Shisui Uchiha’s Actions

Where did most philosophers in the Ninja World come from?

Without a doubt, the Uchiha Clan. Every Uchiha clansman had the potential to become a philosopher. Take Madara Uchiha of the Dialectical Materialism School, Uchiha Itachi, who contemplated life at the age of five or six, or the die-hard idealist Uchiha Obito.

Now, Uchiha Tekka was also gradually showing signs of awakening to dialectical materialist thought—and it was all under Hyuga Mirai’s influence.

As for the questions Uchiha Tekka raised, Hyuga Mirai basically forbade Android 18 from thinking about them. Although she had gradually broken away from the mechanical network, she was not ready to engage with such questions too early. Otherwise, it would be easy for her to get trapped in them.

The Uchiha Clan had once again suffered suppression from Konoha. The clan head could do nothing about it, and the clansmen were now highly agitated. Uchiha Tekka had begun to see through the higher-ups’ methods of suppressing them—they wanted to isolate the Uchiha Clan.

In their exchanges through scrolls, Uchiha Tekka had also revealed some of his doubts to Yasunori Sakai. Where was the Uchiha Clan’s way forward? He felt that the clan head’s approach was not the best option for the Uchiha Clan, and putting all their chips in one basket was not something a clan head should do either.

When it came to disappointing people, Uchiha Fugaku had never disappointed anyone. Even Hyuga Mirai did not have the slightest favorable impression of Uchiha Fugaku.

If the clansmen followed you in rebellion, then either step down honestly if you thought it would not work, or do your best to lead them in planning and taking action if you thought it would. Wanting to rebel while fearing failure, then turning around and trying to integrate into Konoha once the clansmen all wanted to rebel—there was truly no justice if such a fence-sitter did not die.

And now that that idea had failed, he wanted to lead the clansmen in rebellion again. The fact that a clan head who constantly switched sides like this had survived until now could only mean that the Uchiha Clan was truly tolerant of its clan head.

However, seeing how easily Uchiha Tekka had leaked so much information to Yasunori Sakai, even Hyuga Mirai could not help sighing at the Uchiha Clan’s naivety.

All he could do was have Yasunori Sakai comfort and answer him, expanding the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha into the entire Ninja World as he explained it to Uchiha Tekka. At the same time, he subtly instilled some other ideas into Uchiha Tekka during the explanation.

The Iwa-nin and Konoha’s Ninja troops had already set out. Akatsuki had White Zetsu gathering intelligence, and no matter how tightly these two ninja villages kept their movements secret, they could not hide them from the ever-present White Zetsu.

After learning that the Iwa-nin and Konoha intended to make a move against the Rain Country, Pain ordered White Zetsu to send a large number of Clones to the two ninja villages to monitor their movements. By now, Pain knew exactly where the troops of both villages had reached.

"Leave what comes next to you. I’ve already instructed the others to follow your plans and arrangements."

Two days later, Konan suddenly bid Yasunori Sakai farewell. She was heading to the front line.

Although they had decided to send Pain into battle this time to intimidate the two great ninja villages, they would not play their trump card right from the start. During this time, Konan had also deployed quite a few amegakure-nin to the border, both to protect it and to ensure the safety of the civilians.

"Is the war starting so soon? Ninjas really are a troublesome bunch. Then please be careful in all things, Konan. As I recall, Dust Release isn’t so easy to deal with."

Yasunori Sakai said it casually. He knew that the one who would ultimately deal with the Iwa-nin and Konoha would definitely be Pain’s Six Paths. But they were merely corpses; even if all of them were damaged, Nagato himself would not be hurt.

"If the situation turns unfavorable, I’ll help you submit a request for support to the Saudi Federation. Given the current level of cooperation between our two countries, deepening it a little further won’t be a problem."

Konoha’s intelligence-gathering capabilities were formidable. There would certainly be members of the Nara Clan among those sent to the front line this time. Once the Nara Clan gathered information on the abilities of Pain’s Six Paths, they would be able to formulate a plan to counter them.

If Nagato made even one misstep, Pain’s Six Paths might be unable to handle the situation—or might even be destroyed. At that point, his real body would likely have no choice but to reveal itself. After all, once the Six Paths’ abilities were divided apart, their weaknesses became far too obvious.

"The Rain Country will not lose, and Pain will not lose."

Konan’s answer brimmed with confidence. She had witnessed Nagato’s strength, and the Medical Machine had healed Nagato’s old injuries. At present, Nagato was the strongest in the Ninja World.

That was where Konan’s confidence came from. Not even Dust Release could block the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. This time, the Rain Country would teach Konoha and the Iwa-nin a proper lesson, ensuring that these two great ninja villages would not dare entertain thoughts of attacking the Rain Country for decades to come.

"Good, good. Then I’ll wait for your good news, Konan."

Yasunori Sakai said with a smile, though he was not particularly optimistic about it, even if most of Nagato’s hidden injuries had already been healed.

In the original story, Nagato had been able to destroy Konoha because every factor had aligned. On top of that, when he failed to find Uzumaki Naruto, he decisively unleashed a massive Shinra Tensei, destroying Konoha before its ninjas had time to evade it.

On a battlefield, once the abilities of Pain’s Six Paths were analyzed, they could only be targeted without end.

But that had nothing to do with Yasunori Sakai. Even in cooperation, the Saudi Federation could not go out of its way to beg for a partnership. The fact that he was not plotting against Nagato already showed the kindness in his heart. Besides, he was still helping them plan domestic reforms from the rear. What capitalist from any country was like Yasunori Sakai?

After Konan left, Yasunori Sakai continued writing his reply to Uchiha Tekka. According to information gathered from various channels, after the Uchiha Clan suffered even more unfair treatment this time, the atmosphere within the clan had become like boiling oil. A single spark would make the Uchiha Clan explode.

Influenced by Yasunori Sakai, Uchiha Tekka had, for once, shifted his attention away from the Radical Faction within the village and begun paying attention to the ordinary Uchiha clansmen.

For various reasons, these people had failed to become ninjas and could only run small businesses in the clan district within the village. Usually, only their fellow clansmen patronized them.

If the Uchiha went to war with Konoha, these people would likely be the first to suffer. In order to seize Konoha’s power in one stroke, the Radical Faction clansmen would certainly commit all their fighting strength. As for these clansmen, they would most likely be told to return home and fend for themselves.

Yasunori Sakai’s words had awakened Uchiha Tekka, allowing him to see these ordinary clansmen. They were no different from Konoha’s other villagers, aside from bearing the Uchiha name.

Yet now, everyone had ignored these ordinary Uchiha clansmen, whether it was clan head Fugaku or the Radical Faction.

"Perhaps this could work, but Pakura would need to agree…"

Hyuga Mirai suddenly felt that winning over the Uchiha might still be possible, though it would require "him" to make a sacrifice with this body. Still, being able to put it to use one last time before it was scrapped would be a huge profit.

Afterward, Yasunori Sakai wrote an additional scroll and had his subordinates deliver them separately to Uchiha Tekka and the Saudi Federation.

After receiving Yasunori Sakai’s reply, Uchiha Tekka read it and destroyed it. Only he and the Ninja Cat Clan knew about this, and he had bought off the Ninja Cat Clan as well, so they would not tell the other clansmen.

If the clan head’s actions had not disappointed him somewhat, Uchiha Tekka would not have gone to an outsider for answers.

This time, Konoha had once again suppressed the Uchiha without exception. While damaging their reputation, it refused to let the Uchiha earn war merit and narrowed their social circle. While other ninja clans fought and bled on the front line, the Uchiha Clan stayed safely in the rear and reaped the benefits.

Although this was not what the Uchiha wanted, the reality was just that. The other ninja clans gradually stopped associating with the Uchiha as well.

Who would want to befriend a ninja clan with little war merit and a ruined reputation?

What did it matter if they were reliable on the battlefield? The Uchiha Clan could not even get onto the battlefield.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen led the first batch of Ninja troops out, the Uchiha Clan held another clan meeting.

The topic was nothing more than launching a coup d’état while the Third Hokage was away and seizing the power that belonged to the Uchiha, a Founding Ninja Clan.

At this clan meeting, more than seventy percent of the attending clansmen had become part of the Radical Faction. Even Uchiha Fugaku finalized the plan during the meeting.

They believed that with Body Flicker Shisui and many Three-Tomoe clansmen on their side, the Anbu and Root would be unable to stop them. As long as they killed those people, they could place clan head Fugaku in the Hokage position.

However, Uchiha Tekka was one of the calmer people present. He watched the expressions of his fellow clansmen from the side throughout the meeting and listened to every suggestion.

There were issues such as missing intelligence, incomplete plans, and too many people involved. Moreover, Uchiha Tekka noticed the strange look on Shisui’s face.

After the clan meeting ended, Uchiha Tekka suddenly felt that the group of clansmen around him seemed like nothing more than a disorganized rabble. And they wanted to stage a Coup d’état like this?

The key was that all of them were outstanding elites within the Uchiha Clan, with most possessing Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

After the clan meeting, Uchiha Tekka sought out Senior Yashiro and Inabi.

Uchiha Tekka said, "Senior Yashiro, Inabi, no one brought up the safety of the ordinary clan members during tonight’s clan meeting. How should they be arranged during the Coup d’état?"

"Ordinary clan members? They can just stay in the clan compound. There will be remaining clan members there when the time comes."

Uchiha Tekka shook his head. "If Konoha decides to target the non-ninja clansmen, that small number of people left behind won’t be enough. We need to come up with a proper solution."

After hearing this, Uchiha Yashiro gave it some thought and realized that Tekka had a point. He asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

Uchiha Tekka shook his head. If he had an idea, he would have raised it at the clan meeting earlier. He was merely worried that such a situation might occur.

"I’ll go ask the others. Senior Yashiro, Inabi, if the clan head looks for me, please help me ask for leave."

After hearing Tekka’s words, Uchiha Yashiro nodded and said, "Go ahead, but don’t let the Anbu notice you being followed."

"Don’t worry, Senior Yashiro."

After the clan meeting, Shisui Uchiha called Itachi to the forest where they usually trained. Then, with a somewhat grave expression, he said to Itachi, "Itachi, it seems I have to act ahead of schedule. I need your help."

"Do you need me to create an opportunity for you?"

Uchiha Itachi knew what Shisui had in mind. In his view, this was a good thing. Once his father’s thinking was changed, the Uchiha Clan could integrate into Konoha and avoid a civil war.

"That’s right. I hope you can find an opportunity to bring the clan head here. When the time comes, I’ll use Kotoamatsukami to change the clan head’s will."

Shisui Uchiha said gravely, "If we don’t act soon, I’m afraid the clansmen’s emotions will become impossible to contain."

"I understand, Shisui."

Uchiha Itachi nodded at him.

"I’ll bring Father here. I’ll notify you with crows when the time comes."