Everyone marveled at the unique skills of the Konoha 12, but few noticed that these young shinobi were either from prestigious clans or had found exceptional masters. They lacked neither talent nor resources.
How could the smaller clans or common folk ever enjoy such fortune? They were lucky if their teachers didn't treat them like servants.
When not on missions, the lives of ordinary chunin and genin were quite difficult. Shinobi, after all, lived on a knife's edge. Life-and-death situations were routine, and injuries were a common occurrence.
But medical-nin were incredibly rare and difficult to train, with most belonging to Konoha's central forces. Only on village-assigned missions was treatment provided free of charge. If you were injured on a private job, you had to pay for healing out of your own pocket.
If a team had someone with even a little medical ninjutsu, even if they were self-taught, it could save a huge amount of money—and perhaps a life in a critical moment. That was why, even if a medical-nin's combat skills were lacking, teams were still happy to bring them along.
Ninja tools cost money, and so did medical treatment. If you were injured and couldn't afford to get healed, you couldn't take on more missions. How would you eat or drink then?
Many of the smaller clans were weak, relying on just a few key members to keep them afloat. If one of them had an accident and died, the clan would immediately fall into decline.
Ultimately, it all came down to one thing: money.
So now that the Uchiha were suddenly throwing money around, how could these minor clans not be thrilled?
Kawasaki waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to quiet down. "Those willing to accept investment from the Uchiha clan can find our Fourth Elder, Yohei, in the Uchiha compound."
"We Uchiha don't deal in empty promises, nor do we play games with words," he continued. "There are no prerequisites. For those who want to join, we'll give you the money directly. For those not present today, I will arrange for someone to visit them personally."
"I must now take Elder Fugaku for treatment, so I will take my leave."
The crowd parted, allowing Kawasaki to leave with Fugaku. Many people hurried back to their clans, while others began contacting those who hadn't attended, planning to send someone to the Uchiha compound to see what was really going on.
After departing, Kawasaki headed toward Orochimaru's location. He wanted to check on the progress of Itachi's Eternal Mangekyo fusion and, while he was at it, leave Fugaku there to be cared for.
The next step, once they settled into their new territory, was to ensure the Uchiha had enough powerful members to protect the clan. Itachi's evolution to the Eternal Mangekyo would be a massive benefit to the Uchiha as a whole.
...
Back in Konoha, after the village meeting concluded, the various elders left in small groups, all discussing Kawasaki's speech.
Konoha was home to numerous clans. On the surface, the most powerful were the Uchiha and the Hyuga. But behind the scenes, the clans with the largest numbers were those close to the Third Hokage, such as the Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane's clan, Homura Mitokado's clan, and the Shimura clan.
The Sarutobi clan, in particular, had grown significantly in recent years without attracting much attention. Many members of the Anbu were, in fact, from the Sarutobi clan. The most lucrative assignments were almost entirely monopolized by these major families. The Hyuga were an exception, as their unique abilities made them valuable everywhere.
In the past, the Uchiha had mostly partnered with their own clansmen for missions. But with the new mission system, the smaller clans and commoners could barely get a taste of the profits. Getting rich was out of the question; they were barely making ends meet.
Everyone knew what was happening. This was the Uchiha's way of winning people over. It was a simple and crude tactic, but it was effective.
After some discussion, the elders of the minor clans all decided to send representatives to the Uchiha compound to see for themselves. These were the very people whose names Kawasaki had called out.
The journey from the center of Konoha to the Uchiha compound was a fair distance, and since they all had the same destination, they naturally fell into a group. As they walked, they noticed that the crowd consisted entirely of members from minor clans. The major clans had all said they needed more time to consider Kawasaki's investment offer.
But no one expected to see a famous Konoha figure mixed in with their group: Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi's presence made the entire affair far more significant.
As the group traveled, they chatted among themselves and discovered that the reasons the Uchiha had given for the investments were quite arbitrary. It seemed they had simply made up excuses to invite these specific clans.
When the time came, they all proceeded to the Uchiha compound, where they were received politely and guided into a large meeting hall. Dozens of clan representatives packed the room.
The Fourth Elder, Yohei, scanned the crowd. As expected, none of the major clans allied with the Hokage had shown up. The attendees were all from smaller clans, some of which had only one or two members left. But with Kakashi in attendance, it was enough.
Yohei took the main seat, and the room fell silent.
"Our Uchiha clan already has two individuals who have been promoted to the rank of Honorary Elder," he began. "The clan head believes that the Uchiha have prospered from our years of operating within Konoha. What we have earned from the village, we wish to give back to the village."
"Therefore, from this day forward, the Uchiha will provide financial support to the various clans of Konoha, in the hope that our village will grow ever more prosperous."
Yohei's tone shifted.
"The Third Hokage was a brilliant and powerful leader in his youth, but he is getting on in years, and his energy is not what it used to be. I hear he works late into the night for the sake of the village, buried under an endless pile of official duties. It is truly a heavy burden. We Uchiha simply wish to help share Lord Third's load."
The people in the audience understood immediately. After a moment of thought, the underlying meaning became clear. This was a direct challenge to the Third Hokage's fitness to lead.
Seeing that his words had sunk in, Elder Yohei continued.
"In addition to funding the clans present here, we Uchiha also plan to offer practical combat instruction within our compound. As the name suggests, anyone who signs up can receive hands-on guidance from Uchiha masters. And what's more... it will be completely free of charge!"
An uproar erupted from below. The Uchiha clan, offering free combat training?
If you were to ask which clan had the strongest practical combat skills, the Uchiha were without question at the top. Every Uchiha was a versatile fighter, excelling in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. They were the best possible sparring partners.
Why was practical training so important? Because the missions genin currently received were mostly menial tasks like finding lost cats or catching bugs. The pay was pitiful. To get higher-level missions, you had to be at least a chunin. For a commoner, passing the Chunin Exams on the second try was considered good. Passing on the first try was the mark of a genius.
It all boiled down to a lack of real combat experience. The Chunin Exams were a true life-or-death battle, yet many genin had never even fought another person before. The Uchiha's initiative would perfectly fill this massive gap in the transition from genin to chunin.
And the key point was, the Uchiha said it was all free.
The crowd exploded with disbelief, finding it hard to accept that this was real.
Kakashi had only intended to make an appearance, but he was stunned to hear about the Uchiha's offer of combat classes. Could the Uchiha really be doing all this just for appearances? he wondered.
Elder Yohei kept his words brief. After his announcement, he moved directly to the main event—distributing the money. There were no additional conditions, just a simple handout.
When the Uchiha members began to pass out the funds, the representatives were still a bit hesitant. It wasn't until they saw Kakashi accept a case filled with money that the others finally felt reassured and accepted their share.