Kei couldn’t help but chuckle.
This really is Shisui we’re talking about.
If I were in his position instead…
I’d throw Itachi under the bus without a second thought.
If he were serving on the front lines and was suddenly ordered back to the village by the Uchiha heir to deal with internal clan affairs—causing unrest among the troops as a result—he would immediately shift the blame.
“The young clan heir recalled me from the battlefield, disrupting morale.” “I’ve shed blood for the village.
I’ve rendered distinguished service to the Hokage.” “Surely the Hokage will give me a fair hearing.” After all, by dragging the Uchiha heir into the matter, the Hokage would inevitably have to intervene.
How the story would unfold after that hardly needed explaining.
Sometimes Kei genuinely wondered: Does the era create its heroes…
Or do heroes create their era?
No matter what choices others made, however, nothing would stop Kei from expanding the Uchiha’s strength.
Anyone who stood in the way of his plans to grow the clan…
Would simply become someone he needed to eliminate.
He had no choice.
He had problems of his own.
At present, the forces under his command were more than sufficient for self-preservation.
But if he wanted to gain an advantage in top-tier combat power…
He had already decided that, for the next year, he would only draw from the system once per year.
He intended to save up for a 100-pull, to determine whether an Orange-tier Summon truly required a full hundred draws to obtain.
An Orange-tier Summon was simply too important.
It wouldn’t merely grant him a powerful new subordinate.
It would also unlock an entirely new category of missions.
Missions whose rewards were far richer than ordinary ones…
But which required an Orange-tier Summon holder to complete.
Watching those rewards remain forever out of reach made him miserable.
Compared to ordinary missions…
Orange-tier Summon missions offered things like: Kekkei GenkaiLegendary Noble PhantasmsDevil FruitsZanpakutō “With the powers of all three great shōnen worlds combined…” “Surely I can beat one Hokage.” No matter how difficult it proved…
He had to obtain an Orange-tier Summon.
Even just one.
That also meant…
For the next year, he could no longer rely on the system to acquire additional personnel.
If he couldn’t recruit more shinobi through summons…
Then absorbing independent forces scattered outside Konoha became his only viable option.
Fortunately…
Resources were never a problem.
The system provided everything he needed.
Once the Red-Eye Clan joined him, it would take less than six months to train them using the combined methods of the Uchiha, the Kōga Group, and the Iga Group.
By then…
He would possess another three to five hundred shinobi with at least Chūnin-level strength.
And every one of them would naturally counter the Hyūga Clan.
That was equivalent to pulling hundreds of summon cards at once.
There was another reason he needed to accelerate the recruitment of the Red-Eye Clan.
The Third Hokage had begun making his move.
To be fair…
Hiruzen’s plan wasn’t unintelligent.
But after growing up with thousands of years of political history to study…
Kei found it rather ordinary.
It was simply another version of an ancient open scheme: Offer irresistible benefits…
And let people destroy one another willingly.
Nothing new.
Hiruzen intended to create a brand-new position.
Hokage Advisor.
The idea was to have one representative from the major shinobi clans serve as an intermediary between the Hokage and the clans.
The candidates would come from three families: The Uchiha ClanThe Hyūga ClanThe Kurama Clan The Kurama Clan, however, had already declined.
Its direct bloodline was dwindling.
If a direct descendant were chosen, they would almost certainly be chronically ill.
If a healthy candidate appeared instead…
They would likely be either an adopted heir or someone who had married into the family.
Such a person lacked the status to stand as an equal before either the Uchiha or the Hyūga.
From the beginning…
The Kurama Clan had never truly been in the running.
Its existence merely served to preserve the appearance of balance.
That left the Hyūga.
As Konoha’s current foremost noble clan, they possessed wealth, influence, and abundant manpower.
Against the Uchiha, however…
They had one obvious weakness.
The Hyūga excelled almost exclusively at taijutsu.
The Uchiha…
Excelled at everything.
Fortunately for them, the Hokage Advisor position required diplomacy rather than battlefield strength.
The Hyūga maintained excellent relationships with the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, and several other clans.
That popularity made them the strongest candidate.
The only remaining question…
Was whether they could withstand pressure from the Uchiha.
Which was precisely why the Kurama Clan suddenly became important again.
The proud Uchiha had never been particularly skilled at making friends.
Hiruzen had already predicted that the Kurama Clan would naturally side with the Hyūga.
Even so…
The combined pressure of two great clans still wouldn’t be enough to force the Uchiha to surrender.
That was when Hiruzen intended to make his move.
All he had to do…
Was quietly hint to the Uchiha: “Abandon Uchiha Kei…” “And I’ll support your clan’s candidate for Hokage Advisor.” He could even imply something more tempting.
“I’m getting old.” “Perhaps the Hokage Advisor is meant to prepare the next Hokage…” Whether the Uchiha believed him didn’t matter.
If they did…
And killed Kei…
So much the better.
If they refused…
Then the Uchiha would once again find themselves isolated from every other shinobi clan.
Just as before.
Meanwhile…
The Hokage could continue using the Uchiha to restrain the other clans.
Or better yet…
Allow the clans to restrain one another.
No matter who emerged victorious…
The Hokage lost nothing.
Kei merely smiled.
As expected…
Those in power always prefer open schemes.
Compared to an open scheme…
A conspiracy was almost simple.
A conspiracy relied on lies and deception.
As long as one uncovered its true objective…
A countermeasure could always be devised.
An open scheme was different.
Its objective was laid bare for everyone to see.
It simply dangled irresistible benefits before human nature…
Allowing greed to carry the plan forward.
Even if you saw through it…
There was often no way to stop it.
Because the reward was something you couldn’t refuse.
The Uchiha could never reject an opportunity like the position of Hokage Advisor.
Fortunately…
History had already provided Kei with countless examples.
Everything happening now…
Had happened before.
And would happen again.
Those who studied history could always find another path.
Hiruzen had made one critical miscalculation.
He assumed that forcing the Uchiha to turn against Kei…
Was a decision the Uchiha themselves could make.
He believed the modern Uchiha were no different from any other clan.
Larger in number…
But still willing to sacrifice anything for the clan’s interests.
Kei understood the truth.
The native-born Uchiha probably would abandon him for the chance to produce the next Hokage.
Provided…
They possessed the strength to kill him.
As for trying to force him into suicide through appeals to duty…
That was laughable.
Moral coercion only worked on people who possessed the kind of morality it appealed to.
Trying to pressure Uchiha Kei into sacrificing himself…
Was gravely underestimating the selfishness of a modern man.
A transmigrator.
If preserving his own life required sacrificing the entire Uchiha Clan…
He would choose himself without hesitation.
When that day came…
Who would be forcing whom remained to be seen.
Kei had already prepared a response of his own.
An open scheme…
Would be answered with another open scheme.
If Hiruzen dared hint that the Hokage Advisor was the future Hokage…
Then Kei would make sure every shinobi in Konoha heard exactly that rumor.
And in doing so…
He would drag Minato Namikaze into the conflict.
The countless civilian shinobi who had already accepted Minato as the future Fourth Hokage…
Would never tolerate another candidate.
Especially not one backed by a noble clan.
If Hiruzen wanted the clans to fight over a single position…
Then Kei would muddy the waters until every shinobi chose a side.
Everyone would gain an enemy.
Everyone would gain an ally.
At that point…
It would become a struggle over political succession.
A chance to become the loyal supporters of the future Hokage.
Who could possibly refuse such an opportunity?
Then…
Let’s see how Hiruzen explained himself.
Even if Hiruzen somehow managed to satisfy the villagers…
Placate the clans…
And deceive the Uchiha all at once…
Kei still wasn’t worried.
His position had never depended upon the Uchiha Clan.
If necessary…
He would simply stage a bloody purge in the name of executing traitors to the nation, letting the entire village witness Uchiha Kei’s fangs.
After all…
Konoha had plenty of skeletons in its own closet.
Years ago, when Konoha was first established…
A survivor whose village had been destroyed by Konoha had secretly buried one hundred thousand Explosive Tags beneath the Hokage Rock.
Kei had long since planned for the worst.
If pushed into a corner…
He would detonate them.
Then expose Konoha’s crimes to the world.
Paint the Third Hokage’s rule as one of darkness and oppression.
Destroy Hiruzen’s prestige.
Once the Hokage was busy saving his own political career…
Who would still care about the position of Hokage Advisor?
Twisting narratives…
Was one of Kei’s specialties.
Besides…
He wouldn’t even be lying.
It truly was an act of revenge carried out by the survivor of a destroyed village.
Revenge naturally possessed its own sense of justice.
Especially…
When the weak rose against the powerful.
As for pressure from the Hyūga Clan…
That wasn’t a problem.
Once the Red-Eye Clan—natural counters to the Byakugan—joined his side…
It would become even less of one.
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