At the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Compound, White Dove's speech continued!
"However... the village higher-ups shattered my dreams!"
White Dove's voice suddenly rose, as if he'd switched on a loudspeaker.
No, he really had.
C-rank Amplification Technique!
A Sound Release ninjutsu he'd only just developed after gaining the Mangekyo.
This Sound Release technique had no offensive power at all. On the contrary, it was extremely difficult to learn and required perfect chakra control. Even a Jonin might not be able to master it.
With this Sound Release technique, it was like having a "loudspeaker" built in.
It might not be useful under ordinary circumstances, but in certain situations, it was a different story.
Like now!
White Dove's voice rang in every Uchiha's ears, stirring their emotions and drawing them deeper into his speech.
"During the Nine-Tails' rampage, the village suspected us and stopped us from joining the rescue effort right away!"
"Even though it wasn't our fault, they forced us to move away from the village center, and we still haven't received our relocation money!"
"At the same time, the higher-ups are oppressing us at every turn!"
"The Mission Center doesn't even welcome Uchiha taking on missions, leaving us with hardly any chance to leave the village!"
"Worst of all, those surveillance cameras and Anbu outside the clan compound treat us like criminals!"
"Now Shisui is missing. If we don't stand up for ourselves, the village higher-ups will simply carve up the entire Uchiha Clan as they please!"
"Our proud Uchiha Clan will never accept this kind of treatment. If something really has happened to Shisui, then we must make the village higher-ups pay for it in blood!"
White Dove's speech had the Uchiha fired up.
The key was that everything he said was true. Not a single word was a lie, and reality was even harsher.
Being a ninja~!
Was an extremely resource-intensive profession.
Before crossing over, he hadn't realized it from watching anime, but after experiencing it firsthand, he knew just how much this profession consumed.
First, there was the cost of all kinds of ninja tools. Explosive Tags, Kunai, Ninja Blades, combat vests... none of them came cheap.
It was possible to find ways to save on these things, or even get by without them.
But there was no way to go without the various medicinal herbs and secret medicines needed to nourish the body and mind.
Without them, extracting chakra would cause tremendous damage to the body. Forget about getting stronger—after a few missions, a ninja might not even survive.
That was the fundamental reason why ninjas didn't use ninjutsu recklessly, and why ordinary ninjas didn't live long.
Put simply, chakra was energy squeezed out of the body's cells. Once too much of it was used up, it would naturally inflict tremendous damage on the body.
The best example was the battle between the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Madara at the Valley of the End. Hashirama died not long afterward.
And Hashirama had a Sage Body!
Aside from his state of mind, the bigger reason he died was that he'd used up too much chakra.
So now, because of the village's influence, the Uchiha had far fewer resources. This not only left them unable to train new ninjas, but also caused many Uchiha to start losing their strength.
Without resources to maintain their physical condition, their strength would naturally decline. That was also why a ninja's strength began to wane after they passed their prime.
Of course, cheats were another matter.
White Dove's speech reminded the Uchiha of all the hardships they'd endured over the past few years.
Their anger was burning!
And that anger really could set all of Konoha ablaze.
So Uchiha Fugaku couldn't watch any longer. He tried to reason with him in a low voice:
"White Dove, don't do anything reckless!"
Even though he knew that everything White Dove had said was true, he still couldn't let him incite his clansmen to "throw their lives away"!
That was all there was to it: Uchiha Fugaku, as clan head, had a good heart.
But he didn't understand one principle.
"Fight for peace, and peace will endure. Seek peace through compromise, and peace will perish!"
The village higher-ups were pressing the Uchiha harder at every turn precisely because they knew what Fugaku was like. They'd turned the Uchiha from a once-great clan of the Shinobi World into the miserable state they were in now, and they were only getting more brazen.
If they waited a few more years, the Uchiha's strength would decline even further as their resources dried up. Then it would be all too easy for the village to deal with them.
That was Sarutobi Hiruzen's strategy.
But who could have known that, because the Uchiha had a "genius" like White-Eyed Wolf, whose thought process was unlike anyone else's, and because White Dove's side had a fearless teammate, it would lead to the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan Massacre? Hiruzen had gotten caught in the crossfire too.
Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, White Dove turned and stared straight at him.
"Do you think I'm being reckless?"
Endless compromise and patience would only make the village higher-ups intensify their oppression. That was why he wanted to use "Shisui's death" to show the village higher-ups the Uchiha's strength and fangs, to prove that the Uchiha weren't sheep they could bully at will, but lions with the power to bite the village to death.
Of course, taking the lead himself carried considerable risk. After all, if they couldn't solve the problem, couldn't they just deal with the person who raised it?.
In the past, White Dove would have been extremely worried. But now, after receiving a Mangekyo transplant, he had the power to protect himself.
At least within the village!
That was why he was standing up now, acting as the Uchiha's leader.
"At the very least, we can't act now..."
Uchiha Fugaku warned him.
Shisui had only just died, and they weren't strong enough to stand against the village.
"Clan Head Fugaku, are you confusing the village with the Hokage...?"
White Dove looked at Uchiha Fugaku with disappointment.
Damn, you really are useless as a clan head. You don't have the slightest political sense.
Konoha and the Hokage were two different things.
If the Uchiha rebelled, the entire village would naturally come after them. But if they were only seeking to make the village higher-ups "pay for Shisui's death," the other clans and ordinary ninjas might not join in. Even if they did, they might not fight very hard.
That was why he had to seize this opportunity to strike at the village higher-ups and reclaim some of what they'd lost. If they let this chance pass, it would be incredibly difficult to find another one.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade White Dove, who was dead set on this, Uchiha Fugaku could only grit his teeth and step back.
With the clan in an uproar, if he kept standing in White Dove's way, he might lose what little authority he still had as clan head.
After forcing Uchiha Fugaku back, White Dove raised his voice.
"Clansmen, our home is behind us. We have nowhere left to retreat. Anyone willing to come with me and demand the truth from the village higher-ups, follow me!"
With that, he turned and headed toward the Hokage Building.
"Pay for it in blood!" *2
Tekka and Inabi were the first to follow.
"Pay for it in blood!"
Uchiha Setsuna, the Second Elder, who had already been planning to cause trouble for the village higher-ups, joined in.
"Pay in blood! Pay in blood!" *N
The Hawk Faction Uchiha followed too.
With them leading the way, the others glanced at one another, then silently joined the procession.
And it wasn't just them. Uchiha members of the Konoha Military Police Force who had just arrived also gradually joined the group.
"What's going on?"
"Send the signal!"
"Go notify Lord Hokage!"
The Anbu watching outside the clan compound were all on high alert.
You've got to be kidding!
No ninja could be unaware of the Uchiha's strength. They might have been marginalized under ordinary circumstances, but that didn't mean anyone wasn't wary of them.
As for the villagers?.
Well, they weren't all that nervous.
After all, they were used to openly giving the Konoha Military Police Force a hard time. On top of that, the procession was moving slowly along the street without drawing any weapons. Although it made them extremely curious, no one was afraid.
This was all deliberate on White Dove's part.
If they launched a surprise attack, they could reach the Hokage Building in less than a minute or two.
But moving slowly like this would take at least several dozen minutes to get from the clan compound to the Hokage Building. That was enough time for the village higher-ups and the major clans to respond, and it kept things from turning into an actual battle.
In the procession.
"Quick, hold these up!"
Uchiha Izumi handed out banners to the clansmen in the procession.
There were ordinary Uchiha among the group too, to show that they weren't rebelling. Who would bring ordinary clansmen along if they were staging a rebellion?.
"What's this...?"
The Uchiha who received the banners felt a little embarrassed when they saw the words written on them. But under Izumi's "kind" gaze, they obediently held them up.
[Pay for it in blood!]
[Give us our relocation money!]
[The Uchiha can't breathe!]
One banner after another caught the attention of countless villagers, and more and more came to watch the commotion.
Of course, the banners were just one part of the plan. The other part was already underway.
Before you continue