"Slippery brat, I'm not looking for some safe, diplomatic answer that avoids offending anyone. I want your answer, not a textbook response."
Uchiha Geng turned around, his steady and sharp eyes staring directly at Uchiha Gen. Even without his Sharingan activated, those aged and wise eyes still seemed to possess the power to see through one's heart.
"Great Elder, was I wrong?"
"No, you were quite right. That is indeed the most ideal state for the clan and the village to coexist, intertwined, interdependent, complementary, and indispensable. This is naturally what all the high-ranking members of our clan long to achieve. However, that is merely an ideal. Now, young man, tell me your real answer. I will see how well you respond before deciding whether to invest in you in the future. If you can satisfy me, I don't mind utilizing some resources to accelerate the growth of a genius of the new generation like you. If your answer is merely mediocre, I won't give you less than what you're owed, but I will treat you just like any other ordinary clansman with a bit of talent."
Clearly, this white-haired Great Elder didn't just look at a clansman's talent as a ninja, but also their temperament, vision, wisdom, and stance.
"Now, tell me your answer, the one you're thinking of right now. I won't give you much time to think."
The Great Elder placed his hands behind his back and began walking slowly toward the Clan Treasury. Uchiha Gen lowered his head slightly and began to think rapidly. The Great Elder was definitely not satisfied with his previous answer. In his view, the relationship between the Uchiha and Konohagakure was certainly not all sunshine and rainbows, otherwise, there would be no need to ask.
With his age, status, and experience, he must have already realized the contradictions between the Uchiha and the village to ask such a question. He wanted to know if I had enough vision and brains to see this, and then use that to judge if I am worth investing in and if I'll have the ability to contribute to solving this issue in the future. It seems that within the Uchiha clan, there are indeed smart people who can recognize the problems the family is currently facing. For example, the Great Elder before him.
However, he certainly wouldn't foresee how severe the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha clan would become in the future. It seemed this man clearly didn't live for another twenty years, and he certainly couldn't have known that his eldest grandson in the original timeline would be so foolish as to commit the act of killing his father and mother, and slaughtering the entire clan. Before the night of the massacre, no one would have believed that the prestigious Uchiha clan, which had flourished for a thousand years, would vanish so inexplicably.
As for now, this conflict was only just beginning to show its signs, noticed only by a few. So, he needed an answer that fit the insight of a newly-minted genius genin while still satisfying the Great Elder. At the very least, he couldn't say the Uchiha clan would face a massacre in the future, no one would believe him. If he went too far, Uchiha Geng would only think he was being alarmist and exaggerating, and would then just dismiss him with a few decent ninjutsu.
After some thought, Uchiha Gen had prepared his draft.
"The relationship between the clan and the village is currently moving in the opposite direction of that ideal. Even if there are only some signs of it these past few years, if it isn't stopped, I'm afraid it will one day lead to a great disaster."
Uchiha Gen set the tone right from the start. The Great Elder's footsteps paused, and he stopped in place, seemingly wanting to give Gen more time to speak.
"Continue. Tell me your reasons."
"Power brings matching status, and status brings a desire for matching authority and interests. This desire will inevitably be met with suppression from those who already hold those interests. If there is a lack of sufficient trust between the two sides, then this suppression will naturally lead to even more serious trouble."
"I find it hard to believe that these are the words of a newly graduated genin. Mikoto said you ran into Nobuyuki before coming here? Did he teach you this? That guy doesn't seem smart enough for that."
The Great Elder looked at Uchiha Gen with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Great Elder, these are of course my own thoughts. In the graduation exam this morning, Sarutobi Enjun defeated Inabi by holding oil in his mouth to win. If my Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu hadn't been strong enough, I would have lost to him too. When we have the ability to compete for first place, we will naturally strive for it, just as the clan will surely strive when it has the power to obtain a higher status. In the Ninja Academy, it might just be a small trick like holding oil in the mouth, but what if that's scaled up to the entire village, or even the entire ninja world? Although what happens in the Academy is simpler, it doesn't stop me from drawing an analogy from the small to the large."
The Great Elder nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with Uchiha Gen's answer and accepting his explanation.
"I guess you must usually like reading and thinking. A young man who hasn't experienced much can only gain a somewhat hazy and not necessarily practical experience from the wisdom and history of those who came before."
"I sometimes read books after training, mostly history. Perhaps it's because I want to find the common traits shared by the strong throughout history."
"Then what kind of disaster do you think this will be?" the Great Elder asked, looking directly at Uchiha Gen.
The latter shook his head calmly. "We don't need to know, we just need to prepare for the worst. If we can handle even the worst-case scenario, then anything else won't be a problem."
Uchiha Geng suddenly laughed out loud. He truly admired this kid now, more than any other young junior in the clan. His talent was acceptable, while not top-tier in his eyes, being the top of his Academy class was still quite good. Most importantly, he was smart, possessed a vision beyond his years, and understood the importance of planning for a rainy day.
"Gen, you are very good. Although you are only twelve, you already possess a perspective that surpasses most of the clan, and the mindset of a ninja at the level of a clan head. You may still be a bit green, but I have finally seen another young man with the potential to shoulder the mission of the clan's revival in the future."
Hmm... what does he mean by having 'Clan Head level thinking' at twelve years old?
Uchiha Gen thought of a certain "Weasel" and glanced at Mikoto, who stood quietly by the side like a Yamato Nadeshiko.
"By the way, Great Elder, you said 'another' just now? Is there someone else in the clan like me?"