Chapter 203: The Only Chance in This Life?

Naka Shrine. Several Uchiha elders had gathered. This was the shrine of the Uchiha clan, once their spiritual heart when they still lived along the Naka River, before they ever joined Konohagakure. Now, it had become their secret meeting place, hidden from the eyes of the village. “Fugaku—that guy’s already been completely brainwashed. We can’t count on him to lead the Uchiha’s revival…” “Didn’t we already discuss this before? Weren’t we going to lie low and wait for the right opportunity?” The one speaking was Uchiha Kei, the clan’s former head elder. He had been the main advocate of the passive approach—hold still, wait for the right time, don’t stir the waters unnecessarily. And yet… Clearly, the right time hadn’t come. “The opportunity has arrived,” said Uchiha Ki, pausing for a moment to let his words hang in the air. “Konoha might look strong right now, but in reality, a lot of the jōnin have left the village because of the recent backlog of missions.” Elder Kei furrowed his brows, waiting for him to continue. “Two days ago, Kanda Kyoichi left the village. Namikaze Minato still hasn’t returned. Many of the other jōnin are out on missions, and the ANBU are stretched thin because Root keeps reallocating personnel…” “How do you know all this?” Uchiha Kei immediately sensed something off. This was sensitive intel, the kind even an ANBU squad leader might not know. And Uchiha Ki… well, within the clan, his standing wasn’t exactly high. Otherwise… Fugaku wouldn’t have dared lay a hand on him. In everyone’s eyes, Fugaku’s little show of force had been nothing but picking on a soft target—Ki had just been the one to step forward and end up in the crosshairs. Given Fugaku’s usual temperament, he probably wouldn’t have dared make a move otherwise. And now… In such a short time, Uchiha Ki had somehow obtained this incredible intelligence. Of course everyone was going to question its reliability. “My intel is solid,” Ki said seriously. “As for the source… let’s just say, it’s not Danzo.” The group fell silent. Not Danzo? Then who leaked this information? Could it possibly have been Kanda Kyoichi himself? That thought alone sent a shiver down Kei’s spine. Because that guy… He was the kind of person who absolutely would do something like that! The more Uchiha Kei thought about it, the more uneasy he became. With a hint of wariness, he asked, “If it wasn’t Danzo, could it be that Kanda Kyoichi deliberately let this slip, hoping we’d take the bait?” “It wasn’t him either.” Uchiha Ki gave a small smile. “I extracted it with genjutsu. No one noticed it was me.” “Uh…” Uchiha Kei stared at him skeptically. It wasn’t that he looked down on him, but… Not because… He really didn’t think this clansman was that strong. Sure, back when they were younger, the guy’s genjutsu had been pretty impressive — but now? He was old. His physical strength, his chakra reserves, all of it was in decline. “I know you all don’t believe me — that’s fine. I can show you!” Uchiha Ki spoke, the tomoe in his eyes spinning. In the next instant… Everyone felt as if they were plunged into a hell of searing flames, an endless inferno licking at their skin. The heat, the pain — it all felt unbearably real, to the point where they couldn’t tell illusion from reality. The most terrifying part was… They realized — They couldn’t break free! What level of genjutsu was this?! Impossible! Uchiha Kei couldn’t wrap his head around it. This guy had always been inferior to him — so how had his genjutsu suddenly soared to the point where he was now stronger? Sёarᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. No… This kind of genjutsu… Could it be? “You’ve awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan?” “Not quite. But recently, I’ve noticed my ocular power has grown much stronger. You just can’t break free because both my genjutsu and my eye power surpass yours now. Heh… I really have to thank Uchiha Fugaku. Without him, how could I have possibly gained this strength?” Uchiha Ki released the genjutsu and let out a wild, unrestrained laugh. Everyone fell silent. That day, when Uchiha Ki was beaten down, they’d thought he was pitiful — but looking at it now, the truly pitiful ones were them. This guy, after all his humiliation, had at least glimpsed the edge of the Mangekyō. And them? They were just standing by, watching themselves grow old, inching closer to death, day by day. “So this is your trump card?” Uchiha Kei sighed. It wasn’t the Mangekyō, but even so, this power was already frightening. Yet… He still didn’t believe Uchiha Ki would succeed. Because now, Ki wasn’t just going up against Fugaku and his faction — He was going up against the entire village of Konoha. “Of course not. Overthrowing Konoha’s rule with just this? That’s still a long way off. My real idea is: we leave Konoha, go somewhere else to survive, and build a village of our own!” Uchiha Ki finally revealed his true intention. He looked at everyone and said, “We can’t take too many people. Who among you is willing to come with me?” “Uh…” — this was a deadly question. These old foxes, these elders — who among them didn’t understand the underlying meaning here? If they really opposed him… There was no guarantee they wouldn’t die here today. But… Leaving the village — was that really a good idea? Inside the village, at least they could live out their twilight years in relative peace. Out there, if they failed to establish a new settlement, they could easily end up hunted down as rogue ninja — or worse, fall prey to enemies eager to seize the Sharingan. Hesitation crept into their hearts. “Brothers, we don’t have much time to hesitate. Back then, when we didn’t leave with Madara-sama, I regretted it to this day. And now, fate is offering us another chance… what, are you going to choose to stay behind again?” Uchiha Ki’s wild nature erupted fully. It was basically a blatant warning — back in Madara’s day, at least the man had a temper you could reason with. Ki? Not so much. “Ki, are you serious?” “Of course. I’m even planning to take Fugaku’s son with me — I’ll raise him, shape him, and then one day we’ll come back and wipe out the Uchiha of Konoha! Hahaha…” He let out several crazed bursts of laughter. Everyone had the same thought. This man… was insane! And not the mindless kind of insane — but a cold, calculating madness that chilled them to the bone. And worst of all… They couldn’t refuse. To refuse was to die. —— When the Uchiha made the first move, it wasn’t just Kyoichi who was caught off guard — even Danzō hadn’t seen it coming. So now, Danzō was quietly overjoyed. With the Uchiha drawing the fire, his own side felt a sudden surge of safety. However… Danzō still underestimated Kyoichi’s fixation on him. In reality… At this moment, Kyoichi wasn’t concerned with the Uchiha at all. No matter how much chaos Madara stirred up, he wasn’t going to massacre the entire Uchiha clan, was he? Not in his current state. If Madara actually tried something like that, Kyoichi would probably die laughing. Unfortunately… To avoid tipping Madara off that he suspected something had happened to Itachi, he hadn’t been able to leave any Flying Thunder God markers in advance. Madara would definitely recognize those. After all… It was that very technique that had killed Izuna — there was no way Madara could ever forget it. But… At the moment, Kyoichi couldn’t immediately return to Konoha. If he went back now, the “fish” would scatter. Danzō hadn’t made his move yet. So far, he’d only reached out to a few marginal former Root members. He hadn’t yet touched the critical bait — Yakushi Nonō and Yakushi Kabuto. Also… Yamato’s whereabouts were still unknown. Either of those pieces would be enough. Both sides were playing the waiting game. When they reached Amegakure, Kyoichi and his group didn’t immediately seek out Hanzō. Instead, they wandered the village, taking a general look around, and waited for a full day… Until finally, Hanzō sent someone to approach Kyoichi. It had to be said — Hanzō’s office was downright eerie. The outside was already dark and gloomy, but his office was even more so — when they entered, he didn’t even bother turning on a light. Combined with the masked figures lurking in the shadows… The atmosphere was… Indescribable. Kyoichi suppressed the urge to make a sarcastic remark, calmly pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Of all the people who’ve walked into my office, you’re the youngest — and the most composed,” Hanzō said in a low voice. Kyoichi gave a faint smile and replied casually, “Composure comes from strength.” “Hmm…” Hanzō fell silent for a moment, then said, “You’re quite direct. And your attitude toward me seems a little different from what I heard from Yahiko.” “That’s because Yahiko is simple. His goal really is just to change Amegakure, to bring peace to the shinobi world. But you… I believe peace is only one of your side objectives.” As Kyoichi said this, a figure popped into his mind — Orochimaru. That guy was the same type. Orochimaru’s ultimate goal was immortality, but along the way, he didn’t mind pursuing knowledge of ninjutsu, forbidden techniques, and so on — because the two weren’t mutually exclusive. In Kyoichi’s view, Hanzō was that kind of person too. He wasn’t as pure as Yahiko. Hanzō listened quietly, then after a long pause, he said, “No one can be as pure as Yahiko. That’s why… there’s only one Yahiko.” “That’s how you see it?” “Why?” “Oh, nothing. I’m just surprised — you hold Yahiko in pretty high regard. I thought you’d be more focused on Nagato.” Kyoichi smiled slightly. He deliberately brought up Nagato to see how Hanzō would react. But… Hanzō merely shook his head and said, “The Rinnegan is powerful — but for now, I haven’t seen the full extent of that power. And even so, Nagato’s personality isn’t fit for leadership.” “True enough.” Nagato really wasn’t suited to be a leader. Under his command, the Akatsuki was basically just a collection of strong individuals doing their own thing. Of course… That was because Yahiko was dead, and Nagato himself was crippled, which had warped his personality. But… If Yahiko had lived, Nagato would’ve had even less ability to make decisions — because he simply wouldn’t have thought about such things. He would’ve just followed Yahiko’s lead. And Hanzō had clearly seen right through that: Control Yahiko, and you control Nagato. Hanzō was still the same Hanzō. But… Well, for Yahiko and the others, that might not be such a bad thing — at least someone else would take the blame. It was like Hiruzen Sarutobi — He didn’t interfere with Yahiko’s decisions; the leadership of the village had effectively been handed over to Yahiko. “I’ve always wanted to have a chat with you, but now that we’re here, it seems there’s no need. You only advised Yahiko because you believe that even if Amegakure allies with Sunagakure and the others, Konoha will still win.” After finishing, Hanzō paused, then let out a long sigh. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that distinctive Senju pride.” “Sorry, let me correct you — this has nothing to do with the Senju clan. It’s about my confidence in the village — and more importantly, my confidence that my friends and comrades will never betray me.” “Same difference. I want to ask you something.” Hanzō didn’t bother arguing. He looked at Kyoichi as if seeing the reincarnation of Hashirama and Tobirama — proud, powerful, brimming with natural talent. Such people— just two of them are already more than enough. And yet, in this generation, another has appeared among the Senju. Even though… he doesn’t carry the Senju name. “Please, go ahead.” “To open up water routes, improve the environment in the northern parts of the Land of Wind… but what if the Land of Wind becomes too powerful? What if, in turn, they use the strength of the shinobi villages to swallow us whole?” Hanzō spoke, his voice low and thoughtful. He had seen the hidden danger. A small shinobi village could rely on Sunagakure’s influence to secure its foothold — but at the same time, Sunagakure could just as easily use that opening to seize control over the entire ring of smaller villages. “You control the water sources. As for the Land of Wind’s matters, isn’t it ultimately up to you to decide? But if I may offer a small piece of advice — when you open up those water channels, don’t give too much.” “To keep the Land of Wind in check?” “Not just that. The Land of Rain has abundant rainfall, but once you open the mountain routes and water channels, the climate may change. If you divert too much water, it could eventually impact the Land of Rivers.” Kyoichi explained calmly. Opening artificial canals would split the water flow; the rivers of the Land of Rivers would inevitably be affected. If too much was diverted… The rivers might change course or even dry up. And in that case… how could the Land of Rivers possibly agree to such a plan? Hanzō wasn’t a fool — he simply hadn’t considered the Land of Rivers at first, since it was so weak that, from his standpoint, it was easy to overlook. But the foundation of the Small Shinobi Village Alliance was precisely the small villages themselves — not Sunagakure, not Amegakure. Kyoichi believed that as long as they acted with that principle in mind, the alliance could stand firm. “I’ve learned something valuable.” Hanzō stood up and gave a deep bow, his respect evident.