19. The problems of the Uchiha Clan

Pat.reon(up to 10 chapters ahead): patreon.com/Guild_Kevi

...

The Uchiha Clan has recently had some significant problems, but according to Naruto, it didn't seem too serious. The Uchiha Clan was somewhat at odds with the other Clans and the Village Council politically. However, since Itachi himself seeks advice from Naruto, maybe it's more serious than Naruto thinks? Nevertheless, his father, Minato, has been coming home a little later lately and looks quite worried.

"Well... yes, the whole situation is more complicated than you think..." Itachi sent him a tired look. "I thought maybe you could help me..." he said, and Naruto sighed.

He knew nothing about politics or Clan matters, but he owes Itachi a lot, so he can't refuse. "Maybe you'll sit down?" he suggested, pointing to his bed, the only free seat in his room.

"Thanks..." Itachi replied, sitting in the designated spot.

For a while, there was silence in the room, not tense, but rather calm. Naruto patiently waited for Itachi to put his thoughts into words and reveal what he had come to him with. However, it turned out to be an informational bombshell in the next moment.

"My Clan wants to rebel against the Village, thus causing a civil war..." Itachi said bluntly, and Naruto sighed, stunned by not expecting something like this. "Since my father fought yours years ago for the position of Fourth Hokage, several members of the Council of our Clan have slowly but effectively taken over my father's influences, but it didn't seem like a major threat at the time. However, after the attack of the Kyuubi on the Village, rumors started circulating that someone controlled it with our Sharingan, and the Village Council stopped trusting us. This caused a slowly escalating conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Village. Although our fathers try to cooperate, half of my Clan follows the voice of the Council members who are in favor of rebelling against the Leaf Village, and my father is unable to keep them in check..." Itachi confessed. It was a short story but sufficient for Naruto to get a better picture.

"Oh... I understand... I didn't think the Uchiha Clan had such problems..." Naruto honestly admitted and sighed. "But what do I have to do with this...?" he asked curiously. Should he solve their problem? How could he stop one of the strongest Clans in the entire Village?

"Well..." Itachi scratched his neck. "You're amazing, Naruto, so I thought you could help me..." he said honestly, but then corrected himself. "I don't mean direct help, but advice on what you would do in my place..."

"You can't just kill them...?" Naruto asked after a moment of thought. "How many members of the Council who took over your father's influences are there? I don't think there are many; just kill them and slowly regain their influences back, and force those who follow them to convert. It seems like the simplest thing in the world." he stated.

Itachi looked at him surprised. He had thought about it, but it didn't make sense. Many members of the Clan follow the Council members, so their deaths will only provoke a rebellion in the Clan. He doesn't know if he will be able to control them by force after the deaths of the Council members.

"It doesn't make sense, the death of those four will only bring another unnecessary bloodshed in the Clan. I don't want my family to die..." Itachi told him, and Naruto clicked his tongue.

"Do you remember the first time we talked to each other?" Itachi nodded slightly, it was a few years ago when he was still a Chunin, and now he is already a member of Anbu. "You said your father is quite strict with you, why shouldn't he be strict with the rest of the Clan? You have the power to forcefully stop the rebellion in the Clan and all those people. I suspect the strongest in the Clan are on your side, otherwise, the civil war would have already broken out. Besides, you can ask others for help; after all, our fathers cooperate," he said after hearing Itachi's story.

"Is that so...?" Itachi wasn't convinced. Since he experienced war and the deaths of many comrades in his youth, he became a pacifist. "...but isn't there a better solution that would solve the problems of all parties?" he asked, seeking hope in Naruto.

But Naruto snorted disdainfully, destroying his last hope for a peaceful solution. "It's pointless, Itachi. Trying to maintain peace by force can cause a greater disaster than you think," he stated. "I have an important question for you, to which you'll answer yourself... do you have someone important to protect?" After a moment, Itachi nodded slightly. Naruto knew who Itachi loved most in the world, but despite that, he asked him this question to make him aware of a certain issue. "Then, I would crush any threats with my own force to protect him. I wouldn't care about the positions of other people; I would just destroy them, but in my case, it would be difficult..." he laughed mockingly at himself. "But you have that power. Think well, Itachi, are a few people really more important to you than your younger brother? Let's assume you do nothing..." Naruto began to theorize. "Our fathers won't be able to maintain peace either, so either there will be a rebellion in your Clan or a civil war on the scale of the entire Village; both scenarios are disastrous and will bring even greater consequences. Can you imagine your brother's life then? What will he have to go through? How many deaths will he have to witness? The only way I see is the death of the Council members and taking over their influences," he explained his position firmly. "It's strange that you come to me with this? Why doesn't your father do this? Does he value the current peace too much and start to fear bloodshed?" he scoffed.

Itachi looked at him grimly. "It's not like that; being the head of the Clan is difficult, and the thought that every decision of yours can affect everyone causes immense pressure."

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe, but you still have to be decisive. Peaceful solutions are not always good; sometimes you need to control things by force. But if you're afraid you won't be able to control the members of your Clan by force after killing the Council members... then change their way of thinking. They will be free from the decisions imposed on them by the Councilors, so manipulate them properly to think like you. Ordinary people are stupid and easy to manipulate; it won't be a problem," he stated and continued to wonder why Itachi's father, Fugaku, hadn't done something like this.

It's possible that something else is happening in the Clan that prevents him from taking such actions, and Itachi didn't tell him everything. After all, he can't reveal all the details to strangers unrelated to the Clan. Only what he revealed showed how much trust Itachi has in Naruto.

Itachi sighed heavily and began to slowly piece it together in his mind. Naruto speaks of it all as if it were something simple, without hesitation telling him to kill members of his own clan, people he has known for years. Despite thinking differently, these people were his family, but the more he thought about it, the more he understood that the clan needed the sacrifice of a few individuals to continue to thrive. Fugaku probably thinks similarly to Itachi; the entire Uchiha clan is family, so he hesitates before making such a difficult decision that could divide the clan.

"I understand... so that's how you see it," Itachi finally replied. "Thank you for sharing your perspective; it's good to hear the opinion of a third party," he thanked, his eyes gaining a certain firmness after this short conversation.

"It was nothing," Naruto waved his hand. "I just presented a few thoughts; I still owe you a great debt of gratitude," he stated. He didn't want their acquaintance to sour if he repaid all the things Itachi helped him with through a few pieces of advice.

They talked for a while longer before Itachi left Naruto's room and bid farewell to everyone. Naruto wanted to return to analyzing documents, but once again, he heard a knock on the door. Sensing who was behind it, he saw his father.

He invited him in and asked, "What's the matter, Tou-san?"

"I shouldn't be asking about this... but have you talked to Itachi about his issues with the clan...?" Minato asked him.

"Yes, well... I didn't think they had such a problem..." Naruto shrugged. "I don't think he told me everything, but I told him what I think. It's a bit silly that they can't resolve this themselves."

Minato frowned. "Why? You know that political matters are difficult, and every move needs to be carefully considered to avoid negative consequences?"

"Do we really need to think so much about it?" Naruto questioned. "It's a simple matter, but you're making it difficult for yourselves. People create their own biggest problems, which hold them back from taking action," he concluded, and Minato thought over his son's words for a while.

Maybe Naruto is right about this...? Well, let's wait for Itachi's decision.

...

The night passed, and Naruto sleepily looked through two-dimensional images of Chakra Systems, analyzing each one meticulously, not skipping a single detail. Unfortunately, it was all in vain; he didn't discover anything interesting. However, he didn't want to give up and reviewed them all again.

Second time, third time...

Then the fourth...

Naruto still felt like he was missing something obvious, so simple that people didn't even pay attention to it. However, rationality slowly took over his mind, and he began to think that maybe he was just imagining things. After analyzing them all so many times and finding nothing, he started to feel frustrated.

Dawn was slowly breaking, and Naruto sighed, finishing his seventh round of reviewing the papers. He was exhausted from searching for something that probably didn't exist.

It didn't make sense. He finally concluded and lay down tired on his bed. However, despite his desire to give up, his mind kept thinking about it, giving him no rest.

"I'll go for a walk; fresh air will do me good," he sighed and, tired, got his body off the comfortable bed.

He quietly went downstairs and, without waking anyone up, left the house. Outside, he spread his arms wide, stretching, and took a few deep breaths of fresh air.

As he walked the streets of Konoha, it was practically empty, with only a few early birds up. The people he encountered greeted him cheerfully, sending him their regards.

Naruto wandered into less populated areas of the Leaf Village, trying to clear his mind, hoping that a new thought or concept would emerge.

He stopped in one of Konoha's many parks, on a small wooden bridge over a river. For a moment, he closed his eyes and focused on his Chakra, moving it to his brain and trying to mimic the effects of caffeine. He came up with this idea some time ago when Kushina forbade him from drinking coffee after seeing him brew his third cup on a day off at home. Out of respect for her, he listened but started experimenting with Chakra instead to give it caffeine-like effects.

After a while, he opened his eyes, and the previous fatigue vanished, replaced by new energy. He involuntarily smiled when he finally succeeded.

Some time later, on the way back, he saw a brown dog, terribly emaciated and sickly. Naruto felt sorry for it, but he had nothing to feed it, so he decided to ignore it. However, the dog suddenly started coughing strangely, and its face contorted in pain.

Naruto observed it for a moment in curiosity, and just as he was about to leave, it started defecating. Naruto grimaced in disgust, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a delicately wriggling worm in the feces. It was very thin and quite long, white in color; it was a tapeworm.

"That's why it was so skinny..." he concluded, leaving the dog alone. He didn't have time to deal with some random dog; there were many similar animals in the Leaf Village, and he had no intention of doing anything about it.

However, on the way back, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, freezing in place. His eyes trembled, unable to believe how simple it was!

After a few minutes of deep thought and quick analysis, he called out excitedly, "I understand...! That's what it was...! Haha!!" He couldn't stop laughing at the thought of it. He spent the whole night on it and finally understood it by observing a defecating dog...! How stupid...!