In the alley.
Tsunade and Kagami stared at each other, neither showing the slightest inclination to look away as their gazes met.
After a moment, Tsunade gave a soft snort.
"You don’t seem worried at all that I might expose the fact that you stole a secret technique. Hmph, you’ve certainly got some nerve. Don’t tell me you think being the Principal of the Ninja Academy is enough to shield you from the village’s punishment? Or do you think the Hyuga Clan can protect you?"
Kagami’s composure was beginning to irritate Tsunade.
Kagami said calmly, "Whatever it is you want, just say it."
In his eyes, Tsunade had neither attacked him to reclaim the secret scroll of the ’Yin Seal,’ nor had she simply turned around and left. That meant she most likely wanted something from him.
So he wasn’t worried in the slightest.
Of course, the reason he could notice these details so keenly was because he was calm enough to analyze the situation—and the reason he could remain so calm was because he had the strength to back it up.
If any other shinobi had been caught red-handed by Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, they would probably have been trembling in fear and completely lost their composure by now.
Seeing that ordinary intimidation had absolutely no effect on Kagami, Tsunade curled her lips.
"If you want me to let this matter go, that’s not impossible. But you’ll have to do me a favor!"
"What favor?"
Tsunade’s expression darkened.
"Because of that idiot Danzo and the mess he caused, the village’s prestige has hit rock bottom. And now the Uchiha Clan is starting to get restless again."
The Uchiha Clan’s desire for power within the village had never diminished!
Previously, external enemies such as the ’Kamigami’ and the ’Akatsuki’ had simply been too powerful. Under the pressure of a threat to their very survival, the Uchiha Clan had no choice but to close ranks with the Hokage faction that controlled the village.
That was why they had behaved themselves for a while.
But that had never been what they truly wanted.
It had merely been a choice forced upon them by circumstance.
Now, the ’Kamigami’ seemed to have tacitly entered into a cooperative relationship with the village, and with the ’Kamigami’ keeping them in check, the ’Akatsuki’ had also begun lying low. As a result, the external pressure on the village had suddenly eased considerably.
At the same time, a series of incidents—the destruction of the village, Danzo’s defection, and everything that followed—had dealt repeated blows to the prestige of the Hokage faction currently in power.
And so, the Uchiha had begun entertaining certain ambitions once again.
Kagami had actually noticed this long ago.
The last time he had decisively stepped in and thoroughly taught those Uchiha who had barged into the Hyuga compound a lesson, part of his intention had been to suppress the Uchiha Clan’s growing arrogance.
"I received reliable information that, during the Uchiha Clan meeting the day before yesterday, they openly began discussing how to seize the position of Hokage. That’s a very dangerous sign."
After a brief pause, Tsunade looked at Kagami and said solemnly, "At a time like this, the village needs the clear support of your Hyuga Clan!"
Kagami glanced at Tsunade.
The so-called ’reliable information’ Tsunade had received had most likely come from her other disciple, Uchiha Izumi.
In any case, whenever the Uchiha Clan sent one of their own to get close to the Hokage faction, that person invariably ended up being won over by the other side.
Shisui had been like that.
Itachi had been like that.
And Uchiha Izumi was probably no exception.
Still, Tsunade’s words did make sense.
For Konoha as it currently stood, having the Third Hokage take charge again was the best option that all sides could accept.
For one thing, the Third was highly experienced and knew how to stabilize a turbulent situation.
For another, he was already old and wouldn’t remain in the Hokage position for much longer, meaning everyone else would still have a chance in the future.
So whether they harbored ambitions or not, most people could accept the Third taking up the mantle of Hokage again.
But if the Uchiha Clan were allowed to take control of the village, there was no telling what kind of trouble might erupt.
And what Kagami needed right now was a stable Konoha—a Konoha capable of providing him with all kinds of technical and intelligence support.
After briefly weighing the matter, Kagami said, "No problem. I’ll do my best to influence the clan and have them support the village on this matter."
Tsunade nodded in satisfaction.
Tsunade had already investigated Kagami’s influence within the Hyuga Clan.
As far as she knew, although some members of the Hyuga Main Family were rather dissatisfied with Kagami, Clan Head Hiashi still trusted him greatly. Meanwhile, most members of the Branch Family admired him, and seeing Kagami—someone from the Branch Family just like them—rise so rapidly within the village filled them with a sense of shared pride.
Kagami raised the secret technique scroll in his hand.
"So, we have a deal?"
Tsunade gave Kagami a meaningful look.
"I don’t know what methods you used, but I know that Mangekyo wielder from the Uchiha Clan listens to practically everything you say. So I want you to influence him as well and make sure he doesn’t participate in whatever the Uchiha Clan is plotting!"
Kagami smiled. "Fine. I can agree to that too."
In truth, as long as the Hokage faction could completely trust Shisui, Shisui would be just as obedient to them. Even if they ordered Shisui to take action against the Uchiha Clan, it wasn’t entirely impossible that he would comply.
However, this couldn’t be blamed entirely on the Hokage faction either.
After learning that Shisui possessed ’Kotoamatsukami,’ a Mangekyo Sharingan-level dojutsu capable of easily altering another person’s will, it was impossible for the Hokage faction to ever completely trust him again.
Tsunade said, "Good. I’ll let the matter of you stealing my secret technique slide this time. But you only have seven days. Whether you can learn it or not will depend entirely on your own ability. Either way, after seven days, you must return the secret technique scroll to Rei."
"Seven days, huh..."
Kagami pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Fine!"
As long as it wasn’t genjutsu or space-time ninjutsu, there were very few techniques that could truly pose a challenge to the current Hyuga Kagami.
And at its core, the ’Yin Seal’ was actually an extraordinarily sophisticated fuinjutsu
As it happened, fuinjutsu were one of his specialties.
So he was confident that he could at least gain a preliminary mastery of the ’Yin Seal’ within seven days.
Seeing how readily Kagami agreed, Tsunade gave him a warning.
"Until now, everyone who has successfully mastered the ’Yin Seal’ has been a woman. I don’t think you can learn it in just seven days, so you’d better not get your hopes up too high."
The reason Tsunade was being so generous, aside from needing Kagami’s help, was precisely because she didn’t believe he could actually master the ’Yin Seal.’
Now that they had reached an agreement, Kagami no longer felt the slightest bit apologetic. He immediately shot back without any courtesy whatsoever.
"Thanks for the warning, but you don’t need to concern yourself with that!"
Tsunade turned around and began walking out of the alley.
"One more thing—you’re not allowed to pass it on to anyone else!"
Kagami casually slipped the secret scroll of the ’Yin Seal’ into the ninja pouch at his waist before saying, "Please don’t take this matter out on Rei. She actually respects you a great deal."
"Hmph!"
Tsunade gave a heavy snort, then deliberately turned her head toward Kagami and shot back, "What happens between me and my disciple is none of your concern either!"
Watching Tsunade’s departing figure, Kagami curled his lips and grumbled inwardly,
"What a vindictive woman..."