The Great Man Once Said...

A Great Man Once Said.

Uchiha Zong looked at Habara's Mangekyo, and his heart was both excited and deeply helpless.

What excited him, naturally, was that the Uchiha had gained another pair of Mangekyo. This greatly strengthened the clan's power.

But what left him helpless was Habara himself. This guy truly was both powerful and extremely dangerous.

If that were all, it would have been fine. At worst, they could offer him more benefits, find a way to win him over, and subtly reshape him over time.

The problem was that this kid's vision and thinking had already doomed such efforts to be useless. His perspective was something even Uchiha Zong had no choice but to admire.

Faced with someone like this, what else could Uchiha Zong do? He could only listen and watch honestly, then slowly think of a countermeasure.

"I don't know how much Shisui told you, but what I want to say is that the clan must change."

Just as Uchiha Zong was lamenting bitterly in his heart, Habara slowly spoke.

"The clan needs to be integrated. That's what I told Shisui, and now I'm telling you again.

Whether it's you or the people on the other side, your split has already made it impossible for the clan to function normally. It has even made us unable to deal with Konoha's attacks against us.

As for Uchiha Fugaku, although he means well and wants to maintain the clan's stability, he is still clinging to that idea at a time like this.

I only have one word to describe him: indecisive. He seems to have no idea what predicament the clan is currently in, and even less idea what the clan truly needs right now.

Besides, think carefully about Uchiha Fugaku's years as clan head. What exactly has he done?"

Habara did not simply repeat everything he had said to Shisui. Instead, he changed his approach and took the initiative to make Uchiha Zong think for himself.

After all, Uchiha Zong was an elder, while Shisui could only be considered a clever and qualified shinobi.

In terms of vision, compared with an elder who had struggled within the clan for so many years, there was probably no small gap between them.

"Indeed, under the clan head's control over these years, the clan..."

Uchiha Zong sighed. Habara's words had already stirred his thoughts. Uchiha Fugaku really had done a terrible job over the years.

"The clan has indeed gone from bad to worse. Look at where we live now. Heh, we were driven to the edge of the village."

After the Nine-Tails Attack, Konoha suffered destruction, and what had been destroyed needed to be rebuilt. During that reconstruction, Konoha drove the Uchiha to the edge of the village.

This method truly dissatisfied countless members of the Uchiha Clan, and it was because of this that the Hardliners' supporters began to increase.

And as the split between Konoha and the clan became more and more obvious, the number of people on that side also grew larger and larger.

"However, it's not as if we can't communicate with Konoha. Shisui is in the Anbu now. We can build a bridge of communication with Konoha—"

But after sighing, Uchiha Zong spoke once again. Before he could finish, Habara interrupted him.

"You're too naive, Elder." Habara shook his head helplessly. He lightly tapped the table before slowly speaking.

"At your age, you should have lived through the Second Hokage's era, and Senior Kagami Uchiha should have been with you all.

I admit that the Second Hokage taking Senior Kagami as a disciple gave you hope, but was that truly the case?

What was the purpose behind the Military Police Force's existence? Shisui may not be able to see it, but after all these years, can you still not understand it, Elder?"

Habara's words left Uchiha Zong speechless, because he could not answer that question—or rather, he simply could not answer it.

And at this moment, the way he looked at Habara had changed. Those wide-open eyes showed the astonishment and shock in his heart!

"With the Military Police Force in our hands, given the Uchiha's way of doing things and the village's propaganda, Konoha and the Uchiha would only accumulate more and more conflicts.

Even if we kept faithfully carrying out our duties, the advantage in public opinion lay with Konoha. Especially after you turned the Military Police Force into private property, Konoha only became even more unscrupulous.

You let Shisui serve as a bridge of communication, and even Uchiha Itachi went as well. But what was the result?

The two of them merely became double agents. Were your methods truly useful?"

Habara stopped there. He quietly looked at Uchiha Zong, the old man, while Uchiha Zong had already closed his eyes and his body kept trembling.

Habara did not know what this old man was thinking right now, but he knew that he had firmly seized the initiative for himself!

"Then, if you succeed, what will you do?"

Only after a long while did Uchiha Zong open his eyes. His face was filled with bitterness.

"Tell me. Let this self-deceiving old man see what kind of plan you, whom Shisui praises so highly, actually have."

"My thinking has always been very simple, and I've made it very clear."

Habara looked at Uchiha Zong's current state and could not help but shake his head, but he still spoke unhurriedly.

"The clan needs unity. Shisui once asked me what I would do if I were clan head. I told him I would integrate all the clan's strength and make everyone's thoughts align.

I know what you're worried about, but I can tell you very clearly that I have never thought of making the clan and the village descend into civil war.

And I also know very well that once war breaks out, the clan will inevitably be destroyed.

But if we blindly compromise according to your thinking, the clan's fate won't be much better.

A great man once said: seek peace through struggle and peace will remain; seek peace through compromise and peace will perish!"

At this point, Habara looked at Uchiha Zong with utmost seriousness before continuing.

"After integration, I will formulate our action program and political demands.

I will let all the clan members know what we are going to do, what we are going to obtain, where we can be radical, and where we absolutely must not cross the line.

At the same time, I'll also let the village know what we want—and what we absolutely cannot accept!"

"Seek peace through struggle and peace will come; seek peace through compromise and peace will perish."

Uchiha Zong was shaken by Habara's words. He did not know which Great Man Habara was quoting, but after thinking it over carefully, he realized it was absolutely true.

What had their compromises brought them? In truth, they had already foreseen it in their hearts. They had just kept clinging to luck.

"I think I understand what you mean." Only after a long while did Uchiha Zong slowly speak. "Then let me ask you one last question. How do you plan to make Konoha hear our voice?"

"Besides the tough stance we should have, there are also a few little methods."

Hearing Uchiha Zong say this, Habara could not help but smile.

"Don't we have the Military Police Force? And while the Military Police Force lets us enjoy authority, doesn't it also make us take the blame?

What if we turned the Military Police Force into Konoha's Military Police Force, and let every clan and every Civilian Ninja join it?

Let everyone enjoy this authority together, and take this blame together.

"Then our voice can spread from within the Military Police Force to every corner of Konoha. And will the Third Hokage and the others still dare to make us keep taking the blame?"