Chapter 6: The Current Problems of the Uchiha Clan

"Byakuya, which faction do you belong to?"

Uchiha Tetsu and Uchiha Setsuna had been arguing for quite some time before finally realizing something was off.

Their words were useless; they needed to hear Byakuya's own stance.

His previous statement leaned somewhat toward the radical faction, yet also contained points favorable to the conservative faction.

It was somewhat ambiguous; although Byakuya had finally expressed his attitude and offered suggestions that even the two elders and the moderates found reasonable, it would be better if he could be more specific.

"I do not belong to any faction; I simply believe that regardless of whether you are conservatives or radicals, what must be done now is internal reform, while external changes are also necessary. At least in my view, regarding the situation in the village, if no one were targeting us, the Uchiha clan would not have become like this. We must root out and eliminate the mastermind behind this."

Has constant compromise ever been useful?

It is completely useless!

The Third might hold back, but Danzo absolutely will not; he will only gradually wear down the Uchiha clan's strength.

Once they realize their power is being constantly eroded, the Uchiha clan will likely grow restless internally, and won't that simply lead to another Night of the Massacre?

Therefore, to prevent the extermination of the Uchiha clan, the most important thing is to eliminate the Konoha F4, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.

"How should we reform internally? How should we change externally?"

A trace of excitement flashed in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes; finally, someone had proposed a useful opinion.

Unlike before, where the radical and conservative factions did nothing but argue without offering any other solutions.

"First is the Police Force; from now on, when encountering problems, we should just muddle through. There is no need to offend people over trivial matters, since these aren't our affairs anyway. Even if complaints reach the village, the worst they can say is that we are incompetent. If they want to strip the Police Force of its duties, let them do it; I estimate they wouldn't dare, since no one else is willing to take on this burden!"

This hot potato was something Byakuya truly could not understand; why did the Uchiha clan insist on holding onto it? In the future, they should just drag their feet.

"But if we do this, won't it create even greater conflict between the village and the Uchiha clan?"

Uchiha Fugaku began to worry again, causing Byakuya to roll his eyes in exasperation.

Indeed, Fugaku was truly unsuited to be clan leader during this period.

With him as clan leader, it was tantamount to destroying the Uchiha clan.

"Let me ask, does the Uchiha clan pay the Police Force, or does the village pay them?"

"We pay them internally within the Uchiha."

Members of the Police Force received wages; during the era of the Second Hokage, the village covered these costs, but after experiencing the Second Ninja World War, the Third Ninja World War, and the Nine-Tails Incident...

...the village, citing economic difficulties, the need to recover from multiple wars, and a lack of funds, approached Uchiha Fugaku to discuss whether the Uchiha could internally cover the Police Force's salaries.

At that time, Uchiha Fugaku was thinking that they had just undergone the Nine-Tails Incident.

Since many people had seen the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes, numerous rumors claimed the Uchiha clan was preparing to rebel.

To silence those rumors, and thinking that this sum was negligible for the wealthy Uchiha clan, he decided it was fine to cover the costs themselves.

Thus, this expense shifted from being borne by the village to being shouldered internally by the Uchiha.

"You see, the village won't spend money on us, so why should we be so responsible toward the village? You all have always been too moralistic; if we abandon morality, then this matter has nothing to do with us, correct?"

"We have already been processed into something everyone in the village hates; why continue doing this? The village reaps the benefits while all the drawbacks are borne by us Uchiha; how can this be acceptable? Therefore, in my view, the first step to resolving our current predicament is to simply slack off!"

Exactly!

It would be best to simply slack off!

Since the village isn't paying them anyway, and doing their job only earns negative reviews followed by complaints to the village authorities.

The village soothes the villagers while scolding the Uchiha; consequently, the village gains the villagers' favor, while the Uchiha, after being scolded, end up resented by the villagers. All the benefits go to Hiruzen Sarutobi, while they swallow their rage; isn't that exactly what leads to rebellion?

Who deep down doesn't wish to be respected!

Being nagged and pointed at every day, unable to act fairly without criticism nor unfairly without backlash; in that case, everyone might as well stop playing and just give up entirely!

"I agree! Elder, although I am a conservative, I truly do not want to endure this nonsense anymore; every day I am either scolded by someone or accused of incompetence!"

Among the conservatives behind Uchiha Tetsu, many strongly agreed.

After all, they had worked diligently, hoping to change the village's impression of the Uchiha clan.

Yet no one expected that this was the result they would receive in return.

Naturally, they were unwilling to accept this.

"But if we do this, I will find it difficult to speak on our behalf in the village later."

Uchiha Fugaku felt numb.

Once this was done, he understood that he would likely have no room for maneuvering within the village afterward.

"What is there to fear? Look at how the village is currently treating the Uchiha clan; what is wrong with us acting this way?"

Uchiha Setsuna frowned, looking at Uchiha Fugaku with displeasure; he had once considered this man an excellent clan leader, but seeing how he handled matters now, his inner dissatisfaction only grew.

Why was he so indecisive in making a decision?

"Clan Leader, I think you should refrain from deciding for now; I still have some things left to say. Let me finish before you decide, alright?"

Byakuya knew that Fugaku's indecisiveness had returned.

On one hand, he wanted to change the internal status quo of the Uchiha clan and hoped to be more forceful.

On the other hand, he feared that his forcefulness would cause the rift between the Uchiha clan and Konoha to widen until it directly led to conflict between both sides.

It was precisely this constant vacillation between the two that ultimately led Uchiha Fugaku to drag his entire clan to their deaths.

"Very well!"

Uchiha Fugaku pondered deeply, then nodded in agreement.

"Then, based on what I said earlier, let me outline my views on the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha; you can all go back and reflect on this afterward."

"Having discussed the issue of the Police Force, let us move to the second issue: certain external problems facing the Uchiha clan, which are the most acute and must be resolved!"

(End of Chapter)