Next, once it was confirmed that the Genjutsu Game could indeed stimulate and strengthen the Uchiha Clan—or rather, the Sharingan—the topic immediately shifted to Uchiha Qi, the creator of this "secret technique."
Then, under Uchiha Fugaku's cold gaze, several Uchiha working for the Konoha Military Police Force revealed embarrassed, ashamed expressions.
After all, they were the very people who had mercilessly rejected Uchiha Qi that afternoon when he had approached them to test the Genjutsu Game.
At the time, they had not even been interested in hearing him out. In their eyes, Uchiha Qi was undoubtedly the Disgrace of the Uchiha, just like Uchiha Obito, who was still at the Ninja Academy and had been a poor student for years. Both were people who clearly lacked the talent to be ninja, yet insisted on defying the clan's arrangements and willfully pursuing the path of a ninja.
Although both Uchiha Qi and Uchiha Obito would actually be considered outstanding in other Ninja Clans, within the Uchiha Clan, failing to stand at the top of their generation meant failure.
Why had the Uchiha Clan always been regarded as "geniuses" by outsiders? Was every Uchiha truly born with invincible talent?
No. Before Uchiha children even entered the Ninja Academy, they had already been screened. Those deemed to lack sufficient talent and aptitude were assigned to other professions.
Of course, the Uchiha Clan's arrangements for its members' lives were not mandatory. If someone refused to accept the clan's arrangements and insisted on becoming a ninja, they could be "different" like Uchiha Qi and Uchiha Obito. However, if their grades were not good enough, they would be viewed as Disgraces of the Uchiha and mediocre people lacking aptitude.
Moreover, this was only possible because the Uchiha Clan had enjoyed many years of peace after Konoha was founded. Back in the Warring States Period, survival itself had been a problem, much less allowing clan members to pursue their "dreams."
At that time, every action the Uchiha Clan took had been for the sake of ensuring that the clan could survive amid the chaos.
Even now, while clan members were permitted to "chase their dreams," the Uchiha Clan would not offer much care to those who disobeyed its arrangements. It would not withhold resources, but it would only provide the basics. Obtaining anything extra was practically impossible.
Uchiha Qi and Uchiha Obito were examples of this. As ninja, the resources they received from the clan were only the most basic, without even the slightest subsidy.
From the Uchiha Clan's perspective, there was nothing wrong with this. In fact, it was already quite generous. In other clans, such as the neighboring Hyūga Clan, forget "chasing dreams"—they would be failing their family name if they did not harshly punish disobedient clan members.
But would the Uchiha Clan compare itself to other clans in such matters?
No. When it came to how clan members were treated, the Uchiha Clan only made internal comparisons.
And compared with other Uchiha, Uchiha Qi had received very few resources and very little help over the years. Even after entering the Konoha Military Police Force, he had been assigned a logistics desk job that other Uchiha considered deeply humiliating, and he had been completely left to fend for himself.
Faced with this Uchiha-style humiliation, the Uchiha higher-ups present who knew of Uchiha Qi's circumstances all felt deeply uneasy and unbearably ashamed at that moment.
Especially when they considered that Uchiha Qi had moved out of the clan grounds long ago and lived alone outside, they felt that perhaps he had already become estranged from the clan years earlier.
Uchiha Fugaku's imposing gaze swept over the guilty clan members one by one before he said in a deep voice, "I presume you have all realized the mistakes we made in the past. In our attitude toward Qi-kun, we were far too arrogant and self-righteous, and we never gave Qi-kun fair treatment."
"Or rather, our Uchiha Clan has always judged a person's talent solely by their aptitude as a ninja. That is truly too one-sided."
"Qi-kun is absolutely not the mediocre person lacking aptitude that some people claim he is. On the contrary, he is a gifted genius inferior to no one. It is simply that his talent is not conventional ninja talent."
As Fugaku spoke, the ashamed and embarrassed Uchiha higher-ups lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.
The Uchiha were indeed proud, but precisely because they were so proud, they could also be very straightforward. When confronted with actions they considered grave mistakes, their hearts would be filled with remorse and guilt rather than forcing themselves to deny it or stubbornly refusing to admit fault.
Fugaku's next words, in particular, gave several Uchiha higher-ups the urge to die in atonement.
"Fortunately, Qi-kun possesses a steadfast heart. He was not crushed by the malice from within the clan, and he continued to work hard in his own way, proving his talent until he finally succeeded in creating the Genjutsu Game."
"Everyone, we absolutely cannot cast aside our mistakes simply because Qi-kun succeeded. On the contrary, we must remember these unforgivable mistakes and ensure that we never repeat them."
"Think carefully! Everyone, if Qi-kun had truly given up his research because of our clan's unfair arrangements and had failed to create the Genjutsu Game, how great would the Uchiha Clan's losses have been?"
"The possibility of the Mangekyo Sharingan, and the possibility of allowing more clan members to awaken their eyes—these things representing the Uchiha Clan's future would all have vanished."
"And all because of our rigid system and foolishly arrogant mindset!"
After that speech, the ashamed people lowered their heads even further, seized by intense lingering fear and panic. Now that they had seen hope for the clan's return to greatness—even greater greatness—if they lost that hope, they would become sinners of the Uchiha Clan for all eternity.
At that thought, one emotional Uchiha higher-up suddenly shot to his feet and cried out, "I truly deserve to die!" Then he tried to kill himself on the spot.
Of course, the others stopped him in the end. Still, he gave off the impression that he would wake up in the middle of the night, slap himself twice, and say that he truly deserved to die.
The whole affair was utter chaos, like a comedy performance. If outsiders saw this scene, the Uchiha Clan's cool and aloof image would completely collapse.
But in truth, this was an accurate reflection of the Uchiha. Uchiha differed from one another, after all. Though they were all proud, they each had their own personalities. It was impossible for everyone to be exactly the same.
Once the commotion ended, Uchiha Setsuna said in a deep voice, "Fugaku, since you have brought these matters up, and since you are the one in the clan with the best relationship with this junior, Uchiha Qi, you must already have a plan for handling this matter, correct?"
At those words, everyone's gaze returned to Uchiha Fugaku.
Under the encouraging gaze of his father, Uchiha Masanobu, Uchiha Fugaku nodded calmly. "Indeed. When Qi-kun had just graduated from the Ninja Academy, I made formal contact with him. Through that, I noticed that Qi-kun was extraordinary and understood that his talent did not lie in his aptitude as a ninja, but in intangible things such as his wisdom and will."
"To be frank, in my view, Qi-kun possesses a powerful inner strength that other Uchiha lack. Even if the road ahead is filled with thorns and battered by wind and frost, he has never wavered."
"The achievements he has attained today are not the result of luck. They are merely the eruption of a self that he has continuously strengthened over the years without ever wavering in his resolve."
"Now that he has achieved unprecedented success, he should also receive the treatment he deserves. Since ancient times, our Uchiha Clan has had a method for dealing with exceptionally talented people capable of completely changing the clan's predicament."
"What we need to do now is simply give him, without the slightest reduction, the privileges he deserves."
After hearing this extremely effusive praise—words that would have made Uchiha Qi himself break out in goosebumps—the Uchiha present fell into thought. They then discussed it quietly, quickly reaching the conclusion that this was indeed what they should do.
As for stealing Uchiha Qi's creation or imprisoning him and turning him into a tool of the clan, such things were not even within the Uchiha's scope of consideration.
As had been said, the Uchiha were not the Hyūga Clan, nor were they Ninja Clans with excessive control issues. Since ancient times, the Uchiha had been a clan of pure love.
Even if outsiders viewed that purity as a sickness of the mind, as something deranged, the Uchiha Clan itself had never changed.
Once the treatment to be given to Uchiha Qi had been decided, all that remained was to formally confirm the effects of his "secret technique" tomorrow.
So long as it was truly as Uchiha Fugaku had said—even if it possessed only half the claimed effect—Uchiha Qi would receive the Uchiha Clan's highest-standard privileged treatment. Those were privileges basically equivalent to what only the Clan Head and Uchiha Setsuna, the Grand Elder, could enjoy.
In fact, under normal circumstances, Uchiha Qi would not have been able to receive treatment of such a high standard. Even if Uchiha Fugaku had proposed it, the others would have objected.
After all, Uchiha Qi was merely from a branch family, and he was young. No matter how great his contributions were, receiving such treatment right away was simply too excessive.
The reason they ultimately agreed was that it also served as compensation for the unfair treatment Uchiha Qi had received over the years—even though Uchiha Qi himself did not think he had been treated unfairly at all. But he was now in the classic situation of your grandparents thinking you must be hungry.
Faced with this situation, Uchiha Fugaku, the driving force behind it all, still maintained a grave and steady expression. Inside, however, he was immensely happy and deeply moved, because he believed that he had finally done something truly right: he had secured for Uchiha Qi the rights he should have enjoyed long ago.
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