As Fugaku finished speaking, Mikoto reached into her robe and pulled out a small scroll.
With a quick seal, she pressed it to the ground.
“Release.”
A puff of white smoke cleared—and in her hands appeared a strange, antique-looking film projector, its metallic body gleaming faintly.
She set it up with practiced ease, angling the lens toward the massive wall of black mud behind Fugaku, then gently turned a dial.
Click.
Gears engaged with a crisp mechanical sound.
A beam of brilliant white light shot out, striking the mud wall—and instantly formed a huge, clear screen.
Shadows flickered.
The film began.
First, bold characters appeared:
“Unite Everyone Who Can Be United”
Below them, smaller subtitles:
Director: Uchiha Fugaku
Cinematography: Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Mikoto
Cast: Uchiha Fugaku, Terumī Mei, Terumī Saburō, Mizuki Yuki…
Seeing her own name, Mizuki Yuki widened her eyes slightly.
A flicker of realization crossed her calm face.
So that’s what that strange device was…
She couldn’t help but sigh faintly.
Film… she had heard of it—something novel from the distant Land of Snow.
But as a shinobi constantly immersed in missions and combat, she had never cared to learn how such things were made.
“What is he trying to do…?”
In the distance, Ringo Ameyuri frowned, lightning flickering restlessly at her fingertips.
“Let’s just watch,” said Kisame Hoshigaki calmly.
“If he wanted to kill us, he could’ve already shrunk the mud and turned us all into puppets.”
“Even Konoha’s thousand-man army and their elder couldn’t resist him.”
“…Neither can we.”
His gaze lingered briefly on Fugaku, then shifted to the title on the screen.
“Unite Everyone Who Can Be United.”
Simple words.
Yet the more one thought about them—
The deeper they seemed.
A few seconds later, the film truly began.
The first thing everyone heard was a rhythmic:
creak… creak…
The sound echoed clearly inside the sealed mud cube.
Several female shinobi froze—then flushed red, their expressions turning strange as they glanced at Fugaku.
You trapped all of us… just to show this?
Even some of the men looked uncomfortable.
Then—
The image appeared.
A tatami room.
On screen, Fugaku knelt, pressing down hard on a cushion, deliberately creating the creaking sound.
Beside him, Mei covered her mouth, shoulders trembling—clearly holding back laughter.
From off-screen came Mikoto’s soft, bell-like giggles.
Silence.
Then—
Someone snorted.
And suddenly, suppressed laughter spread through the crowd.
So that “night”… had all been an act.
On screen, Fugaku continued pressing the tatami with one hand—while the other rapidly wrote in a notebook.
The camera zoomed in:
[Mikoto, keep acting with Mei.
I’m going to meet her uncle, Terumī Saburō.]
The scene shifted.
A dim office.
Terumī Saburō sat buried in paperwork—until he suddenly looked up, alert.
Seeing Fugaku, he relaxed slightly.
“What is it?”
“The plan has begun.”
Fugaku’s voice was calm.
“The fish will bite soon.
Someone may approach you in the name of the clan alliance.”
He handed over a scroll.
“This contains sealed mud.
Use it at the right moment—I’ll handle the rest.”
Saburō hesitated.
“…One question.”
“What is it?”
“Your plan is brilliant.
Using ‘Kotoamatsukami’ as bait…”
“But what if it’s real?”
“What if you truly controlled Mei?”
“What if you really intended to control all of Kirigakure?”
Fugaku didn’t answer.
Instead—
He smiled.
“Then why wouldn’t I just control you first… so you wouldn’t ask so many questions?”
Laughter erupted across the battlefield.
Even Saburō’s stern face flushed slightly.
Nearby, Mei laughed brightly.
“Uncle… when did he first come to you?”
“The afternoon after the battle with Konoha…”
“…That afternoon…”
Mei’s face reddened instantly.
That was the day she lost her first kiss.
The scene shifted again.
Mizuki’s night visit.
Seeing herself appear on screen, she instinctively turned her face away, ears burning.
On screen, her kimono slipped from her shoulders, revealing smooth, pale skin—
“Whoa—”
A wave of hushed exclamations spread through the crowd.
But before anything more could be seen—
Mud surged.
Fugaku appeared instantly before her, holding up his notebook—explaining the surveillance—and calmly helping her dress again.
“Hah!
This guy’s interesting!”
Ameyuri laughed.
“That’s not the point,” Zabuza Momochi said coldly.
“That movement through the mud…”
“It’s not quite Flying Thunder God—but in terrain like this…”
“He’s practically invincible.”
“That’s good news.”
Kisame spoke suddenly.
The others looked at him.
He didn’t explain.
Just kept watching.
The film continued.
Mizuki’s “mind control” act ended.
Then—
Mei appeared again.
Sitting on tatami.
Eyes red.
She had clearly been crying.
“I gave everything to the alliance…”
“I thought we were comrades…”
“But they were hiding so many thoughts… even planning to betray me…”
Many clan members lowered their heads.
Fugaku’s voice spoke calmly from off-screen:
“You have to understand them.”
“For small clans, survival alone takes everything.”
“Their philosophy is simple—”
‘Whoever wins, we follow.’
“Like grass bending with the wind.”
“They don’t have a choice.”
He continued:
“People like Mizuki—who would risk death out of gratitude—are rare.”
“But the rest… shouldn’t be condemned for it.”
“And when you sit in the leader’s seat…”
“You can no longer act on personal feelings.”
“Just like I spared those Konoha prisoners.”
“As an individual, killing them might feel satisfying.”
“But I’m a clan head.”
“I think about the future—not satisfaction.”
“I brought the Uchiha to Kirigakure—bringing benefits.”
“So Kirigakure stands against Konoha for me.”
“But if I killed those prisoners…”
“And angered Konoha…”
“If the cost outweighs the benefit—”
“Do you think Kirigakure would still accept us?”
“…No.”
Mei answered softly.
Fugaku nodded.
“So this is the core.”
“From this moment on—”
“Kirigakure is no longer divided into ‘clans,’ ‘bloodline factions,’ or ‘non-bloodline factions.'”
He paused.
Then said quietly:
“Instead—”
“Whoever harms Kirigakure’s interests…”
“Is the enemy.”
“Whoever protects and builds its interests…”
“Is a friend.”
“And those who waver…”
“Are the middle—”
“People we can win over.”
His voice echoed clearly through the dim underground space—each word striking not just the air, but the hearts of everyone present.
“For enemies—harbor no illusions.
Eliminate them completely.
Because at its core, every conflict is a struggle over interests.”
“For your own people—reward based on contribution.
Let the capable earn more.
Take Mizuki as an example—she risked her life for you.
If you let her be disappointed afterward, that would be your failure.”
“For those who can be won over—learn to compromise.
Within reasonable limits, compromise reduces losses to the minimum.
Just like those clan members… as I said before, in the face of something like ‘Kotoamatsukami,’ all they want is to survive.
Nothing more.”
He paused slightly.
“In the end, it comes down to one sentence—”
“Stand on the foundation of Kirigakure’s interests…”
“And unite everyone who can be united.”
The screen went dark again.
And inside the mud cube, silence followed.
A deep, heavy silence.
The kind where even breathing felt loud.
Many shinobi lowered their heads, lost in thought.
“…No wonder.”
After a long while, Terumī Saburō turned from the screen, sighing softly.
“Uncle, no wonder what?” Mei asked.
“No wonder you got completely swept up by him.”
There was a hint of bitterness in his tone—like someone who had carefully raised something for years, only to see it taken away.
“Uncle!
I didn’t—”
“Heh.
I raised you myself.
You think I don’t know you?”
“Uncle!
I’m not talking to you anymore!”
Mei turned away, flustered.
Saburō glanced at her retreating figure, then looked back at the screen.
The faint smile on his face faded.
Because he understood something now—
Fugaku wasn’t just powerful in strength.
His thinking… was just as formidable.
And that was far more dangerous.
A strong shinobi without strong ideas is merely a weapon.
But someone like Fugaku—
What would happen if a man like that truly integrated into Kirigakure?
No one could say.
Buzz… buzz…
The screen remained black.
But now—voices emerged.
Distorted, as if recorded through some medium—but still clear enough.
“Once per hour… Kotoamatsukami… that efficiency is terrifying…”
“Tomorrow, during negotiations, provoke him.
Inform the Mizukage’s faction…”
“Create chaos.
Kill a few people secretly—once fighting starts, no one can stop it…”
“When they’re all fighting… seize the eye!”
The reaction was instant.
Angry curses erupted among the clan alliance.
On the other side, the assassination squad’s expressions turned cold.
No one liked being manipulated from the shadows.
Kisame Hoshigaki’s face darkened visibly.
He had already found the orders suspicious.
Now it was clear—
Whoever controlled the Fourth Mizukage wasn’t just after the eye.
They wanted Kirigakure to destroy itself from within.
If the clan alliance and assassination forces truly clashed—
The entire village would be dragged into war.
Then—
The screen went completely dark.
The “film” had ended.
At the same time—
Crash…
The massive mud dome collapsed like melting ice, falling away in chunks.
Light returned.
“What… what just happened?”
The clan shinobi tensed instinctively—but nothing followed.
Only Fugaku remained, standing there, breathing heavily.
“…Heh.”
Kisame suddenly laughed.
Not mockery—
Relief.
“What are you laughing at, you damn shark?” one of his comrades snapped.
“I’m laughing at you for being dense.”
He pointed at the collapsing mud.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“He fooled everyone.”
“That technique just now… was a bluff.”
“…So all of this—”
“…was just to make us watch a movie?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
Kisame’s voice turned thoughtful.
“In my opinion—”
“This thing…”
“…is far more powerful than Kotoamatsukami.”
“I understand now.”
“Interests.
Alignment.
Who’s an enemy.
Who’s an ally.”
“Why divide into bloodline factions and non-bloodline factions?”
“That’s meaningless.”
“The real question is—who serves Kirigakure’s interests.”
He continued slowly:
“The ninja academy I’ve always cared about… was founded by the Second Mizukage.”
“And he was from the Hōzuki clan—a bloodline family.”
“But those ‘non-bloodline’ factions who took power later?”
“Many became even more corrupt.”
“I’ve personally killed more than I can count.”
He turned his head slightly.
Looking at Zabuza Momochi and Ringo Ameyuri.
“Now you understand?”
“Why I said his strength is good news.”
“If Kirigakure wants to rise again…”
“It needs someone like him.”
“You want to serve him?” someone asked.
Kisame shook his head.
“I serve no one.”
“I serve Kirigakure.”
Then—
He lifted Samehada.
His voice boomed across the entire battlefield like thunder.
“Clan alliance members!!”
“If you agree with Fugaku’s reasoning—”
“Then set aside your conflicts for now!”
“Cooperate with the assassination squad!”
“From this moment on—we supervise each other!”
“We seal this place!”
“Anyone who tries to leave—”
“…is the rat harming Kirigakure.”
“Kill on sight!”
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