"We need to recognize that our enemy isn't Konoha as a whole, but certain mindsets and vested interests hiding within it."
"They fear the Uchiha's power. They worry that the Uchiha's independent will might destroy their idea of stability."
"Countering this kind of insidious attack requires wisdom, not brute force. What we need isn't to complain about being targeted, but to think."
"Why were we singled out for isolation? Aside from the Nine-Tails' Attack that sparked it, do we have problems of our own?"
"For instance, are we too closed off? Have we done too little to communicate with other clans and civilian-born shinobi?"
"While displaying our strength, have we neglected to show how indispensable we are to the village, and how loyal?"
"More importantly, how do we break through this invisible targeting? Do we curl up like hedgehogs, or should we take a more active role in the village and help build it, allowing more people to see the Uchiha's contributions and value, and thereby dismantle those groundless suspicions?"
His gaze swept over Shisui and Itachi.
"Shisui has tried to build bridges through communication and goodwill, while Itachi has chosen to work his way inside to understand and influence things... These are all approaches. Difficult though they are, their direction isn't necessarily wrong."
"As for my own view,"
"Rather than passively waiting to be treated fairly, we should actively become a force that cannot be ignored when the rules of fairness are being written."
"Not by seizing power through a coup, but by earning respect and a voice through irreplaceable value."
"This is difficult, harder than fighting directly. But perhaps this is the path that can truly end the targeting and let the Uchiha become a healthy, strong branch of Konoha's great tree once more."
Inside the Secret Chamber.
Genya's lengthy speech stirred even deeper ripples.
It touched on fundamental questions about the clan's survival strategy, its understanding of itself, and even its future path.
A light flickered in Shisui Uchiha's eyes. He spoke first, with curiosity and a trace of unease.
"Genya, what exactly do you mean by earning respect through irreplaceable value?"
"With the leadership already prejudiced against us and our resources being restricted, deliberately or otherwise, how do we demonstrate that value?"
"And how do we ensure that our efforts won't be taken for granted, or even used to further exploit and weaken us?"
Uchiha Itachi's gaze also fixed on Genya, his tone cold.
"Avoiding direct conflict and turning toward internal improvement and external influence is theoretically feasible."
"But what about time? Resentment within the clan grows by the day, while outside pressure keeps closing in."
"How can you guarantee that, before your proposed path to gaining a voice bears fruit, the clan won't fall apart from an internal collapse or a sudden external crisis?"
"Does your plan include concrete steps and contingencies for unexpected emergencies?"
Clan Leader Uchiha Fugaku looked in surprise at Shisui and Itachi taking the initiative. Had they been persuaded?
He, too, turned to Genya and spoke.
"Genya, your insights give us much to consider. But as clan leader, I must account for the livelihoods and safety of several thousand people."
"Taking the initiative to integrate and demonstrate our value sounds easy, but it requires the whole clan's cooperation, and the results may not be immediate."
"If pressure from the village continues to increase during that time, and the Hardline Faction reacts even more fiercely, how am I to balance these forces and soothe them?"
"The clan's future cannot rest on a beautiful vision alone."
Though his father, Sosuke Uchiha, stood firmly on his son's side, he raised questions as well.
"Xiao Ye, the Konoha Military Police Force is currently the most direct platform for interaction between the clan and the village, but it's also the most constrained."
"Would the proactive value you describe require us to step outside the police force's framework? Apart from combat and maintaining public order, in what other areas can we Uchiha play an irreplaceable role? This needs careful planning."
His mother, Uchiha Izumi, had eyes full of worry. She cared nothing for grand principles, only her son's safety.
"Xiao Ye, the path you're describing sounds so difficult, so dangerous... Will you be in danger? Will anyone in the clan... attack you again?"
She glanced at the remnants of the Hardline Faction whom Genya had injured. They had been helped to one side, but their eyes were still filled with hatred.
Even the Moderate Faction and Neutral Faction, which had originally favored communication, began raising questions about practical implementation, resource allocation, risk management, and other issues.
Genya's vision was like a magnificent blueprint, but the road toward it was strewn with the thorns and fog of reality.
Faced with these questions, some profound, some practical, and some filled with concern, Genya did not rush to answer them one by one.
He knew the answers would take time, practical experience, and, above all, a united effort from the entire clan.
Right now, however, a more urgent, more fundamental issue needed resolving: removing the last obstacle and establishing the most basic common ground.
Compared to the Hardline Faction, those moderates sitting around waiting to die and those fence-sitting neutrals were even more infuriating...
With Dad and Mom among them, though, I can't exactly say that...
His gaze passed over the crowd's lively discussion and settled on the Hardline Faction elder who was still barely managing to sit upright, along with the few followers behind him.
Genya walked toward them.
Finally, he stopped just three steps from the elder.
He stood over him, his gaze burning.
"Your questions are all important. We can discuss them at length and plan carefully."
Genya's voice was quiet, but carried an unyielding resolve.
"But before discussing any future, we must first remove the roadblocks that will inevitably send us crashing to our deaths along the way."
He stared straight into the elder's terrified eyes and spoke each word distinctly.
"Regarding a coup, regarding armed confrontation with the village-I'll make my position clear one final time. It is also the position I represent on behalf of my father, Sosuke Uchiha, my mother, Uchiha Izumi, and every clan member willing to follow us down a path of survival rather than death."
"That road is closed. It is absolutely out of the question."
"If you, or anyone else in the clan who still harbors such foolish ideas, refuse to see reason and try to drag the Uchiha into that abyss of certain death..."
An icy glint flashed in Genya's eyes as he announced a choice that made everyone's heart stop.
"Then, when that time comes, I will take my father, my mother, and the people I care about, and leave Konoha without hesitation."
"!!!"
His words shocked everyone present!
Even Fugaku, Shisui, and Itachi looked incredulous!
Leave Konoha?
That was even more shocking than a coup!
As though he had not noticed their shock, Genya continued.
"Don't call me heartless, and don't accuse me of betrayal. You will have been the first to put the Uchiha in a position of wrongdoing and certain death."
"I have neither the obligation nor the interest to die alongside a bunch of people blinded by obsession and stupidity."
He swept his gaze over the hardliners, his voice carrying mockery and a deeper bewilderment.
"The shinobi world is vast. Mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, countries, hidden villages-there are countless places."
"I truly don't understand why you're so determined to stay in this tiny Konoha, a place already clearly full of suspicion and even malice toward us, and fight in the most brutal way possible over a well whose water has already gone bad. Is the world outside really too small to accommodate the Uchiha?"
This was the first time he had so explicitly raised the possibility of "leaving Konoha"!
This was no longer a dispute over the clan's internal direction, but a fundamental choice about whether the Uchiha would continue to exist as "Konoha's Uchiha" at all!
"Xiao Ye!"
After a brief moment of shock, Sosuke Uchiha was the first to react.
Without the slightest hesitation, he strode to Genya's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, his hand resting on his sword hilt as his firm voice rang throughout the Secret Chamber.
"My son's words reflect my own position. I, Sosuke Uchiha, and my wife, Uchiha Izumi, support Genya's decision unconditionally. If the clan chooses the path of self-destruction, we will not follow."
"Sosuke!"
Izumi immediately rose as well and walked to her husband and son's side, tears in her eyes and utter determination on her face.
Next came the younger clan members in the Secret Chamber who had been won over by Genya's strength and words.
Along with the core police force members already loyal to Sosuke Uchiha, they rose one after another and resolutely moved to stand behind Genya's family.
Genya felt the crowd gathering behind him...
Seriously, guys? I was just bluffing to scare these people...
It's even more dangerous out there...
If I weren't too weak right now, I'd have put a fucking blade to Danzo's throat ages ago...
When it comes to getting swept up in emotions... the Uchiha sure live up to their reputation...
Before you continue