On a whim, he asked the system another question.
"System, what else do you have?"
After a brief silence, the emotionless voice sounded: "One Starter Gift Pack."
"Huh? There really is one? You weren't going to say anything if I didn't ask, were you?"
"...Yes," the system replied after a moment of silence, admitting its "passive slacking."
"..." Hiroki was speechless. The slight sense of relief from clearing his thoughts was further dampened by the system's unreliability. "Then open the Starter Gift Pack."
"Understood."
Almost instantly, Hiroki felt a slight weight in his hand. A flash of light, seemingly non-existent in reality, flickered, and a scroll emitting an ancient aura with a texture like aged parchment abruptly appeared in his open palm. He instinctively gripped it; the parchment felt tough and slightly cool.
"Ding! Obtained the Uchiha Clan."
"Huh?" This short exclamation was filled with immense shock. The Uchiha Clan? The legendary Uchiha whose eyes could glare someone to death?
He looked down and unfurled the heavy parchment scroll. Densely packed black characters met his eyes—a clearly arranged list of names.
Clan Head: Uchiha Fugaku
Clan Members: Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Yakumi, Uchiha Izumi... The list extended downwards. At a rough estimate, over two hundred names were written on the paper!
Hiroki's fingers tightened slightly on the scroll, and his heart rate unconsciously quickened. This was...?
"System, what do all these names mean?" he immediately followed up in his mind, his voice carrying a trace of uncontrollable urgency.
"These are the deceased members of the Uchiha Clan," the system's explanation remained concise and direct, yet it sent shockwaves through Hiroki's heart. "They will pledge their loyalty to you in exchange for a chance to live another life."
Live another life?! Pledge loyalty?! A wave of wild joy nearly crashed through Hiroki's reason. This was the Uchiha Clan! A ninja clan famous in the Naruto World with incredibly powerful Bloodline Limit! It was like being handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy! Had he hit the jackpot?!
The massive surprise made him immediately look down to scrutinize the list. Uchiha Fugaku... the Clan Head, remembered as a possessor of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Uchiha Shisui... the legendary 'Shisui of the Body Flicker', possessing the strongest Genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, also a Mangekyo user!
Continuing down... Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Inabi... these names seemed familiar from the original work, likely ordinary Jonin or Three-Tomoe users? Uchiha Yakumi... a civilian ninja? Uchiha Izumi... Itachi's childhood friend?
Wait... something's not right! Hiroki's sharp gaze rapidly scanned the list several times, his brow furrowing deeper. He couldn't help but roar at the system in his consciousness: "Wait, System! Why are there only two Mangekyo users, Uchiha Fugaku and Shisui?! Where's my big Madara??? And what about the 'pious son' Uchiha Itachi?! And the top-tier Mangekyo users like Madara's brother, Izuna?! Aren't they all dead? Did you take a kickback???"
Although there were two Mangekyo users on the list, the strongest legendary figures were missing. The sense of disappointment was too great!
The system's reply was cold and lacked empathy: "The system selected the Uchiha Clan captured around the time of the Night of the Clan Downfall." The meaning was clear: it was the group of souls who died on the night Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito teamed up to massacre the clan, whose souls hadn't fully dissipated (or were intercepted). Madara? Izuna? Those were from many years ago and naturally weren't included.
"Tch! Useless piece of junk!" Hiroki couldn't help but grumble internally, his intense expectations dampened by reality. However, rationally, he knew that two Mangekyo users and over two hundred Uchiha Clan Members (even if some might be mediocre) were definitely a force to be reckoned with in the Soul Society. At the very least, they could compensate for his current fatal weakness—his "low-level Seated Officer-level" Reiatsu.
Whatever, better than nothing! At least Fugaku and Shisui, the two Mangekyo users, were usable! Hiroki was planning how to use this power when his gaze swept over the names at the end of the list, clearly female (like "XX-mi" or "XX-ko"), and he suddenly realized another serious problem.
"Wait!" he hurriedly asked, "With so many people, does it also include the elderly, the weak, women, and children?!"
"Yes," the system confirmed with absolute bluntness. "This was also one of the Uchiha Clan's conditions."
"Damn!" Hiroki's good mood was instantly clouded again. He had just been fantasizing about over two hundred bloodthirsty Uchiha thugs, at least Chunin-level! Instead, the reality was a whole package deal—the old, the young—and he even had to support a large group of women and children who might have no combat capability?! This wasn't pulling an SSR army; this was pulling a massive refugee resettlement task!
"How do I use this thing?" Hiroki suppressed the complex emotions churning in his heart and asked the most urgent question.
"Find an open area and simply summon them."
An open area? Just as Hiroki was thinking about where would be suitable, a more realistic problem hit him square in the face—the resettlement site! Where was he going to put these two hundred-plus people?!
Hiroki stared at the heavy summoning scroll in his hand, his burning desire for an "Uchiha Army" doused by a cold reality—with over two hundred people, they needed a place to stay, right?
He couldn't just "poof" them all into existence right here in the main hall of the Shihōin Clan house, could he? That scene would probably alarm the entire Seireitei. How would he explain the sudden appearance of over two hundred people in the Shihōin Clan's estate?
"Tsk, I need to find a place to settle them first..." Hiroki rubbed his chin, looking at the long list of names on the scroll. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him—just because there were many didn't mean he had to use them all at once. Wouldn't it be better to call out two useful ones first, like Uchiha Fugaku or Shisui, to ask about the situation and help out?
With a glimmer of hope, he immediately questioned the half-dead system in his mind again: "System, can I summon just two people to use first?"
However, that ice-cold mechanical voice ruthlessly punctured his fantasy: "No, the scroll is a one-time use." Meaning, once this thing was torn open, it was like opening a floodgate; the souls on the list, regardless of age or gender, would all pop into the Soul Society at once. There was no such thing as "batch extraction."
Hiroki's face instantly fell, and he spat out in frustration: "Tch."
Realizing he couldn't expect the system to be flexible, Hiroki turned his thoughts back to reality. It seemed he could only find a way through the Kuroki Clan's territory. At least that was his "maternal home"... no, the territory of the lower-class noble family the original owner came from. There should be some place to settle people, like some remote corner of the Rukongai belonging to the Kuroki Clan? Although the conditions definitely wouldn't compare to the Seireitei, the advantage was that it was his own territory (even if only in name), and outsiders couldn't easily interfere.
As for the Shihōin Clan... Hiroki looked around this exquisite but empty Japanese-style bedroom, a bitter smile touching his lips. As a guy who had just married into the family, what power did he have? Was he supposed to ask Yoruichi? The moment the thought surfaced, Hiroki felt his scalp tingle.
He had just made that woman so angry she stormed out, having insulted and mocked her and her father from head to toe, and even shamelessly demanded a huge alimony... Now he was going to turn around and ask her for land to settle a large group of people of unknown origin? Wasn't that just sticking his face out for her to slap? If he wasn't careful, she might just tell him to "get lost" in a rage, or worse, get that old fox Kiyone involved. If things blew up, the trouble would be endless.
"No, no, absolutely not!" Hiroki shook his head vigorously, tossing the suicidal thought out of his mind. The risk of handling "population resettlement" under the nose of the Shihōin Clan was too great. Yoruichi's "main road" was currently impassable; he had to bypass her.
His mind raced, and after quickly weighing the pros and cons, Hiroki made a decision instantly. Better to act now than to hesitate! He took a deep breath and shouted loudly toward the sliding paper door: "Chizuru, come in for a moment!"
"Shush." The paper door opened. The slender figure of his personal maid, Tamaki Chizuru, appeared at the door. Her movements were as respectful as ever, her face carrying a hint of confusion and concern: "Young Master, did you call for me?"
Hiroki didn't beat around the bush and gave the order directly, his tone matter-of-fact as if he were merely assigning a mundane task: "Yeah, make arrangements. I need to go to the Kuroki Clan's territory in the Rukongai. Also, notify the old man that I need a piece of land to settle some people."
"Huh? Young Master, this?" Chizuru was clearly bewildered by this sudden request, her cherry lips slightly parted, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment. Her mind raced—returning to the territory right after the wedding? And needing a place to settle people? What people? An uncontrollable thought popped into her head: Wait, Young Master, are you returning to your parents' home? She suppressed the urge to complain out loud, her confusion written all over her face.
Out of duty, she cautiously asked a key question that might involve the other master: "Then, should I inform Lady Yoruichi?"
Hearing Yoruichi's name, Hiroki frowned almost reflexively, his tone clearly impatient: "Why inform her?"
Seeing the Young Master's decisive attitude and the fact that he had no intention of bringing his new wife along, Chizuru was completely baffled. She grumbled inwardly: Wait, Young Master, you're going back to your parents' house alone? Leaving your wife behind right after the wedding and swaggering back to the Kuroki Clan?
Despite her doubts, the Young Master's orders had to be followed. Tamaki Chizuru suppressed her confusion and internal complaints, bowed slightly, and replied submissively: "Yes, Young Master. I will go and make arrangements immediately." With that, she stepped out gracefully, the paper door closing silently, leaving Hiroki alone in the room, calculating how to use the Kuroki Clan Head's land to settle his Starter Gift Pack from across the worlds, full of surprises and trouble.