The First Elder and the Second Elder exchanged a glance. Although the Nara Clan chief's words were rough but reasonable, weren't they a bit too blunt?
"Ahem, clan leader, watch your words. That's the Senju, the counterpart to the Uchiha Clan," the elder carefully reminded him.
The Nara Clan chief sneered, "Why remind me? At worst, we'll just surrender to the Uchiha and follow Uchiha. Aren't I telling the truth?"
Second Elder: "Clan leader, what we're discussing now is whether or not to accept the Uchiha's invitation, after all, we still need to consider the consequences."
The Nara Clan Head silently walked up to the map and said, "If the Uchiha are simply extending an invitation, then we can decline."
After all, the Uchiha's main enemy is the Senju, but since we haven't explicitly declared ourselves enemies of the Uchiha, they won't attack us.
But the situation is different now. The Uchiha Clan has successively annexed two other clans and used this opportunity to suddenly declare the establishment of a nation.
The Senju Clan chose to join forces with the Daimyo to encircle and annihilate the Uchiha.
In reality, the Senju Clan was already at a disadvantage. Their advantage lay in their ability to gather majority power and isolate the Uchiha Senju Clan.
The First Elder: "I think the Uchiha are isolated now, aren't they? They're just a lonely nation."
The Nara Clan Head chief explained, "Isolation only exists between clans. It would be different if the Uchiha established a nation. First of all, it seems unlikely that the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan will engage in a large-scale war in the short term."
Because the two clans are roughly equal in strength on paper, but the Uchiha Clan can unleash greater fighting power at crucial moments, the Senju Clan doesn't dare to push the Uchiha Clan too far.
Then, the Uchiha Clan is constantly radiating its power outwards. If the Uchiha Clan is smart enough, they will choose to continuously expand their territory, after all, they have already broken ties with the Land of Fire.
If they continue to expand their territory, given the strength of the Uchiha Clan, annexing the Land of Fire is only a matter of time.
Because the Senju are, in essence, just an alliance, and any alliance is bound to have problems. Look at them; all their supplies come from the daimyo of the Land of Fire, but will the Daimyo of the Land of Fire really support them unconditionally?
I disagree. When the Senju Clan suffers repeated defeats or makes a strategic retreat in the future, won't the Daimyo of the Land of Fire use the loss of territory to coerce the Senju Clan?
What I mean is that the Senju and the Land of Fire can't completely absorb the logistical resources of an entire country like the Uchiha. After all, the Senju are just allies, not like the Uchiha who own a country.
The Uchiha Clan only needs to expand their influence and continuously strengthen themselves; all the expanded territories can be used as resources for their battles. This is not the case with the Land of Fire, Daimyo of the Land of Fire must also guard against Senju clan usurping power.
The Uchiha only needs to rely on their superior fighting strength and the internal problems within the Land of Fire's anti-Japanese alliance to essentially achieve final victory.
As for other countries, it is foreseeable that they will not send troops to suppress them.
Because they also need to guard against clans within their own territory. What if they learned from the Uchiha? Therefore, the Uchiha's only enemies are their long-standing enemies, with the most likely addition being the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
In the past, the Uchiha Clan would definitely have failed; their financial resources and various aspects of life depended on the Land of Fire.
But things are different now. Their finances depend on their own resources, and they are able to produce and be self-sufficient. Thus, the complete Uchiha does not need to rely on anyone.
If I'm not mistaken, the Uchiha Clan has already attempted to establish its own regular army, that is, a samurai force. Once the effects of the Uchiha's nation-building become apparent, the other clans will start to have their own agendas.
The other major clans will follow suit, shattering the already fragile alliance in the Land of Fire. At that point, the Land of Fire will be fragmented into countless small countries, Daimyo of the Land of Fire powerless to resist, Uchiha will achieve victory.
They have the advantage of being the first to act; their nation was established the earliest, so when the Land of Fire split, they were able to seize the largest territory. Given time, they will surely be able to gradually devour the entire territory of the Land of Fire.
After listening to the Nara Clan Head's analysis, the elder asked, "Why can't we establish a nation? Why are we so sure that the Uchiha will have the last laugh? We might not necessarily lose to the Uchiha."
"Because no matter how strong we are, we only have one clan, and it's difficult for us to form a unified entity. I ask you, do we have the strength of the Uchiha? No."
Did we gain the initial advantage that the Uchiha had? No. If we try to rival the Uchiha 'Uchiha nation by imitating them and establishing our own, our only option is to unite with other clans.
But if we unite with other families, whose orders will we follow? Our family isn't particularly strong, and with so many families mixed together without a clear leader, things will only descend into chaos.
However, if we don't unite with other clans, our nation's strength is insufficient to stop the Uchiha's advance, and the same goes for the Senju.
When they were both from the same clan, the Senju and Uzumaki could form an alliance, but when the two clans were in the same country, conflicts would arise.
The Uzumaki Clan must either merge with the Senju Clan to form one family, or completely sever ties with the Senju and maintain their independence; otherwise, chaos is inevitable.
If they abandon the Uzumaki Clan, the Senju Clan alone cannot stop the Uchiha. However, if they do not abandon the Uzumaki Clan Uzumaki Clan and preserve its independence, even the chaotic Senju kingdom cannot stop the Uchiha. Therefore, failure is inevitable.
Second Elder: "Then why doesn't the Uchiha Uchiha? There are other clans within their country too."
"Because they are allies who conquer, not allies who negotiate. Look at the messages they sent us; their positions are clear. The Senju and the Uzumaki are complete allies, on the same level."
However, the Uchiha never granted us the same status as them. They made it clear that the Uchiha were in charge of the entire country, and even if we joined, we would only be able to obey the Uchiha.
Furthermore, the Uchiha possesses formidable martial prowess, and given that they control the country, the nation will likely be dominated by the Uchiha.
Although there might be some minor issues later on, the chaos caused will be much less compared to the Senju Uzumaki, who is on the same level.
"A nation and a clan are different; these two concepts must be clearly distinguished. That's why I said things completely changed after the Uchiha established their nation."
The elder looked at the Nara Clan Head with genuine respect, though he knew that this clan chief had only become chief after losing a competition to his younger brother.
If that's already so terrifying, just how terrifying is this clan leader's brother?
"Clan Chief, should we accept it?" the Second Elder asked, holding the message sent by the Uchiha.
Nara Clan Head: "Either way, we can accept it, or we can wait and see. If the Uchiha can't withstand this first wave of attacks, or if the Uchiha bring about their own demise..."
If we join, we can prevent the Uchiha from bringing about their own demise. However, judging from the current Uchiha clan leader's demeanor, he doesn't seem like the type to bring about his own death.
Therefore, we will most likely have to join the Uchiha in the future; the sooner we join, the higher our status will be.
So either way is fine, but I'd like to try and see if I can get more benefits, like something that would ensure our safety and stability.
"Actually, Chieftain, you're just lazy..."
(Regarding this situation, the author mainly draws on the theory of the Qin Dynasty, which is based on the scenario of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. You can think of the Uchiha's reforms, and the others are just generals who control an army.)