"No, I will never allow internal strife within the Village!"
"Heh heh, Hiruzen, you will regret this."
Danzo stood up and left, a cold smile in his heart, and he couldn't help but secretly think Hiruzen Sarutobi was hypocritical; wasn't this sentence hinting at him, telling him to do it?
But it didn't matter.
As long as the Uchiha could be completely wiped out, that would be enough.
Then he would start with Uchiha Itachi.
Danzo had already made up his mind: let the Uchiha handle their internal conflict themselves. If Uchiha Itachi and the others could kill all the members of the Uchiha Clan, then he wouldn't need to act. If not, Root and Anbu could then move against the Uchiha Clan.
In short, the Uchiha Clan, they are not worthy of possessing the Sharingan!
After he wiped out the Uchiha Clan, he would possess a vast number of Sharingan, and then he would be able to use Izanagi even more.
"Oni-chan, you're back!"
In the middle of the night.
Sasuke, drowsily looking at Itachi who pushed the door open, instantly woke up. He had planned to rest much earlier today, but because he had good news he wanted to share with Itachi, he waited until now.
Upon seeing Sasuke, Itachi's originally tired face instantly showed a hint of tenderness. He raised his hand and stroked Sasuke's hair, then gently reminded him, "Sasuke, it's very late. Aren't you going to sleep?"
Sasuke used to rest at this time. Was there something he wanted to tell him today?
Was it because he hadn't seen him for a long time?
Itachi chuckled to himself. He supposed so; he had been busy with missions and trying to improve the relationship between the Village and the Uchiha lately.
So, he hadn't had much time to spend with Sasuke, and even the training he promised Sasuke had been postponed for a long time.
"Oni-chan, I have some good news I want to tell you!"
"What?"
Looking at Sasuke's eager eyes, Itachi smiled, then looked at Sasuke expectantly, waiting for his good news.
"This afternoon after school, I met Clan Head Bai Ye in the clan. Clan Head Bai Ye said he would teach me how to train tomorrow!"
Sasuke spoke with excitement in his voice. When he returned today, he had already told Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto about this.
Although Fugaku was removed from his position by Bai Ye, he admired Bai Ye's courage. When he learned that Bai Ye was going to teach Sasuke, he had no intention of refusing; he even wanted to thank Bai Ye.
Bai Ye was known as a genius Ninja within the clan. When he was the same age as Itachi, he already had the strength of an elite Jonin, and now he was a Three-Tomoe Sharingan user. Teaching Sasuke would be simple for him.
Moreover, he was the Clan Head, and despite having many responsibilities daily, he could still make time to teach Sasuke. Fugaku would be ungrateful if he didn't thank him.
Furthermore, Fugaku actually felt a little indebted to Sasuke. He had poured all his efforts into Itachi, putting everything on him, and seemed to have neglected his younger son, who was not as talented as Itachi.
Unlike Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi's expression changed immediately upon hearing what Sasuke said.
He thought of many possibilities. Could Bai Ye be trying to use Sasuke to threaten him?
"Oni-chan, what's wrong?!"
Sasuke had been watching Itachi closely since he finished speaking. He could clearly sense that Itachi's expression seemed to have changed slightly.
He didn't know why.
"Nothing, nothing."
Itachi shook his head, calming himself down. He knew there were many possibilities, and his current guess might not be accurate after all.
"How about I take you there tomorrow?"
Itachi decided to go and test him tomorrow. Besides, there was also Shisui's matter, and he wanted to see how Bai Ye managed to make Shisui switch sides.
"Okay!"
Sasuke didn't understand, but seeing that his older brother not only didn't object but even offered to take him, he felt relieved.
"Then Sasuke, you should go to bed early."
"Mm-hmm, Oni-chan, remember our promise!"
"Don't worry, I will!"
After coaxing Sasuke back to his room, Itachi sighed, hesitated repeatedly, and finally came to Fugaku's room door: "Father, Mother, are you asleep?"
"Itachi?"
"Yes, I have something I want to ask Father."
Itachi originally didn't want to talk to Fugaku, but he couldn't help but worry about Sasuke.
"Itachi, speak."
Inside the room, Fugaku looked at the ceiling, probably knowing why Itachi was looking for him.
This child...
Was he still going to be so stubborn?
"Father, you must know about Sasuke training with the Clan Head, right?"
"Yes, this is good for Sasuke. Bai Ye is very strong. At least, in terms of teaching Sasuke, he is much more suitable than the teachers at the Ninja Academy!"
A Ninja from their own clan would certainly teach better than a Ninja from the Ninja Academy.
Their own people know their own people, after all.
"But his ideology is very dangerous!"
That's right.
He didn't object to others teaching Sasuke. In fact, if it wasn't Bai Ye, he wouldn't have asked anything.
Just as Fugaku said, the clan's Ninja teachers are much better than other Ninja teachers.
However, Bai Ye's ideology was too dangerous. He was afraid that Bai Ye would transmit some of his ideas to Sasuke, and also feared that Bai Ye might use Sasuke to threaten something.
"Itachi, do you know why the clan members are gradually gravitating towards Bai Ye?"
Fugaku sighed. Regarding Itachi's thoughts, for a moment, he also regretted letting Itachi go down this path in the first place.
"Because he reclaimed the original clan land, but this also deepened the hatred between us and Konoha."
Itachi certainly understood, but this matter was not without consequences. Now the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha was even more tense, and Bai Ye needed to take responsibility.
"Itachi, what the clan members want is actually very simple: respect, and to reclaim what belongs to us, nothing more. The Uchiha Clan does not want to fight anyone. When I was the Clan Head, I couldn't achieve any of this. Instead, in our interactions with Konoha, we became increasingly weak and suffered more and more losses, which led to discontent within the clan. And what you are saying now, everyone actually understands very well. Rather than being slowly consumed, everyone actually prefers to fight to the death. That's why Bai Ye became the Clan Head; he represents the current sentiment within the clan."
Without Bai Ye, he would still be the Clan Head of the Uchiha, because the neutral faction had always been neutral, and neither the radical nor the conservative factions could overpower the other.
Thus, this strange balance was maintained, but Bai Ye's appearance broke that balance.
At least that one time, it caused the neutral faction to waver slightly, so Bai Ye took office with a slight advantage.
"But this will not only harm the Uchiha Clan, but Konoha will also suffer losses. Once war breaks out, it means mutual destruction, and it will give other Ninja Villages an opportunity. If the Village is gone, where will the clan have a place to survive? Shouldn't we consider the Village?"
Itachi was puzzled. His father, who had always been a dove, now seemed to be speaking up for Bai Ye.
He suddenly felt a sense of being abandoned by all.
"Itachi, you must remember, you are first and foremost of the Uchiha Clan!! As for Sasuke's matter, just let him be. Bai Ye won't harm Sasuke. It's getting late, you should also rest early!"
Uchiha Fugaku's tone barely concealed his disappointment. Although he never wanted to go to war, for Uchiha Fugaku, he first identified himself as a member of the Uchiha Clan.
And Itachi's so-called thinking from the Village's perspective, shouldn't he also think from the clan members' perspective?
"I understand, Father. Then I won't disturb you."
Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath, his head bowed, no one knew what he was thinking, and after a moment he left.
Inside the room, Uchiha Mikoto looked at Uchiha Fugaku with some concern and asked, "Should we have Itachi withdraw from Anbu? I feel like his current thoughts are a bit off, and if Bai Ye really leads us to war with Konoha, Itachi will…"
In fact, in the current situation, most people within the clan believed that Bai Ye might lead the Uchiha to war with Konoha, or at least that this situation would not pass peacefully.
The Uchiha Clan would not back down; either Konoha would back down, which inevitably led all other Ninja clans, besides the Uchiha Clan, to watch closely.
At present, if Konoha backed down, then the other Ninja clans would also become more active in their thoughts.
Therefore, this gamble no longer involved only the Uchiha and Konoha; other Ninja clans were also waiting.
"Actually, it's not necessarily war, but the relationship between the Village and the Uchiha is too tense right now. Sometimes, I'm not entirely sure what Bai Ye wants to do."
Uchiha Fugaku sighed. In fact, even he wasn't sure what Bai Ye wanted to do.
If you say he wants war, he doesn't seem to have given a signal to the radical faction. If you say he doesn't want war, he's made the relationship with Konoha so tense.
"As for Itachi, that child probably won't listen to us. He has his own ideas, so we can only wait and see."
He wanted to persuade him, but what could he do?
Would Uchiha Itachi listen to him?
Fugaku felt he wouldn't at all, so he simply gave up and patted Mikoto's shoulder: "Rest early. Anyway, I'm not the Clan Head anymore. It's Bai Ye's headache!"
After no longer being the Clan Head, Fugaku's mindset had improved considerably.
The next day.
Sasuke found Itachi early because it was his first time being tutored by Bai Ye, and Sasuke wanted to go early to make a good impression on Bai Ye.
The two arrived at Bai Ye's place very early.
"Want a drink?"
"Clan Head, what is this?"
Sasuke curiously leaned closer to take a look; it was his first time seeing such a thing.
"Cola, it's very good. I'm planning to sell this and start a soda business in Konoha. Itachi, you should try it too."
Cola was brought from the everyday world.
Anyway, sourcing from there was cheap, and there was no such soda here, so Bai Ye planned to sell it.
Konoha had rice cake red bean soup, and some things similar to soda, but compared to cola, Bai Ye felt the taste was still lacking.
Apart from weapons and explosive tags, the Uchiha Clan's industries didn't have many side businesses, unlike Akimichi with their barbecue, or the Nara Clan with their medicinal herbs, etc.
During wartime, the Uchiha Clan was very wealthy, but in this peaceful era, the Uchiha Clan's business was not doing very well.
So, to improve the clan's economy slightly, he also planned to start a side business.
Moreover, this was also the first step Bai Ye prepared: economic warfare.
The food you eat, the drinks you drink, the things you use are all supplied by his Uchiha Clan. You want to turn against them? Then don't even think about such things afterward!
Ultimately, it was a matter of interest. The Uchiha had little conflict of interest with other clans, but if both sides had intertwined interests, naturally, in many matters, they would have to consider the Uchiha's stance.
Why were Hiruzen Sarutobi and his allies so popular in Konoha?
Wasn't it because they controlled too many interests? Hiruzen Sarutobi had been in power for too long, so many clans needed to cooperate with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the families behind him. Looking at it this way, naturally, many more people supported Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Delicious!"
Sasuke felt the carbonation rush straight to his head with the first sip, and the cola, specially chilled by Bai Ye, gave him an even more refreshing and exhilarating feeling.
"It does taste quite good. Is the Clan Head planning to sell this?"
Although his actions were radical, in every aspect, Bai Ye was surprisingly suitable to be the Clan Head.
Itachi muttered to himself, indeed, after putting these things out there, he felt that Bai Ye was more suitable to be the Clan Head than his father.
"That's right, business within the clan isn't easy. Everyone is waiting to eat, you know. Ninja are fine, but ordinary Uchiha Clan members really need some opportunities to survive."
Even though the Uchiha Clan was a large clan, not everyone was wealthy; there were also those who lived in hardship.
"But Clan Head, what you are doing now is completely different from what you said."
Itachi lowered his eyes. He was somewhat surprised that Bai Ye wanted to change the living conditions of the Uchiha's lower class, but what he said about providing some living conditions, if he continued down this path, everyone would eventually die.
"Sasuke, if you were given a choice between living on your knees and dying standing, which would you choose?"
Bai Ye did not answer Itachi, but turned to look at Sasuke.
"Die standing!"
Sasuke blurted it out without thinking. The honor of their Uchiha Clan would absolutely not allow them to live on their knees!
"See, that's everyone's choice, Itachi."
After getting Sasuke's answer, Bai Ye turned to look at Itachi again.
Sasuke also looked back and forth between Bai Ye and Itachi with some curiosity, feeling like they had a hidden meaning in their words.
"Alright, you probably still have a mission, go complete it first. I'll take care of Sasuke!"
Looking at Itachi's speechless expression, if there wasn't someone else nearby, he would have burst into laughter.
This was being misunderstood by everyone, even his own brother thought he was wrong. This feeling of being abandoned by all, Bai Ye just wanted the filial son to experience it thoroughly.
The good days were still ahead!
Bai Ye had prepared more than just this!