[Read up to Chapter - 99 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Back at home, Kanzou handed the pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan to Mikoto.
Unlike the previous few attempts, she didn't question or show any signs of hesitation on her face.
Even if she was a bit reluctant in her heart, she didn't let it show on her face, knowing full well that her hesitation or reluctance would displease Kanzou.
"These are Araki-san's Sharingan?" asked Mikoto as she accepted them and began absorbing their visual prowess using Kuninotokotachi.
As for the origin of these eyes, she could make a good guess.
It had to be from Uchiha Araki.
Based on what she has learned about her husband so far, Kanzou might be cruel, unreasonable, disgusting, deceptive, untrustworthy, unscrupulous, a pervert, a douchebag, a bastard, and a total scum on earth… but he still had a bottom line, even if that bottom line was marginally low.
He would never take the eyes of those loyal to him.
He'd only go for traitors or enemies, and in this case, Uchiha Araki fits the bill perfectly.
"That's right," Kanzou confirmed with a shrug. "That guy's dead. His Sharingan shouldn't go to waste. Since he betrayed us, the Uchiha clan has every right to reclaim what belongs to them."
"Umm…" nodded Mikoto as she continued absorbing the Visual Prowess.
…
After a while
"How is it?" Kanzou asked.
"I can feel that my visual prowess has increased slightly," Mikoto replied, and added softly, "but the improvement is quite limited."
Despite having absorbed four pairs of Three Tomoe Sharingan so far, the overall boost in visual prowess was less than she had expected—barely a tenth of what she needed.
"Stacking up quantitative change can lead to qualitative change. Just keep accumulating slowly. When the opportunity arises, I'll get you a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan to absorb their visual prowess."
Mangekyō Sharingan was rare—but not impossible to obtain.
For instance, Uchiha Kagami—a member of the Uchiha clan, once acknowledged and accepted as a disciple by Senju Tobirama—likely awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Of course, Kanzou couldn't be sure.
He'd never had much personal contact with Kagami.
Though they were from the same clan, Kagami wasn't deeply connected with the rest of the Uchiha.
Still, Kanzou wasn't counting on him.
Kagami had died long ago.
Even if he had awakened the Mangekyō, it might no longer exist.
If the eyes had survived, they were most likely in the possession of either the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, or his gay buddy Shimura Danzō.
The one Kanzou truly had his eyes on was Uchiha Shisui—Kagami's descendant.
'Whether or not I take his eyes in the future depends entirely on his choice,' Kanzou thought calmly.
If Uchiha Shisui proved himself useful and loyal, Kanzou wouldn't need to make a move against him.
However, Kanzou wasn't optimistic about Uchiha Shisui's future. 'A dog will probably always remain a dog,' as the saying goes—let alone humans, who pass down their nature through generations.
Uchiha Kagami was a dog… Kanzou didn't think his descendants would be any better.
If Shisui truly couldn't be reformed, then the best contribution he could make to the Uchiha clan would be donating his pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.
Aside from Shisui, there was also Fugaku.
The only reason Kanzou hadn't killed Fugaku yet was because he expected him to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan—after which Kanzou would simply take it for himself.
As for whether a Mangekyō-wielding Fugaku could pose a threat, Kanzou wasn't concerned in the slightest.
If he started fearing someone as mediocre as Fugaku, how would he ever dare face the likes of Six Paths Madara or Ōtsutsuki Kaguya in the future?
…
In the blink of an eye more than two months had passed since Sarutobi Shinnosuke's death. During this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken no action.
This inaction left many of the families and Clans in Konoha—those who had hoped to see some chaos between Hokage and Uchiha—disappointed.
In their opinion, even if Araki was a traitor to the Uchiha clan and killed the Sandaime Hokage's son, the Hokage wouldn't let the Uchiha Clan off so easily.
After all, Hokage is above Uchiha… Hokage is stronger than Uchiha.
They expected him to use it as an excuse to suppress and marginalize the clan.
Heck, they wanted him to use this excuse to do that very same thing.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, the Sandaime Hokage didn't make a single move.
This made some people feel that he was being far too lenient—almost spineless.
But just when they were disappointed that no news was coming of the conflict between Hokage and Uchiha, suddenly, news so shocking appeared that it literally thumped their hearts.
Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, the hero of the Second Great Shinobi War, a Shinobi even superior to the Sannin, had committed suicide in his own home.
"So he still went through with it… The butterfly effect I caused couldn't save you after all."
When Kanzou received the news, his reaction was calm and indifferent.
"Patriarch, with Hatake Sakumo dead, should we try to seize the position of ANBU Commander?" Shin asked, and added, "If it's Hazuki-chan… she'd be perfect for the role of the ANBU Commander, wouldn't she?"
Although the Konoha Military Police Force held considerable influence, the position of ANBU Commander carried even greater power—one of the highest authorities in the village.
Hearing Shin's words, Kanzou frowned and said coldly, "Don't be stupid..."
"Ah… did I say something wrong, Patriarch? Don't you want to compete for the position of ANBU Commander?"
Shin still couldn't understand what he had said that was inappropriate and scratched his head.
Not just Souta, but Satoru also looked confused.
Seeing their blank expressions made Kanzou feel a wave of exhaustion.
He admitted that their strength was solid, undeniably among the best of the Elite Jōnin—but their political awareness was sorely lacking.
Kanzou turned to the fifth person, Uchiha Tsubaki… a middle-aged widow in her mid-thirties who had continued to work as a Kunoichi even after the death of her husband, and asked her, "What do you think, Tsubaki-san?"
"Well… the position of the ANBU Commander is not only very prestigious and powerful, but also very important, strategically… No matter who is the Hokage, they'd only appoint someone they can highly trust as the ANBU commander…" replied Uchiha Tsubaki with a thoughtful expression.
"Exactly as Tsubaki-san said…. Sarutobi Hiruzen would never hand over such a critical position to the Uchiha clan…" nodded Kanzou.
One question after another struck like blows, and only then did the group finally understand.
These youngsters had been so focused on seizing power that they had completely overlooked the political reality.
"Damn that Hokage… always targeting our Uchiha clan. You'd think we were the ones who killed his father," Shin muttered angrily, but felt better upon thinking of Shinnosuke, 'We did kill his son, though.'
"You need to start using your brain more in more than one aspect, understood?" Kanzou said sternly.
"Yes, Patriarch," all three replied, looking ashamed.
He then turned to Uchiha Tsubaki and Uchiha Makoto, and said to them, "Whenever you two have the opportunity… guide them on the political intricacies… It's troublesome if these remain ignorant…"
Since Shin, Souta, and Satoru were still quite young so it didn't matter… but if they remained ignorant, it would be a problem for Kanzou.
He didn't worry about Hazuki in this case since she is not ignorant… and understands these matters…
Tsubaki and Makoto laughed helplessly and nodded, "We will do what we can, Patriarch…"
After that had passed, Kanzou scoffed at Sakumo, "It's pathetic that a dignified Kage-level powerhouse would commit suicide; how could he not even deal with a few rumours?"
Shin, Satoru, and Souta joined in with disdainful chuckles, clearly looking down on Hatake Sakumo.
"If it were us, anyone who dared to spread gossip would be arrested on the spot."
"Kind-hearted men get bullied, and docile horses get ridden," Kanzou said coldly.
"If Hatake Sakumo had shown some backbone, he wouldn't have ended up like that."
Meanwhile, Tsubaki and Makoto felt a bit sad at the famous Shinobi's death.
Being from the older generation, they had fought side by side a few times… so it was sad to see such a man dying in such a way.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 99 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]