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Weekend night.
At Fugaku's house.
Training for the day had just ended.
Ken originally came over hoping to score a free meal, but instead found Fugaku gathered with the clan's elites in a meeting.
Voices rose now and then—arguments, sharp and heated.
Sitting out in the corridor, idly keeping little Sasuke occupied, Ken could catch fragments drifting out from inside.
"Pay cuts… reduced benefits… suspicion from the higher-ups…"
It didn't take much to piece it together. The village had likely cut funding to the Uchiha, which meant lower wages for the police force—and now people were clashing over it.
As one of Konoha's most powerful clans, the Uchiha should've been thriving. But under pressure from the village leadership, they lacked any strong sources of income.
On top of that, to prevent Uchiha from awakening the Sharingan, the higher-ups deliberately limited their missions outside the village. After all, the trauma of losing comrades or loved ones could trigger that unique chakra in their brains—flowing into their eyes and awakening the Sharingan.
Cold, but effective.
The result? Shrinking income across the clan.
And a life too comfortable dulled their edge, dragging down their overall strength.
Like boiling a frog in warm water.
Members of the police force were still doing okay—at least their salaries came from the village.
But ordinary clan members had it rough. Most scraped by running small stalls or shops. Couples like Uchiha Hazuki and Uchiha Tekka made a living selling flatbread, barely getting by.
"Ken, play with me!" Sasuke tugged on his sleeve, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"What do you want to play?" Ken smiled, rubbing the kid's soft little head.
"Show me how to breathe fire!" Sasuke looked up at him with sparkling eyes, full of expectation.
"…Yeah, I can't do that," Ken coughed awkwardly.
Bloodline limits were the clan's highest secrets. Right below that came their stored ninjutsu.
Even though his parents were ninja and had learned Fire Release techniques, the clan tightly controlled them. Once taught, the scrolls were taken back, and copying them privately was forbidden.
So Ken had never had access to Fire Release.
At six years old, he wasn't qualified to learn it yet anyway. Right now, he only knew the basic Three Body Techniques and chakra extraction.
Well… aside from Wood Release. That didn't count.
"My brother can do it! You're so lame, Ken!" Sasuke's eyes gleamed with mischief. He started waving his hands like he was forming seals, puffing out his cheeks and making "whoosh whoosh" sounds, pretending to spit fire.
He even sniffed smugly at the end.
After all, Itachi was his hero.
Ken was speechless.
Oh, you little brat.
Fine. Kids get a pass.
I'm generous like that.
So instead of arguing, he beckoned Sasuke closer—then grabbed his cheeks and gave them a good squeeze.
"Sasuke, you're way too cute!"
The kid's face squished from round to square as he tried to protest, only managing muffled "mmph mmph" sounds.
Hey, before this brat grows up, unlocks the Eternal Mangekyō, and gets the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan, might as well enjoy messing with him a bit.
Whether Sasuke enjoyed it or not…
Ken definitely did.
He was broad-minded like that.
Very generous.
Just as he was happily kneading Sasuke's face, the meeting room door slid open.
Itachi stepped out and walked toward them.
Ken instantly straightened up, placing a hand gently on Sasuke's head and stroking it like a kind, responsible older brother.
Too bad Sasuke bolted straight to Itachi.
"Big brother, Ken bullied me! Waaah…"
Itachi's gaze turned cold, his expression sharpening as he looked at Ken.
Ken gave an awkward smile, silently insisting it was just a joke.
Itachi snorted. "Father wants you inside. Sit in on the meeting."
After learning Ken had arrived, Fugaku had sent Itachi to bring him in.
In the ninja world, even kids could be sent to war—so a six-year-old attending a clan meeting wasn't strange at all.
Ken nodded and followed Itachi inside.
His father had once been one of the clan's strategists, offering many valuable ideas for the Uchiha's development. Because of that, even at six, Ken was taken seriously.
He'd attended meetings before.
Inside, the atmosphere was heavy.
An old wooden table sat at the center.
Fugaku was at the head, his expression grim.
Around him were elite members like Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Inabi, and Uchiha Tekka—all part of the Konoha Police Force.
Ken glanced around and noticed someone missing.
Shisui—the famed "Body Flicker"—wasn't here.
Then again, Shisui was in the Anbu. A clan meeting like this wasn't exactly the place for him.
What caught Ken's attention more was the number of kids his age sitting along the sides—boys and girls alike, attending as observers.
"Ken, take a seat," Fugaku said, pointing to a spot.
The meeting resumed.
"Ever since the Nine-Tails incident," Fugaku began, "the village leadership has grown suspicious of us. The villagers don't trust us either. Our reputation keeps falling."
He paused, his voice steady but heavy.
"We need to change this. The Uchiha deserve to live here with dignity."
"Speak freely. Any ideas—don't hold back."
Fugaku leaned toward reconciliation. He wanted to repair relations with the village.
Partly to restore funding for the police force.
Partly to avoid conflict that would cost lives.
Yashiro, representing the hardliners, sat with his arms crossed, eyes closed, silent. He knew better than anyone—unless the Uchiha achieved some monumental contribution, nothing would change.
"Fugaku… you're still too naive," someone muttered.
Inabi and Tekka stayed quiet.
Itachi frowned slightly, letting out a faint sigh.
"Is it really that hopeless?" Fugaku gave a bitter smile.
After a moment of hesitation, Ken spoke from his seat.
"Clan Head… I don't think Konoha has ever truly accepted us. The Uchiha have always been distrusted. I don't see that changing."
He knew the story. Knew about Danzo working in the shadows.
The Uchiha were already trapped, with no real way out.
But Fugaku and his wife had been kind to him. So had the clan.
He couldn't fix everything—but he could at least try to shift things a little.
And besides, showing some ability was the only way he'd earn better training and support.
Fugaku sighed deeply.
Even a six-year-old could see it. Why keep deceiving themselves?
A quiet sense of despair spread through the room.
Some still clung to hope. Maybe the village leadership would change their minds.
But that hope was nothing more than a daydream.
Fugaku felt it most of all.
The Uchiha had sacrificed countless lives for Konoha across multiple wars. He himself had earned great merit in the Third Shinobi War.
And yet none of it had ever been acknowledged.
Like it all meant nothing.
"Then what do you think we should do?" Fugaku looked at Ken, not dismissing him because of his age. If anything, there was a trace of expectation in his eyes.
Everyone turned to him.
Ken spoke calmly.
"Our demands have always been simple. We don't want suspicion or mistrust. We want a fair chance to compete for leadership positions."
The Uchiha were one of Konoha's founding clans.
Yet among the four Hokage so far—not a single one had been Uchiha.
They weren't even part of the village's leadership circle.
They had no voice.
And that wasn't fair.
"But things are already set in stone," Ken continued. "We can't change that now. What we can do is strengthen ourselves—prepare for whatever comes next."
"You can't wake someone pretending to sleep. Just like we can't make the village trust us."
His words were clear. Logical.
Fugaku's eyes lit up. "Then how do we grow stronger?"
After a brief pause, Ken answered:
"First—the 'Young Hawk' policy."
Invest heavily in the next generation.
Under the village's suppression, the Uchiha's overall strength had been declining. Fewer jonin. Fewer chunin.
So he proposed that after academy graduation, young clan members should continue training under experienced ninja within the clan.
Raise the overall level.
Prevent a gap in generations.
Right now, their training system was too weak. Too inconsistent.
Strength didn't mean rebellion.
But without strength, you had no voice.
With strength, you could stand tall—not kneel and beg for recognition.
"Second—develop industries."
Money meant power.
Without funds, strength couldn't grow.
Other clans already had their niches:
The Sarutobi sold ninja tools.
The Nara raised deer for medicine.
The Akimichi ran barbecue restaurants.
The Inuzuka ran pet clinics.
The Aburame cultivated insects.
"These sectors are basically monopolized," Yashiro sighed. "We're already behind. Catching up won't be easy."
Ken grinned.
"Who says everything's taken? We can go into real estate."
He'd noticed something over the past year.
No clan was paying attention to property.
The main reason? Houses were expensive. Even clan members needed years to save up enough to buy one outright.
For ordinary ninja with no backing, it was even harder.
So he proposed installment payments.
Sign a contract.
Pay over five or ten years.
Fixed monthly payments.
Miss a payment? The property goes back to the Uchiha.
Once he finished explaining—
The room went dead silent.
Fugaku. Yashiro. Itachi. Tekka. Inabi.
All of them stared at him like they'd just heard something revolutionary.
"Installments"… it was a completely new concept.
And yet—it made perfect sense.
The kids sitting nearby were practically looking at him like he was a hero.
Every ninja dreamed of having a home. A place to belong.
But paying everything upfront was crushing.
With installments… they could move in early.
Real estate.
Definitely worth doing.
Ken inwardly sighed.
This is the power of ideas.
Fugaku's eyes slowly turned red, three tomoe spinning into place as a powerful aura surged from him.
"This concerns the survival of the Uchiha," he said firmly.
"Everything discussed today stays here. Not a single word leaves this room. Break that rule—and face clan punishment."
Even without starting yet, he could already see it—
If this system launched, it would shake the village.
A steady flow of income.
Massive profits.
But if other clans found out, the opportunity would vanish.
This had to stay secret.
"…Ken is incredible," Itachi thought, shaken more than once by his ideas.
He had always been praised as a prodigy.
But hearing these strategies…
He felt completely outmatched.
A trace of admiration even crept into his heart.
"Third," Ken continued, "the police force should stop meddling so much."
Most troublemakers in the village were backed by major clans.
Enforcing the law strictly had only earned the Uchiha their resentment.
Those clans retaliated behind the scenes.
With some people fanning the flames, public opinion turned against the Uchiha.
They ended up isolated on all sides.
"Let's see what happens when we step back," Ken said.
"Let everyone see what the village looks like without us maintaining order."
The room buzzed with agreement.
No one expected such mature thinking from a six-year-old.
Ken was… monstrous.
Maybe—
Just maybe—
The Uchiha still had hope.
"....."