The Basis of Optimism Is Pure Fear

"Oh? Then Father, what do you think these clans are planning?"

Naruto was a little surprised. His father's intelligence was indeed extremely sharp, though he did seem a bit airheaded as the Second Hokage had said.

"They must have already made their arrangements. When I took the position of Hokage, I discovered that Konoha's major clans had divided up all the village's resources. The clan system for ninja families meant that commoners could only continuously train their descendants to become ninja to secure a place in Konoha."

"Furthermore, after commoners become ninja, if they don't have a senior Jonin to lead and guide them, their fate is destined to be cannon fodder on the battlefield."

"Now, whether the Uchiha's attempted coup succeeds or fails, the village's resources will be redistributed among the clans afterward. They will absolutely not miss the opportunity to gain benefits for their own families."

"But Shisui Uchiha has already revealed all of their clan's plans to the Third Hokage. Although the Uchiha appear to be well-prepared, their clan's coup is destined to fail."

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he said calmly, "Father, why aren't you optimistic about the Uchiha clan?"

Minato Namikaze shook his head. "You've seen Shisui Uchiha's memories too. The Uchiha clan is now optimistically blind. They actually have no confidence in their hearts. They are even pathetically relying entirely on the Uchiha name for victory."

"From Shisui Uchiha's memories, it can be seen that most of the Uchiha clan members have a very narrow view of the overall situation. They only respect their clan's leadership. They don't consider the commoners at all, nor have they taken the other Konoha clans into account."

"If their coup were to succeed, the interests of the other Konoha clans would definitely be reclaimed. This would immediately cause the village's clans to form a united front with Konoha's higher-ups. It would be equivalent to them using their clan to fight against the entire village."

"Even if their clan's combat power isn't weak, this is too unrealistic."

"Besides, they've already been betrayed by their own people. Naruto, aren't you also not optimistic about the Uchiha?"

Naruto's gaze sharpened. "You figured this out too?"

"Not just me," Minato Namikaze said, then pointed at Kurama. "Kurama figured it out too."

Kurama, who had been sleeping, immediately opened one eye upon hearing this. "Fourth Hokage, it seems you haven't gotten rid of your talkative habit!"

"Uh…"

Minato Namikaze looked a little embarrassed.

"Kurama, how did you figure it out?"

Naruto was genuinely curious.

"I didn't figure it out, I sensed it. The most obvious time was when you went to the Hokage's office before."

"At that time, Shisui Uchiha wasn't dead yet. When I released my chakra to erode the seal, I felt like you already knew he was doomed. This also explains why you were marking the area under the Naka River waterfall so early later on."

"And there was also that time when the Third Hokage took you to watch a speech. I clearly sensed that you were looking at those Uchiha Police Department personnel as if they were dead people."

Naruto nodded calmly.

"Alright, I already discussed this with Father when we talked about the disappearance of the Senju Clan. The Uchiha clan is destined to face a destructive end."

As Naruto finished speaking, he left. He had to go home for dinner, and there were still classes at school in the afternoon.

Minato Namikaze stood silently within the seal, his expression grave. He realized that his feelings for Konoha had become very complicated.

In the afternoon, Naruto arrived at the school, but instead of going to the classroom, he went to a dojo in the teaching building.

"This afternoon, everyone will participate in group sparring matches!"

"Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, step forward!"

Iruka stood in the center of the dojo and loudly called out the names of the first pair of combatants.

"Hey, Choji, can you give me some chips?"

"Sorry, there's actually only one left."

Shikamaru yawned and asked Choji, while Choji directly waved his empty bag and popped the last chip into his mouth.

"Naruto, want to guess who your opponent will be later?"

Shikamaru sighed and turned to speak to Naruto, who was standing by the wall.

Naruto slowly turned his eyes to the corner of his eye. "Why guess? Since we're friends, don't play dumb. Knowing our homeroom teacher's personality, he'll definitely want to let the genius he values most teach me a lesson later."

Shikamaru waved his hand. "Alright, I knew you'd already guessed who your opponent would be."

Naruto said calmly, "Then you also know how I plan to deal with it?"

"Uh…" Shikamaru's expression faltered. He watched as another group of different people entered and exited the dojo center and said, "More or less. But I estimate I'll make the same choice as you."

"Sasuke Uchiha, Uzumaki Naruto, step forward!"

"Go, Sasuke-kun! You can do it!"

"Go, Sasuke-kun! Beat your opponent to a pulp!"

As Sasuke Uchiha walked to the center of the dojo, a group of girls immediately started cheering. Shikamaru gave Naruto a helpless look.

Naruto walked nonchalantly in front of Sasuke. He noticed that this usually arrogant cool guy was actually frowning, seemingly distracted.

"Before the match begins, both sides shall form the seal of opposition with their dominant hand!"

Iruka finished speaking and was about to step back, but Naruto immediately raised his hand.

"No need, I forfeit!"

Iruka's eye twitched. "Naruto, what did you say!"

Naruto looked at Iruka calmly and replied, "I said I forfeit."

"Alright! Since you forfeit, then step aside!"

Iruka's eyes flashed with anger. The Third Hokage had explicitly told him that Naruto already had a solid Taijutsu foundation.

He wanted to scold Naruto a few words but couldn't find an excuse. Naruto had voluntarily conceded, so what else could he do?

"Haha! That dead last is scared after all!"

"Sasuke-kun is a genius, he was never going to be a match for him anyway!"

"..."

Sasuke watched Naruto unhesitatingly return to his seat, feeling a mix of curiosity and confusion.

What was this guy's deal? His brother had definitely told him he was strong!

"I knew you'd do something like this," Shikamaru said with a helpless expression. "Too bad, I wish I had gone first."

Naruto smiled faintly. "Sorry. Relatively speaking, our homeroom teacher doesn't like me much. Besides, you were planning to concede anyway, so what difference does it make who goes first?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I just feel like it's too much trouble. My opponent might concede first."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he didn't reply. He had sensed Genma suddenly appear at the school.

"What's Genma doing at the school at this time?"

Naruto wondered, his senses locked onto Genma. Soon, he discovered Genma moving back and forth through the teaching buildings, following the path of the Explosive Tags he had previously set up.

"Genma is actually disabling the fuses for the Explosive Tags!"

Sensing Genma's actions, Naruto's gaze turned icy. He had no intention of stopping Genma.

He didn't know if Genma had a change of heart or if he'd gone mad. With so many Explosive Tags hidden throughout Konoha, what could he accomplish even if he managed to disable most of them?

After all, due to the Uchiha issue, Konoha's higher-ups had already stationed ninja on high alert in various important streets within the village.

Until the Uchiha clan issue was resolved, Genma wouldn't have any chance to reach and cut the wires for the Explosive Tags around the Hokage Rock and the Hokage's office building.