"Come with me? Why?" Madara stared intently at Qile, his expression complicated.
At that moment, he even found himself hoping Qile would voice ideas that closely matched the convictions deep in his heart. His friend's lack of understanding and his clan members' lack of support made him yearn for someone to understand him!
"Actually, everyone has forgotten something crucial." Qile slowly raised his head, his clear, resolute gaze sweeping over the clan members seated below the high platform.
His voice was quiet, yet it seemed to possess a wondrous power to carry through the air.
"The reason the Uchiha became a clan that joined hands with the Senju to establish Konoha wasn't simply that we Uchiha possessed overwhelming strength. The truly crucial reason was that our clan leader was Madara Uchiha."
At this, Qile paused briefly, a trace of emotion passing through his eyes.
"Losing our clan leader is like losing the very pillar of our clan's soul. Without his guidance, the delicate, fragile balance between us and the Senju will be completely shattered."
"When that happens, the Uchiha Clan will inevitably become an ordinary clan like the Sarutobi and Shimura, no longer possessing its former glory. Konoha, too, will fall under the Senju's dominance, and the fate of us Uchiha will change completely."
"Of course, even so, we'll still be the most powerful clan after the Senju. That's an undeniable fact."
"The clan leader and the Hokage are like the heaviest weights at either end of a scale, maintaining the whole situation in a delicate balance. We clan members—even Senju Tobirama, the Hokage's own younger brother—are just smaller weights orbiting those two."
At the sound of Qile's childish words, a glimmer flashed in the clan members' eyes like a meteor streaking across the night sky. It was gone in an instant, yet seemed to hold endless meaning. Their eyes seemed to contain confusion, contemplation, or perhaps uncertainty about the future.
Madara silently watched Qile speak with such confidence, his emotions surging like a tide.
On one hand, he was glad that someone acknowledged his existence.
After all, everyone longed to find their own worth in this world, to be remembered and respected by others.
On the other hand, the longing deep within him remained unfulfilled.
What he sought wasn't merely the acknowledgment and respect of others, but true understanding.
The kind of understanding that could pierce through appearances and reach the soul was what he yearned for most.
Sadly, young Qile might not yet be able to grasp that. He had simply spoken from instinct, saying things that left Madara both moved and helpless.
Even so, the thought that Qile was only three years old and could express such profound insights left Madara amazed.
He seemed to glimpse the boundless potential hidden within the child. Perhaps, one day, Qile really could become the key figure who changed the entire ninja world.
Seeing that the clan members were no longer glaring at him with such anger, Qile secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since he'd already started speaking, he might as well keep going, he decided, and continued in a steady voice. "You might be thinking that we should find a way to keep our clan leader here, and that would be enough to preserve the current situation!"
His childish yet sincere voice rang out. He raised his head slightly and looked around at the clan members present.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, he clearly saw some of them nod discreetly.
He had to admit, Uchiha eyes were really useful. Even without having awakened them, his eyesight was much better than it had been in his previous life...
"Before we discuss this, there are a few things I've been wanting to talk over with you 'grown-ups.'"
"Before we built this village called Konoha, why did we keep waging war? From what I understand, the Uchiha were never a clan that loved killing without reason. On the contrary, we've always been the clan that understands love best!"
"After all, I'm an orphan. I only survived because I ate the food you gave me and enjoyed the care you showed me!"
"So I'm the most qualified person to draw this conclusion!"
As his words fell, it was as though lightning had struck the clan members, and countless thoughts flashed through their minds...
The true reason for waging war...
It was for profit—or, more precisely, to help the entire Uchiha Clan survive, and to give their descendants a better chance at life!
"Konoha was established in the Land of Fire. The maps of the Ninja World that you see everywhere clearly show that the Land of Fire lies right in the most fertile part of the Ninja World."
"And Konoha was built in the Land of Fire's most advantageous location, giving our village an unparalleled advantage from the moment it was founded."
"Aren't those two important factors alone enough to make other countries—and the ninja villages that followed our example and sprang up everywhere—resent Konoha?"
"Would they really be content to watch us peacefully occupy the most fertile land in the Ninja World?"
"Look at the lands they occupy: barren places hard as stone, desolate wastelands of coarse sand, or even the unpredictable, storm-wracked regions of the Land of Lightning. With such a stark contrast, wouldn't they covet our land?"
"Then why, bafflingly, would they willingly agree to Konoha's non-aggression pact?"
"Think about it. Isn't it because Konoha has our clan leader and the Hokage? They know that two influential strongmen stand behind Konoha, with enough power to intimidate them. That's why they have no choice but to sign the non-aggression pact."
At this, Madara's eyes suddenly shone with brilliance! He realized that Qile could understand his long-held thoughts with astonishing precision.
"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but when our clan leader and the Hokage have both passed away, war will break out again. And it won't be limited to simple battles between clans anymore. It will become a far more brutal, true war between nations."
"I believe our clan leader saw this inevitable trend and its outcome early on. That's why he must have firmly believed that while he and the Hokage were still alive, they should decisively start a war. This won't be an ordinary war—one that anyone could understand or imagine. It will be the decisive battle that can completely reshape the Ninja World and bring lasting peace to the entire world."
"That means unifying the Ninja World, so that only one powerful nation remains. Only by achieving this goal can the Ninja World truly enter an era of peace!"
"That's the fundamental reason our clan leader resolutely decided to leave Konoha, and why our entire Uchiha Clan must follow in his footsteps without reservation."
"We will win..."
As Qile grew more and more impassioned, he quickly came to his senses and lowered his right hand before he could raise it...
Oh no... he'd gotten carried away...
Before you continue