Ever since the disaster had ended, Kei had remained hidden in the shadows of the Naka Shrine. Itachi had never been able to see Kei’s face clearly.
But humans were emotional creatures. The moment Itachi learned that Kei held great hopes for him, he lost the rational judgment that should have guided him.
In Itachi’s mind, Kei was the greatest obstacle between the Uchiha and Konoha. If they could obtain Kei’s support, then anything might be possible in the future.
"Brother Kei, regardless of what the Uchiha have experienced in the past that has made you so dissatisfied with Konoha, what is happening right now is not something the Uchiha Clan can bear on its own."
Kei’s affirmation gave Itachi considerable courage.
"The four neighboring nations have been watching the Land of Fire constantly. In the past, they simply lacked a reason to unite. But now we’ve caused something that has left the entire shinobi world at a loss for how to respond. This gives those four nations an opportunity to reach an agreement.
"This is no longer merely an Uchiha matter. It concerns all of Konoha."
The more Itachi spoke, the more naturally and confidently the words came to him.
"Brother Kei, let go of your prejudices!"
This was the greatest concession Itachi could offer.
Unfortunately, Itachi would never know who Arles was, and naturally, he could never understand just how much malice was concealed within Kei’s apparently hopeful words.
While everyone believed that Kei was filled with expectations for Itachi’s future, the truth was that Kei had already become thoroughly disappointed in him.
Those who constantly demand selflessness from others are often the most selfish people of all.
The Third Hokage was like this.
Danzō was like this.
And Itachi was like this.
But Itachi was different from the other two. They were the people who held power in Konoha, whereas Itachi was one of the people Konoha intended to eliminate.
One’s position determines one’s perspective.
Itachi was a complete traitor to his own class.
They never considered where the misery of their own lives came from. Instead, they spent every day worrying that the Jin would destroy the Song, as though they were terrified that once the Song fell, they would have nowhere left to beg.
Kei had been born at the bottom of society, so he understood this particularly well.
The people who bullied those at the bottom were often people from the bottom themselves. Without them acting as accomplices for those above them, there would be no one to oppress the common people.
Yet there were always naive people who believed that if they served those at the top well enough, peace would naturally descend upon the world.
Kei had been powerless to change such things in his previous life.
But in this life, he would never accept it.
"Itachi, why should I tolerate Konoha?"
The shadows concealed half of Kei’s face. Itachi could only see the Uchiha’s features flickering in and out of the darkness.
"Does Brother Kei really have absolute confidence in opposing the entire shinobi world? Do you really believe you have enough power to suppress the entire shinobi world?"
Itachi was deeply unconvinced by Kei’s question.
Could even someone as powerful as Brother Kei have such a naive moment?
Overpowering the Five Great Nations was simply beyond what a human being could accomplish.
"What makes you think I can’t?"
"Back then, Madara and Hashirama did just fine. With Susanoo wrapped around the Wood Buddha, the two of them were enough to crush the other four nations. Back then, those four nations knew enough to keep their heads down. What, after a few decades, did they suddenly forget how?"
The two men had completely different perceptions of the situation, making communication extremely difficult.
Kei believed that if Hashirama and Madara had been able to accomplish something, then he could accomplish it as well. It was merely a matter of having enough time.
But for various reasons, Itachi’s education in Konoha had taught him only that the village had two legendary founders. He had never truly understood just how overwhelmingly powerful those two men had been.
"Ah... this..."
Itachi had never witnessed the glory of Hashirama and Madara himself. For various reasons, he had heard very little about them either. He genuinely could not imagine what kind of power could make four nations bow their heads.
"Itachi, you need to understand something. We aren’t the ones who should be nervous. It’s the people watching the Uchiha who should be worried.
"Until they can produce combat power capable of matching this disaster, they’ll behave themselves."
The biggest problem with this guy was that whenever he encountered a problem, he always searched for its root cause within the Uchiha.
He never considered solving the problem externally.
"But Brother Kei, we don’t actually possess this kind of disaster-level power. I can’t even control the Susanoo I summoned myself.
"Such power is like a bubble floating in the air. It looks beautiful, but it bursts with the slightest touch. One day, the lie will inevitably be exposed.
"Are you really confident that you can resolve all of this?"
Kei nearly ground his teeth in frustration.
If he didn’t have a reason that made temporarily sparing Itachi necessary, he truly wouldn’t have wanted to waste another word on him.
"Why are you people always so afraid?"
"What bubble in the sky? Have you ever seen a bubble that can tear the earth apart?"
"The response to a disaster this terrifying isn’t something I need to figure out. That’s something Konoha and the Five Great Nations need to figure out!"
Kei’s temper was rising.
Why were these two still dragging their feet instead of leaving?
If there were, it could only mean that Buddha had already submitted.
"If Buddha actually had a way to deal with the person holding the knife, would Buddha willingly endure such humiliation?"
Kei genuinely hadn’t expected that a power capable of producing a disaster on this level could make its creators so timid.
"We’re the ones holding the knife.
"Whether Buddha wants us to attain enlightenment right here and now is a matter for Buddha to consider—along with the price he is willing to pay."
At first, Kei had only wanted to stabilize Uchiha Fugaku and Itachi.
He needed someone to stand in front of him and buy him some time.
Just a little time.
Even a few months would be enough.
Yet despite this, Fugaku still lacked the necessary resolve.
"Kei, what exactly are you planning to do? After causing something like this, are you saying we aren’t even going to give Konoha an explanation?"
His son had received Itachi’s recognition—even if it was merely verbal—and Fugaku was quite pleased with that.
But after hearing the conversation between the two and realizing how fundamentally divided they were, Fugaku had to intervene.
If nothing else, preventing the two from coming into conflict after finally achieving some degree of reconciliation would be a good thing.
Kei was more than happy to speak with the person actually responsible for making decisions.
"An explanation? What explanation?"
"Konoha should be the one giving us an explanation."
From within the darkness, Fugaku vaguely heard the sound of Kei drawing his blade.
Kei’s voice also became increasingly stern.
"A disaster happened right at Konoha’s doorstep today. Half a day has already passed, yet Konoha hasn’t shown the slightest response.
"What exactly does Konoha mean by that?
"If something like this happens again in the future, will Konoha behave the same way?
"This leaves those of us living in Konoha with absolutely no sense of security. Someone must take responsibility for this."
Kei was completely turning the facts upside down.
Fugaku understood his meaning immediately.
In the face of Konoha’s questioning, the Uchiha had done nothing wrong.
On the contrary, because of this incident, Konoha was the one that needed to take responsibility.
But Itachi couldn’t accept it.
"Brother Kei, you’re shifting the blame onto Konoha! Being this aggressive won’t bring the Uchiha any benefits. Konoha won’t compromise.
"You’re forcing Konoha to treat us like enemies!"
Kei was becoming increasingly unable to understand what kind of indoctrination Itachi had received.
From the First Shinobi World War all the way through the end of the Fourth, Konoha had survived by compromising whenever necessary.
If there were ever a day when Konoha suddenly refused to compromise, that would be what Kei found strange.
But there was no way to explain this to Itachi.
The Konoha in Itachi’s heart was powerful and perfect.
It was like the relationship between an idol and the fans who worshipped them.
"Lord Fugaku, when someone believes that we’re already in rebellion, then perhaps we’d better actually rebel."
Kei stopped talking to Itachi.
Instead, he turned his attention toward Fugaku.
He hoped that this constantly compromising, perpetually weak-willed clan head could finally show some backbone and buy him a few months of time.
But Fugaku was frightened by Kei’s words.
"Kei, what exactly do you mean?"
Kei, standing in the darkness, felt utterly exhausted.
"Clan Head, peace is preserved through struggle, while peace sought through compromise will ultimately perish.
"We need peace, but not peace purchased through submission.
"Stand firm against Konoha.
"If Konoha refuses to stand with us this time, then from this point onward, it won’t need to choose a side at all.
"That is what I mean."
Fugaku had yet to break free from the mindset of a weakened Uchiha Clan.
Hearing Kei demand that he take a hard line, he felt uncertain.
"Kei, given our population, forget standing firm against Konoha—we can’t even stand firm against the Sarutobi Clan.
"Although we’ve obtained tremendous power, using that uncontrollable disaster is no different from releasing a Tailed Beast.
"It’s a move that would only end with both sides destroyed."
Population had always been the Uchiha’s greatest weakness.
It was understandable that Fugaku lacked confidence.
"Clan Head, don’t worry.
"It won’t be long before a large number of people relocate to Konoha.
"And every one of them will be our people."
To give Fugaku some reassurance, Uchiha Kei began painting him a grand vision.
I only said that a large number of people will relocate to Konoha. I never said they’ll all be Uchiha with the Sharingan.
"Also, Lord Fugaku, the pressure created by a powerful shinobi isn’t something that can be compensated for through sheer numbers."
After saying this, Kei opened his eyes.
His right eye, resembling a starry sky, made anyone with trypophobia feel their skin crawl.
Previously, Kei had merely been an Uchiha with an alluring, sinister appearance that made him look like someone who wasn’t a good person.
But after the mutation of his right eye, Kei had transformed into someone so abnormal that even a psychopath might find him disturbing.
That eye had absolutely nothing to do with ordinary human aesthetics.
It resembled the compound eye of a dragonfly, making one’s scalp tingle with dread.
Yet despite how horrifying the eye was, Fugaku was delighted.
Another Mangekyō Sharingan?
Although it was only one eye, if this was the eye responsible for creating that disaster, then it would be the most powerful eye Fugaku had ever witnessed.
With this, there was nothing left to fear.
It seems Kei really does have confidence in controlling that disaster.
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