Even in front of his subordinates, Kei still had to maintain an image.
Suppressing his excitement, Kei first told the two men that their salaries and benefits would be increased. He then grandly declared,
"From now on, the two of you are my Gods of Blades and Sword Saints!"
Seeing how pleased they were with his recognition, Kei only then revealed the news that he intended to have them guard the gates.
Thus, watching the two of them stand there with expressions caught between tears and laughter , Kei felt his mischievous streak thoroughly satisfied.
In the end, thanks to their efforts, they didn’t actually have to stand at the village gates.
Instead, they became Kei’s personal guards.
After the two men left, Kei stood before his own divine statue and laughed maniacally.
"Hahahaha! I told you, you’re the only one I’ve ever respected in this life. There’s nothing wrong with that! Just imagine—we casually make a few counterfeit artifacts, and they’re empowered by faith until they become divine treasures. If we organize this mythology properly in the future and spread it on a massive scale, do you think we could establish our own Takamagahara?"
Uchiha Kei showed not the slightest trace of reverence before the god.
He sprawled carelessly before the statue, which had been sculpted using the appearance of his previous life as its foundation, waving his arms around as he pointed at his own divine likeness.
"Don’t worry. As long as it’s mythology I’ve made up, you’ll definitely be the supreme deity among the gods of heaven—the Lord of the Center of Heaven, Amenominakanushi. If we’re going to become gods, we have to be the most badass gods there are."
Kei lay on the ground, looking delightedly at the divine statue he had personally created.
A god?
Naturally, a god should possess divine grace as vast as the sea and divine authority as terrifying as a prison.
Translated into ordinary language, that meant being able to frighten people into obedience—commands had to be followed, prohibitions had to be respected, violations had to be punished, and serious offenses could warrant execution, leaving no room for sentiment or argument.
At the same time, a god had to appear compassionate, with blessings as vast and unending as the sea, boundless and inexhaustible, leaving those who received them refreshed and spiritually cleansed, forever inclined toward goodness.
Kei had put considerable thought into embodying both aspects when he originally designed the statue.
His appearance in his previous life had been fierce and intimidating, unlike the handsome and delicate features of Uchiha Kei’s current body, which carried just a hint of wicked charm—the perfect face for a villain who could ensnare people with a smile.
Therefore, there was no need to deliberately portray divine authority as terrifying.
His former appearance alone was enough to frighten a three-year-old child into tears.
That meant he could only emphasize divine grace through the expression.
And so, a deity with a fearsome, vicious appearance but an expression of benevolent compassion came into existence.
At that moment, the god looked down at Kei.
Kei looked up at the god from below.
Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of mockery seemed to descend upon him.
The statue appeared to transmit an attitude that was almost tangible.
"Idiot. What are you getting so worked up about?"
Kei, narrow-minded as he was, immediately became enraged.
He jumped to his feet and stamped around while cursing his own statue.
"You bastard! Aren’t the two of us supposed to be on the same side? You’re actually mocking me? Can’t I be proud for a little while? Can’t I act awesome for once?"
"All these years, I’ve had to live cautiously. Even when I was showing off, I had to constantly worry that I’d gone too far and someone would chop my head off on the spot!"
"Now every single one of my subordinates is becoming more impressive than the last. What’s wrong with me being a little arrogant?"
The statue remained the same statue.
And yet, somehow, it was no longer the same statue.
After living on the edge like he had been walking a tightrope for so many years, wouldn’t anyone develop some psychological issues?
"Seeing one’s true nature clearly..."
Wasn’t every conversation Kei had with the statue actually a conversation with his own heart?
But as he spoke, Kei suddenly found himself unable to continue.
"My subordinates are getting stronger and stronger..."
He paused.
"Wait. They’re getting stronger and stronger, but I’m still standing exactly where I was."
"Hold on..."
"Am I actually the weak link in the entire team?"
Kei sat down and crossed his legs.
"Though it was like this before too. In terms of actual strength, I might have been roughly comparable to one of my subordinates who was still a Genin. But if it came down to a real fight, those Genin who had spent years fighting on the battlefield would definitely be much stronger than me when it came to a life-or-death battle."
"Now I’ve gone from being the one holding everyone back to still being the one holding everyone back. But I can’t exactly strip myself down to my underwear and completely embarrass myself, can I?"
"With my current lineup, we’re certainly powerful. There probably aren’t many clans capable of producing a team this strong. We can practically pick a clan and fight them, or pick someone and curse them out."
"But in terms of individual strength..."
"Even a dog from the Hatake Clan could probably beat me senseless."
"If something really happened, all it would take was one moment of carelessness before I’d end up getting my head chopped off!"
"No."
"I need to strengthen myself!"
But with his level of talent, the current level of an ordinary civilian Chūnin was already his limit.
If he wanted to advance further, he couldn’t rely on his own body anymore.
He had to depend on external means.
What should I get?
As the saying went, the poor relied on mutation, while the rich relied on technology.
With Uchiha Kei being this wealthy, was he really supposed to be afraid of not finding a way to become stronger by throwing money at the problem?
This world had no shortage of bizarre technologies.
After conversing with his own heart, Kei gradually shed the wild joy brought about by the rapid growth of his subordinates.
He calmly sat cross-legged before the divine statue and entered meditation.
Restrain the restless mind and wild spirit.
Guard the spirit with vigilance.
When all distracting thoughts are cast aside, clarity naturally emerges.
Thought after thought arose within Uchiha Kei’s mind, only to fade away again.
Until, finally, they were consolidated into a complete and perfect plan.
The so-called diminishing returns meant that pushing one particular thing to absolute perfection was extremely difficult.
But reaching a level that was merely "good enough" was much easier.
It was extremely difficult to train a single technique until it became invincible.
But if you knew a large number of techniques reasonably well, you could still become an exceptionally versatile combatant.
In the world of Naruto, powerful techniques could provide shinobi with enormous advantages.
But when everything was stripped down to its fundamentals, a shinobi’s strength still came down to the basics.
Was their destructive power high enough?
Was their speed fast enough?
Was their chakra reserve large enough?
And in the Naruto world, there were actually quite a few ways to enhance all three.
Just as Kei began considering where he should start...
Hotaru returned.
Hotaru and Oboro, both lacking a sense of security, arrived together with Uchiha Chikako to request an audience.
With so many people present, Lord Orochimaru probably wouldn’t do anything reckless. Nor would he make some unreasonable request of Lord Kei.
"My lord, Lord Orochimaru has arrived!"
That was Hotaru’s task.
"My lord, Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, has arrived as well."
Oboro had something to report too.
"My lord, one of the Uchiha Clan’s elders, a man named Yakumi, has also arrived."
That, naturally, was Uchiha Chikako ’s report.
The moment Kei heard that Orochimaru had arrived, his eyes lit up.
Orochimaru.
That’s right.
Who in this world understands human experimentation better than Orochimaru?
Isn’t he practically delivering himself to my doorstep so I can squeeze every last bit of value out of him?
"Hotaru, Oboro, come with me to meet Lord Orochimaru."
"Uchiha Chikako , go inform Tenzen and have him receive Clan Head Fugaku."
"As for that man named Yakumi, make him wait."
Aside from Orochimaru, Kei had no interest whatsoever in the other two.
He could figure out what they had come for without even using his brain.
Well...
That wasn’t entirely true.
At least he didn’t understand why Yakumi, one of Fugaku’s most devoted supporters, wanted to meet him privately.
There was no need for that.
He could simply have come together with Fugaku.
But it didn’t matter.
Let him do whatever he wanted.
Why should Kei care?
After all, he was the tyrant of Konoha—the kind of man who could make even the Third Hokage offer him a cigarette.
Whatever Yakumi wanted to do, why should Kei take it seriously?
It was nothing more than another dispute over the affairs of the Uchiha Clan.
Kei hated this kind of political infighting.
It was all about petty gains and trivial advantages!
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