Uchiha Qi's words directly stirred the Uchiha present. Some of them even began breathing heavily.
Become Konoha's upper echelon!
Claim the honor Uchiha Clan deserved!
Perhaps even become Hokage!
These were the things the Uchiha Clan had pursued without cease!
To achieve that goal, even as they suffered continual suppression from Konoha's upper echelon led by the Second Hokage, the Uchiha Clan had kept striving. During the two Ninja World Wars, even knowing Konoha had sent them to the battlefield only out of desperation, they had still charged forward without hesitation as expendable fodder.
All because, decades ago, the calamity Konoha had suffered at the hands of the Uchiha Clan's former legend and Clan Head—the later "traitor," Uchiha Madara—had become the Uchiha Clan's crime and disgrace.
To wash away the sins brought upon them by their ancestor, the Uchiha had worked tirelessly for decades, searching for ways to reclaim the honor and status that should have been theirs.
Yet Konoha's upper echelon had always rejected the Uchiha Clan, causing the Uchiha Clan's mentality to gradually shift from "atonement" to dissatisfaction and anger toward Konoha's upper echelon.
On top of that, the Uchiha Clan was exceedingly proud and poor at political maneuvering, so its relationship with Konoha's other Ninja Clans was also terrible.
Then, because the Uchiha Clan controlled the Konoha Military Police Force and had to handle Konoha's daily law enforcement and public security, it could not avoid dealing with Konoha's civilians.
Proud and unskilled at tact, the Uchiha often handled such matters in a blunt and heavy-handed manner. Over time, their relationship with the civilians became extremely strained, which in turn affected how civilian ninja viewed the Uchiha.
It could be said that all these factors had piled together to form a massive cage, trapping the Uchiha Clan within it. They could neither attain the honor due to one of Konoha's founding clans nor gain the support of other Ninja Clans and ninja, much less touch the Hokage position they so desperately desired.
Honestly, after decades of this, the Uchiha higher-ups who understood the situation had already despaired and even given up. Only the young heir, Uchiha Fugaku, still possessed the will and ambition. Fortunately, he had met the unique young man Minato Namikaze and become friends with him. Thus, after Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha Clan finally saw hope.
Then Uchiha Obito, with the conduct of an ungrateful wretch, delivered the Uchiha Clan a vicious slap and told the naive Uchiha that everything they desired was nothing but an illusion.
After that, the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha deteriorated rapidly. Under both internal and external pressures, Uchiha Fugaku repeatedly made foolish moves, eventually dragging the entire Uchiha Clan into a pit.
Without a doubt, while the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan was partly due to Konoha F4 being revolting, a large part of it had also been caused by the Uchiha Clan itself.
Lacking sufficient political wisdom, the Uchiha Clan never understood how to improve its situation, nor did it understand how to properly struggle against Konoha's upper echelon. The Uchiha's increasingly extreme thinking ultimately dragged the entire clan into a mire, leading to its complete destruction.
However, at the heart of all these problems was the Uchiha Clan's longing to reclaim its honor, become part of Konoha's upper echelon, and claim the Konoha throne that was the Hokage position—a seat the Uchiha Clan should have possessed at least once.
If they had not harbored those desires and had simply laid flat and given up, the Uchiha Clan probably would have lived quite comfortably instead.
Of course, that was only a hypothetical. It would not happen in reality.
What was happening now was that Uchiha Qi claimed he had a way to help the Uchiha Clan obtain what it had always desired!
Shock, astonishment, disbelief—all kinds of emotions surged forth.
Then Uchiha Setsuna spoke in a deep, solemn voice. "Qi-kun, you cannot speak carelessly about such things. You may have been an outsider for a long time and unable to touch many matters, but you should still understand what our Uchiha Clan has always desired!"
His words carried a warning. He was not targeting Uchiha Qi, merely cautioning him that some things could not be said lightly, lest they provoke public outrage.
Uchiha Qi nodded calmly. "Of course I understand. And I can guarantee it. Or rather, I realized long ago that our Uchiha situation was not as glorious as it appeared on the surface. We were constrained at every turn."
"So, from that time onward, I began thinking about our Uchiha future and how to change all this."
"Fortunately, I did come up with many things. And when I developed Genjutsu Game, I gained the possibility of realizing what I had once envisioned."
Well, that was not exactly deception.
After all, before his transmigration, he had read so many Naruto fanfictions. There had been all kinds of methods for resolving the Uchiha Clan's predicament, including but not limited to using cheats to beat up Konoha F4, applying the sophisticated political wisdom accumulated over five thousand years of Chinese history to ruin Konoha F4's reputations, or directly remolding Konoha F4 at the source and sending them toward different futures.
Beyond that, there had also been all sorts of bizarre and absurd methods. The central idea was to use any means necessary to change the Uchiha Clan's circumstances, fully displaying the miraculous imagination and bizarre thought processes of idiotic netizens from 2014 to 2024.
The former Uchiha Qi had been one of them. He had thoroughly enjoyed discussing such matters with those idiotic netizens and had accumulated extremely valuable, ninja-world-exclusive experience in armchair politics.
Originally, it had merely been a pastime from his days as an overworked office drone. Who could have expected him to transmigrate, and even become an Uchiha? Those experiences born from the joyous madness of idiotic netizens now had a place to be used and put into practice.
Faced with Uchiha Qi's words, the Uchiha present were all stunned for a moment. Then, recalling Uchiha Qi's past actions, his unconventional style compared to other Uchiha, and his talent for independently developing the secret technique of Genjutsu Game, they found it understandable that he had begun considering such matters so early.
After looking at Uchiha Qi with admiration, Uchiha Masanobu said, "Qi-kun, judging by your expression, you truly seem to have a plan. Then can you tell us how Genjutsu Game can improve the Uchiha Clan's circumstances?"
Uchiha Qi nodded. "Everyone, the Uchiha Clan is indeed one of Konoha's founding clans. Yet precisely because we are a founding clan, we occupy too many of Konoha's interests."
"Leaving aside anything else, in this core district alone, many industries belong to the Uchiha Clan, and we monopolize those benefits."
"Originally, that was nothing. As a founding clan, it was only natural for us to possess these things. But the crucial point is that Ancestor Madara's actions cast a shadow over the Uchiha Clan."
"On top of that, under the demands of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, the Senju Clan gradually withdrew from prominence, giving up many things to integrate into Konoha and the Land of Fire."
"For this, the Senju Clan even abandoned the Senju surname. Even Princess Tsunade, Konoha's Her Highness, did not inherit the Senju surname. She could only be called a princess of the Senju, rather than the Clan Head of the Senju Clan."
"The actions of the First Hokage brothers were beyond reproach, because they had their own aspirations. But the problem was that their actions made the Uchiha Clan stand out, turning us into the 'villain' counterpart to the 'righteous side' in all sorts of novels and strange tales. As those who occupied the overwhelming majority of benefits, we would inevitably draw the envy and jealousy of Konoha's other Ninja Clans. And because we were the 'villains,' they would even believe such feelings were 'correct.'"
"Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan controls the Konoha Military Police Force. Because of our duties and mission, our relationship with Konoha's civilians is very poor. Thus, the Uchiha Clan has suffered hostility from all levels of Konoha, as though we were locked inside a cage, unable to struggle free."
The Uchiha listened and nodded in deep agreement, though their expressions were ugly. Several of them could not help clenching their fists.
Moreover, Uchiha Qi's analysis brought them a sudden realization. Some things they had failed to understand before—such as how the Uchiha Clan had become the Senju Clan's foil—finally became clear to them, leaving them deeply uncomfortable.
Honestly, the Senju Clan's decision to abandon its surname and integrate into Konoha and the Land of Fire was admirable. After all, not every millennia-old clan could willingly give up everything to become "ordinary people."
But being cast as the foil for the righteous side felt terrible.
Then, amid that atmosphere, Uchiha Qi continued to drop a bombshell. "The Hokage faction represents the upper echelon, the major Ninja Clans represent the middle class, and the civilians represent the lower class. What our Uchiha Clan faces now is comprehensive hostility from every class in all of Konoha."
"If we cannot change this cage-like situation, our Uchiha Clan will never be able to turn things around. Even if we take an extreme path and launch a coup, it would be useless."
"Because our enemies are not merely Konoha's upper echelon, but the other classes as well. Even if we somehow defeated the Hokage faction, what we would face afterward would be the opposition and suppression of all Konoha."
In an instant, the Uchiha present changed expression. Several people could not help activating their Sharingan and staring intently at Uchiha Qi.
After all, a coup was top-secret even within the Uchiha Clan. At present, some people had only privately and angrily said, "At worst, we can just launch a coup." These were merely secrets born from the private resentment of a few individuals. The momentum and will that would truly sweep through the entire Uchiha Clan would not form until after the Nine-Tails Attack.
However, this line of thought had actually existed for a long time. Among the Uchiha radicals—such as Grand Elder Uchiha Setsuna—it had emerged as early as the end of the Second Great Ninja War, when the Uchiha Clan had paid an enormous price in the war yet failed to gain corresponding benefits.
Yet all of that had been secret. When Uchiha Qi suddenly spoke it aloud, the feeling was completely different.
Facing the suspicious, oppressive gazes of the Uchiha higher-ups and their Sharingan, Uchiha Qi merely said calmly, "Everyone, there is no need to doubt me. I did not hear any relevant information. I merely made a reasonable deduction based on the Uchiha Clan's circumstances and our clan's customary pride."
"From your reactions, it is obvious that my guess was correct."
"But as I said, regarding a coup, unless our Uchiha Clan produces another Ninja Asura, it would only be seeking death."
"If we wish to change the Uchiha Clan's circumstances, the correct choice is to find a breach in this all-encompassing cage and thoroughly shatter its blockade."
"And the breach I have chosen is the major Ninja Clans that represent Konoha's middle class. Through an exchange of interests, we will transform the major Ninja Clans' hostility toward the Uchiha Clan into friendship."
"After all, in many situations, using benefits to open the way is more effective than dryly talking about dreams, convictions, and the future."
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