Chapter 118: Shifts in the Situation, Education and Industry

I recently reread my grandfather's compiled clan history several times, and then I discovered a problem.

Before Konoha was founded, the Uchiha, though surrounded by strong enemies and bearing the millennium feud with the Senju clan, had never experienced a situation like being stuck in a swamp, powerless to resist, before the First Hokage appeared.

Not to mention that now the Senju clan has withdrawn, the Uchiha have become Konoha's foremost family, with many more ninja within the clan than before, yet the situation has only gotten worse.

After much thought I finally understood something: during the Warring States period, the Uchiha's enemies were only the Senju clan and a few families friendly with the Senju, but the Uchiha also had allies; we fought each other, with wins and losses on both sides.

At that time it was hard for families to fully trust each other; although there were still some families that harbored hatred toward us, their forces could not be coordinated. Yet now Konoha has existed for fifty years, and the three Great Ninja Wars have led the Village's families to gradually understand each other, with mutual trust eventually becoming part of Konoha.

Under the Hokage's guidance, this power has been gradually integrated, and from then on, opposing the Hokage became equivalent to opposing all the families.

At this point, Shisui sighed, "This is no longer a war of a single family; unless Madara's ancestor is reborn, the Uchiha in their current state have no chance against Konoha."

"Unfortunately, back then the Uchiha's strength could never surpass the Senju; the ancestors were also stubborn, causing the Senju line to continuously hold the Hokage position—First, Second, Third, Fourth—always either a Senju or a Senju disciple."

They have always guided the Village's ninja clan's power, and at the same time internal clan turmoil arose; families that were once on good terms with us were targeted, and we failed to provide timely support. Coupled with the clan members' temperamental issues and several betrayals, the Uchiha have been deliberately isolated by other ninja clans.

At this moment we are in a state of complete isolation.

Moreover, the Police Department left behind by the Second Hokage entangles us, causing the contradictions between the clan and the civilians to gradually accumulate.

During this period, every time I think of this, I deeply feel the difficulty of the Dao's path.

Shisui knows that, although through his efforts the Uchiha avoided the future of being exterminated by Itachi, the Uchiha's problems remain unresolved; the root cause persists, and contradictions will continue to accumulate until, after many years, they erupt again.

He must change the Uchiha's isolated situation.

"So this time, I need to make changes both inside and outside the clan. Grandfather also once said that thought and force are equally important; internal clan education can no longer follow the old ways."

No matter how the situation changes, it is ultimately people who act; if people cannot change, even an improved situation is futile.

Sima Yi understood the other's meaning: they wanted him to help teach the clan's next generation.

But he shook his head and refused: "The idea is reasonable, but I cannot shoulder the responsibility of teaching the clan's juniors; not only can I not help you, no one can help you."

Shisui was startled, thinking it was another test, and nodded in agreement.

Sima Yi, knowing the other had not grasped the reasoning, explained: "After the Second Hokage founded the Ninja Academy, even without the First Hokage's strength, the Hokage's prestige and power still increased rapidly. Do you know why?"

"Because of the Ninja Academy?"

Since Sima Yi said so, Shisui naturally considered it from that angle.

However, he truly did not understand, because the Third Hokage only came to the Ninja Academy each year at the start of the school term to give some speeches; otherwise he rarely visited the Academy and did not take any actions to win people over.

"Since the establishment of the Ninja Academy, every Hokage has also served as principal; although the school is managed by a vice‑principal, the teachers are essentially hand‑picked by the Hokage, ninja who align with the Hokage's philosophy.

With such a group of teachers, ninja‑clan children may have discernment, but children born of civilians are easily influenced; coupled with the teacher‑student relationship and the annual lectures, they naturally grow close to them.

After several years, when they graduate, their thinking aligns with the Hokage; generation after generation, the Hokage's prestige becomes firmly established, and the Jonin emerging from civilians dilute the ninja clan's authority, shaking the ninja clan's status.

One must admit, this is indeed a good strategy for dealing with powerful factions.

Had the First Hokage not been sufficiently powerful, those ninja clans would certainly not have agreed to this system back then.

For the ninja clans, they do not need to learn ninja knowledge at the Ninja Academy; it would actually waste their time, but for ordinary people it provides an additional path of advancement.

In practice, this system offers the ninja clans only one benefit: on the battlefield they can produce many cannon fodders without having to sacrifice their own clan members.

At this point, Sima Yi instead recalled his past life; the method of cultivating talent through academies had indeed appeared, but its effect was limited, as those were essentially private schools, with few civilians able to enter, and the academy's greatest function was networking, not learning.

"Therefore, educating the clan's juniors is also a way to solidify one's position; this is especially important for the first generation. Even if you lack time to personally supervise, you should still meet them as much as possible so they know you exist."

Shisui suddenly understood; no wonder the Third Hokage unfailingly comes to give speeches at the start of each school year—there is indeed such a purpose!

"I understand, Grandfather; I will arrange the internal clan education carefully."

Clan studies are for family inheritance, while the Ninja Academy addresses the Village's policies; both must be balanced.

Of course, besides education Shisui also discovered many issues—such as the Police Department, inter‑clan relations, and clan‑civilian relations—but he only touched on them lightly.

As long as the clan members' own problems can be solved, the other issues are merely situational difficulties that can be resolved one by one with certain measures.

However, Sima Yi shook his head and advised: "Methods can indeed save you a lot of trouble, but this matter differs from internal clan affairs; behind closed doors you can do as you wish. If you wish to become Hokage, the covert actions that follow must be restrained, achieving success through the righteous path; otherwise endless repercussions will follow."

"The righteous path?"

Shisui frowned, not quite understanding what the righteous path meant.

Sima Yi did not explain directly, but instead asked back: "Do you remember the final task I taught you to do after achieving success?"

Shisui nodded and immediately replied, "Cross the river and dismantle the bridge to cut off the successors' path."

"Correct, but that statement has a premise: only those who have attained the position improperly need to do so."

"Improperly attained?"

"When you seized the clan head position, if you did not have the clan council dismiss you but instead drew your sword directly, even if you ultimately succeeded, it would create a huge hidden risk."

"Others would follow suit!"

Shisui suddenly understood, finally catching on.

"You set a precedent; if you do not handle the aftermath, in the future anyone who disagrees with your strategy could use the same method to oust you from the clan head position. This cycle would cause the clan to become turbulent and unstable, the people's hearts uneasy, and perhaps even be exploited by outsiders."

Just as the ancient usurper Wang Mang left a standard procedure for posterity, Sima Yi, though he never did so himself, believes later generations will understand his point: as long as one follows the protocol, there will be no problem.

As for the Luo River Oath?

Heh—it's merely a minor moral blemish; as long as successors can ascend according to the process, the Sima family remains legitimate, why fear those stains persisting?

"I see, thank you, Grandfather; I will be careful," he said, then saw Sima Yi pick up a scroll and stand, saying, "Alright, go. You've been busy these days; get some rest early."

"Yes, Grandfather."

Thus, another half month passed; during this time Shisui's tasks increased. By day he practiced cultivation and handled internal and external clan affairs, and also went to the Great Elder to memorize the clan records; at night he returned to report everything to Sima Yi.

After speaking with Sima Yi, he returned to his room to study sealing techniques; once that study ended, he also had to memorize the clan study materials Sima Yi helped compile.

Shisui was so busy his feet barely touched the ground; fortunately, after he completed the clan's centralization, Sima Yi no longer stood by idly. With his assistance, the recently reclaimed assets transitioned smoothly, and the clan returned to stability.

Shisui also came to fully understand the clan's power.

"Including the monthly gifts from external merchants, the clan's monthly income is roughly 20 million taels.

After sorting the rosters the elders had concealed, there are 1,446 clan members, of whom 627 are ninja, 137 are Jonin (including special Jonin), 300 are Chunin, and 190 are Genin.

If one hopes to sustain the entire clan with this income, it would be far insufficient.

Providing enough food for the clan members is naturally sufficient, but ninjas need training, need resources, and in some cases also need rewards; however, the Uchiha bloodline is so strong that the proportion of clan members becoming ninjas is too high, so this money is far from enough.

"But with the money the elders sent, plus the original funds, we now have 400 million taels in hand, and I plan to allocate it to clan education and expanding the clan's enterprises."

Regarding education, Shisui has spent half a month repeatedly refining the plan and is now almost ready; he also selected a group of teachers from the clan, and of course the ninja academy must still be attended—that is a policy issue.

Subsequently, on Sima Yi's suggestion, the curriculum was expanded from the original four subjects—theoretical knowledge, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu—to ten subjects: clan history and ninja world history, thought and politics (Will of Fire (bushi)), basic theory, ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, sealing arts, medicine, combat training, and etiquette.

Among them, basic theory, ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, sealing arts, medicine, and combat training are exclusive to ninjas; the other three are public compulsory courses intended to provide general education and cultivate those without ninja aptitude.

Thought and politics are taught by Shisui's double, one class per month, mainly to understand the Will of Fire and love the Village (strengthening clan consciousness).

Clan history and world history are taught by Hui, mainly to learn about the clan and the ninja world, broadening one's perspective.

The textbooks were compiled by Sima Yi, referencing the records of the great lord's treasured archives that Shisui had people bring from the capital.

Moreover, while reading these records, Sima Yi discovered a problem.

Namely, why would ninjas who wield such power obey the great lord?

After pondering for a while, he offered two conjectures.

First, the great lord's clan was once immensely powerful, possessing the force to dominate the ninja world; even after its decline, it continued to rule the country for a long time, its legitimacy deeply ingrained in the people, causing later ninjas to become accustomed to this special existence.

Second, the great lord existed before ninjas.

After the great lord had existed for a long time, the special group of ninjas suddenly emerged; although they possess great power, they have become accustomed to the great lord's presence and recognize his legitimacy.

Although it seems absurd, the shackling of thought is hard to overcome.

Just as, before Duke Zheng Zhuang of old shot down the dignity of the Zhou Son of Heaven with an arrow, even a weak Zhou Son of Heaven was inviolable.

In Sima Yi's view, the replacement of the current great lord is only a matter of time; once the first archer appears, ninjas will realize that the noble great lord is actually frail.

Sima Yi, analyzing past ninja world wars and the clan wars of the ancient Warring States period, found the great lord's shadow in each.

However, he did not mention any of these to Shisui.

Then came etiquette; Sima Yi, borrowing the court etiquette of the great lord, trained a group of people as teachers.

Shisui did not quite understand; compared with the Hyuga clan, the Uchiha atmosphere is relatively relaxed, making such learning unnecessary.

In response, Sima Yi advised, "To change the clan's image, etiquette is indispensable; as nobles, even if you are indifferent at heart, you must integrate it into daily life. This is not only a change of demeanor but also a restraint, and for a uniquely temperamental clan like the Uchiha, restraint is even more essential."

"Besides these, we also need to reserve sufficient funds to expand our intelligence network, preferably reaching the capital, to maintain contact with the great lord or ministers at any time; additionally, we must set aside a portion for contingencies."

Sima Yi, after hearing Shisui's allocation, shook his head and then suggested.

"Grandfather wants to use the great lord's power?"

Shisui became interested; the steadfast trust of the third generation had previously brought him considerable convenience, and perhaps it could happen again now.

"If we want to take that path, the Hokage and the great lord are unavoidable, and I heard the great lord is already advanced in age; if an opportunity arises, grasping the situation early will aid our actions."

"Then let the clan's enterprise expansion wait a bit; I will discuss with the third generation to see if we can obtain a share of some missions."

Although Shisui said so, he was actually uncertain; with so many missions, who would freely give profit to the Uchiha without cause?

"You needn't worry about the money; given the Uchiha's situation, expanding enterprises in Muyu is indeed difficult, but the Fire Country is so vast—why be confined to the Village of a single village?"

"Beyond Muyu? Grandfather meant those foreign merchants!"

Shisui suddenly realized, recalling the salt merchant Kamura Yishi, a merchant Sima Yi had specially selected and had been observing up to now.

He actively cooperated with the Uchiha's several moves, and Hui was also very satisfied with him.

"Indeed, the ninja‑related business within the Village has been almost completely divided up; if the Uchiha seeks expansion, it will offend other clans, but in ordinary industries, the Uchiha's power can fully support some merchants in achieving monopoly.

However, the Village is ultimately too small; the obtainable profit is limited, so we can train these people to go beyond the Village, and once the situation stabilizes, select some of those cultivated by the clan to take over."

Shisui instantly recalled the ledger he had previously perused; these salt merchants could earn eight million taels of profit each month from Muyu.

Muyu, with just over three hundred thousand people, already yields this; if they can extend their reach beyond Muyu, with Uchiha support, they could easily sweep away most salt merchants, even capturing a single region, generating hundreds of millions in profit annually.

Shisui's eyes reddened; he must secure this money for the clan.

"It seems it's time to meet that salt merchant."

(End of chapter)