Chapter 40: Continuing the Deception, Uchiha Shisui Faces a Dilemma

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shisui rolled his eyes.

Give up?

Even though he felt deeply lost now, the option of 'giving up' still did not exist in his heart.

But, at the same time.

After listening to Uchiha Jin's long-winded speech, he instantly felt as if his worldview had shattered.

He had never imagined that the situation of the Uchiha clan had become so dire.

Moreover, the Sarutobi clan.

He recalled the scenes he had witnessed repeatedly on the road when he previously went to the Sarutobi clan to report on Uchiha affairs to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Dense rows of houses, dense crowds of ninja.

At the time, he had only sighed, truly worthy of the Hokage's family.

So prosperous!

But, thinking about it now.

That's right!

When Konoha was first established, the Sarutobi were merely a small group.

How many years has it been since Hiruzen Sarutobi became Hokage? Where did the Sarutobi clan get so much money, and how could they suddenly produce so many ninja?

Now, Jin had told him the answer.

The village's finances!

Think of the Uchiha Police Force, cutting back on food and clothing every year, while the village rarely allocated funds to them.

Then where did the over two billion coins allocated annually by the Daimyo go?

The village had not changed much.

In fact, it was more desolate than before.

The rewards for ninja missions came from the clients who issued the missions.

The village did not have to spend a single coin; instead, it took a portion from every mission.

Konoha Hospital?

How much money could that possibly cost!

The Anbu Black Ops were a place where money was spent, but ten to twenty million coins a year would suffice.

The Interrogation and Torture Department? The Mission Hall? The Ninja Academy?

It seemed none of them cost much money!

Only when war broke out, spending a bit more on purchasing kunai, explosive tags, and other supplies.

But, the problem was.

Every time war broke out, the Daimyo would allocate special funds!

So, the question remained.

Where did the money go?

Even if Uchiha Shisui didn't believe it in his heart, he knew Jin Jun hadn't lied.

They all went into the pockets of the ninja clans themselves, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, to train their own clansmen.

Sigh!

Thinking of this, his face was filled with helplessness.

Recalling his own past actions, he even felt a hint of fear.

The Uchiha were rotten to begin with, and he had trusted such a Hokage.

If this continued, the consequences would be hard to imagine!

"Is there really no way?" Uchiha Shisui asked softly.

Uchiha Jin merely shrugged: "I am just a child."

"How the Uchiha clan fares is something I actually do not care about."

"It is just that Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, have been so good to me, and I do not want to see Itachi die because Itachi took the wrong path."

"Itachi are my friend; I must ensure your life."

Uchiha Shisui could only offer a bitter smile.

How could he have ever thought that Jin, whom he had worried over so much and treated like a younger brother, viewed him this way in his heart?

But, thinking it over carefully.

It did seem true!

In front of Jin, he was the one who acted like a child.

His past thoughts all seemed far too idealistic.

What should he do?

He knew he could not change Jin's view of the clan in the short term.

But, at the same time.

He loved his clan, and as a descendant of Uchiha Kagami, he had to strive in that direction.

So, after a moment of deep thought, he continued speaking.

"Jin, I will not force Itachi."

"But I have my own goals. If Itachi consider me a friend, then give me some advice."

"What should I do?"

Yes.

The person before him felt deeply lost in his heart.

Suddenly realizing the direction of his efforts was wrong, what he needed most now was to find a path that could show him the future.

And on the other side.

Uchiha Jin was somewhat stunned.

He truly had not expected this to go so smoothly.

This person, Uchiha Shisui, was actually so easy to persuade.

However.

Imagining Uchiha Shisui in the original story, there was truly no one he could trust. Although he had Itachi as a kindred spirit, Itachi could not offer him any advice.

On the contrary.

Uchiha Itachi had to rely on him for guidance.

Now that he was here, Uchiha Shisui, though kind and working for the clan, was not extreme.

As long as what Itachi said made sense, he was willing to listen.

In this regard, he was far superior to Itachi, that great "filial son."

"Uchiha Shisui, it is very difficult!" Uchiha Jin sighed: "The current Uchiha can only achieve great establishment through great destruction."

However, regarding this.

Uchiha Shisui merely shook his head: "I do not care, as long as there is a path."

"This... fine then."

Uchiha Jin pondered for a moment.

After thinking for a while, he slowly spoke: "To completely change the Uchiha, the first priority is to unify the voices within the clan; at the very least, there must be only one voice."

"To achieve this, Itachi must have your own power base; only then will Itachi have the qualification to wrestle with the other two factions."

"What Itachi need to do now is, just like the radical and moderate factions, find a stance that suits your own views, a stance that others can agree with."

"The first step is the hardest!"

"But once Itachi achieve this, the following steps, while not difficult, will require Itachi to be ruthless."

"Because Itachi need to divide and co-opt, using all kinds of schemes and tricks to eliminate the other two factions and thus strengthen your own."

"This includes, but is not limited to, framing others, public opinion attacks, deliberately provoking conflicts, and so on."

"For example, use a small incident to make the two factions fight through public opinion; at the critical moment, assassinate one of them in secret and frame the other faction, forcing them to fight!"

"When they have fought each other to a standstill, secretly ensure that the leaders of both factions all die accidentally, or if they do not die, they must be crippled."

"Then launch a public opinion campaign, just like dealing with Hatake Sakumo, to completely ruin their reputations!"

"Finally, clean up the mess, absorb the other two factions, and force Fugaku to step down!"

"Only when Itachi have completely united the Uchiha into a single force will Itachi barely have the qualification to negotiate with the village."

"As for the rest."

"We will talk about that after Itachi achieve this step."

Uchiha Shisui trembled all over.

His scalp prickled, and his mind went completely blank.

Yes.

He wanted to change the clan, but not by this method.

"That's too ruthless," Uchiha Shisui couldn't help but speak up. "Must it be this way? Couldn't it be more gentle?"

Uchiha Jin rolled his eyes.

"This is struggle!"

"Uchiha Shisui, I hope Itachi understand: power struggles are not about hosting meals. If Itachi want to grasp Uchiha power, Itachi must smash others' rice bowls."

"They will fight Itachi to the death; this is a life-or-death struggle!"

"If Itachi lack this resolve, I advise Itachi to give up immediately."

"In power struggles, if Itachi are kind, Hatake Sakumo is your warning."

"In such struggles, there is no good or evil; the winner takes all!"