The Nara Clan's intelligence is widely recognized in the Shinobi World; it's a common understanding. The Nara Clan is very clever, but they're just too lazy and too afraid of trouble.
"How can that be? "Uchiha Takashi. "Since he's so intelligent, we should give him the opportunity to develop technology. How can we be afraid of difficulties?"
Having decided on his future path, Uchiha Takashi immediately began taking action.
He's an action-oriented person, not a dreamer. Daydreaming brings no real benefit; now that he's thought things through, he's ready to take action.
"Someone come here!" Uchiha Takashi called out towards the door, and an Uchiha clansman immediately rushed in. "Clan leader! What's the matter?"
Uchiha Takashi nodded, then said, "Go tell Fū Uchiha to have the two of them go to the Shimura Clan and find some smart people, people with good minds."
Send all these people to me; I have a great use for them! Don't limit yourself to civilians; even if they're ninjas, send them over if they're smart!
Then you can have Senior Kyō screen out intelligent people within the Hyuga Clan. As for the clan's internal affairs, let's leave it at that for now..."
The Uchiha clan members nodded and then withdrew. Uchiha Takashi walked alone to the map, gazing at the Nara Clan to the south of the Uchiha, lost in thought.
To annex a clan is not something that can be done with mere words; the situations of the previous clans and the Nara Clan were all different.
The Shimura Clan surrendered on their own and then engaged in internal strife. The Uchiha Clan merely exerted external pressure and never offered to subdue them.
The Hyuga Clan was in a similar situation; internal strife broke out within their own clan, leading them to join the Uchiha.
Aside from the Chinoike, this was a clan that the Uchiha explicitly recruited, but this situation differed from that of the Nara Clan.
The Chinoike was taken by the Uchiha clan because they suffered terribly in Hell Valley, allowing them to conquer it without bloodshed. What about the Nara Clan?
They're living perfectly well, occupying fertile land, in a stable environment—their lives couldn't be more comfortable. Why should they submit to you just because you say so?
You think you're the emperor? You can just open your mouth and expect people to kneel and kowtow in gratitude? Even the emperor wouldn't dare do that. He'd beat you up first, and then do this to you.
"These things can't be rushed; we must proceed slowly and wait for an opportunity." Uchiha Takashi narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on the map of the Nara Clan.
Fū Uchiha acted swiftly, preparing the necessary personnel within days of receiving the message and sending them over to Uchiha Takashi.
As per Uchiha Takashi's request, the selection process was conducted across the entire clan, so a large portion of those sent were actually ninjas.
Uchiha Takashi didn't care about these things; as long as technology could be developed, everything would be fine.
Uchiha Takashi led these people to the research institute, pointed to it, and said, "Your work from now on will be here, conducting research and figuring out how to develop technology."
Now I'm posing a research question to you: You've developed an explosive powder made from a mixture of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. What's the correct ratio...? I don't know.
Anyway, you guys have to try mixing it up in the end, but you can't use Chakra! You have to use fire to ignite it, and then it explodes!
The Shimura clansman who was summoned. "..." What is this guy talking about? Is he kidding me? Developing an explosive substance without Chakra? Does such a thing even exist in the world?
Are you kidding me? Are you deliberately making things difficult for us?
However, Uchiha Takashi immediately turned his gaze to the Uchiha who were already working at the research institute. "You too, don't think this is their project, you are the same."
You guys also need to research this thing while you're at it. Not just the number of people, you need to research the thing itself too. I'll give you more funding, so go ahead and do your thing. Money's no object."
The Shimura members were immediately relieved. Well, it seemed this wasn't directed at them; it was simply that the Uchiha Clan Head had lost his mind.
"What are you all standing there for? Get to work!" Uchiha Takashi frowned, looking at the researchers who were frozen in place. "Time is precious. Every minute wasted is a second that slows down technology. Get over there and do the mixing!"
As Uchiha Takashi roared in anger, everyone snapped out of their daze and scrambled back into the research institute.
Uchiha Takashi watched the group's retreating figures, thought for a moment, and then shouted, "If I remember correctly, try using 75% saltpeter, a little over 10% charcoal, and 10% sulfur!"
You must give me the precise proportions! Also, don't you dare blow up the research institute! If you do, it'll be deducted from your salaries!
Tatsu Uchiha quickly heard about Uchiha Takashi's situation. Upon learning this, he frowned. "What is the clan leader doing? Wasting money on these useless things? No, I have to go find him."
But as soon as Tatsu Uchiha entered the office, Uchiha Takashi immediately pulled him to the edge of the map.
"Senior, please look. This is the southern part of the Uchiha. Although we have eliminated the threat from the south, there is a clan there called the Nara Clan."
Their clan members are all very intelligent and quick-witted. If we were able to absorb their clan, it would be a huge benefit to the Uchiha Clan's administration and strategic development.
Listening to Uchiha Takashi's words, Tatsu Uchiha had already forgotten his original purpose for coming and began to think about how to annex the Nara Clan.
"My idea is to wait, to wait for the right opportunity. The Nara Clan's personal character is that they are lazy and lack ambition."
They always prefer to live in seclusion, and as long as disaster doesn't befall them or things don't escalate to an unmanageable level, they won't feel a sense of urgency.
I don't want to force them into submission by force, because that would prevent me from incorporating them into my next plan. It's best to have them come to us of their own accord.
So I'm prepared to wait for something to happen in the south.
"Does the clan leader mean nothing more than waiting? It can't be more than that," Tatsu Uchiha's eyes seemed to see right through him.
Uchiha Takashi: "Of course not. If we just wait like this, who knows when we'll finally get there? We can... think of some other ways to cause something to happen in the south."
"So, clan leader, what mischief are you brewing up this time?" Tatsu Uchiha said with an air of "I knew you all along."
Uchiha Takashi: "Is the Senju Clan currently in a rush to form alliances? What if we spread the word that the Uchiha Clan intends to form an alliance with the Nara Clan?"
At this point, we didn't release the news; we simply suggested that the Uchiha Clan and Nara Clan form an alliance, circulated the message within the clans, and then unintentionally passed it on to the Senju Clan.
What do you think the Senju Clan will do?
"They'll probably try to form an alliance with Nara, since we only want to form an alliance, we haven't actually formed one yet," Tatsu Uchiha replied.
Uchiha Takashi waved his hand, saying, "No, no, no, they would have done that before, but after what happened with the Hyuga, they won't do it anymore."