The emergence of Wood Style made Konoha’s upper echelon deeply uneasy.
To make matters worse, the situation involved two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan.
No matter where such power resided, it was a force impossible to ignore.
Undercurrents swirled even more fiercely through the already restless Leaf Village.
Many of the major ninja clans began scaling back the frequency of their members taking outside missions.
As for Kazuki’s claims, most people remained thoroughly skeptical.
They all agreed that not a single word out of that guy’s mouth could be trusted.
Nobody in their right mind believed a word he said.
And yet, who dared to gamble?
What if it were true?
This concerned the survival of entire ninja clans!
That exact train of thought was precisely what Kazuki had been aiming for.
His absolute favorite sight was seeing them forced to act according to his plan despite not believing a single word out of his mouth.
*I sacrificed my Mangekyo, so you all have to pay up.* Granted, the eyes were still in his own possession, but plucking them out had hurt like hell.
Furthermore!
Some people had a vague inkling that a Wood Style shinobi really did exist, even if they knew little about him.
Never underestimate the clans that had existed since Konoha’s founding.
Their influence ran deep and interconnected; having survived the Warring States period intact, they naturally possessed their own means of survival.
Besides, whatever existed left behind traces.
Not to mention that this Wood Style user had once gone out on missions, making it impossible to completely avoid everyone’s gaze.
Danzo and the Third Hokage also began suspecting each other.
Danzo believed Hiruzen Sarutobi had snatched the Mangekyo, reasoning that since Hiruzen had seized the Wood Style user, he must have taken the eyes too.
The Third, meanwhile, figured that if Danzo could produce one Wood Style user, why couldn’t he make a second?
Who knew how many more Wood Style users that one-eyed snake had stashed away?
*That scheming bastard!* Danzo and the Third both thought of each other.
*** In the Hokage’s Office.
Konoha’s four elders gathered once again.
“Has it never occurred to you that this is a show directed and acted entirely by Kazuki Uchiha?” Danzo’s voice grew increasingly chilling.
“He’s treating all of us like fools, playing us for laughs!” Yesterday, after Kazuki Uchiha regained consciousness, the Konoha higher-ups, the major clan heads, and the representatives of civilian shinobi had held a joint meeting.
The outcome had been thoroughly unfavorable to Danzo.
A fire of humiliation and rage had been burning in his chest ever since.
“Everyone suspects him, but is that of any use?” Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, “Shisui has the Mangekyo, so it’s possible he could set up a scheme.
But what about Kazuki?
Did any of you know he had a Mangekyo?
Before today, not a single soul knew.” “As for that Mokuto Uchiha—heh, he isn’t among the registered Uchiha Jonin in the village records.
Who knows where he popped out from?” “Furthermore, Kinoe!
His Wood Style targets not just Tailed Beasts, but the Uchiha as well.
We’ve all intentionally or unintentionally kept that hidden from the Uchiha—so how could an idle brat like Kazuki Uchiha possibly know about it?” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression turned grim.
…Shisui’s attitude was also very strange!
He seemed to be hiding something.
They didn’t fully trust Shisui, yet they acknowledged his love for the village.
So, could his silence be intended to protect someone?
Danzo and the Third met each other’s eyes, staring deeply.
After a long silence.
Homura Mitokado sighed helplessly.
“What do we do now?” “Investigate slowly,” said the Third.
The Third’s face looked older than ever.
He was already in his sixties—an extraordinarily advanced age for a shinobi.
His physical abilities and mental sharpness had long since begun to decline.
And yet, how could he willingly relinquish control over such a domain?
Danzo stood up and said coldly, “I am not one to wait passively.” “Danzo!” the Third barked.
“You had better not act recklessly.
The Uchiha Clan right now is a powder keg.
If something goes wrong, even I won’t be able to shield you.” “Hmph!” Only a cold snort answered him.
As the thudding of a cane echoed across the floor, the Third let out a faint, weary sigh.
With the primary actor departed, the remaining two advisers exchanged glances and bade farewell to the Third one after another.
Only when he was alone in the room did the Third murmur softly to himself: “Is this really a setup?
It’s riddled with flaws…
If it is a scheme, could it really be this unpolished?” “If it isn’t…
Danzo, what are you planning to do?” *** After chatting with Kazuki for a while, Jiraiya left behind a sentence—”If you need any help, just come find me”—before turning and walking out.
Kurenai went to see him off.
Just then.
The hospital room door opened.
A figure stepped inside, walked up to the bedside, and silently stared at Kazuki.
Kazuki raised his head slightly, returning the gaze.
Neither spoke.
Kazuki broke the silence, exasperated.
“Shisui, don’t you think the two of us look stupid right now?
What are two blind guys staring at each other for?
Can you see me, or can I see you?” The newcomer was none other than Shisui.
Thanks to his system, Kazuki had long since become a sensor-type shinobi; none of Shisui’s movements could escape his perception.
“Why did you do it?” Shisui’s voice was low and heavy.
When he woke up and learned what had happened from Itachi, he had nearly lost his mind.
Kazuki usually liked to mess around, but this time, he had gone completely off the deep end.
Furthermore, he was deeply uneasy about his Mangekyo falling into someone else’s hands.
The power of Kotoamatsukami was far too terrifying.
It was a catastrophe capable of triggering a full-scale Great Shinobi War!
Kazuki countered with a question, “Shisui, do you really think I did it?
That I gouged out your eyes?” Shisui remained silent.
“Good heavens!” Kazuki let out a soft sob and whimpered, “My own brother actually suspects me?
Waaah!
I don’t want to live anymore.” Shisui replied expressionlessly, “You don’t even have eyes right now.
How are you crying?
Do you have tears?
Want to describe what it feels like for tears to stream out of empty sockets?” Kazuki: “…” “Shisui, you’ve grown up.” He let out a sigh.
Shisui met him with cold detachment.
Kazuki gave a soft chuckle.
“Fine.
Cards on the table—yes, I did it.
I won’t hide it from you.” Shisui’s voice rose unbidden.
“Why?” Kazuki’s voice was light and airy, as if it might disperse into the air at any second.
“For Konoha.” “What?” Shisui had considered countless answers, but this was definitely not among them.
Kazuki repeated, “For Konoha.” “Go on!” Shisui took a deep breath.
Before coming here, he hadn’t been certain whether Kazuki had truly been behind it, because Kazuki had lost his eyes as well.
Hearing Kazuki confess actually brought him a slight sense of relief.
At least Kazuki didn’t intend to lie to him, unlike how he had pulled up excuses to fool the Third Hokage.
Kazuki glanced in Shisui’s direction.
He had originally planned to tease him further, but looking at Shisui right now…
forget it.
If he pushed any more, Shisui might break completely.
Better to drop a few real truths to let him unwind.
He had to take the sustainable development approach; Shisui wasn’t a single-use item to be tossed away after one use.
That would be rude!
Right now, while Shisui was still reeling from the shock, it was time to flex his muscles!
“I am a genius of the Uchiha Clan.
I became an Uchiha Jonin in my early teens.
As for my current strength…
Shisui, you get it, right?” “…Go on!” “Strength brings status, and status naturally draws followers!” Kazuki smiled faintly.
“So within the Uchiha, I’m not without a foundation.
On the contrary, I have several Jonin serving under me.
Six, to be exact!” “They’re positioned across every corner of the Uchiha, gathering intelligence for me.” Jonin?!
Shisui’s hand trembled slightly.
The Uchiha Clan had nearly thirty registered Jonin, plus a few hidden ones, bringing the total to roughly forty.
That was over a tenth of all Jonin in Konoha!
Such was the foundation of the strongest clan in Konoha.
However!
Those forty Jonin included Kazuki, Shisui, Fugaku himself, and elders like Muneyoshi and Setsuna!
The clan leader and the elders each had their own loyal inner circle.
Once you took those away, where did six whole Jonin come from to serve as Kazuki’s subordinates?
If Jonin were serving as his minions, what about the ordinary Uchiha?
A sudden wave of coldness washed over Shisui, chilling him to the bone.
He had never truly known his younger brother.
Six Uchiha Jonin led by Kazuki—that was a formidable force no one could afford to overlook, anywhere.
Without anyone noticing, Kazuki had become a fourth faction within the Uchiha, standing alongside the Clan Head Faction, the Doves, and the Hawks.
How hilarious that Shisui had spent all this time viewing him as a mischievous brat!
In reality, the guy was already a shadow ruler.