In this mental hospital, most of the men went crazy because of their careers, while most of the women went crazy because of love.
But when the two were reversed—when a male lunatic became obsessed with romance, and a female lunatic threw herself into a career—they usually became the truly severe cases.
The kind of people who were more twisted than even the most perverted of lunatics.
At Mount Iidō, overlooking Nanga Shrine, Danjō stared at the crowd that refused to disperse and at Jūbei and the others gradually disappearing into the distance.
Unable to understand, he asked:
"Gen, you clearly support Jūbei. Why did you still force him to go to Konoha alone?"
Uchiha Gen watched the man’s head bob slightly as he spoke, then brushed a strand of silver hair away from her ear.
"Danjō, we aren’t clan leaders anymore. We used to stand at the head of our respective shinobi clans, but now we’re subjects. We’re also old retainers whom our lord relies upon. Someone in our position cannot make decisions unilaterally."
Danjō nodded, indicating that he understood.
The authority to wage war against an external power ultimately belonged to one person alone.
They indeed had no right to issue an order to begin a war.
"So you forced Jūbei to do it instead? You’re that certain Lord Kei won’t blame him? And you’re that certain nothing will happen to Jūbei on this journey?"
Gen smiled.
"I’m not certain."
"But some sacrifices have to be made by someone. Even if it isn’t Jūbei, it’ll be someone else. And if no one else is willing to go, I’ll go myself."
Danjō felt a little frightened.
"Gen, why do I feel like you’re becoming more and more like that old man in Konoha?"
The old man still couldn’t let go of Gen’s admiration for that legendary shinobi hero.
Faced with the jealousy of her old man, the old woman couldn’t be bothered to indulge him.
"Heh. Don’t put it that way. I’m merely fulfilling the responsibilities of a subject. The decision to make peace or wage war against an external power belongs to Lord Kei. No one has the right to usurp his authority."
Even though Danjō understood, Gen still reminded him.
After all, his grandson wasn’t exactly reliable.
Perhaps that trait ran in the family.
"Danjō, as subordinates, what we need to prepare for our lord is simple."
"If there is war, we need the strength to fight, a justification for fighting, and the support of the people."
"If there is peace, we also need a way to retreat."
Danjō looked at the people who were still gathered nearby.
He suddenly understood.
Even this groundswell of public sentiment had been carefully cultivated by Gen long ago.
The old man became increasingly uneasy.
Playing with the emotions of the masses was dangerous.
It could easily come back to bite them.
"Gen, is this what you call popular support? You’re deliberately stirring up the people’s emotions."
"What happens if Lord Kei decides not to fight? How will you explain yourself to the people? And how will you explain yourself to Lord Kei?"
Danjō was afraid that if something went wrong, Gen would use her own life to give everyone an explanation.
The two of them had only enjoyed a few peaceful days together.
How could it end like this?
The old man pointed toward the crowd.
"Gen, you know that the masses are prone to follow blindly. They aren’t rational."
"If Lord Kei still doesn’t wake up, we can’t simply start a war on our own. Are we really going to fight?"
"Can those people accept that? They’ll feel utterly betrayed. And when Lord Kei wakes up, he’ll be dissatisfied too!"
The old woman, however, was completely unconcerned.
"So what?"
"The common people have done nothing wrong. Their emotions are simple, sincere, and pure. They’re beautiful."
"But so what?"
"Even if we don’t fight for the sake of their emotions, what exactly are they supposed to feel wronged about?"
"Everything they have—their security, their land, their lives—was given to them by Lord Kei."
"He can give those things to them, and he can take them away."
"Besides, I’ll give them an explanation."
Gen spoke with absolute conviction.
Danjō became even more nervous.
He was genuinely afraid that the final outcome would be exactly what he feared.
"What are you planning to do, Gen?"
Seeing how tense the old man had become, Gen said:
"Don’t worry. The person we’ve sent is Jūbei."
"He’s a diviner by profession. If he knew the outcome would be disastrous, do you really think he would have gone?"
The old man refused to accept that explanation.
"You don’t have to reassure me like that. I know Jūbei better than you do."
"For the sake of certain people and certain causes, he’s willing to throw everything away."
"Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up crippled in the first place!"
Gen merely laughed.
"Hehehehe. Old man, why have you become so nervous?"
"Relax, relax. I’m merely creating an incident. It won’t cause any major problems."
She waved her hand, covering her lips as she gave a soft laugh.
For a moment, there was even a hint of feminine charm in the old woman’s expression.
It actually managed to calm Danjō’s agitated heart.
"Gen, please. Just tell me what you’re trying to do."
Gen still didn’t seem inclined to explain.
"Nothing much."
"I just think Lord Kei is asleep while that old man in Konoha keeps jumping around all day, making a nuisance of himself."
"I can’t stand watching him."
"So I’m going to make him settle down!"
Her excuse was so blatantly perfunctory that Danjō pressed her further.
"And then? What exactly are you going to do?"
At this point, Gen suddenly became mysterious.
"Simple."
"As long as Jūbei makes his move and gets into a fight with Konoha, I’ll seal off every major route leading to Konoha."
"Win or lose, from this day onward, until Lord Kei issues further orders, no one from Konoha will be permitted to enter."
Danjō’s heart finally settled.
This was a way of keeping the conflict within controllable limits.
"Gen, but what’s the difference between that and declaring war on Konoha?"
The old woman felt that Danjō was being far too cautious.
"Danjō, there’s a huge difference."
"Konoha isn’t a country."
"They don’t even possess sovereign ownership of the territory they occupy."
"Since the daimyō is willing to support Konoha in exhausting our strength through internal conflict, then let the daimyō come and speak to us himself!"
As she spoke, Gen produced a book.
Its title was:
The Art of War According to Kei.
The first Chapter read:
"War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is the ground of life and death, the path to survival or ruin. It is a subject that must be carefully studied."
Gen held the book and explained to Danjō:
"Old man, the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha has never been merely a matter between two sides."
"It also involves the daimyō."
"And it involves the entire shinobi world."
"Think about it in more complicated terms. There’s no harm in that."
Danjō nodded.
"If that’s the case, then you should understand that this matter must be handled with extreme caution."
"Is creating an incident like this really a good idea?"
The old woman was stubborn.
"If we don’t create an incident, are we supposed to actually start a war?"
"We aren’t afraid of dying, but Lord Kei wants us to live well."
"He wants the people under our rule to live well too."
"We can’t start making reckless moves while our lord is asleep."
The old man froze.
You’re the one making reckless moves. How did this suddenly become my problem?
The old woman still wasn’t finished with him.
"Danjō, when governing a territory, the thing you must avoid most is acting on emotion."
"There’s an old saying: governing a great country is like cooking a small fish."
"Getting worked up might make you feel better, but it doesn’t solve any problems."
"I think my method is quite good."
"Deliberately create an incident, stir up public outrage, and then use the situation to accomplish our objective."
The old man, despite being lectured, refused to accept it.
"Gen, isn’t this simply because you don’t like the Third Hokage?"
"Why make things so complicated?"
"How about I organize a few people and simply kill the Third Hokage?"
"I reckon that if I joined forces with Tenzan and Hyōma and waited for the Third Hokage to become isolated, we could succeed."
Gen shot him a sidelong glance.
She looked at him as though he were an idiot.
"That old thing is already that old."
"Even if we leave him alone, how many years does he have left?"
"What value is there in killing him?"
"You old fool, think about it."
"That old man has been jumping around so energetically precisely because he’s probably hoping we’ll kill him, allowing him to leave his name behind in history."
As she spoke, she pointed a finger at Danjō’s forehead.
"That old man wants to use his own life to give Konoha one final breath."
"And you want to help him achieve it?"
Gen’s guess was not wrong.
In the Third Hokage’s contingency plans, sacrificing his own life to unite Konoha against a common enemy was indeed one possible strategy.
Gen had no intention of helping him accomplish it.
"If things don’t go our way, throwing over the entire table is something only thugs do."
"That’s how gangsters fight."
"We can’t act like that."
"I think my method is much better."
"Create an incident, seal off Konoha, and leave that old man with nothing to dance around with."
As she spoke, the old woman even playfully swayed her body twice.
Danjō was so angry that his beard trembled.
Just as the two were about to start arguing in earnest, Uchiha Kei appeared.
The man who had been asleep for so long had finally decided to get out of bed.
After spending so long without seeing sunlight, his complexion had become even paler.
His medium-length black hair shimmered with purple highlights.
His right eye was wrapped in bandages.
With his slanted bangs and purple yukata decorated with golden butterflies, his entire appearance radiated an alluring charm.
Arrogant and self-centered.
Ambitious.
Combative.
Stubborn.
Straightforward.
Deeply loyal to those he cared about, yet cold and distant.
Anyone who saw Uchiha Kei in this state would naturally form such an impression of him.
But none of those qualities represented the real Kei.
The tailed beast known as Falsehood caused Kei to radiate an aura completely different from his true personality.
Seeing the two old people, Uchiha Kei said nothing more than:
"I heard you’ve gotten into a fight with Konoha."
Gen and Danjō nodded.
"Yes."
"It got a little intense and ended up disturbing your sleep, Lord Kei."
Kei paid them no further attention.
He simply walked forward and looked down at the crowd below, which still had not dispersed.
He closed his eyes and contemplated for several seconds.
When he opened them again, he left them with only one sentence:
"Since you’ve already worked everyone up to this point..."
"Then let’s prepare for war!"
The Uchiha were, after all, Kei’s Uchiha.
Everything they did ultimately revolved around what he wanted.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789