"I understand! We'll send our own people to spread the word and get the news out faster, so everyone understands that we of the Uchiha Clan aren't what they think we are. It's the responsibilities of the Konoha Military Police Force that make our actions seem heartless! That isn't our true nature!" Fugaku said, nodding.
Hatake Ziyan began to question Fugaku's intelligence. How had he fathered a child as smart as Itachi? Sasuke seemed much more like Fugaku's son.
Hatake Ziyan turned to Tianze, whose expression practically said, "Don't ask me. I don't handle these things." Hatake Ziyan felt utterly drained.
"Now I seriously doubt whether you can keep your clan members in line," Hatake Ziyan said, covering his face.
"Lord Ziyan, what do you mean?" Fugaku asked innocently.
"Can you only see the immediate results of the method I gave you? Can't you follow my line of reasoning and think about how to take it further?" Hatake Ziyan said.
"We can take it further?" Fugaku asked, his eyes lighting up.
Hatake Ziyan slapped his forehead and said, "I'd better explain everything in one go. If I left you to figure it out yourself, you'd never get there in this lifetime!"
Fugaku rubbed his nose awkwardly and said nothing.
"Listen carefully. Spreading those stories will only improve your reputation a little. After some time has passed, you can arrange for people to spread the word that the Uchiha Clan was disliked because, while your clan's shinobi served in the Military Police,
they were too dedicated to preserving peace in Konoha and too strict in enforcing the law. They refused to show anyone favoritism when fighting crime, all to ensure that not a single criminal escaped justice. That was why people resented them! It wasn't because the Uchiha were inherently like that!
You can also send people to spread the word that the Uchiha Clan made all these sacrifices for Konoha's peace without a single complaint. To protect Konoha, you took most of your clan members to the battlefield and had no choice but to hand some positions in the Konoha Military Police Force over to other shinobi, letting them shoulder the criticism that had originally fallen on the Uchiha!" Hatake Ziyan said.
Fugaku's eyes widened as he listened. With this man's planning, something as simple as spreading information could change people's impression of the Uchiha. It could even make those who received the positions grateful to the clan, perhaps allowing him to win them over in the end. All that could be accomplished at virtually no cost to him. Fugaku suddenly felt that the man before him was terrifying. Not only was he powerful, but his ability to manipulate people was chilling!
"Do you understand now?" Seeing Fugaku staring blankly, Hatake Ziyan could only ask again.
At Hatake Ziyan's words, Fugaku nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand!"
"All right. Since you understand, I'll be leaving!" Hatake Ziyan stood again and addressed the two men.
"Please wait, Lord Ziyan!" Hatake Ziyan had only taken two steps when Tianze stopped him again.
Hatake Ziyan was getting angry. I only asked you for one favor, and now the questions won't stop. Are you ever going to be done?
"What else is there? Can't you say it all at once?" Hatake Ziyan asked, his tone turning cold.
Hearing Hatake Ziyan's displeasure, Tianze hurriedly said, "I have just one final question. If you answer it for me, I'll pledge on behalf of the Uchiha to fulfill one request of yours. As long as it doesn't harm our clan's interests, we'll help you accomplish it, no matter when or where!"
At Tianze's offer, Hatake Ziyan looked at Fugaku.
Seeing Hatake Ziyan look his way, Fugaku immediately nodded. "I have no objections to the grand elder's promise!"
"Ask," Hatake Ziyan said coldly, now that Fugaku had also agreed.
"I simply want to know why you said this campaign against the Land of Water is a good opportunity for our clan to relinquish some of our authority over the Konoha Military Police Force. Isn't our surrendering that authority exactly what the Konoha High Command wants? As long as we retain authority over Konoha's Military Police Force, we can keep those people in the High Command in check!" Tianze asked.
Hatake Ziyan scoffed. "If no one in your clan has ever offered the suggestion I just made, I advise you to give up your struggle for power in the Konoha High Command as soon as possible. Otherwise, your clan's destruction isn't far off! If someone has, then you'd better make him the Uchiha's clan leader and decision-maker immediately!"
The two men grew angry at Hatake Ziyan's words. "Lord Ziyan, what do you mean? You did just give us some excellent advice, but the Uchiha won't let people insult us as they please!"
Looking at the two angry men, Hatake Ziyan unleashed his aura and pressed it down on them. "I meant nothing else by what I said. It was a friendly warning. Besides, the Uchiha are a shinobi clan that survived the Warring States Period. Have you forgotten that strength commands respect? As far as I'm concerned, I could wipe out your entire clan whenever I wanted! Just as you wanted to wipe out the Hatake Clan during the Warring States Period! It wouldn't take me any effort!"
Fugaku had lowered his head under Hatake Ziyan's pressure, but at those words, he raised it again, his eyes turning blood-red!
"Oh, not bad. You've even awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!" Hatake Ziyan teased as he looked at Fugaku's eyes, their Sharingan patterned like shuriken.
"Fugaku! Deactivate your Sharingan!" Tianze shouted beside him.
Fugaku turned to glance at the grand elder, then reluctantly deactivated his Sharingan.
"Fugaku, you should be grateful that I still have business to conduct with you. Otherwise, you'd already be dead! Wouldn't you agree, Uchiha Tianze?" Hatake Ziyan withdrew his aura as well.
"You're right, but I'm sorry for the trouble-please answer the question I asked earlier!" Tianze said.
Hatake Ziyan sighed. "Do you think the Uchiha Clan earned its authority over the Military Police through its own strength? Let me tell you: you didn't. The Second Hokage deliberately assigned it to you to drive a wedge between you and the ordinary people. Otherwise, why aren't there any Uchiha among Konoha's top decision-makers?
The reason I said this campaign in the Land of Water is a good opportunity to relinquish some of your authority over the Military Police is that you can say too many of your clan members are on the battlefield for you to handle Konoha's police work, so you need Konoha's help. Even if the High Command wants to refuse, they'll fear the consequences if you make the matter public, and they'll reluctantly agree!"
Only then did the two men fully understand why the Uchiha had controlled the Military Police all these years without the Konoha High Command ever taking that authority back, and why the Uchiha Clan had been unable to place even a single member in the Anbu!
All of it had been arranged to target the Uchiha. The High Command had simply handed them the job that made enemies of everyone. Unless those leaders had lost their minds, they would never want to take back authority over the Military Police.
"Lord Ziyan, I was rude just now!" Fugaku apologized.
Fugaku now understood why Hatake Ziyan had spoken that way earlier. He and the grand elder truly were far too lacking in this area!
Before you continue