"Exactly!"
"Since this guy can think of these things, how could he not have a solution?"
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated.
He immediately shook Uchiha Jin, who was enjoying himself with his eyes closed, awake.
"Jin, wake up!"
"You definitely have a solution, right? Hurry up and tell me!"
"Although I know you don't have much affection for the clan because of the radical faction, the same blood flows in everyone's veins."
"How can you bear to watch the clan be destroyed?"
Uchiha Jin: "…"
He never expected Shisui to come to him for help.
Good heavens!
He didn't want to talk about it today.
Because with such matters, he certainly wouldn't dare to say too much at once.
After all, Shisui wasn't Nara Kazama!
Such people could only be guided slowly.
Therefore.
Even though Shisui had already said so much, he was still unwilling to elaborate now.
Of course.
Slinging more mud at Sarutobi Hiruzen was not a problem!
Thinking of this, he immediately shook his head.
"Shisui, don't shake me."
"I'm just a child; how could I have any solutions?"
"The gap between the Uchiha and the Hokage faction is simply too great!"
"Think about our Uchiha: proud, arrogant, simple-minded, looking down on everything, conceited and foolish, acting like the heavens are number one and the Uchiha are number two."
"Being foolish isn't a problem; the key is being foolish and not knowing it."
"They act as if they can fight heaven, earth, and air just by relying on uchiha glory."
"But they don't know that times have changed!"
"If it were during the Warring States period, when clans fought independently, as long as one was strong enough, they could sweep everything."
"But what about now?"
"Since the establishment of Konoha, it has entered the era of villages."
"No matter how powerful the Uchiha are, everyone else has already allied!"
"You think just eliminating Hiruzen will suffice, but in reality, as soon as you make a move, you'll be facing Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, Mito, Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, Inuzuka, plus a large number of civilians, and so on."
"Even if you learn from the Hyuga, who might seem cowardly, at most they just lose a bit of face."
"But can the Uchiha do that? No!"
"In fact, let alone confronting the entire Konoha, a single Sarutobi Clan is not something the Uchiha can contend with."
"Do you still think it's like the early days of Konoha's establishment, when the Uchiha were a founding clan and the Sarutobi were just subordinates who joined Konoha?"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen has held the position of Hokage for so many years. Do you know how many ninja the Sarutobi Clan has now?"
"Over three thousand, nearly four thousand ninja."
"The Uchiha toil away on missions to earn money, while the Sarutobi Clan controls the village's finances, using the village's treasury to support their own clan every year."
"Currently, the Uchiha probably have at most six or seven hundred ninja, right?"
"Moreover, every time a war breaks out, it's the ninja from various clans who are consumed. How many ninja from the Sarutobi Clan have you seen on the battlefield?"
"The Sarutobi Clan's ninja continuously expand, while the Uchiha ninja are constantly depleted."
"Can they even compare?"
"Rebelling against the village to seize the Hokage position? Isn't that just nonsense?"
"Even if the Uchiha Clan members can fight one against three, what good is it when the Sarutobi Clan alone can field three to four thousand ninja?"
"Each person could drown you with a single spit!"
"Why do I hide my strength? Do you understand now, Shisui?"
"The Uchiha Clan itself is a bunch of fools, and with Fugaku, that useless clan head, they're riddled with factions. Now, the clan can't even achieve the most basic unity."
"Why would I be so foolish as to associate with such a force?"
"The Hokage faction is also no good!"
"Those old schemers… if I associated with them, I'd probably be sold out and still help them count the money."
"I might as well just stay low and let things be!"
"And I advise you to also be more open-minded and worry less about useless things."
"There are no difficult things in the world, only those who give up."
Chapter 40: Continuing the Deception, Shisui Falls into a Dilemma
Shisui rolled his eyes at his words.
Give up?
Even though he felt extremely lost now, the option of 'giving up' still didn't exist in his heart.
But, at the same time.
After listening to Uchiha Jin's lengthy discourse, he instantly felt his worldview shatter.
He had never imagined that the situation of the Uchiha Clan had become so dire.
And, the Sarutobi Clan.
He recalled several times before when he went to the Sarutobi Clan to find Sarutobi Hiruzen to report on the Uchiha's situation, and the scenes he constantly saw along the way.
Dense houses, dense ninja.
At the time, he only sighed, thinking, as expected of the Hokage's clan.
Truly prosperous!
But, now that he thought about it.
Exactly!
When Konoha was first established, the Sarutobi were just a small clan.
How many years had Sarutobi Hiruzen been Hokage? Where did the Sarutobi Clan get so much money, and how could they suddenly have so many ninja?
Now, Jin had given him the answer.
The village's finances!
He thought about the Uchiha's police force, which tightened its belt every year, and the village rarely allocated them money.
So, where did the twenty billion yen allocated by the Daimyo each year go?
The village hadn't changed much.
Instead, it was more desolate than before.
Rewards for ninja missions were paid by the clients.
Not only did the village not have to spend a cent, but it also took a portion of the payment for each mission.
Konoha Hospital?
How much could that cost!
The Anbu was a place that spent money, but one to two hundred million a year was enough.
Interrogation Department? Mission Hall? Ninja Academy?
They didn't seem to cost much!
Only when wars started, the purchase of kunai, explosive tags, and other supplies was a bit expensive.
But, the problem was.
Every time a war started, the Daimyo would specifically allocate funds!
So, the question was.
Where did the money go?