Uchiha's personal opinion

"Chief of Staff Shinpei, have I ever withheld any bounties or supplies from the headquarters' ninja forces?" Uchiha Tokumitsu glanced at Nara Shinpei with a cold, piercing Sharingan.

“Never.” Nara Shinpei wiped away cold sweat. “Lord Tokumitsu has always been fair in his rewards and punishments, never skimping on anything…”

"Then why are the bounties for Uchiha ninjas doubled?!" Jiraiya jumped out and shouted again.

"This..." Nara Shinpei was already cursing inwardly. "Lord Jiraiya, the bounty for Uchiha ninjas is an extra war allowance given by the Uchiha clan, not village funds. This is also the usual practice for each clan to recruit clan ninjas to fight."

"Why is the Uchiha clan allowance paid by the finance department, while other ninja clans don't receive it?"

“Each ninja clan has its own leader responsible for distributing the supplies; the camp or village does not interfere in this matter… The Uchiha clan has a large number of members participating in the battle, and the camp's financial officer is also an Uchiha ninja, so…”

"Is that so?" Jiraiya was a little surprised this time. He looked around and found that the other ninjas who had come to watch were all watching coldly.

"Hey! Hyuga kid!" Jiraiya asked Hyuga Seiji, a Jonin of the Hyuga clan, who was standing to the side.

Seiji Hyuga rolled his eyes at him and ignored him.

"Take them away and lock them up!" Uchiha Tokumitsu ordered his men to take the troublemaking ninjas away, then looked directly at Jiraiya and said, "Jonin Jiraiya, I will let your rudeness go for now, but please watch your words and actions in the future. If anyone again disrupts morale and causes trouble without reason, I will execute them without mercy! Also, please leave headquarters tomorrow!"

After saying that, he led his men away with a cold face, leaving Jiraiya behind with an embarrassed expression.

Upon returning to their sleeping tent, Jiraiya came knocking, relentlessly arguing with the Uchiha guards about wanting to enter and find Uchiha Tokumitsu.

Uchiha Tokumitsu had no choice but to let Jiraiya in.

"Jiraiya, Jonin, what do you want?" Uchiha Tokumitsu still had a cold face.

"What happened today was my fault. I acted impulsively without understanding the situation." As soon as he entered, Jiraiya bowed and apologized. "It was indeed my fault. I hope Commander Tokuko will punish me."

“You are not my subordinate, so it is not my place to punish you.” Uchiha Tokumitsu still did not have a kind look on his face. “But I will report your recklessness back to the village and ask your teacher for an explanation.”

"What about the imprisoned ninjas? Can we forgive them?"

“They will be incorporated into the assault team. If they don’t die in the next three battles, this matter will be over,” Uchiha Tokumitsu said coldly. “Of course, if the village issues an order to take them away, that’s another matter. If they are under my command, there is absolutely no possibility of being exempted from responsibility.”

Jiraiya sighed softly.

This time he finally understood; it was obvious that someone had deliberately instigated him to stand up and cause trouble.

"So... Commander Deguang, what are your thoughts on the village?"

"A village is just a village, what's so interesting about it?" This kind of pretentious and empty question made Uchiha Tokumitsu increasingly impatient.

"Commander Deguang, do you have some grievances against the Hokage?" Jiraiya's eyes gleamed. "Can you tell me why?"

“All the ninja clans whose interests have been harmed are dissatisfied, and it’s not just me.” Uchiha Tokumitsu frowned, completely disregarding the fact that Jiraiya was the Third Hokage’s student. “The reason why the ninja clans chose Konoha is because Konoha protects the interests of the ninja clans. The ninja clans can make appropriate contributions to the village, but there must be corresponding returns.”

"But the village's commoner ninjas have also made many contributions to the village. Why don't the ninja clan's extra allowances benefit them?"

"Giving money from the ninja clan to civilian ninjas?" Uchiha Tokumitsu laughed angrily. "Does Sarutobi think the ninja clan has more money than he can spend, or is he trying to win people's hearts? Besides, they're not from my clan, so what does it have to do with me!"

Jiraiya hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Ninja clan members are not part of the village's ninja system. They only accept the clan's call to fight for the village in order to protect it. In this case, the ninja clan sets up its own participation allowance to take care of its members. What does that have to do with the village!"

"But...this is not fair..."

"Is it fair to distribute the ninja clan's money to others?" Uchiha Tokumitsu said bluntly. "Jiraiya, if you think the reward for your merits is too low, go and make suggestions to the Hokage. But matters concerning the ninja clan are none of your business, not even the Hokage can interfere!"

"Isn't the Hokage the highest leader of the village?!"

"The Hokage represents the village's interests, not the ninja clan's. Please understand this." Uchiha Tokumitsu glared at Jiraiya and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Our ninja clan has a thousand-year history and its own rules. No action we take is subject to interference from outsiders!"

"Is this how the relationship between the Uchiha and the village deteriorated..." Jiraiya's expression was complicated.

"Jiraiya, you're so naive," Uchiha Tokumitsu criticized mercilessly. "If you're really capable, go and get the Hyuga clan to abandon the Caged Bird Seal. Otherwise, don't come here with this nonsense!"

"Sigh..." Jiraiya sighed deeply. "What about the clan ninjas and the common ninjas? Commander Tokukatsu, what do they represent in your eyes?"

"Whether you come from a ninja clan or are a commoner, a ninja is a ninja, and strength is everything." Uchiha Tokumitsu looked coldly at the dejected Jiraiya. "Strength is the foundation of dialogue and the source of equality. I think you, Jonin Jiraiya, surely understand this principle."

"But... can't we be a little more understanding of our fellow villagers?"

"Understand? What kind of understanding? Does it mean making the ninja clan give away all their wealth, or annihilating the ninja clan and dividing their assets and ninjutsu?"

"Jonin Tokuko, you went too far..."

"This is not excessive! I said, the ninja clan has its own stance! We are not fat sheep for the village to take at will! And we don't need you to tell the ninja clan how to do things!"

"But as a prestigious clan in the ninja world, shouldn't the Uchiha clan shoulder more responsibility?"

“Responsibility is commensurate with rights, and I believe that what my people have done has far exceeded the rights they have.”

“Commander Deguang, you’re still too narrow-minded… The Senju clan is also a ninja clan…”

"So the Senju clan is now on the verge of extinction." Uchiha Tokumitsu said expressionlessly.

Jiraiya's expression was very strange. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing where to begin, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

After a brief silence inside the tent, Uchiha Tokumitsu repeatedly offered tea to signal that the guest should leave, but Jiraiya remained standing there in a daze, ignoring him.

Just as Uchiha Tokumitsu was wondering if Jiraiya was unaware of proper etiquette for serving tea and seeing guests off, and was about to tell him to leave, Jiraiya's expression turned serious, and he continued to ask, "Commander Tokumitsu, what if the interests of the ninja clan conflict with the interests of the village? How should we choose?"

"You should ask your teacher; he's also the head of the ninja clan," Uchiha Tokumitsu said, not wanting to give a direct answer.

"I'd like to hear your opinion," Jiraiya persisted.

After a while, Uchiha Tokumitsu became increasingly impatient.

"Jiraiya, do you understand what a ninja clan is?"

Jiraiya nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head.

"The ninja clan is the sanctuary of ninjas, the vessel for the continuation of the ninja bloodline, and the one that nurtures the ninja descendants. Don't you find it ridiculous to ask me this question?"

"What about the village?"

"Jiraiya, let me be frank. When the interests of the ninja clan and the village conflict, we must weigh the lesser of two evils. Do you understand?"

Jiraiya was speechless.

The conversation ended unhappily.

Chapter 40 The Ninja Clan and the Hokage

The leader of a ninja village is called the Kage; the Kage of Konoha is known as the "Hokage".

In Konoha, there are two theories about the origin of the title "Hokage." One is that it represents Konoha's cooperation with the Land of Fire. The other is that when the Senju and Uchiha clans joined forces to build the village, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha each chose their best friend's specialty as a title. Hashirama Senju named the leader "Hokage," and Madara Uchiha named the village "Konoha."

However, ever since Madara Uchiha left Konoha and was defeated by the First Hokage during the attack on the village, the village's propaganda about the origin of the title 'Hokage' has completely leaned towards the first explanation; and the history of the Senju and Uchiha joining forces, after going through a dazzling process of Madara Uchiha's departure, the battle at the Valley of the End, Tobirama's death, and the Senju's retirement, has gradually been buried in old papers, and apart from a small number of Uchiha clan members, no one mentions it anymore.

The Uchiha clan's resentment towards the Hokage lineage stems from this.

As one of the two founding clans of the village, the Uchiha clan was undoubtedly the number one powerful ninja clan in both the village and the entire ninja world after the Senju clan retired. In terms of both strength and clan prestige, most Uchiha clan members believed that the position of Hokage should rightfully belong to the Uchiha clan.

During the Second Hokage's reign in Konoha, many clan members still placed their hopes on Kagami Uchiha, who was also the Hokage's disciple, hoping he would become Hokage and fulfill the Uchiha clan's dream. However, after the Second Hokage's death, his disciple Hiruzen Sarutobi ascended to the Hokage position based on a dubious dying wish. Kagami Uchiha, who was originally highly regarded by the Uchiha clan, also perished in the First Shinobi World War. From then on, the Uchiha clan had no representative in Konoha's upper echelons and were confined to the police department, unable to rise any higher.

Fortunately, the large-scale outbreak of border conflicts was also due to the Hokage faction's misjudgment of the situation. They thought a great war was about to break out, or they were eager to weaken the Uchiha clan's strength. They actually handed over an entire northwestern border defense force to the Uchiha clan. However, they did not expect that the Uchiha clan would also be able to break free from their constraints. While taking over the entire border force, they also almost turned the Land of Grass into Uchiha territory.

The daimyo of the Land of Grass invited Uchiha Himon to lead his troops to the capital in order to leverage his influence. The daimyo was old and frail, but his designated heir was still young. To avoid chaos in the palace, the daimyo invited Uchiha Himon to lead his clan's ninja army to his country to serve as guards for the ceremony of appointing his heir. He also solemnly entrusted the Uchiha clan with a long-term mission: to protect the daimyo's heir. After consulting with Elder Setsuna, Uchiha Himon accepted the mission.

"So... the clansmen are now the guardian ninjas of the eldest son of the Daimyo of the Land of Grass?"

After returning from the Land of Grass, Uchiha Himon told Uchiha Tokumitsu about his recent activities.

"I suppose so, since twelve of our clansmen remained in the capital of the Grass Kingdom."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was also amazed.

"By the way, hasn't the Land of Grass always been supporting the Grass Ninja Village? Why are they suddenly requesting our clan to send people to protect us?"

"Perhaps it's because the Grass Village is supported by the Land of Grass that they're looking for us. After all, our clan has no roots or interests in the Land of Grass, so accepting the protection mission makes the current daimyo feel more at ease."

“...That makes sense.” Uchiha Tokumitsu agreed. After all, the Uchiha clan was renowned and had recently been unstoppable in the Land of Grass, even forcing the Iwagakure army in the Land of Earth to hold their ground. If he were the daimyo, he would have preferred to hire Uchiha ninjas at a high price rather than those infamous, two-faced Grass Ninjas.

"Speaking of which, Uncle Fire Gate..." Uchiha Tokumitsu asked with some doubt, "Why are nobles like Daimyo and Naga lords allowed to survive?"

"What do you mean?" Uchiha Hamon was stunned.

"In terms of the power wielded by the daimyo, it is far inferior to that of the ninjas. Why is it that no ninja wants to take his place?" This question had actually puzzled Uchiha Tokumitsu for a long time.

As a group of extraordinary powers, ninjas not only failed to use their strength to gain direct control over a superior status, but were instead constrained by the daimyo through missions and funding, which puzzled Uchiha Tokumitsu greatly.

"Hmm... Actually, what you're describing is similar to the situation during the Warring States period." Uchiha Himon was also a figure from the late Warring States period, so he had some knowledge of the past. "Did you know that during the Warring States period, the ninja clans were actually part of the nobility..."

“Uh…” This time it was Uchiha Tokumitsu’s turn to be stunned.

"My clan was once a great noble family spanning the Fire and Lightning Kingdoms, as were the Senju and Hyuga clans, which have been powerful families for thousands of years..." Uchiha Hamon said with some emotion.

"Then why..."

"During the Warring States period, every family was constantly on the verge of collapse, not just the secular nobles, but also us ninja clans," Uchiha Himon said solemnly. "If one has lived for a thousand years in a chaotic world where allies could betray at any moment, and where women and children could be slaughtered in the rear while the ninja clans are at war, everyone would yearn for a peaceful life. Compared to a peaceful and stable community, the empty fame of the secular world is insignificant..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was still somewhat puzzled.

Uchiha Himon could also see the confusion in Uchiha Tokumitsu's expression.

“A ninja village… is a haven, a haven where women and children can be entrusted, a haven where ninja armies can go to war without worrying about whether their so-called allies will betray them. That’s enough,” Uchiha Hamon sighed. “And that’s why Lord Hashirama is hailed as the ‘God of Shinobi.’ He ended the chaotic world, and the ‘one country, one village’ system he advocated re-established order in the ninja world, making peace possible.”

“But the scale of the Ninja World War was far greater than the Ninja Clan Wars during the Warring States period,” Uchiha Tokumitsu pointed out.

“That’s true, that’s indeed the case, but what about the common people?” Uchiha Himon poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it slowly.

“Commoners…” Uchiha Tokumitsu was stunned again. He had always treated even unfamiliar ninjas as nothing, let alone commoners who had no presence.

“The common people in the Warring States period were like weeds, but now at least they can survive.” Uchiha Himon’s expression was somewhat serious. “The greatness of Senju Hashirama was that he redefined the order. Even if this order is bad or unreasonable, it is still better than the chaotic and indiscriminate Warring States period.”

Uchiha Tokumitsu remained silent.

"Although secular nobles like daimyo do not possess the formidable martial prowess of ninjas, in an era when powerful ninja clans were all incorporated into ninja villages, they could still govern and rule the secular world by relying on bureaucrats, samurai, and monks. We ninjas only needed to obtain sustenance through missions, which is why ninja clans were willing to give up their secular status and join ninja villages."

“But currently, the interests of the ninja clan are clearly being eroded by the village,” Uchiha Tokumitsu pointed out a key issue.

"This actually started with the Second Hokage. Tobirama believed that the ninja clans were too powerful, which would hinder the implementation of the so-called 'Will of Fire,' so he wanted to suppress the ninja clans and support the common people." Uchiha Himon's face showed disdain. "He also staged the farce of the Senju clan's retirement, dispersing most of the clan's power. Coupled with the depletion of resources during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he brought the once mighty Senju clan to the brink of extinction. He was far inferior to Lord Hashirama."

"The secular belongs to the nobles, the extraordinary to the ninjas." Uchiha Tokumitsu raised an eyebrow slightly. "The only ones who suffer are the ninja clans."

"Haha~ Deguang-kun truly lives up to his Uchiha name." Uchiha Himon was overjoyed upon hearing this. "Actually, it's not just our clan; other ninja clans are also quite dissatisfied with Sarutobi and the others."

"Is it simply a matter of insufficient strength?"

"Yes, and we are too strong." Uchiha Himon's face was somewhat smug again. "Our clan is the undisputed number one ninja clan in the ninja world, so Sarutobi, that monkey, is naturally a little wary of us."

Uchiha Tokumitsu was somewhat speechless. What was there to be proud of? "The foundation of a ninja is strength; reputation and such are too ephemeral."

"I must say, Tokuko-kun, your thoughts are very similar to Madara's." Uchiha Himon poured himself another cup of tea and continued to savor it.