"On top of all that, he had most likely awakened the supreme power of the Uchiha clan's Dojutsu..."
"Susanoo."
Uchiha Yamikaze's face went pale with shock. "Susanoo!"
"The legendary power?!"
"He, he really..."
"That's right."
"Otherwise, why would Hiruzen Sarutobi go to such lengths to win him over and brainwash him?"
Uchiha Yamikaze broke out in a cold sweat.
He had only occasionally heard of Susanoo. According to the older generations and clan elders, it was a terrifying power comparable to a Tailed Beast, yet he had never seen it for himself.
Qianyu said calmly, "Of course, if we truly fought to the death, I was absolutely confident I would not lose to him."
"But fighting him alone and having the Uchiha clan wage war against all of Konoha are entirely different concepts."
"If it were the latter, there would be no way for me to protect every clan member. Even under the most optimistic estimate, the outcome could only be a brutal mutual destruction."
"The greater possibility would be the Uchiha clan's complete defeat."
Uchiha Yamikaze was young and hot-blooded, brimming with fighting spirit, so he was naturally a fanatical radical.
Yet after hearing Qianyu's words, he finally understood that not everything in this world could be resolved through passion and hot blood alone.
Seeing him begin to ponder, Qianyu continued guiding him. "Besides..."
"Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if a miracle truly happened and the Uchiha clan won a resounding victory, seized all power, and made all of Konoha ours."
"Then what?"
Uchiha Yamikaze said blankly, "Then..."
"Then among the countless shinobi and villagers in this entire village, who would truly be loyal and submit to us?"
"Would the great clans willingly obey the Uchiha's arrangements and commands?"
"Would those powerful elite shinobi follow the Uchiha's lead?"
"Would those villagers feel a sense of belonging toward a Konoha ruled by the Uchiha?"
"Would the daimyo of the Land of Fire acknowledge all this?"
"The Four Great Shinobi Villages were watching like tigers eyeing their prey. Would they allow the Uchiha clan, weakened beyond measure after a brutal civil war to seize power, to make a smooth transition?"
"Had you considered any of these questions?"
Uchiha Yamikaze's face turned deathly pale.
"This..."
"Captain, I really hadn't thought that far..."
Qianyu shook his head. "That isn't your fault."
"Whether radicals or conservatives within the clan, most of them acted based on righteous indignation, hatred, grudges, interests, and so on. Each pursued their own agenda, each harbored their own thoughts."
"The Uchiha were not even united within themselves, so how could they defeat Konoha's upper echelon and seize power over the entire village?"
Uchiha Yamikaze frowned. "Then what is your plan, Captain...?"
Qianyu said, "After hearing so much from me, you must think everything I did was for the clan's benefit, that I wanted to save the Uchiha clan from its fate..."
"But I wasn't."
"Or rather, that was not my ultimate goal."
"My ultimate goal..."
"Was to make the entire village—no, the entire shinobi world—a place where fairness and justice existed."
"To make this world clearly distinguish black from white, where good was rewarded and evil repaid."
"In that world, kind people would not need to live in fear, while evil people would have nowhere to hide, and retribution would never fail."
"All living beings would act according to morality and law."
"Rather than living in this rotten, fallen, dark shinobi world..."
"Where the strong devoured the weak, where bloodshed and brutality turned every living thing in the world into neither human nor ghost!"
Uchiha Yamikaze listened in stunned disbelief, deeply moved and filled with admiration.
"Captain, you... what you said was incredible..."
"But could such a world really exist?"
"Even if it did, could we truly grasp it?"
Qianyu shook his head. "I don't know."
"Perhaps none of it could ever be realized."
"But no person and no matter could stop my steps toward that destination."
"Absolutely not."
Uchiha Yamikaze's blood boiled, yet he also felt the crushing weight of reality.
"Captain, do the things you said have much to do with our current situation?"
Qianyu said, "This has nothing to do with any situation. It only has to do with me."
"With my choices, with how I handle things."
"Yamamoto, do you think I was bloodthirsty?"
Uchiha Yamikaze froze, then scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well... to be honest, a little..."
"Then you were wrong."
"But I'm afraid everyone thinks so..."
"Then everyone was wrong."
"Everyone I killed deserved to die. If I were truly bloodthirsty, there would not be a single living person left in this Anbu prison."
Uchiha Yamikaze could not help but shudder.
But he also knew that Captain Qianyu was telling the truth.
"What you mean is...?"
"It's very simple. It was merely a matter of choice."
Qianyu spoke as if summing it up.
"This shinobi world is like a monster covered in rotten, decaying flesh, while I am a precise and sharp scalpel, meant to cut away every bit of filth and corruption!"
"If the shinobi world can survive after the cutting is done, that would naturally be for the best."
"If it dies completely..."
"Then we will build a new world upon its rotting, fallen corpse."
When Facing Outsiders, I Cower! When Facing My Own, I Strike Hard!
Uchiha Yamikaze only half understood.
Still, he increasingly felt that Captain Qianyu before him was a person full of contradictions.
On one hand, his methods were incomparably forceful and extreme.
Yet on the other, the world of his ideals was so bright and brilliant that it seemed illusory and unreal.
He could not help thinking again of Clan Head Fugaku's evaluation.
"That man Qianyu could be terrifyingly extreme at times, yet naively optimistic at others."
It was as though Qianyu had seen through Uchiha Yamikaze's thoughts.
Qianyu said in a low voice, "Without thunderous methods, do not practice a bodhisattva's compassion."
"My extreme methods were precisely an inevitable, helpless means of correcting excess with excess."
Uchiha Yamikaze repeated his words, lost in thought.
"I think I understand a little now, Captain..."
"What you meant was to use extreme methods to cut away Konoha's darkness, allowing the Uchiha clan to earn recognition in the process. Then, when the time came, we would naturally gain everyone's support."
"Instead of trying to use violence to overthrow violence as we did now, driving the Uchiha clan into a desperate situation."
Qianyu said, "From my personal perspective, whether I gain others' recognition or whether the clan gains everyone's support are merely incidental."
"Every decision I made came from following my heart."
"Only..."
"Only what?"
"Only that Konoha happened to be the dark and rotten side."
Uchiha Yamikaze understood.
He smiled faintly. "Captain, you truly are a saint..."
"I am not a saint. I am merely an egoist pursuing peace of mind."
Uchiha Yamikaze stretched lazily.
"After talking with you for so long, Captain, I feel like my very soul has been elevated..."
"But rest assured, Captain. I will convey your will to everyone."
"Oh, right. Elder Yashiro told me that Kakashi Hatake had already compiled the truth into a report and submitted it. He really was a reliable guy. Your judgment was indeed impressive, Captain..."
"I just don't know how Hiruzen Sarutobi will handle it."
Qianyu said, "Kakashi Hatake?"
Before you continue