"Open the system shop."
A glowing screen appeared before Uchiha Raizen—something only he could see.
Displayed on it were rows of Devil Fruits, each labeled with a price underneath.
[Dragon-Dragon Fruit · Ancient Zoan · Pteranodon Form – 43 million ryō]
[Bird-Bird Fruit · Mythical Zoan· Phoenix Form – 79 million ryō]
[Cat-Cat Fruit · Leopard Form – 21 million ryō]
[Paramecia · Love-Love Fruit – 50 million ryō]
[Paramecia · Soul-Soul Fruit – 83 million ryō]
[Snake-Snake Fruit · Mythical Type · Yamata no Orochi Form – 70 million ryō]
[Logia · Ice-Ice Fruit – 89 million ryō]
...
An endless variety of Devil Fruits filled the screen—each one could only be purchased once.
Seeing those sky-high prices, Uchiha Raizen instinctively patted his empty pockets. Not a single coin. Even a hero could be brought to his knees by poverty.
To buy the Azure Dragon Fruit earlier, he had mortgaged his clan house to the Bank of the Land of Fire.
Now, he had to pay off that loan every month. If he missed even one payment, the home left by his parents would be repossessed.
Damn it, who would've thought that even after crossing into another world, he'd still be stuck paying a mortgage?
Uchiha Raizen was completely speechless.
Originally, Uchiha Raizen believed that in two years, the Uchiha clan might not even exist anymore, so there was no point in worrying about paying off a home loan.
Unfortunately, his older sister, Uchiha Hikari, was a very honest and upright person. She would rather cut back on her own food and expenses every day than leave any debts unpaid to the bank.
Just last night…
Even though Inori took out her personal savings and grabbed some money from home, she only managed to gather five million ryo for him — which was barely a drop in the bucket.
After thinking it through, Uchiha Raizen realized that the fastest way to make money was to capture high-bounty criminals.
For example, a single Sarutobi Asuma was worth thirty-five million ryo.
If he could catch ten or twenty people like Asuma, he could quickly become financially free.
But unfortunately, at this point in time, Asuma wasn't worth nearly as much as he would be in the original storyline.
Raizen stroked his chin thoughtfully. In the past, he had taken the risk of capturing lower-value bounty targets, but that was back when the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village wasn't as tense as it was now.
These days, if he tried to leave the village — whether underground or in the sky — the Konoha Sensory Division, which constantly monitored the Uchiha district, would definitely notice.
Most likely, the ANBU would end up tailing him again.
With the power of the Azure Dragon Curse Mark, he wasn't afraid of fighting, but this wasn't the right time to go head-to-head with the top brass of Konoha.
In other words, his options for making money were limited to within the village.
Uchiha Raizen couldn't help but feel a serious headache coming on.
Two Days Later
At the Naka Shrine.
The Uchiha clan had gathered here for a meeting.
From jonin to genin, everyone was present—except for his sister, Hikari, who was currently away from the village. Even Uchiha Itachi was there.
At the front, Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku sat cross-legged with a stern face and solemn eyes.
Looking at his clansmen gathered before him, he spoke:
"If anyone has something to say to me, speak freely."
At the very back, Uchiha Raizen felt there was something heavy—something helpless and conflicted—hidden beneath Fugaku's calm tone.
"Captain," said Uchiha Yashiro, the eldest of the group, breaking the silence first. "The village elders have gone too far. Shisui is already dead, and yet they keep pressing us even harder! You must've noticed it—there are more Anbu watching our clan grounds than ever before!"
As soon as he said that, many of the jonin, including Uchiha Tetsuhi and Inaho, immediately voiced their agreement, shouting angrily:
"The village is clearly treating the Uchiha like enemies!"
"If they show us no kindness, then don't blame us for fighting back!"
"Captain, we can't just sit here and let them bully the Uchiha any longer!"
As the heated voices echoed around him, Fugaku sighed deeply in his heart.
How could he not know? The village was becoming increasingly hostile toward the Uchiha.
But what could he do?
On the surface, he was the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, technically a part of the village leadership.
But in reality, he had no say at all in the decisions made by the real higher-ups.
Back then, it was Danzo alone, acting as the Hokage's advisor, who made the decision to move the Uchiha clan from the center of the village to a remote corner.
All of his protests were ignored from beginning to end.
The Third Hokage, Lord Hiruzen, along with advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, as well as clan heads like those of the Nara and Hyuga, all stood by silently, watching with cold eyes.
What did that mean?
It meant that the entire village suspected the Uchiha clan of being the cause behind the Nine-Tails incident!
Fugaku felt despair and pain over this situation.
Seeing how the Uchiha's position was growing more and more dangerous, he finally made up his mind to stage a coup for the sake of the clan's future.
But just when everything was about to begin, Shisui—perhaps the most crucial part of the plan—suddenly died.
With Shisui's death, the coup fell apart before it could even begin.
And the resolve Fugaku had so painfully built up began to waver again.
Could the Uchiha clan really succeed with just their own strength?
Fugaku felt more uncertain than ever before.
But doubts couldn't solve anything.
At this moment, the hardliners in the clan—led by Yashiro and Tetsuhi—were pressuring him into a corner, demanding he take a stance.
Would he choose the village, or his own clan?
"Captain, say something already!" Yashiro and the others urged him.
Fugaku let out a deep sigh in his heart once more. Then he stood up and said in a low, firm voice:
"Everyone, don't worry. I won't stand by and watch our clan be persecuted. Before I'm the Captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, I am the head of the Uchiha clan!"
There was no mistaking what that declaration meant.
Yashiro and the others finally smiled in satisfaction. "Captain, with those words, now we know exactly what to do next!"
Fugaku nodded, then turned and walked toward the innermost part of the Uchiha shrine, leaving behind just one sentence:
"Itachi, come with me."
Originally, Uchiha Itachi had no intention of coming to this meeting.
But a few days earlier, his father had found him and told him not to run away from his responsibilities as a member of the Uchiha clan.
So, Itachi came.
He wanted to see for himself what the Uchiha Clan was planning—and the result left him deeply disappointed.
The Uchiha still hadn't grown. They remained obsessed with the interests of the clan, forgetting that the village was what truly mattered.
Even his father's heart was just as narrow.
Itachi silently followed his father into the depths of the shrine, to the place where the Uchiha's ancestral stone tablet was kept.
"Itachi," Fugaku said as he stopped in front of the stone, "you heard the voices of the clansmen just now. I can't change their will. I'm being pushed forward by them—even if ahead lies a bottomless abyss, there's no turning back."
"So Father still plans to seize power through a coup?" Itachi asked.
"That's right," Fugaku admitted. "But the timing must be delayed. Without Shisui, the Uchiha need time to build their strength again. And Itachi… we need your help. As long as you coordinate from within the Anbu and find the right moment to take control of the leadership, we can make it a bloodless revolution!"
The words "bloodless revolution" made Itachi freeze for a moment. Then he felt only sorrow and irony.
Did his father really think a power struggle could be that simple?
Even if they took Hokage's seat by force—so what?
The other great clans in Konoha would never accept it.
Worse, it could invite enemy nations to invade.
His father's thinking was far too naive… and selfish.
Still, Itachi showed no reaction on the surface. As a double agent for both the clan and the village, he was already used to wearing masks.
"I know you may not agree with me," Fugaku said, eyes burning as he stared at his son.
"But this is the only way to protect both the Uchiha and the village! Look—this is the future I saw with my Mangekyō Sharingan!"
**********
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