Three adults traveling with two children—it really did look as though this trip were nothing more than an outing to observe the lives of the common people.
Uchiha Himawari was having the most fun. Climbing up and down apparently wasn’t wild enough for her; she even wanted to poke a hornet’s nest.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Cha was constantly running around after his little mistress, taking care of her with the devotion of a doting older brother.
Seeing the two of them, Kei suddenly felt as though he were looking at Hinata Hyūga and Neji Hyūga in the future. When they were children, the two of them had been just as harmonious.
The thought gave Kei a chill.
They were different.
The Red Eyes doted on Himawari, so Cha, as one of Himawari’s subordinates, naturally doted on her as well.
But if one day the Red Eyes decided that the Uchiha had wronged them, Cha would use every emotional bond at his disposal to win something for the Red Eyes.
Cha’s destructive potential was far greater than that of Neji, that fellow who knew nothing but complain about his fate.
Kei hurriedly called out,
"Himawari, stop running wild. If someone sees a little muddy brat like you beside me, you’ll make me lose face."
After disturbing an entire hornet’s nest and then burning the whole thing to ashes with Fire Release, Himawari had failed to obtain the honey she wanted. The little girl was very unhappy about it.
"It’s fine. The people who make you lose face are all living perfectly well. The ones who look down on you because of it, on the other hand, usually die rather miserably. You don’t need to worry about me, my lord. You should be worrying about that demigod instead!"
Kei was speechless.
That wasn’t what he meant at all.
The girl was completely convinced that no matter how much trouble she caused, she would never be the one to suffer for it.
Fortunately, Cha knew better. He coaxed his little sister—and his mistress—back toward the group.
Looking at the little girl covered in weeds, Kei helplessly began tidying her clothes. He couldn’t help feeling that he was more like her attendant than she was his.
But there was nothing he could do. If any other woman were to serve him, Tsubame, who had already gone away for the sake of their future together, would surely worry.
No genuine feelings should ever be betrayed.
Until this relationship reached some kind of conclusion, Kei wanted to remain faithful.
And so Kei and Cha worked together to tidy Himawari’s clothes. Even after returning to the group, however, Himawari still refused to sit still.
Fortunately, the child Cha was still very respectful toward Kei.
Within the Red Eyes’ sphere of public opinion, Kei was a heavenly god who had brought them a happy life. So when they heard that their god intended to take Cha with him and personally teach him like a student, the Red Eyes were proud of Cha.
Cha himself was proud as well.
As he worked, the boy asked,
"My lord, couldn’t we simply inform this so-called demigod and have him come to South Naka? Why go through all the trouble of meeting him personally?"
Kei liked this child very much, especially the way Cha understood how to manipulate people’s emotions.
Hearing Kei say that, Cha became a little sulky. After all, he was still only a child.
Kei patted him on the head.
"You’re all calm, wise, perceptive, and capable. If someone like the First Hokage and I are geniuses who were practically blessed with cheats, then you and the Second Hokage are the type of geniuses who reach the same heights through sheer effort."
Of course, there was still that little boy with Wood Release who had been left behind in Danzō’s laboratory.
The facts had already proven that it wasn’t Wood Release that was overwhelmingly powerful.
It was the First Hokage himself.
Himawari, who had gathered a pile of wildflowers, started causing trouble nearby. She tossed a handful of petals at the teacher and student.
Kei merely flicked his sleeve, sending the petals flying straight back toward Himawari.
The modifications to his body had actually made his chakra control increasingly precise.
The resulting barrage made the little girl cry out in protest, but Kei paid her no attention and continued speaking to Cha.
"But you all share one common flaw—you place too much faith in your own intelligence!"
Whatever flaws Cha might have had, Kei was sincere in teaching him.
He believed that sincerity could only be repaid with sincerity.
That was how the Red Eyes had earned Cha’s genuine loyalty.
"The Second Hokage’s contributions to Konoha are undeniable. Just because he stood on the opposite side of the Uchiha doesn’t mean we can ignore his achievements or deny everything he accomplished.
"He gradually perfected Konoha’s institutions, making the village less dependent on the strength of the shinobi clans. Now that South Naka stands in the Second Hokage’s former position, we’re doing the same thing."
"But that’s not something a shinobi clan would willingly want to see in its village. That’s why, when we were still merely a shinobi clan, we opposed the Second Hokage."
"Still, there’s no denying that the Second Hokage’s methods were brilliant. He gave the distrusted Uchiha a secure position while preserving Konoha’s strongest fighting force. Then he assigned the various clans their own departments, making everyone dependent on Konoha for their livelihood."
Kei used the Second Hokage as an example while teaching Cha.
Cha wasn’t convinced and immediately argued back.
"But Orochimaru already exposed the Second Hokage’s naivety long ago."
As he spoke, Cha imitated Orochimaru’s manner and said,
"An organization established to suppress crime can easily become an object of resentment. The greater its authority, the more likely it is to become authoritarian. It was the Second Hokage who encouraged the seeds of rebellion!"
The imitation was surprisingly accurate.
"That was why the Second Hokage was ultimately abandoned by the village."
Kei admitted that this was indeed one of the reasons for the Second Hokage’s failure.
But that didn’t mean the things he had done were wrong.
"Cha, if I were sitting in the Second Hokage’s position, I would have made the same choices. The difference is that the Second Hokage was more open about it, whereas I wouldn’t be."
"Perhaps a leader somewhere between the Second and Third Hokage would be the ideal kind of leader."
Kei sighed somewhat wistfully.
Cha fell into deep thought.
Kei didn’t know whether the boy had understood what he was trying to teach him, so all he could do was give him time to digest it.
After a long while, Cha suddenly asked,
"So?"
Kei didn’t understand.
"So what?"
Cha smiled.
"So what are you actually going to clean up after the Second Hokage’s death?"
Only then did Kei remember that he had originally been answering Cha’s question.
The thought of cleaning up the mess left behind by the Second Hokage made Kei’s expression extremely complicated.
"Ah... Back then, Konoha abandoned the Second Hokage. Then, in order to ease the internal pressure originating from the Senju, Konoha launched the Second Shinobi World War under the banner of avenging him."
That’s right.
Konoha had been the one to start the Second Shinobi World War.
"You also learned this at Iga. The village that shouted about avenging the Second Hokage and started the war was Konoha. And the village that ended up on the defensive, taking blows from every direction, was also Konoha."
Cha had indeed studied this. He added,
"Konoha declared war on the Cloud, Stone, and Mist simultaneously. Then, despite accomplishing nothing, Konoha ultimately declared itself the victor. After the war, Konoha was also the one proclaiming that it had been the victim of the conflict."
Kei was utterly speechless.
"So that’s another mess Konoha left behind for me to clean up. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Konoha was fighting enemies everywhere. The main battlefield of the entire Second Shinobi World War wasn’t Konoha."
He pointed ahead.
"It was the Land of Rain."
"The title of ’Demigod’ came from that as well. The Land of Rain managed to withstand the forces of the Stone, Sand, and Cloud simultaneously. On the surface, that sounds incredibly impressive. But in reality, the Land of Rain absorbed most of the pressure of the war that would otherwise have fallen on Konoha."
Cha looked in the direction Kei was pointing.
"If that’s the case, then Konoha would naturally be happy to praise him as a demigod."
Kei gazed at the Land of Rain before him and sighed.
"I’d call the Land of Rain the graveyard of the shinobi world."
Cha didn’t understand Kei’s joke at all. He asked seriously,
"Then what actually brought the Second Shinobi World War to an end?"
Kei glanced at him.
"It ended because every village could no longer bear the losses caused by the war."
Cha suddenly felt that the world was absurd.
"So, in the end, Konoha started the Second Shinobi World War under the banner of avenging the Second Hokage, then ended it by beating the Sand shinobi badly enough to declare itself the victor—and that was enough to give everyone an explanation?"
Kei nodded.
"Exactly. Most of the Senju who wanted revenge for Tobirama had already died. The people of Konoha were willing to accept that as an explanation."
Cha froze.
Then he suddenly understood something and asked,
"Then what happened with Hanzo? What is he dissatisfied about? Why does he need you to meet him personally?"
Kei didn’t know how to answer that question either.
Hanzo of the Salamander had lost himself in the repeated cries of "Demigod" coming from Konoha.
After the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Rain and Konoha entered a period of close cooperation.
Konoha provided large quantities of supplies to the Land of Rain, while the Land of Rain served as a buffer between Konoha and the other nations.
The private agreement between the Third Hokage and Hanzo was simple:
If Konoha were invaded, the Land of Rain would invade the country responsible.
In return, Konoha would guarantee mission assignments and supplies for the shinobi of the Land of Rain.
In other words, the shinobi of the entire Land of Rain were essentially Konoha’s mercenaries.
Konoha was the one keeping the Land of Rain’s shinobi forces afloat.
That might also explain where all the money from the Sarutobi Clan had ultimately disappeared to.
Hanzo, who had been close to the Sarutobi Clan, was naturally close to Danzō as well.
Danzō had made no shortage of private deals with Hanzo.
But now Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead, and Danzō Shimura had gone off to become the leader.
The newly appointed Fourth Hokage knew nothing about the private agreement between the Third Hokage and Hanzo.
Naturally, he wasn’t going to provide those military funds.
And all of Danzō’s private promises were worthless as well.
That infuriated Hanzo.
"These rebels in Konoha have gone too far! They don’t even show proper respect to me, the Demigod of the Shinobi World!"
So Hanzo had approached Uchiha Kei, the true power behind Konoha, demanding an explanation.
A nameless young brat from the village—even if he had killed the Shinobi Professor, the Third Hokage, so what?
Did that mean he could disregard Hanzo, the Demigod?
At the very least, Hanzo wanted the military budget increased by twenty percent.
That was explicitly stated in the letter Hanzo had sent to Kei.
And Kei wanted to teach Hanzo a lesson.
The Akatsuki, whose stated goal was peace in the shinobi world, had already appeared in the Land of Rain.
At this point, Hanzo had yet to kill Yahiko.
Kei couldn’t help wondering what would happen if Hanzo were killed right now.
The Akatsuki would certainly take over the Land of Rain.
What would the Land of Rain look like under Yahiko’s leadership?
And who would receive Madara’s eyes?
In any case, Kei wanted to try anything that could disrupt Madara’s plans.
A little here, a little there—if enough small changes eventually converged upon Madara, perhaps the original story would turn into an entirely different tragedy.
But killing the leader of the Land of Rain in South Naka would obviously be inappropriate.
So Kei had come here.
He wanted to truly fight a powerful opponent one-on-one.
He wanted to see just how strong he really was.
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