The Uchiha Clan—It's Too Hard for Me

Hearing that Lan Ren had finally grasped the truth, Huang Ren curled his lips slightly, feeling somewhat relieved. "That's right. No matter what methods we use, our goal remains the same: make the ninjas fight each other to the death while we reap the benefits. The more chaotic the ninja infighting becomes, the more securely we can hold our positions.

"Since you finally seem to have caught on, let me test you."

Lan Ren eagerly accepted. "Yes, Father."

"This time, Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure suddenly launched a coup, killing the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage. The Third Raikage arrived and killed Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Tell me what you think of this matter."

Lan Ren lowered his head and thought carefully before answering honestly, "I'm sorry, Father. I can't figure it out."

Prince Huang Ren smiled. "Don't rush. Think carefully about what I just told you, and you'll understand."

Lan Ren was not stupid. This was simply his first time encountering this kind of thing, so it was normal for him to react slowly.

Once one knew the motive, it was easy to unravel the threads and deduce the truth.

Lan Ren closed his eyes and began to think.

Konoha and Kumogakure formed an alliance.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku launched a coup.

The Third Raikage arrived just in time to kill Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

Linking those three events together made it easy to spot something suspicious.

Lan Ren opened his eyes and said loudly, "I understand. Everything was too much of a coincidence. According to the theory Father just explained, someone deliberately arranged all of this. Especially Kinkaku and Ginkaku's coup—it happened suddenly and lasted only a short time. How did the Third Raikage receive the news, and how did he get there so quickly?"

Prince Huang Ren revealed a smile. "Heh heh, it seems there are clever people in the Land of Lightning as well. What a brilliant move. This dealt with several top-tier combatants at once.

"I heard they are vigorously developing military equipment over there. They probably want to break free from their dependence on ninjas.

"It isn't just the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning that have such ideas. I heard that in the Land of Water, ninjas must kill a close friend from the same class in order to graduate, reducing the number of ninjas.

"In the Land of Wind, they want to cut the budget and reduce the number of ninjas because the ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village are weaker than those of the other ninja villages.

"As for Iwagakure, the situation remains unclear.

"It seems everyone has reached the same conclusion as I have. If we want to keep our positions secure, we must first reduce the number of ninjas to a controllable level. Well, that is only natural. We are all great nations that have stood tall for many years. None of us are fools.

"In that case, I need to step things up as well. First, I'll erase the Uchiha Clan from this world."

Prince Huang Ren's eyes revealed a sinister glint. He would start with the Uchiha Clan.

That clan was simply too powerful. Containing them was not enough; they had to be completely exterminated.

In this era, the Mangekyō Sharingan had not yet completely become a legend. Prince Huang Ren had witnessed its power firsthand and held deep fear of it, even coveting it.

He had once considered bringing them into his fold through marriage alliances and the like. Later, however, the information he investigated suggested that the Uchiha Clan was prone to emotional instability. Put simply, they were easily driven mad...

Even more terrifyingly, once an Uchiha Clan member went mad, that madman often had a super bomb in his hands...

On top of that, the Uchiha Clan had personality problems. Put nicely, they were proud. Put bluntly, they were arrogant and looked down on everyone else. They only treated their own clan differently and were extremely difficult to control.

Thus, he reluctantly gave up on this power. Since he could not obtain it, he would find a way to destroy it, lest it become his enemy in the future.

Besides that reason, the current situation was also favorable. The current Hokage was Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He had spies planted within Konoha. Every so often, information about the village's internal affairs flowed endlessly into his hands, so he knew exactly what Konoha's current situation was.

Konoha's upper ranks excluded the Uchiha Clan, and the current Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was the disciple of that Second Hokage who had been most wary of the Uchiha Clan. His thinking would certainly be influenced to some extent.

When the state was strong and the people weak, the state had to weaken the people. Use strength to weaken strength, and the state would weaken. Use weakness to weaken strength, and the state would grow strong.

Between the Sarutobi Clan and the Uchiha Clan, it was obvious which was stronger and which was weaker.

Therefore, Prince Huang Ren wanted to support the Sarutobi Clan in ultimately wiping out the Uchiha Clan.

The weaker Sarutobi Clan would be easier to control than the Uchiha Clan, and the state would naturally become stronger.

For a powerful ninja clan like the Uchiha Clan, which was clearly a cut above all other ninja clans, it was impossible for the other ninja clans not to have designs on them.

Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want to destroy the Uchiha Clan, the members of the clan behind him would want to eliminate them and seize greater benefits, pushing Sarutobi Hiruzen into making that decision.

Prince Huang Ren and the Sarutobi Clan shared the same interests, so he would spare no effort in winning over Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The Uchiha Clan was already being excluded. Prince Huang Ren could foresee that the Uchiha Clan would suffer even more exclusion in the future.

The Uchiha Clan was a group of proud people. They certainly would not be able to tolerate such exclusion and would inevitably clash fiercely with Konoha's upper ranks.

Of course, for the Sarutobi Clan alone to wipe out the Uchiha Clan was nothing but a fool's dream, like an egg striking a stone. But the Sarutobi Clan had produced a Hokage. The Hokage represented the village, and it was not impossible to use the strength of the entire village to destroy the Uchiha Clan.

His previous schemes had all focused on weakening the people as much as possible. What came next was to find ways to strengthen the state itself. Only by one side waning as the other rose could they remain undefeated.

Thinking this, Prince Huang Ren turned an intent gaze toward his most intelligent son. Seeing him currently deep in thought, he could not help but grow curious.

Lan Ren noticed the gaze and raised his head. "Uh, Father."

Prince Huang Ren smiled and asked, "What were you thinking about just now?"

"Nothing." Lan Ren shook his head. "It's just that I heard Father say that money is our only means of controlling ninjas, right?"

Prince Huang Ren sighed, somewhat sorrowfully. "Yes. Without money, it would be difficult for us to restrain ninjas."

That was the fundamental reason he was wary of ninjas. Before absolute power, wealth and authority appeared utterly pale.

That was why he next intended to find a way for his family to obtain Konoha's power, so as to preserve the family's eternal prosperity.

"Then what if a ninja does not fight according to our script, but chooses to do business instead? What if he even brings other ninjas into business and earns more than he could as a ninja? Wouldn't we lose effective control over those ninjas?"

Prince Huang Ren smiled. "Have you forgotten? If one wants to do business or start a company within our territory, one must obtain the Daimyo's approval. Every month, they must pay taxes such as Value-added tax, Income tax, Land use tax, and so on. After paying all those taxes, how much would remain?"

"What if that ninja refuses to pay?"

"Refuses to pay?" Prince Huang Ren sneered. "Then I'll send people to arrest him and throw him into prison as free labor."

What a joke. Exploiting the income of the common people was how the Land of Fire maintained its hegemony. There was zero tolerance for anyone violating that.

"But what if they engage in smuggling? The transactions would take place outside our territory, so it seems they would not fall under our control. And what if those ninjas violently resist arrest? It seems we can't beat them either."

"..."

Prince Huang Ren fell silent, as if saying, Let me think about that.

Under normal circumstances, ninjas would not enter other professions.

They possessed proud self-respect and an inexplicable sense of honor toward being a ninja.

But once they got a taste of the benefits, that might not be so certain.

After all, no one would turn against money. If they could earn money easily while lying down, why risk their lives? Were they sick in the head? After a long while, Prince Huang Ren took a deep breath, worry appearing on his face. "If such a ninja truly exists, then this world will undergo tremendous changes because of him. I don't know exactly what will happen, but there is one thing I can be certain of: when that time comes, we nobles will face utter destruction."

Lan Ren sucked in a cold breath, feeling thoroughly frightened.

"But you need not worry too much. Under normal circumstances, ninjas would not possess such vision. Even if one did, before his wings have fully grown, I would spare no expense in hiring the fiercest and strongest assassins to hunt him down."

As he spoke, killing intent surged in Prince Huang Ren's eyes. Yet the expression vanished in an instant, and he returned to his usual harmless appearance, with thick brows and large eyes. "Lan Ren, I have an important task for you, one that only you can handle. It concerns the future prosperity of us nobles."