Back when Aonobu Kawai deliberately waved that art book in front of him, Gisei had been possessed by some kind of ghost, blindly falling into the pit without paying attention.
One wrong step caused everlasting regret; now, even if he wanted to climb out, he couldn't.
Aonobu only let him go after ruthlessly extorting him.
Not long after, people began arriving at the Takemoto residence.
After about an hour, everyone had finally gathered. Excluding the Takemoto family, a total of thirteen ninja clan heads were present.
Shuichi Takemoto waved his hand, and soon hundreds of ninjas in the courtyard used the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) to vanish, standing guard outside the perimeter.
Seeing this, Gisei felt that Shuichi was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Just a meeting—was it really necessary to be so jittery, treating every bush and tree like an enemy soldier?
Needless to say, the report of this gathering would definitely land on the Third Hokage's desk by tomorrow morning.
The Takemoto family's training hall had been temporarily converted into a conference room.
Gisei sat at the head seat, looking at the clan heads below, feeling a bit short of breath.
There were a full six old geezers with heads full of white hair sitting in wheelchairs, while the others were all dignified-looking middle-aged men.
Him, an underage child sitting at the head of the table—it felt weird no matter how he looked at it.
He had originally wanted Shuichi to preside over the meeting, but the old man blocked Gisei's mouth with a single sentence.
"I won't live much longer; this is something you will have to face sooner or later."
With no other choice, Gisei cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Grandpas and Uncles, I invited everyone here today because I have something to explain. I want to enter the Administrative Division."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the few old geezers turned their gazes toward Shuichi. The younger clan heads looked at each other in dismay before falling silent.
After a long pause, an old man's voice, surprisingly full of vitality, rang out.
"The Administrative Division is a department for retirement. Isn't it too early for you? We would prefer you to enter the regular forces. It's fine if you give up the position of Medical Squad Leader; it's not important anyway."
The old man who spoke was the head of the Fukuyama clan, Yunosuke Fukuyama.
Gisei felt troubled. He mainly wanted to enter the Administrative Division for its convenience. Not entering it was fine too, but the main issue was that his schedule wouldn't allow for a regular deployment.
Shuichi didn't speak. Some things couldn't always rely on others, especially at a moment like this.
Gisei thought carefully and felt he still needed to fight for it.
"Actually, the main reason I want to enter the Administrative Division is that I plan to revive my clan. If I continue to hold a frontline position in the village, my schedule will be too tight to manage it."
"Revive the clan?" A middle-aged man sitting at the end had a gleam flash through his eyes as he pressed, "Can I ask how you plan to revive the clan?"
As soon as this was said, quite a few people were surprised. Although they were allies, asking about such internal matters was crossing the line.
Gisei also glanced at him in surprise. He didn't know this man personally, but he knew he was from the Ishikura clan. When he visited before, the clan head seemed to be this man's father.
"Reviving the clan is still just an idea; there is no plan put down on paper yet. I am currently just doing some preparatory work."
Gisei wasn't stupid; naturally, it was impossible for him to reveal his actual plans on such an occasion.
Who knows what lies behind a smiling face? Moreover, an alliance based solely on interests had absolutely no foundation of trust.
The Ishikura clan head realized his slip of the tongue and quickly backpedaled. "Apologies, my curiosity got the better of me."
Gisei just nodded and continued, "Anyway, this is my current plan. If you elders have different ideas, you can bring them up."
After the dozen or so people exchanged looks, no one spoke. The scene became very strange.
Seeing this, Shuichi sneered. "I know you all have some other ideas, but you need to be clear that we have no other choice."
After Shuichi finished speaking, someone couldn't hold back anymore.
"Uncle Shuichi, you know perfectly well how we've lived these past years. We urgently need someone to stand up."
That sentence thoroughly opened the floodgates.
"That's right. The quota of missions issued by the village decreases every year, but our clan members are increasing. We are almost unable to make ends meet."
"Exactly. The important positions in the village are almost all occupied by the Hokage's faction. Our right to speak is becoming less and less, yet we can't fight for it."
"Without a strong person to hold the fort and speak for us, we don't even have the confidence to speak up at the village's annual routine meetings, let alone fight for the interests of our clansmen."
"I don't agree with you entering the Administrative Division. You only care about yourself. Are our clans supposed to just keep waiting?"
"Gisei, the clan matters can be put aside for later. Wait until you are an adult and married."
"Aonobu said you've even fought Hanzo. This shows your strength is already above standard. This is exactly the time to make a name for yourself. How can you shrink back?"
"And the position of Medical Squad Leader—I heard you fought for it yourself. What's so good about curing sickness and saving people? As a ninja, you have to rely on strength to speak!"
The more they spoke, the more agitated they became. Some even took the opportunity to accuse Gisei directly, their words becoming increasingly unpleasant.
Gisei's eyelids began to twitch violently, and the anger in his heart surged upward.
He finally understood. These guys only wanted to use him as a tool. Did a tool's thoughts matter?
No, they didn't.
Gisei felt he was truly stupid, looking for trouble when there was none.
Should I fall out with them?
He asked himself in his heart. Falling out was easy; making amends afterward would be difficult.
By the way, my original plan didn't seem to require them anyway, right?
Hmm... then let's fall out!
He had to let them understand who the real tool was!
Gisei began to release the seals inside his body, unsealing twenty of them at once.
This was the first time he had released such a massive amount of chakra.
The people who were arguing instantly stopped.
The chakra fluctuations coming from Gisei were simply too terrifying. Just the outbreak of chakra filled the air with a suffocating sensation.
Dust began to fall from the ceiling, and cracks started spreading outward on the floor.
The door to the conference room was violently pulled open. Someone tried to rush in but was suddenly knocked flying by an invisible force.
The attacker was Gisei. He glanced coldly outside the door, and soon the door slammed shut again.
He retracted his chakra and looked at them one by one with an expressionless face, giving absolutely no warmth to the few guys who had practically pointed at his nose and cursed him.
This kind of interest alliance...
"Since you don't agree, then let's disperse. I won't trouble everyone in the future. Anyway, my clan has only me left. I can't even feed myself fully, so how can I care about the life and death of others?"
After Gisei finished speaking, he vanished instantly using the Shunshin no Jutsu.
Leaving a room full of clan heads looking at each other in dismay, the hall fell into silence.
Shuichi Takemoto glanced at them, sneered, and walked out.
One must always give others a little time to think—or rather, to shift their perspective.
The world never lacks smart people; one just hopes they don't end up being too smart for their own good.