Yamanaka Chujiu said to Uchiha Shisui, "Kid, haven't you noticed that the Uchiha are confused and divided, with no one able to persuade anyone else?"
Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi nodded at the same time. "That's right. The Uchiha Clan has always been like this."
Yamanaka Chujiu sneered. "That's because you Uchiha have forgotten the easiest way to persuade your clansmen."
"The Uchiha Clan used to be a fine clan, but now you're foolishly copying Hiruzen Sarutobi, holding meetings and trying to persuade people with words. You've got it completely backward!"
"As long as you're strong enough, charge in and fight. Keep going until they're beaten into submission, then start reasoning with them."
"That's when your clansmen will actually listen and try to understand what you're saying, instead of devoting all their energy to arguing back and finding fault."
"And it's not just the Uchiha. For most people in the Shinobi World, the weapon of criticism can never replace criticism by force!"
Yamanaka Chujiu's outrageous argument left Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui utterly dumbfounded.
But Shisui soon frowned. "Wait, that can't be right, Senior Chujiu! What you're saying is wrong!"
"Uchiha Madara was unquestionably powerful, but when he chose to leave the village, not a single member of the Uchiha Clan followed him."
Yamanaka Chujiu sneered. "That was because, at the time, there was someone in Konoha who was indisputably stronger!"
"First Senju Hashirama was invincible. Not only could he beat Uchiha Madara into submission, he also sincerely welcomed the Uchiha and treated them with the utmost fairness!"
"The Second Hokage's strength was common knowledge, too. Though he was wary of the Uchiha, he was willing to take Kagami Uchiha as his student and treated them fairly in every matter."
"Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato's strength was dazzling. Not only was Obito Uchiha his student, his wife was also close friends with your clan leader's wife. He even intended to make the Uchiha Clan a core part of the village."
"When Konoha's Hokage is stronger and willing to accept the Uchiha, you naturally rally around the Hokage of the day. Your clan leader becomes an executor, not the ultimate authority."
"But is the Third Hokage anything like those other three?"
"When the Uchiha were fighting for their lives on the battlefield, the Third Hokage never showed up. When Shimura Danzō framed and harmed the Uchiha, the Third Hokage only tried to smooth things over."
"For many years, the Uchiha haven't felt they were treated fairly. They've suffered too many grievances, and there's resentment in their hearts."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi never went to the battlefield to personally demonstrate overwhelming strength, so there was no way for him to make the Uchiha accept him and unite around the Hokage. Naturally, they grew resistant."
Uchiha Itachi said, his face alight with excitement, "Senior Chujiu is right. When the Fourth Hokage was in office, the atmosphere in the clan was wonderful. Father always had a smile on his face."
"After the Fourth Hokage died, Father went back to looking troubled and downcast. He even argued with the elders all the time."
Uchiha Shisui was stunned. "Huh? That happened?"
"I thought the Uchiha Clan had always been in a difficult position..."
The two brothers exchanged a glance and spoke at the same time. "So, if Lord Orochimaru becomes the Fifth Hokage, the problem will be solved?"
Yamanaka Chujiu smiled and raised his fists. He gave each of the two fired-up Uchiha brothers a hard punch.
As proud Uchiha, both of them felt their rebellious, violent instincts flare up. Yet, as believers, they also sensed a strange kind of "love."
The contradiction briefly threw their thoughts into disarray. Once they quickly regained their senses, they understood what Yamanaka Chujiu meant.
"I'm sorry, Senior Chujiu," Uchiha Shisui apologized sheepishly. "I forgot your teachings again."
Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head. "It's all right. Making mistakes isn't scary, as long as you come to your senses in time."
"But the Uchiha Clan's nature really is interesting. You're fiercely proud of your bloodline and strength, yet you have a strange faith in the strong. Without realizing it, you place your hopes in someone else."
"Do you remember what I said before? The first step in doing anything is to distinguish your enemies from your friends."
They both nodded. "We remember. We've already started investigating and figured out who the Uchiha's base of support is. We're still looking into who our enemies are."
Yamanaka Chujiu nodded approvingly. "Good. Having something to work with gives you a starting point for what comes next."
What he didn't say was that continuing the investigation would be easy. Figuring out who the enemy was would be much harder.
Looking at the Uchiha Clan as a whole, their enemy was the Third Hokage faction led by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Shimura Danzō was merely its most vicious, most ruthless enforcer.
That alone would be hard for Uchiha Shisui to accept, whereas Uchiha Itachi would accept it readily.
Yamanaka Chujiu had branded the Thought Seal into him, making him the most steadfast protector of the Uchiha. By now, he already regarded Hiruzen Sarutobi as an enemy.
But that wasn't the end of it. If Itachi and Shisui kept investigating and sorting out who was friend and foe, they would discover:
The enemy was within the Uchiha!
Then they would have to decide where they stood: with the clan leader and elders, or with the Uchiha clansmen.
That would not be an easy choice. They would suffer terribly.
Yamanaka Chujiu deliberately ignored that point and continued, "Once you've separated your enemies, your allies, and the neutral parties, you need to win over the neutrals."
"Make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible, and you'll win."
"That sounds simple, but it's hard to do. Every situation and every person calls for a different approach. You have to assess each case on its own merits."
This was the essence of thousands of years of political struggle in Chinese civilization, distilled by the mentor into plain, easy-to-understand words through sheer genius.
But "plain and easy to understand" applied to the people of Chinese civilization. For the illiterate people of the Shinobi World, it was more obscure than a heavenly text.
Fortunately, the two boys were different. Yamanaka Chujiu had taught them for some time, and as Chujiu's believers, they could use the faith link of the Heart Severing Realm to share a little of one another's feelings.
So they understood.
It turned out that all the things Chujiu had said could be gathered into a single, coherent system in that one sentence.
Yamanaka Chujiu was very pleased by the Uchiha brothers' astonishment.
He smiled and asked, "Do you feel like your minds are clearer than ever before?"
"Do you feel like you've found a way to solve the Uchiha's problems, and that you'll succeed as long as you go ahead and do it?"
The two boys nodded repeatedly, like a pair of little chicks pecking at food.
Yamanaka Chujiu's smile grew brighter. "Good. You've found the right road to success."
Before you continue