The Uchiha Clan had never lacked geniuses

"Indeed, the Konoha Military Police Force was a power promised to our Uchiha Clan during Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's tenure, intended as a symbol of the transfer of authority over Konoha's public security to us."

Uchiha Fugaku thought for a moment and ultimately spoke about it.

"So you always thought that was the end of it?" Sōkyū Hatake said bluntly. How had Uchiha Fugaku not gotten his point?

"Sigh... do you mean that having our Uchiha Clan behind the Konoha Military Police Force made the villagers despise us even more?" Uchiha Fugaku did know a few things, after all.

"Yes. That's why I said that to you just now. The Konoha Military Police Force was a means of distancing the Uchiha Clan from the center of power. Combined with your clan's pride, that's undeniable, isn't it?"

Sōkyū Hatake toyed with the teacup in his hand, looking Uchiha Fugaku straight in the eye.

"Clan members have always reported this to the clan head, but..." Uchiha Fugaku hesitated.

"But your Uchiha Clan couldn't bear to give up the authority you held in the Konoha Military Police Force. You wanted to keep your grip on it, right?" Sōkyū Hatake exposed the truth outright.

The heads of the Uchiha Clan had always been domineering, especially in their even more extreme views on power.

By Uchiha Fugaku's generation, he wanted to make changes, but the clan's rotten Council of Elders refused to give him the chance.

Give up their authority over the Konoha Military Police Force?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

"Yes. None of them want to change. They believe this is the Uchiha Clan's opportunity to rise." Uchiha Fugaku gave a bitter laugh.

"Power, and power over the dark side at that. No matter how you look at it, that's something that affects people's hearts. Why do you think members of the Uchiha Clan couldn't become Hokage from the very beginning?"

Sōkyū Hatake chuckled and brewed Uchiha Fugaku another cup of tea.

"Because..."

"Because of people's hearts. Back in the First's time, Hashirama Senju actually wanted Madara Uchiha to become Hokage. You could even say that, if not for what happened at the Valley of the End, Madara Uchiha would definitely have been the Second Hokage!"

"But at that critical juncture, Madara Uchiha lost his battle against Hashirama Senju. That was another contributing factor. The defeated had no say, so Tobirama Senju naturally became the Second Hokage."

"Then, later on, Madara Uchiha left Konoha. That meant no one in the Uchiha Clan could stand against Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju. You have to understand, there was the gap in strength, and also... people's hearts were a very important factor!"

Sōkyū Hatake rattled off a pile of theories he had read on Tieba. These were all things the experts in his previous life had deduced from various clues on Tieba.

Of course, did Kishimoto know?

Kishimoto was just a manga artist. What the hell did he know?

"..." Listening to Sōkyū Hatake, Uchiha Fugaku fell into deep thought.

Yes, he could think of some of these things himself, but with an analysis this in-depth, many of Sōkyū Hatake's points were things Uchiha Fugaku had never heard before.

But one thing was certain.

What Sōkyū Hatake said really did make sense!

What do I do if I can't think of a way to refute him?

"Clan Head Fugaku, don't you have any thoughts after hearing all that?" Sōkyū Hatake looked at Uchiha Fugaku with some amusement. He could still stay calm after hearing this much?

"Ahem, no, I was just thinking about a few things. This..." Uchiha Fugaku opened his mouth to say something, but ended with a long sigh instead.

Having heard so much all at once, he did not quite know how to respond.

"Do you have any alcohol?" After thinking for ages, this was what Uchiha Fugaku came up with.

Drowning his sorrows in drink seemed to be Uchiha Fugaku's way of escaping the matter.

"Of course. Soru!" Sōkyū Hatake vanished on the spot, appearing before Uchiha Fugaku the next second with a bottle of liquor in his hand.

"What a genius." Looking at Sōkyū Hatake, Uchiha Fugaku did not quite know how to describe this child.

Could he really call him a child? His thinking and the way he dealt with people were so mature.

One could even say that, in some respects, he was too mature (doge face for protection).

"No, no, no. I'm not a genius, and I don't want to be one either," Sōkyū Hatake said outright.

"Why do you say that?" Uchiha Fugaku looked at Sōkyū Hatake with some confusion.

"Just like I told Kakashi, geniuses are often the furthest from perfection. I hope you can understand that," Sōkyū Hatake said, narrowing his eyes.

"I understand. Then what should our Uchiha Clan do next to be able to...?" Uchiha Fugaku immediately understood what Sōkyū Hatake meant.

This was also a reminder Sōkyū Hatake was giving their Uchiha Clan. After all, the Uchiha Clan had never lacked geniuses.

But those geniuses often failed to become perfect. Throughout its history up to the present, the Uchiha Clan had produced only one person who could be called perfect: Madara Uchiha.

But even Madara Uchiha had ultimately fallen at Hashirama Senju's hands.

"The first thing... is to sort out your internal problems." Sōkyū Hatake beckoned, and Pikachu jumped down from the tree into his arms.

"Internal problems?" Uchiha Fugaku's gaze rested on Pikachu. This was his first time seeing this kind of summoned beast.

"Trouble within and threats without. That's the problem the Uchiha Clan faces now. But internal trouble comes first. If your Uchiha Clan can't deal with the voices within and unite everyone to move forward together, then, with all due respect, you won't get very far."

Sōkyū Hatake spoke unhurriedly. The Uchiha Clan was currently divided into two factions.

The Dove Faction and the Hawk Faction started attacking each other whenever they met. Any proposal put forward by the Dove Faction was certain to be rejected by the Hawk Faction.

Under this kind of internal strife, Uchiha Fugaku really did feel that every step was a struggle as clan head.

"So it really is necessary to..." Uchiha Fugaku murmured. It seemed he had thought of this problem too, but had kept avoiding facing it.

As the head of the Uchiha Clan, he truly found it difficult to take action against his own clansmen!

After thinking for a long time, all that remained was a long sigh...