A Sword Not in Hand and a Sword Kept Sheathed Are Not the Same Thing

Xuanye's expression calmed as he said lightly:

"The crux of the matter is that you, as clan head, are too weak. You do not even know how to put up a show of resistance. No wonder others dare to bully you."

You were a coward. Even if you possessed great strength, people would still dare to bully you.

The Konoha civilians were the best example. They bullied everyone equally, then tragically suffered massive casualties when Pain attacked the village.

But if you were willing to risk your life just to bite a piece of flesh off whoever bullied you—

Even if you were an ordinary person, others would think twice before laying a hand on you, weighing whether it was worth it.

As Fugaku pondered the true meaning behind Xuanye's words, Xuanye continued explaining:

"Have you ever considered this? You do not want to rebel because you do not want to drag the Uchiha to the brink of destruction."

"But what about Konoha? Are they not afraid that the Uchiha will drag Konoha into war?"

When others claimed you had weapons of mass destruction, you had better actually possess them.

Just as Konoha's higher-ups feared the emergence of another Uchiha Madara, the Uchiha had better truly have a pair of Mangekyō.

Because Konoha no longer had a Senju Hashirama.

Xuanye patiently guided him. "The Third Great Ninja War has only just ended. Konoha is surrounded by wolves and tigers, especially Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Who would not want to tear another chunk of flesh from Konoha?"

"Our Uchiha combat strength, counting your eyes, amounts to at least a quarter of Konoha's strength—perhaps even a third!"

"If the Uchiha are driven into rebellion, what will happen to Konoha?"

Without waiting for Fugaku to think, Xuanye stated with certainty, "Even if Konoha crushes the Uchiha rebellion, it will definitely be severely weakened, perhaps even unable to recover."

"And then, the wolves and tigers around it will swarm in and tear the entire Land of Fire and the badly weakened Konoha to pieces."

"The Uchiha indeed have no chance of defeating Konoha, but we can drag all of Konoha into the Abyss with us."

Fugaku was utterly shocked upon hearing that.

He had never imagined that those enemies they had encountered on the battlefield might even become "allies" who could help the Uchiha change their circumstances.

Xuanye continued, "Sarutobi Hiruzen is far shrewder than you. He knows Konoha absolutely cannot withstand an internal Uchiha conflict, which is why he has always used a dull blade to cut flesh, probing your limits bit by bit, then stepping forward as the mediator whenever Danzo wants to use radical measures."

"And yet, you failed to see even that."

Fugaku drew a deep breath and looked at the young man before him, who was only a few years older than his son.

He suddenly realized that he had lived his decades in vain. He did not even see things as clearly as this young man did.

"Then what should I do?"

Fugaku himself did not realize that he was sitting upright, actually asking Xuanye for advice.

Xuanye said lightly, "You do not need to do anything."

"The next time Konoha asks our Uchiha to make a sacrifice, reveal your eyes at the right moment. Show them how outraged you are, then refuse to compromise no matter what they say."

"As long as you withstand the pressure, someone will step forward to mediate. Most likely, it will be one of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans."

"After all, the essence of politics is mutual compromise. If you refuse to compromise, then as long as they do not want mutual destruction, Konoha's higher-ups will have to compromise first."

"Remember this: not having a sword in your hand and having one but choosing not to use it are not the same thing."

After saying that, Xuanye drained the tea in his cup and rose to leave.

He had already laid everything out so clearly. If Fugaku still proved to be useless, then Xuanye could not blame himself for "purging traitors from the ruler's side."

They said one need not fear godlike opponents, only piglike teammates.

Before formally making his move, Uchiha Xuanye would never allow such an unstable element to remain within the group under his control.

Xuanye did not know how strong Fugaku truly was, but he had great faith in his own eyes.

Thinking of the power of the eyes he trusted, Xuanye could not help but smile knowingly.

Fugaku watched Xuanye's departing back and suddenly asked just as he was about to cross the gate:

"Xuanye, I have not asked yet. What exactly is the ability of your Mangekyō?"

Every pair of Mangekyō possessed different abilities. Most ocular techniques were ordinary, but some were terrifyingly powerful.

The Mangekyō's ocular techniques were even more threatening than Susanoo!

Fugaku, who had also awakened the Mangekyō, understood this deeply.

Susanoo's power was known, and though it was formidable, it could still possibly be shattered by external force.

But Mangekyō ocular techniques... the unknown was what truly made them impossible to guard against.

Xuanye glanced back at Fugaku and smiled faintly.

"Clan Head, would you let others know your Mangekyō ocular technique?"

With that, Xuanye left directly.

Fugaku watched Xuanye's departing back in silence for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh.

He had compromised with Xuanye again and did not ask about his Mangekyō ocular technique.

No matter what, Xuanye was still an Uchiha. The stronger Xuanye became, the stronger the Uchiha would become. That would not change.

As for Xuanye's suggestion just now... Fugaku intended to find an opportunity to try it.

Xuanye was right.

No matter how bad the situation became, it was still better than being carved apart with a dull blade during peacetime.

On the way home, Xuanye was not at all surprised that Fugaku had not continued pressing the matter.

Fugaku was accustomed to compromise. Even if Xuanye taught him how to fight back, he would still instinctively choose to retreat when the situation was not critical enough.

Used properly, that sort of personality made for the best tool.

After returning to his house within the clan, Xuanye began refining chakra as usual.

Although awakening the Mangekyō had greatly increased the amount of chakra in his body, steadily bringing it to Kage Level strength—

Training was something that could not stop for even a moment.

Even with the system's help, the gradual accumulation of everyday effort was extremely important. Sometimes, the mindset of a strong person outweighed all external advantages.

With the divine weapon Musō Isshin helping him, Xuanye's chakra refinement efficiency was extremely high. This was especially true when training Lightning Release, which felt completely natural to him.

Thus, Xuanye was even considering whether he should make Lightning Release his primary training focus in the future.

Speaking of Lightning Release, one had to mention Kakashi's Chidori. It was a ninjutsu especially suited to the Sharingan's dynamic vision.

Kakashi should have already completed Chidori's development by now.

Even if he had not, his experience in developing Lightning Release would still be immensely valuable.

As it happened, Xuanye's arrangements from earlier that day should produce some results.