After casually grabbing a bite to eat in Xin City with Akahane Yui, Xuan headed straight for the central commander's manor—Uchiha Shinji's residence.
Uchiha Shinji naturally hurried out to greet them. Xuan unceremoniously took the absolute seat of honor, leaving Yui staring in sheer bewilderment. She cast a puzzled glance at Shinji, noting that he wasn't angry in the slightest; in fact, he showed no reaction at all. She frowned slightly. Logically speaking, this level of arrogant behavior was a severe transgression. If this had been the old Akahane clan, a subordinate acting so insolently would be one step away from execution. A superior absolutely could not tolerate such blatant disrespect. Yet Shinji's indifferent reaction was completely unnatural—he acted as if this was how things were supposed to be.
Inwardly shocked by Xuan's unfathomable status within the Uchiha clan, Yui silently stood behind him.
"Summon Uchiha Mu. According to my orders this morning, all the Uchiha Jōnin and Elite Jōnin deployed outside should have returned by now. Tell them to assemble for a meeting."
Resting one hand on the desk, Xuan tapped his fingers rhythmically against the wood, issuing the command with a flat tone. Yui's beautiful eyes narrowed as shock rippled through her heart. There were only three people in the room. Aside from herself and Xuan, the only other person was the Peak Jōnin, Uchiha Shinji. From the looks of it, Xuan wasn't giving the order to her, which meant... he was openly barking orders at a Peak Jōnin?! The current supreme commander of the Uchiha's northern territory?!
What shocked her even more was what happened next. Uchiha Shinji didn't say a single word in protest. He calmly accepted the order and personally went out to relay the summons.
What is wrong with this world...?
Witnessing this bizarre scene, Yui's mind was completely scrambled. She couldn't begin to comprehend how any of this was possible.
"Mm!"
While she was still lost in thought, Xuan reached out and pulled her directly into his lap. Toying with a strand of her dark hair, he whispered in her ear, "It's just the two of us right now."
However, knowing that the others would be arriving shortly, Xuan decided not to push it too far and let her go. She hastily stood up, keeping her head lowered as she straightened her clothes, her face flushed red in absolute silence.
A short while later, Uchiha Shinji returned with Uchiha Mu. Right before they entered, Xuan moved from the seat of honor to the first subordinate seat on the left. Yui followed him, standing quietly behind his chair. Sometimes, certain rules still needed to be observed. This was the rule of the game. If he casually broke the established hierarchy in public, the subordinates below might follow suit, and wouldn't that lead to complete chaos?
Stepping forward, Uchiha Mu bowed respectfully. "Lord Xuan."
Xuan nodded. "Mu, the defense of Xin City is entirely in your hands. How many of the Elite Jōnin and regular Jōnin have returned?"
Uchiha Mu quickly replied, "Aside from Uchiha Ran, all five Elite Jōnin returned before sunset. Of the twenty-three regular Jōnin, twenty-one have returned!"
Xuan listened quietly. He had personally assigned Uchiha Ran to process the surrender of the Akahane clan; handling those complex administrative matters naturally took time, so his delay was expected. But for two regular Jōnin to still be missing? Hmph. Do they really think my words this morning were just a joke?
"Go. Call all the Elite Jōnin and those regular Jōnin here. No—summon every single Jōnin currently in Xin City. We are holding a meeting."
"Right now?" Uchiha Mu asked, slightly confused. He hesitated. "My Lord, it is already late into the night. Several of the Elite Jōnin have already gone to sleep. They fought a brutal battle all night and spent the entire day busy... they are completely exhausted. Could this wait until tomorrow?"
Xuan shot him a flat glance. "They went to sleep? Then wake them up. Go. Right now."
His tone was incredibly calm, completely devoid of joy or anger. Yet, falling upon Uchiha Mu's ears, the words carried a bone-chilling frost. Not daring to say another word, Mu hurriedly rushed out to assemble the men.
Xuan cast a glance at Uchiha Shinji and gestured toward the main seat. Understanding the cue, Shinji naturally took his place at the head of the room.
Before long, people began trickling into the meeting hall. Naturally, the first to arrive were the Elite Jōnin. Upon receiving the summons, they hurried over. Seeing Shinji in the main seat and Xuan in the subordinate seat, they bowed respectfully to both before quietly taking their places, wondering what could possibly warrant a meeting this late at night.
Of course, their underlying moods were ecstatic. Today, they had ruthlessly pillaged the territories of the Ghost Fire Alliance and the Three-Clan Alliance, unabashedly stuffing their own pockets with all sorts of rare treasures. Anything valuable that wasn't bolted down was packed up without hesitation. Naturally, the regular Jōnin didn't dare compete with them, so the vast majority of the premium loot fell into their hands. In addition to wealth, they had also recovered numerous Ninjutsu scrolls. Uchiha Gō had even stumbled upon an S-rank Ninjutsu scroll, making him so happy he had nearly laughed himself awake while sleeping.
As time ticked by, the regular Jōnin stationed in Xin City arrived one by one. There were thirty-three Jōnin in the city in total. About half an hour later, excluding the two who hadn't returned, the remaining thirty-one were all present. However, the meeting hall only had seating for Elite Jōnin, so they could only stand in the center of the room.
Xuan smiled lightly and stood up. Stepping before the crowd, he wore a warm, amiable expression. "Today, we officially pacified the north. This is a monumental occasion worth celebrating, and the entire city should be rejoicing. In fact, I fully intended for us to celebrate properly tomorrow. However, as of this moment, two of our clan's Jōnin have yet to return. This makes me incredibly worried! Therefore, I have decided to call everyone here so we can all wait for them together. Whenever they return is whenever we dismiss this meeting. I assume no one has any objections?"
Xuan spoke with a beaming smile, his gaze sweeping across everyone in the room. Any Jōnin who met his eyes instantly lowered their heads, absolutely terrified of holding his gaze.
"Then it's settled. Let's all wait together," Xuan said calmly, returning to his seat.
The assembled Jōnin looked at each other in dismay, but none dared voice a single complaint. They could only stand there foolishly and wait.
It wasn't too bad for the Elite Jōnin—they had chairs, after all. But the standing regular Jōnin were cursing the two missing idiots in their hearts, showering them in a torrent of mental abuse. They had fought a brutal life-and-death battle all night and spent the entire day hauling loot. They were absolutely exhausted to the bone. Yet, because of these two stragglers, they were now being forced to stand here and wait in the middle of the night.
Not daring to direct their fury toward Xuan, they naturally poured all their burning resentment onto the heads of the two missing Jōnin.