Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Day 222

It was Saturday , when I met Fugaku Uchiha again, he was standing at the academy gate as we were exiting academy.

" I will go ahead , meet me at the training ground" Kaori said as she left me alone with Fugaku.

" Good evening Fugaku sama" I greeted him respectfully, confused by his presence here.

He nodded at my greeting " let's walk "

And so I followed him. He was silent and led me to a restaurant in middle of Konoha. We were shown private rooms.

Once green tea was placed in front of us and we were alone again, he finally spoke.

" Have you made up your mind" as he sipped tea. I don't know why but completely out of left field my mind supplied, he looked bit cool doing that.

Remembering his question, I thought briefly before I replied

" Yes. " I bowed while sitting " I will be honoured to accept Uchiha clan sponsorship"

" Good " he said but his face showed no change.

I hesitated , thinking if it was right time, but then went ahead

" If you don't mind, I had few questions regarding sponsorship "

He stared at me and then nodded.

" I know generally what it would mean to be sponsored, but can you give me exact detail what it would mean for me"

Fugaku took a sip of tea before he replied

" Mainly it means two things, you will start receiving stipend from Uchiha clan, based on your rank and position in village, they will increase as you are promoted and you will be assigned a person to help you train" he paused to sip the tea.

He must really like it

" The rest of it is more conditional, like you will have backing of our clan to help you with promotion or in case of disputes, but it doesn't mean we will support you against our own cause. "

He stopped and I thought it was over but suddenly he spoke again.

" In return, you will wear Uchiha clan symbol, whenever you are working in any official capacity. You will do your best to grow as a shinobi. Lastly you will be respectful towards Uchiha clan and avoid anything that may cause harm to it."

I nodded at him and took my first sip of tea, it was still warm and I liked the bitter taste of it.

And that was it, for next few minutes we drank tea in silence. As we were leaving he handed me a package.

" Wear this for tomorrow evening " and he was gone.

I slowly walked towards training ground, thinking about what happened.

It was a short meeting, I had thought that I will be giving my answer tomorrow when I visited the clan compound but this happened, was there any deeper meaning associated with it ?

I kept thinking about it all the way back to training ground. Once I met up with Kaori I voiced my thoughts.

" You might meet clan elders tomorrow, if you rejected them there it would be considered a dishonour. So Fugaku sama made sure to know your opinion beforehand to plan ahead. " Kaori replied like it was obvious.

Which it was now that she explained it like that. Then why not say to me just that.

" It' s confusing " I said honestly.

" Our family, while not the main branch, still are close enough that we have to sometimes engage in clan politics" she said her face scrunching up.

" It gets very frustrating at times " she continued

" There is lot of posturing and saying what they don't mean. You will need to learn too. Uchiha are practically known for their intense clan politics."

I sighed " let's just train. I am exhausted just thinking about it"

Day 223

It was evening I was dressed in kimono for the first time. I had needed help getting dressed up and Shikaku San had come forward after some pleading from me.

It would have been easier if I had asked Kaori but I didn't want Kaori to know. If she volunteered her dad's help. I might not be able to decline politely, I had got the impression that her dad didn't like me.

So I managed to find Shikaku and get his help and now I was ready.

" So any advise for me ? " I asked, my anxiety flaring up.

" Don't talk if you are not sure about it. At worst it will be awkward or they might deduce that you do not have knowledge about the subject but there will always be doubt. If you talk there is no room for doubt"

" Wow , I wasn't expecting that " I said , honestly surprised.

He smiled at that " Good luck " he said and walked away.

Yup lets do this, what's the worst that could happen? I might offend a great clan so much, that they want to off me.

I could live with that.

I was in middle of a large hall surrounded by Uchiha elders, Fugaku san was standing next to me. We had finished greeting them and were now just standing quietly. There were five of them, the Uchiha elders. All of them looked ancient.

" So this is the child you talked about Fugaku, he looks a bit weak" a bald man, with salt and pepper beard said. He was sitting to the far left.

" Now, now Isamu Dono, he is still quite young, I am sure with our help he will become strong" the old man with glasses on the far right commented.

" I don't know Fumihito Dono, a mouse can never grow to be a tiger " the now identified Isamu spoke again.

Was this hazing?

" I must agree with Isamu Dono here, even the child's chakra seems small, a younger kid from our clan will easily surpass him in terms of chakra" the man sitting next to Isamu said in a deep voice.

This was definitely hazing or some version of it, I had thought it would just be a simple ceremony of sort. Just to officiate that I was sponsored by Uchiha.

I kept silent, as I notices Fugaku had yet to speak. If they were insulting me, doesn't that mean they were insulting Fugaku's choice. Was this some sort of power struggle?

I was starting to regret coming here or accepting this sponsorship.

" Did you forget about blue flame and how the child has already contributed to Konoha jutsu repository" old man next to the glasses wearing one commented.

It looked like two elders were with us and two elders were against us. The one in middle kept silent with closed eyes.

Is he sleeping? My mind supplied and I covered my laugh as cough.

The elders looked at me and then ignored me and continued their debate

" Jiro Dono , you are right but we are talking about future potential here " the fierce looking one said

"Kaito Dono, potential can not be assessed simply by chakra capacity, specially one who is still growing"

And on and on the elders continued to debate, I was not sure how much time passed , when a throat clearing noise was made.

" Ah , what do you think Haruto Dono"

Well at least now I know all five of their names .

" Fugaku, you have listened to our worries about the child, do you still want to sponsor the child " Haruto asked

" Yes Haruto sama" Fugaku replied shortly.

" Hmm very well, we will trust in your judgement "

Well that was quick.

" Satoru "

" Ye... Yes Haruto sama"

" Your actions, your achievements and also your failures, now reflect back on this esteemed clan of ours. Make sure not to sully it. "

I bowed and that was the end of my hazing.

I was given a scroll that made my sponsoring official. Apparently I was the first ever non clan member to be sponsored.

I was told a list of expectations that I was now supposed to fulfil. That included graduating top of class. Fugaku told me , it was added once the elders came to know that Hiashi Hyuuga was in my class and occupied the top position.

I thought Fugaku was as exasperated as I was , with this. He showed it by frowning ten degrees more. In his stoic face any change was massive.

I would try as Kaori was anyway aiming for top, but if it didn't happen then it didn't happen. If they cancelled my sponsorship over it, then I was totally fine with it. I was not exactly fan of Uchiha elders and by the looks of it, they ran the show. I don't remember them being a thing in the anime.

Anyway I also came to know the amount , I will be receiving as stipend. It was a lot, almost thrice what I received from village.

Soon after everything was done and I slowly walked out of Uchiha clan, feeling exhausted unlike anything I had felt before.

Thinking back to my hazing, was their sole purpose to undermine Fugaku? Why ?

Well whatever . I will now have more money. I was happy with that. It was enough for now.

Let's celebrate tonight with some good food.

A/N: Please comment/review, would love to hear from readers.

Also please visit pat^re^on / johnblack6826 for next three advanced chapters