Gisei Shiraishi became completely occupied.
He returned to the clan grounds and immediately began major renovations. At the same time, he visited his scattered clan members one by one, asking if they were willing to move back.
Most were willing; after all, Gisei had treated them well over the years, ensuring they never went hungry.
There was a portion, however, who refused. Gisei didn't force them. He simply gave each family a sum of money and completely severed ties with them, acting with brutal decisiveness.
Two months later, Gisei moved out of the Takemoto estate and back to his own clan's territory.
Anna Takemoto wanted to move with him, but Gisei refused. Although the two were engaged, living together while underage would look strange. He was the clan head now; his image was important.
Today was a significant day.
Gisei convened a gathering of all clan members and invited the heads of various other clans to witness the ceremony. Even the village dispatched Anbu to "maintain order."
Standing on the high platform, Gisei looked down at the two hundred or so clan members gathered below and fell into silence.
They were either elderly people with heads full of white hair or young members who had just reached adulthood. There weren't many children, and as for able-bodied men in their prime—there wasn't a single one.
When they were scattered across the village, he hadn't felt it as strongly. But now that they were gathered in one place, his heart clenched in painful spasms.
It was tragic. Even though more than a decade had passed since the First Shinobi World War, they still hadn't recovered their vitality.
Or perhaps... the village's suppression of their clan had simply never stopped.
Gisei recalled the familiar faces from his childhood, now long gone.
The Will of Fire?
Does my current mood count as the Will of Fire?
Ah, seriously... I want to destroy this village so badly!
Gisei's emotions spiraled a little out of control. He hurriedly covered his face with his hand, emitting strange sounds that were halfway between crying and laughing.
The visiting clan heads standing behind him also fell silent. Because the clan had been scattered for so long, they truly hadn't realized the Butterfly Users had declined to such a wretched state.
Sakumo Hatake stood in the distance, looking at these people with a bitter smile. He remembered the advice he had once given Gisei.
Indeed, it's hard to empathize with suffering that isn't your own. It wasn't without reason that he couldn't quite see through Gisei.
After calming himself down, Gisei pulled the plan he had prepared from his chest pocket. He didn't intend to speak empty words with no practical meaning; he was going to offer tangible benefits directly.
After a brief opening speech, Gisei looked at the faces below—filled with nervousness and expectation—and began to explain the new clan welfare benefits.
First and foremost was, of course, the subsidy for newborns to address the population crisis.
Originally, he planned to subsidize each newborn with one hundred thousand ryo, but he temporarily raised it to two hundred thousand. Of course, this number would likely be reduced later as appropriate, but for now, it needed to be shocking.
The second item was the establishment of a clan school. He essentially copied the nine-year compulsory education system from his previous life.
The third item covered the welfare system for clan ninjas.
The fourth item was his plan to establish a dedicated clan medical system.
The fifth item was the Monument of Longevity.
After listing nearly a dozen items in total, Gisei finally stopped.
The clan members below erupted into cheers. Gisei waved his hand, signaling them to be quiet. Although the noise died down, the joy on their faces was unstoppable.
Gisei instructed the clan ninjas to guide the members as they dispersed.
Once the crowd was gone, he held another meeting with the visiting clan heads. He didn't hide anything from the village; Sakumo was present to audit the entire thing.
The purpose of the meeting was, of course, money. He requested financial support from these ninja clans. Naturally, Gisei didn't take their money for free; he handed out official IOUs.
He promised exactly how much he would return each year and even calculated the interest.
The clan heads didn't make it difficult for him. Regardless of the amount, every ninja clan contributed something.
Gisei made a rough calculation; the total debt was close to two hundred million ryo.
With a bitter smile, he expressed his gratitude to the clan heads.
Once everyone had left, he convened a gathering of his own clan's ninjas.
In the meeting room, more than twenty ninjas sat cross-legged on the floor. Gisei stood in front of them, the bitter smile still lingering on his face.
"Everyone has seen it. The situation in the clan isn't good. I'll be counting on everyone to put in more effort from now on."
The only Jonin in the clan was a seventeen-year-old female ninja named Rie. She wasn't particularly good-looking—after all, her father was that burly fellow, Mori Shiraishi.
She used to live in the Asano family territory and went by Rie Asano. Now that she had moved back, she naturally changed her name to Rie Shiraishi.
Rie had good talent. Becoming a Jonin at seventeen without raising a butterfly seed made her look like a genius no matter how you sliced it.
"Lord Clan Head, regarding the dozen or so welfare benefits you mentioned just now... I think it would be better not to implement some of them," Rie said, opening the conversation.
"That's right. We understand your intentions, Lord Clan Head, but it's a bit excessive. There is no need for a clan school; isn't the Ninja Academy quite good?"
"And the medical system. The village has a hospital; isn't this superfluous?"
"Doing it like this... I just feel it's very strange."
"It's almost like a village within a village. Is it really okay to do this?"
It seems they noticed it too.
Gisei nodded to them. Instead of answering their concerns directly, he asked, "Since you have moved back, I want to ask: do you want to learn the secret techniques?"
Gisei briefly explained the pros and cons of the secret techniques, then waited for their answer.
No one spoke; they just looked at Gisei in silence.
Gisei smiled. "Since you aren't speaking, I'll take that as your silent agreement."
Seeing that no one withdrew, Gisei nodded and summoned his Ninja Butterfly.
After the butterfly brought the seeds, Gisei had Cheng carry out the inheritance of the secret technique for them.
When it was over, Gisei took out a scroll from his chest and signaled for them to pass it around.
The scroll contained the general catalog of family secret techniques he had compiled; he had even recorded the forbidden techniques on it.
When the scroll was passed back to Gisei's hand, their gazes became fervent.
They didn't lack standard ninjutsu; Gisei had basically taught them everything he could in the past. But secret techniques were the foundation of the family. Only by learning these could they be considered true ninjas of a noble clan.
Gisei thought for a moment and finally taught them the Cocoon Binding Technique.
Originally, he didn't want to teach it, but he had no choice. To prevent intelligence on the secret techniques from leaking, he had to do this.
Gisei then had them sign their names on the summoning scroll.
After they summoned their own Ninja Butterflies, each of their expressions became very weird.
Gisei felt a headache coming on. He had already forbidden the Ninja Butterflies from transforming into human forms in front of the clan members.
It was just that the butterflies' voices were exactly the same as their deceased relatives' voices, leaving them no choice but to let their imaginations run wild.
"Let me clarify first: a Ninja Butterfly is a Ninja Butterfly. Don't think too much. The butterfly will teach you about the cultivation of the secret techniques."
"Also, I will organize the classics in the family library and place them in the clan for you to view."
Thinking it over, Gisei felt it was about enough, so he dismissed them.
After all the clan members had left, Gisei clenched his fists.
He had originally planned to do things quietly, but seeing the tragic state of the clan, a fire had ignited in his heart that he desperately wanted to vent.
So he stated his plans grandly and openly.
Not only did the clan members feel it was unusual, but even the visiting clan heads had eyes flashing with realization.
They didn't try to dissuade Gisei; after all, they had been tipped off in advance.
Next, it would depend on what the Third Hokage does.