The Second Step He Wanted to Take

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Relocating the territory of a Ninja Clan with a population in the thousands was already an immensely time-consuming and labor-intensive undertaking.

All the more so now, with more than a dozen Ninja Clans, along with ordinary civilians—nearly a hundred thousand people in total—having their residences relocated. Even though Konohagakure had made every preparation, from the initial infrastructure work to the final completion of the move, it still took more than half a year, despite some minor deviations in the actual execution.

Yet the Uchiha Clan's new territory was exactly as originally planned.

They were assigned to the most remote area west of Konohagakure. The eastern, southern, and northern triangular sectors were occupied by Ninja Clans such as the Kazematsuri Clan, Ise Clan, Aburame, Tsukikage Clan, Inuzuka Clan, and Akimichi. Individually, none of these clans appeared capable of rivaling the Uchiha Clan, but once united, even the powerful Uchiha would inevitably be beaten into extinction, especially now that no one publicly possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Within the territories occupied by those clans,

there appeared to be some distance between them and the Uchiha Clan.

But with careful observation, one could see that every two clans were closely linked together, seamlessly connected in a triangular formation that completely encircled the Uchiha Clan at its center. Naturally, the ordinary members of the Uchiha Clan could not understand the implications of this arrangement.

But those clan members with even a little discernment could clearly see the danger hidden within it.

That was also what provoked the Uchiha Clan the most.

Because this was no different from treating them like "prospective criminals."

It could be said that this relocation had planted a deep thorn in the hearts of nearly every Uchiha Clan member. The only consolation was that their new territory was somewhat closer to their clan's forbidden ground—the Naka Shrine.

Perhaps only some of the ordinary clan members failed to realize the difference. Some were even happy about moving into a new home, living in more spacious houses, and being closer to their shrine.

Shōji saw every one of these differing emotional reactions among his clansmen.

To be honest, Shōji felt rather disappointed and helpless when it came to his own clan members.

It was perfectly normal to feel dissatisfied and angry at being suspected and isolated.

And it was hardly strange for ordinary clan members to openly express those emotions. But there were scarcely any reliable adults in the clan. At least in Shōji's view, weren't these people far too incapable of controlling their facial expressions?

The only people who could truly be called shrewd,

apart from Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku, were the handful of Uchiha elders led by Uchiha Genran. As for the rest, most of them not only vented their emotions freely during secret Clan Meetings, but even in their daily lives, their words were filled with dissatisfaction toward the village.

Shōji even suspected that if Uchiha Fugaku had not sternly and repeatedly forbidden any discussion of "rebellion" outside the Clan Meeting, these "idiot clansmen" might have openly declared, "If the village does this or that, then we'll definitely do this or that!"

It had to be said that the pride buried deep in the Uchiha Clan's bones was real.

But their idiot tendencies were simply beyond compare.

Looking at it from that perspective, it was no wonder Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Sasuke all displayed varying degrees of "water in the brain." This really was genetic inheritance, wasn't it!?

The ordinary clan members were probably only mildly "ill."

Those few were the classic cases of being "terminally ill," right?

It was precisely because of his observations over the past half year that Shōji further concluded that he could not casually approach his fellow clansmen. Who knew whether those idiots might directly "sell him out"? Not that they would betray him or anything.

The Uchiha Clan was enormous.

At least judging from the Original Work, until the night of the clan massacre, the only true traitor had been Uchiha Itachi. Shisui could not even be counted as half of one. If Danzo had not been so sinister and cruel, as long as Shisui had lived, the Uchiha Clan might not have reached that point.

So, strictly speaking, aside from Uchiha Itachi, nearly all the remaining Uchiha could be trusted to support the clan's interests. Shōji did not worry about their loyalty; he only worried about their brains.

Thus, after more than half a year of observation and repeated probing,

Shōji had no choice but to give up on most of his targets.

He selected only three or four of the most reliable people and gradually approached them. Even then, he did not lay out his plans and goals in full. Instead, he explained his intentions in stages. Naturally, the core was that he wanted the clan to break free from its current predicament and allow the Uchiha to gain the status and treatment they deserved. That was the central idea.

There could not be any deviation from it!

Not only was that one of Shōji's true goals from the start,

but even if it had not been, he would still have needed to raise the banner of fighting for the clan's interests in the early stages of gathering support. Otherwise, if he could not even unite people's hearts, how could he speak of the plans to come?

That was the core principle.

As for the specific plans, Shōji described them in relatively abstract and general terms.

They included, but were not limited to, making himself stronger and trying to win the support of other Ninja Clans for the Uchiha Clan. Even these were plans Shōji had revealed only after careful consideration. It was not that Shōji himself was hesitating; rather, these plans were merely backup options.

Shōji's true plan had always consisted of only two parts.

One was internal.

The other was external.

With everything still just beginning and no foundational preparations in place, it was difficult for Shōji to reveal his core plans to his little companions.

And just as Shōji was preparing to truly take the first step of the second phase of his plan,

news arrived that the clan would be holding another secret gathering, giving Shōji a good opportunity at this stage.

"Huh? Elder Genran, are you saying that this Clan Meeting is to discuss selecting the appropriate people to be sent to the Northeastern Border?"

On the road to the Naka Shrine, the clan's forbidden ground, Shōji had deliberately sought out Uchiha Genran. When the elder of his branch appeared, Shōji asked his question without the slightest attempt at concealment.

He had not expected the news he received to be so surprising.

Kumogakure had actually taken the initiative to mass heavy forces along the border between the two countries.

That was not good news for Konohagakure!