First, sound the alarm; second, lay out the pros and cons; third, dangle the bait; fourth, establish the course of action.
Uchiha Qi employed the classic step-by-step process of a strategist talking people into something.
Of course, Uchiha Qi was not exactly deceiving them. He was merely stating the facts.
By the time Uchiha Qi reached this point, the Uchiha Clan higher-ups' interest and anticipation had been thoroughly stirred. They even felt a sense of conviction and longing they had not noticed themselves.
After all, Uchiha Qi's analysis was simply too comprehensive and textbook-perfect. It was not something the information-starved and politically unsophisticated Uchiha Clan could have come up with.
The powerful analytical and summarizing abilities of the foolish netizens of the twenty-first century were simply beyond comparison to the natives of the ninja world.
This was not some lofty superiority complex from being a transmigrator. It was simply the result of gathering information, synthesizing countless pieces of wisdom, and possessing the broad perspective that came from an omniscient viewpoint.
As people caught up in the situation, the Uchiha might have vaguely realized these things. But asking them to analyze and summarize them in a simple, understandable way was completely beyond them.
Even the "old fox" Uchiha Setsuna merely understood that the Uchiha Clan was in a terrible situation and had to change, or else it would have no future.
Now, the completely persuaded Uchiha higher-ups waited excitedly for Uchiha Qi to continue.
At that moment, Uchiha Qi finally revealed his true purpose: if they wanted to ease relations with the major Ninja Clans representing Konoha's middle ranks, they had to yield benefits.
However, given the Uchiha Clan's stubborn, hardheaded nature, it would be extremely difficult to carve up the benefits that had belonged to the Uchiha Clan ever since Konoha was founded.
What was more, the relevant businesses concerned the livelihoods of ordinary Uchiha clan members. The shopkeepers, owners, and attendants in those stores were all ordinary Uchiha clan members.
If they truly wanted to ease relations with Konoha's major clans and become genuine allies, the benefits they yielded could not be a trivial amount. At that point, chaos would break out within the Uchiha Clan.
Therefore, Uchiha Qi's stance was simple: the Uchiha Clan's existing interests would not be ceded. They only needed to make the cake bigger, then bring others in on it.
Genjutsu Game was a brand-new cake. The profits it contained were impossible to calculate. As long as they used Genjutsu Game as bait, they could pull a large number of Ninja Clans aboard the Uchiha Clan's ship.
That way, the encirclement surrounding the Uchiha Clan would develop a massive breach.
On that basis, they only needed to win over the civilian class and thoroughly change the Uchiha Clan's reputation among civilians. Then the Uchiha Clan's worst predicament would be resolved with ease.
They could even turn things around and have the Uchiha Clan lead the people representing the majority of Konoha in surrounding Konoha's upper ranks from every direction.
As he explained all this, Uchiha Qi fully displayed the skills he had cultivated as a political commentator in his previous life. He conducted a comprehensive analysis from the perspectives of culture, nations, geography, interests, ideology, public opinion, and more, explaining the feasibility and advanced nature of his plan.
He was confident and flamboyant throughout, gesturing grandly with the bearing of a wise man who could divide the realm like Zhuge Liang or unify the land like Liu Bowen. The Uchiha higher-ups were given a full taste of the formidable power of a twenty-first-century keyboard warrior.
The theories, plans, and courses of action they had never learned or even heard of opened the eyes of these country bumpkins from the ninja world.
They began in confusion, then pondered, then suddenly understood. Next came the chilling realization after thinking it over, followed by lingering fear. In the end, their thoughts completely followed Uchiha Qi's words, much like how middle-aged and elderly people in Uchiha Qi's previous life were poisoned and brainwashed by WeChat public accounts and clickbait essays.
In the end, these Uchiha higher-ups could only look at Uchiha Qi with astonishment and admiration. Some even gazed at him with outright worship.
Without a doubt, although the Uchiha present were all considered wise within the clan, their thought processes were still extremely straightforward. Most of the time, when something happened, their mindset was simply, "What are you looking at?" "I'm looking at you. So what?"
Even when they played schemes and conspiracies, their level was merely sending a talented youth from the clan to infiltrate the Hokage's side as a spy. Their approach was simple and crude to the point that one had to wonder whether their brains had been eaten.
Otherwise, with the prestige of being one of Konoha's founding clans, along with the fact that nearly all their ninja were experts, how could the Uchiha Clan possibly have ended up exterminated?
Uchiha Qi's analysis, his thinking, and the plans he formulated were a dimensionality-reduction strike against these Uchiha. They completely opened the door to a new world of thought, giving them the marvelous realization that so this could be done too.
In the end, Uchiha Masanobu, the Clan Head, said with gratified pride, "As expected of Qi-kun. Your wisdom and intellect far exceed our imagination. No, rather, the height at which you stand has already surpassed the limits of a single clan and reached an extraordinarily lofty level."
"Perhaps this is the kind of thinking a Hokage should possess."
By the end, he felt both the melancholy of an old wave being crushed to death by the new and the joy of knowing there was someone to carry on the cause.
After all, Uchiha Qi was young enough, and he had an excellent relationship with Uchiha Masanobu's son, Uchiha Fugaku.
As long as the two could cooperate wholeheartedly, the Uchiha Clan would surely become great again under their joint leadership.
The other Uchiha had no objections to Uchiha Masanobu's praise, because they thought the same. Uchiha Setsuna was even somewhat sorrowful and desolate, his eyes unfocused.
"So this is the thinking a Hokage should possess, the height of Tobirama Senju's thinking as well... And Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and the others who inherited his legacy must surely possess a similar level of thought."
"So the reason our Uchiha Clan has been suppressed by Konoha's upper ranks from beginning to end is precisely because we lacked this level of thinking..."
"How laughable. I once believed that, as a hardliner of the Uchiha Clan, I had already seen through the true nature of Konoha's upper ranks and that only rising up in resistance could bring the Uchiha Clan a future. Now it seems I was terribly mistaken."
"From the very beginning, the height of my thinking fell far short of theirs. I was completely played in the palm of my enemies' hands. Everything I did, and everything I had always stood for, was nothing but a joke. It would even drag my Uchiha Clan into the abyss..."
Thinking of this, Uchiha Setsuna was suddenly overcome by a powerful sense of dejection. His once-straight back hunched over, his head lowered of its own accord, and his Sharingan activated at that moment.
The violent shift in his emotions, the despair of realizing that all the struggles and efforts of his life had been a joke, surged forth. Uchiha Setsuna even felt a powerful, defeated urge that it might be better to end his life right then.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly at that moment, showing signs of evolving to an even higher level.
Given Uchiha Setsuna's current state, once his Sharingan completed its evolution, it would most likely be the moment of his death.
However, the change ultimately stopped.
Because Uchiha Setsuna heard Uchiha Qi's voice again. Although Uchiha Qi was merely humbly responding to everyone's praise this time, for Uchiha Setsuna, it became the opportunity to interrupt his intense emotions.
The moment he thought of Uchiha Qi, a powerful stimulant seemed to inject itself into Uchiha Setsuna's defeated emotions.
Because the Uchiha Clan no longer lacked the kind of thinking that stood at the height of a Hokage.
Uchiha Qi was the most precious treasure heaven had bestowed upon the Uchiha Clan!
His wisdom, his thoughts, his understanding, and his talent perfectly filled everything the Uchiha Clan lacked.
Uchiha Setsuna saw the Uchiha Clan's bright future in Uchiha Qi. He saw the hope of the Uchiha Clan becoming great again under Uchiha Qi's influence!
Yes, as long as Qi-kun was there, as long as he was around, everything would get better!
And he already had a complete plan, along with the wisdom to free the Uchiha Clan from its predicament.
The rest of us in the Uchiha Clan might not possess wisdom as lofty as his, but we can support him with all our strength!
As long as we stand firmly beside him and spare no effort in protecting and helping him, our Uchiha Clan will surely be able to reclaim the honor and status we lost, just as he said!
Perhaps...
We could even set our sights on the Hokage position, supreme and untouchable within Konoha!
At that thought, a brilliant light burst from Uchiha Setsuna's eyes. His spirit and vigor rose to an extremely high level, as though he had transformed into the elderly protagonist of a hot-blooded anime.
Even the pattern in his Sharingan suddenly changed at that moment.
Although the change flashed by in an instant before returning to normal, there was no doubt that it had truly occurred.
However, no one noticed it, not even Uchiha Setsuna himself.
As for Uchiha Qi, he actually felt rather awkward right now. After all, being praised for possessing Hokage-level thinking was genuinely hard to take.
After all, the other two Uchiha who had received that sort of praise were not exactly fortunate. One was Kagami Uchiha, who died young under unclear circumstances.
The other was Uchiha Itachi, a ruthless madman who wiped out his own clan and likewise died in his twenties.
So, was praising an Uchiha for having Hokage-level thinking really not an insult?
I recommend a book: "Lost Civilization: I Entered the Game with Bai Qi's Life"
Synopsis
Recently, my childhood sweetheart kept blushing whenever she looked at me, and my older brother's daughter did whatever I said.
I was physically strong and exceptionally capable. While I was not rich enough to rival a nation, I was at least financially free. In short, I was a successful man.
At nineteen, I already possessed wealth, looks, and a "perfect biological stat panel." I was unquestionably a powerhouse in my area. If you do not believe me, take a look:
Perfect Biological Stat Panel.
Lu Cheng: Bai Qi Inclination—Genetic Modifier.
Enemies Killed: 2995.
Please ignore that last line. In any case, there was no need to say more about my strength; all 2,995 people deeply agreed. Besides, Bai Qi—what a pure and flawless name! Just like a dove that loved peace!
Just like my name, I was a good young man who loved peace and enjoyed helping others. Now, I could not keep making this up.
Before you continue