Chapter 74: The Uchiha Clan Meeting
The moment Kabuto heard the knock at the door, he quickly scrambled back into bed. He was worried Izumi had returned—if she caught him out of bed again, another round of lecturing was guaranteed.
"All right, come in," he called out once he was settled.
As the door creaked open, the first thing he saw was a massive bouquet of flowers.
Just as Kabuto was wondering who had come to visit, the bearer of the flowers stepped into view.
It was none other than Kakashi, with his signature dead-fish eye and mop of silver-white hair—clearly here out of concern for Kabuto's wellbeing.
"I heard you were injured… It won't affect your treatment of the Fourth, right? Ahem, I mean—are you okay?" Kakashi asked awkwardly.
Kabuto accepted the flowers with a smile.
"Thanks for the gift. I'm already almost fully recovered. Don't worry, it won't affect Lord Fourth's treatment."
Hearing that, Kakashi visibly relaxed.
The two chatted briefly about the Fourth Hokage's condition, and then Kakashi prepared to leave, not wanting to disturb Kabuto further.
However, just after stepping out the door, a sudden thought struck Kakashi. On impulse, he turned around and slipped back into the room.
Kabuto raised an eyebrow in confusion as Kakashi furtively pulled a small book with a pink cover from inside his vest and held it out.
"Figured you might get bored lying around all day. Here—this'll keep you entertained," Kakashi said, handing it over with a conspiratorial tone.
"Let me tell you, this book was written by none other than one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya-sama himself. Every man should read it at least once in his life!"
The book, of course, was Make-Out Paradise.
At first glance, Kabuto had assumed it was just some sleazy novel—especially with the cover showing a scantily clad woman locked in a passionate kiss with a man.
But Kakashi's words gave him pause. He suddenly recalled something Yusuke-sensei had once said:
"Never judge a book by its cover."
"I never thought… that even books could be so deceptive!" Kabuto mused aloud, then sincerely thanked Kakashi for the gift.
After Kakashi left, Kabuto sat up and began reading Make-Out Paradise in earnest.
A few minutes later, his face flushed bright red. He quietly closed the book, deeply embarrassed.
"I can't believe both Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-senpai are such… shameless people!"
Shaking his head, Kabuto made a mental note to return the book to Kakashi when he had the chance.
Just then, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside the room—it sounded like more than one person approaching.
"Oh no!"
Kabuto quickly stuffed Make-Out Paradise beneath his blanket. He had barely hidden it when the door opened.
Three girls entered the room: Izumi, Anko, and Kurama Kyoko.
Anko and Kyoko had originally been teammates of Itachi during the Chūnin Exams, and had since become good friends with Izumi. When they ran into her in town and heard Kabuto had been injured, they decided to visit him together.
After chatting for a while, Izumi noticed something off.
"Kabuto, why's your face so red? And you're sweating—are your injuries acting up again?"
Kabuto frantically shook his head.
But sharp-eyed Anko spotted something peeking from under the blanket—a glimpse of pink, the edge of a book.
With lightning reflexes, she snatched it out.
It was Make-Out Paradise.
The moment her eyes fell on the steamy cover, Anko's face turned beet red.
"Kabuto… you're reading this kind of trash?!" she shouted, glaring at him with mock outrage, holding the book aloft as if it were damning evidence.
Izumi and Kyoko glanced over—and both blushed furiously at the sight.
"Hmph! I totally misjudged you!" Anko huffed, tossing the book back onto the bed before storming out.
Kyoko, naturally shy, flushed even deeper and quickly followed Anko out.
Izumi gave Kabuto a long, unreadable look before saying quietly:
"Don't worry. I won't tell my brother. Just… focus on getting better."
With that, she turned and left, gently closing the door behind her.
"Wait! Let me explain! Please—just hear me out!"
Kabuto rushed to call after them, but his voice echoed into emptiness. They were already gone.
Kabuto glanced down at Make-Out Paradise and let out a long, weary sigh.
For the first time in his life, he felt the urge to blame someone. And that someone was, of course, Kakashi.
Completely unaware of this newfound resentment, Kakashi was strolling leisurely through the streets of Konoha.
"Achoo!"
Someone must be thinking about me, Kakashi mused, rubbing his nose.
That evening — the Uchiha Clan Meeting.
The turnout was noticeably smaller than usual. Many clan members had perished during the recent Root ambush.
Traditionally, the clan meetings were presided over by the clan head—Fugaku. But with Fugaku now dead, the responsibility had fallen to the three Uchiha elders.
Yusuke's appearance at the meeting was a rare one.
Despite being the clan's top fighter and the man who had singlehandedly turned the tide during the crisis, Yusuke held no official position within the Uchiha hierarchy. In keeping with formality, he was seated just below the three elders.
And yet, even from that lower seat, Yusuke commanded the room. The weight of his presence overshadowed the elders themselves, drawing every eye in the hall.
Whatever personal feelings they might have once had, the assembled Uchiha now looked at Yusuke with undisguised awe.
After all, it was Yusuke who had saved them from the brink of annihilation—not only preserving most of the clan's fighting strength, but also eliminating their long-standing nemesis: Danzo and his Root faction.
Yusuke's prestige had reached its peak, and the entire clan had seen firsthand just how powerful one man could be.
As the meeting began, two of the elders (excluding Uchiha Kenjirō) each put forward their own candidates to succeed Fugaku as the next clan head. But neither proposal earned the unanimous support of the clan.
Just as the two elders began arguing over their selections, Uchiha Kenjirō spoke up with a stunning suggestion:
"I propose Itachi—the son of the late Fugaku and the disciple of Yusuke—as the next clan head!"
He deliberately emphasized the word "Yusuke" as he spoke, clearly attempting to leverage Yusuke's reputation to push the nomination through.
The impact was immediate. A quiet storm of surprise rippled through the room.
The clan members turned to look at young Itachi—barely ten years old—with shock and uncertainty. Some opened their mouths as if to object, but their eyes flicked to Yusuke seated calmly nearby… and they fell silent.
It was clear Kenjirō's tactic had worked—at least for the moment.
But then, from the back of the room, a soft voice broke the stillness:
"If we're nominating his disciple… why not just make Yusuke-sama the clan head himself?"