To be honest, resolving the Uchiha issue peacefully would have been so easy for the Third Hokage and the council.
After all, the Uchiha clan are one of Konoha's founders—so what's wrong if they want to be CEO for once? Is that such an unreasonable demand?
If you want to say that the Uchiha are prone to craziness and unsuited to be Hokage, that's not much of a reason either.
Take Uchiha Itachi for example—he's pretty normal overall: he's got strength, intelligence—you're saying he isn't qualified to be Hokage?
In the end, everyone has selfish motives. The Hokage line passing power down the generations has already become an unspoken rule.
To put it extremely, even if you're Orochimaru's student, you might still run for Hokage. But if you have nothing to do with the Hokage's lineage, sorry, step aside.
Now, looking at the Uchiha, they have their own problems too. Why are they so hung up on staying in Konoha?
From the Warring States era, the Uchiha were a world-famous clan. Now that the Senju have declined, it's never been that the Uchiha can't live without Konoha—it's Konoha that can't live without the Uchiha!
Look at Konoha's strength before the Uchiha massacre in the original story. In the great ninja war, they could fight multiple villages at once without breaking a sweat.
But after the Uchiha were gone, even a small Sound Village cobbled together by Orochimaru dared to team up with the Sand and launch a plan to destroy Konoha.
Was the Sand Village stupid? They sent in Gaara and those guys truly thinking they could destroy Konoha!
And in fact, they did cause Konoha a lot of trouble.
This kind of thing would never have happened if the Uchiha clan were still around. The other villages just thought Konoha was weak and easy to bully.
The Uchiha clan never figured out their role, or what bargaining chips they actually had.
Even if you look at outright rebellion as a last resort, they did it terribly—gathering for secret meetings every day with extremely poor secrecy—might as well have written "rebellion" on their faces.
And all they did was… just hold meetings! All procrastination and indecision—if they had actually fought, they wouldn't have died so miserably.
"Senpai, in your opinion, what should the Uchiha do now if they want to survive?"
Itachi asked. Right now, his mind was a mess. If he hadn't run into Gusion today, he'd already be preparing to go back and slaughter the entire clan.
"There's a high, middle, and low plan. It depends on what you choose."
Gusion said. There are so many ways to solve the Uchiha problem—oh, mainly because he's seen too many discussions in the comment section of the space.
"There are three plans?"
Itachi was a little surprised. It wasn't that he lacked composure, but after racking his brains for days he couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock—he felt it was a dead end, about to start killing.
After the surprise, he looked earnestly at Gusion, "Please tell me the best plan first, senpai."
Since he's asking for a plan, of course he wants to hear the best solution.
"When I say high, middle, and low, they're not really that contradictory—it's just a way of putting it. Just listen."
Gusion smiled, "The so-called best plan is for the Uchiha to give up on the idea of becoming Hokage. What's so great about that position anyway? To put it bluntly, the main reason to become Hokage is for money and power, but there are other ways to get those things besides being Hokage."
Itachi was moved by Gusion's words. He suddenly felt he had a point. Why are the clan members so angry—is it simply because there's never been a Uchiha Hokage?
Not really. If the Uchiha were treated like the Hyuga, Konoha's top clan, they wouldn't be so angry.
But all they got was a lousy security job, ostracized and looked down upon in the village, no power, no money—how could the proud Uchiha stand that?
"But if the higher-ups won't give us power, and we can't become Hokage, where does the money and power come from?"
Itachi asked, puzzled. If the clan had money and power, of course they wouldn't think of rebelling.
"Itachi, you need to understand, real power is never given by others—it's taken by yourself."
Gusion said meaningfully. He knew Itachi wasn't easily fooled. If Itachi weren't truly at a dead end right now, he wouldn't even be listening to a rogue ninja like him.
But the reason Gusion was able to trigger this hidden quest was because Itachi really was at a major crossroads in his life, wracked with pain and dilemma, so he had the chance to intervene.
Gusion himself wasn't that interested in saving the Uchiha, but if there were benefits, he'd do it. Besides, he liked some of the characters in the original and saving them could shake up the whole world and yield massive exploration rewards—now he was motivated.
"Take it yourself? Senpai, do you have any good ideas?"
Itachi asked, though he didn't really hope for much. He figured Gusion had ended up a missing-nin himself—he might not be any smarter than Itachi.
"Ideas? First you need to understand your own value, Itachi."
Gusion looked at Itachi's Sharingan. "Your clan's kekkei genkai is top-tier in the whole ninja world. Go back to the Warring States era—only the Senju rivaled you. So how did it come to this—being security in Konoha and looked down upon?"
Itachi fell into thought. Gusion's blunt words helped him understand the thinking of his father and the hardliners.
Yeah, the Uchiha are so powerful—how could they just be security in Konoha?
"Want wealth and power? It's simple. You need to think bigger."
Gusion smiled.
"Think… bigger?"
Itachi repeated the words, a little confused.
"To solidify your position in Konoha is easy. Doesn't your clan do intermarriages? Why insist on keeping all the bloodline within the clan? The Sharingan is powerful, but not every Uchiha can awaken it, right? Without your teaching, Uchiha born outside would probably be mediocre."
Gusion smiled, "But do other clans think that way? No! Your Sharingan is famous throughout the world."
At this point, Itachi seemed to get it, "Senpai, you mean… we use our bloodline as leverage, marry into other clans, and gain political status?"
Gusion nodded—smart Itachi got it right away. "Exactly. You know how powerful the average Sharingan is. I don't know what your eye technique is, but you alone could probably wipe out most of the Uchiha, right? So even if the bloodline spreads, it's no threat to your main line."
He continued, "Other clans desperately want your Sharingan—they don't realize how weak the average Sharingan is, they just want to bring in a new kekkei genkai. If you marry into Konoha's top clans, your political standing shoots up. At the very least, Konoha wouldn't dare try to wipe out an ambitious Uchiha anymore—one move affects everything."
Itachi thought it over, "If Konoha moves against the Uchiha, it would destabilize the whole village, so we'd be safe for now?"
He realized the plan was extremely feasible—this would not only protect the Uchiha but also win them stronger political power.
Throughout history, marriage alliances have always been strong political ties. And for the Uchiha, their bloodline is a benefit. Blood and interest linked together—there's no stronger alliance.
Once the Uchiha marry into other clans, they'd truly be part of Konoha's elite and wouldn't be so ostracized anymore. Even fair electoral rights wouldn't be that hard to get.
"Safe for now? You're thinking too small. Don't you want wealth and power?"
Gusion saw that Itachi had relaxed and sat down on a broken tree stump. "Marrying into clans is just one option. But I think you could think even bigger."
"Even bigger?"
Itachi was confused. Gusion's suggestion had already shattered the Uchiha's thinking—he was shocked they'd never considered marrying into other clans before.
Bloodline clans care about keeping the blood in-house, but powerful clans often marry for alliances. For example, the First Hokage married into the Uzumaki because that clan was strong and famous for sealing.
Within Konoha, clans often intermarried, but the Uchiha never did, so they seemed like outsiders.
Now he realized: all the clans bind blood and interest together, and with Konoha's development, the elite circle was set—but not the Uchiha, who never married in. No wonder they were ostracized.
But Gusion said to think even bigger—he couldn't imagine what that would be. He felt that alliance marriage was already a brilliant move.
If he could persuade his father, the Uchiha disaster could be avoided.
"I just said—your kekkei genkai is famous, and people outside Konoha want it too."
Gusion said, "Your women can marry out, or to go further, your men could openly sell their seed—I bet even clans in the Five Great Nations would be tempted."
Itachi was stunned, then frowned, "Isn't that a bit much?"
He still cared about Konoha, and felt that Uchiha blood spreading abroad would be helping the enemy—Konoha wouldn't like that.
He thought more, "Besides, small countries aside, the big nations' Kage wouldn't allow their clans to get too close to the Uchiha, or have their women become spies."
Gusion shook his head, "Not possible. Just look at Konoha—the Hokage isn't omnipotent. He's just the manager chosen by Konoha's interest groups. Unless he alone can suppress the village, he has to care about their opinions. You think those clans would resist the temptation of sharingan?"
Itachi was silent, but quickly saw the key point.
Yes, this is an open plot. The problem is only with Konoha's attitude—other countries would never stop the Uchiha from spreading their seed, because all the clans under the Kage want it!
"But… if we really do this, Konoha will be furious—maybe launch the Uchiha Massacre outright."
Itachi said, although he didn't think it was dirty for clan men to sell their seed—he'd seen worse things as a ninja. Some older cousins even frequent brothels, and would probably be happy to get paid for this.
He just felt Gusion's idea was too radical and risky.
"That's why you need to stabilize your position in Konoha first—make it hard for the Hokage to touch you…"
Gusion trailed off, making Itachi anxious.