. Emboldened, we raised the stakes to twenty times the normal rate in the Land of Grass, and they agreed without batting an eye. Finally, testing the absolute limits of their desperation, I demanded fifty times the regular grain value from the Land of Rivers. A minister finally intervened to negotiate, but they still ended up purchasing the shipment at thirty-five times its actual worth."
To this day, Sakura and her elite mercantile subordinates remained entirely baffled by the easy money they had generated. They couldn't help but question the sheer competence of these foreign nobles and their administrative staffs. Were they truly that desperate for rations? Or were they simply paralyzed by the terrifying weight of the Uchiha name?
The reality of the situation slipped past their immediate notice. The small buffer states of Rivers, Grass, and Hot Springs had been completely devastated by the crossfire of the great hidden villages.
Terrified of the geopolitical might of the Land of Fire, their Daimyōs and nobility remained haunted by the legendary tales of Uchiha Madara's absolute power and unyielding ideals. They highly doubted the Uchiha clan would outright slaughter them, but the traumatized Daimyōs simply chose to submit unconditionally to the clan's "business suggestions" rather than risk offending them.
"Hmm." Sōsuke narrowed his eyes, slowly massaging his chin as he analyzed the economic data. "Moving forward... let's strictly refrain from executing this specific maneuver again."
"But why, Clan Head?" Sakura and Kyōsuke questioned simultaneously, their voices laced with surprise. "We generated unprecedented profits for our treasury!"
"First and foremost, we are shinobi, not common merchants," Sōsuke explained, his voice taking on the firm authority of a leader.
"Second, when has the Uchiha clan ever lacked the financial resources required to sustain itself, to the point where we must exploit a global tragedy for profit? Third, accumulating excessive wealth during a time of widespread suffering is dangerous. It easily invites unwanted political scrutiny and deep-seated animosity from those who have lost everything to this war."
Sōsuke paused, letting his wisdom sink into the council before delivering his solution.
"The moment this global conflict officially concludes, our clan will host a village-wide grand banquet and celebratory festival through the Uchiha Gourmet Restaurant. Every single expense, from the high-tier food to the administrative services, will be fully subsidized by our treasury. Once the villagers experience our absolute hospitality, no one will dare point an envious finger at our financial windfalls."
The Elders exchanged brief, approving glances around the circular table before nodding their collective heads in deep respect.
"We follow your wisdom, Clan Head."
With the primary agenda settled, Sōsuke and the council cleared a few remaining minor domestic matters before officially adjourning the assembly, returning to their respective estates as the shadows of the evening crawled over the Uchiha compound.