[Read up to 69 Chapters in advance on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Uchiha Police Station, Konohagakure
The Deputy Commander of the ANBU division protested sharply, "I am here on the orders of Hokage-sama. I need to speak with Uchiha Kanzou, now."
Shin snorted, dismissing the Eagle-masked ANBU without hesitation. "It doesn't matter whether you're here representing the Hokage or the Root. Our Patriarch isn't someone you can meet just because you feel like it." His tone cooled further as he added, "If you want an audience, request a proper appointment. You'll only meet him if he chooses to meet you. And if that doesn't satisfy you, go tell Sarutobi Hiruzen to come here himself and speak with the Patriarch. But even he will need to request an appointment first. Without that, there's no chance."
"Uchiha Shin… don't you realise your actions are pushing the Uchiha Clan into an even more desperate situation?" the Eagle-masked ANBU warned coldly.
"Oh?" Shin stepped forward with a slow, mocking smirk. "You think we're in a desperate situation? Care to explain?" His hand drifted toward the hilt of his blade as his eyes bled red, the three tomoe spinning sharply.
Around them, several Uchihas fixed the ANBU with equally cold stares.
A few, like Makoto and Seiji, shared uneasy glances, increasingly unsettled and more certain than ever that their fears might not be misplaced.
Faced with the cold stares of so many Uchihas, the Deputy Captain of ANBU felt cornered, but he also couldn't back down. Gritting his teeth, he began, "This is about Jiraiya-sama's rele—"
Shin cut him off by pressing the blade to his throat. "Did I not say? If you want to meet our Patriarch, you must request an appointment," he said calmly. "It doesn't matter whose order you claim to carry or what your purpose is. Unless Kanzou-sama chooses to see you, you will not meet him."
Then, leaning close so only the ANBU could hear, he added, "As for releasing Jiraiya-sama… he will not be released. He is a criminal and will remain imprisoned for now. Although if the Hokage personally comes and begs for the release of that man who stalks women in bathhouses, perhaps the Patriarch might reconsider."
He sheathed his blade as he stepped back. "Now, do you understand? Leave on your own, or I'll toss you out myself. Frankly, I'd prefer to do the latter."
Seeing no other option, the Deputy Commander backed away in silent anger and frustration before leaving the Police Station.
Once the ANBU was gone, Shin shrugged and returned to his work, giving instructions to the officers nearby.
Moments later, Makoto approached him. "Will Jiraiya really not be released? This could turn troublesome, you know. Even if he's guilty, he's still the Hokage's disciple. Keeping him locked up like this will only worsen things between the clan and the village."
Shin shrugged without much concern. "It doesn't matter. He won't be released until Kanzou-sama says so."
Makoto frowned, pressing further. "But… at this rate, won't it lead to conflict between the clan and the village? Are we… going to fight the village?" He sounded uneasy, hoping to understand Kanzou's true intentions and whether Kanzou is really preparing for war.
Shin tilted his head, giving Makoto a doubtful look. "Why would there be a conflict? What makes you think we're going to fight the village? Why would you even ask such a stupid question?"
"But… given the way things are unfolding, everything seems to be heading in that direction," Makoto said, trying to explain.
Shin sighed. "Look, Makoto-san… I don't know why you think we'd fight the village; it doesn't make sense. That's a foolish thing to say."
"I see… that's a relief," Makoto said, relaxing slightly, as if reassured that open conflict might be avoided.
It's just that he relaxed too soon; Shin hadn't finished. His next words stunned Makoto: "As long as Sarutobi Hiruzen doesn't make the first move, nothing will happen, and given the kind of man he is, that will probably remain the case. But… even if he somehow finds the courage to act, we likely wouldn't need an all-out fight: if the Patriarch and Mikoto-sama take actions, they could wipe everyone out on their own. Frankly, it disappoints me. I wouldn't mind driving my blade into Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart."
"Huh?" Those words left Makoto speechless. Shin openly talked about wanting to kill the Hokage, which scared Makoto.
Noting the older man's nervousness, Shin patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, Makoto-san… the Clan wouldn't be harmed… it doesn't matter who we are up against, it's always the Uchiha that'd come out on top since it's the Patriarch leading us… and if you are that worried or reluctant of conflict against the village… You can just sit on the sidelines… Patriarch wouldn't care all that much…"
"I… I see, that's a relief." Makoto nodded, forcing a neutral, grateful expression.
"Yeah," Shin murmured. "Anyway, I need to send a report to the Patriarch. If there's nothing else, I'll see you later."
With that, he left, and Makoto watched him go, worry settling over his face. 'Fugaku-sama was right, we must move faster, or it may already be too late.'
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Hokage's residence
"So… he refused, huh?" Hiruzen murmured after hearing the Deputy ANBU Commander's report.
"Yes," the Deputy confirmed, then added, "Let alone being able to demand Jiraiya-sama's release, I wasn't even allowed to meet Uchiha Kanzou without an appointment."
"Appointment?" asked Hiruzen with a frown.
"Yes, apparently, one now needs to make a prior appointment to see him. They even said that you, Hokage-sama, would have to do the same. Without an appointment, it's impossible to meet him," explained the Eagle-masked ANBU.
Hiruzen's fist clenched tightly. 'He's already treating himself like the Hokage!'
Requiring an appointment was a privilege reserved for the Hokage, a formality that reinforced authority and hierarchy. For someone like Kanzou to adopt such a rule was nothing short of open defiance, a blatant statement that he saw himself as equal to, if not above, the Hokage. It was an unmistakable act of disrespect.
'Is war truly unavoidable?' Hiruzen wondered grimly. He had no desire for conflict with the Uchiha Clan, yet with the way things were heading, their growing arrogance, their blatant defiance, it was becoming harder to deny the truth.
At this rate, war with the Uchiha seemed not just possible, but inevitable.
'No… there might still be a chance,' Hiruzen thought before asking, "How is Fugaku's progress?"
"He's begun reaching out to the Uchiha clansmen," the Deputy reported. "Some of them, specifically Uchiha Makoto and Uchiha Seiji, have expressed their support. Uchiha Seiji, in particular, despises Kanzou's methods and hopes Fugaku will overthrow him soon so the hostility between the Uchiha and the other clans can finally end."
"Uchiha Makoto and Uchiha Seiji…" Hiruzen murmured, nodding slightly. Of course, he knew both names well, especially Seiji's. 'As expected of Kagami's son,' he thought quietly. 'He truly takes after his father… I wonder, though, if he will awaken those same eyes one day.'
Hiruzen felt conflicted. On one hand, if Seiji were to awaken those eyes, it would certainly make things easier in dealing with Kanzou and Mikoto. But on the other hand, the last thing he wanted was another dangerous power emerging within the Uchiha Clan.
'Well… he is Kagami's son,' Hiruzen thought. 'If he does awaken those eyes, I trust he'll inform me, just as Kagami once did. As for what happens after that… I'll decide when the time comes.'
With that, Hiruzen set the thought aside and instructed the ANBU, "Summon the patriarchs of the various clans. Have them come here discreetly, without alerting the Uchiha Clan. I need to speak with them."
Even though Fugaku was already working to resolve the situation from within, Hiruzen couldn't afford to take chances. If matters spiraled out of control, the entire village would have to stand united to suppress the Uchiha's growing lawlessness. He needed to prepare the other clan heads in advance, so none of them would be caught off guard if the time came to act.
"Understood," the ANBU Deputy replied with a nod before leaving to issue the summons to all the clan leaders, excluding, of course, the Uchiha.
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Patriarch's Mansion, Uchiha Compound
Seated in his study, Kanzou flipped through page after page, furiously scribbling lines of complex sealing formulas. Days of effort had gone into this, yet the results still eluded him.
"This one isn't going to work either…" he muttered, crushing the sheet in his hand and tossing it aside before raking his fingers through his hair in frustration.
The crumpled paper rolled to a stop at Mikoto's feet as she entered the room.
Her gaze swept over the floor, taking in the chaos of scattered scrolls and discarded notes. For a moment, she felt dissatisfied… after all, the room looked too dirty and she wanted to scold Kanzou for the mess he had made.
'No… that would ruin the mood,' Mikoto thought, shaking her head. She decided not to bother him about the mess and planned to clean his study later. Instead, she called softly, "Kan-sama…"
"Yes… Come in," Kanzou replied, glancing up from his desk, only to blink in surprise.
With a single glance, Kanzou could tell she had just come from a bath, her hair still damp, her skin flushed and glistening faintly with droplets of water and sweat from the lingering heat. But what caught his attention wasn't the sheen of her skin; it was what she was wearing.
She wore only a sheer black negligee over a matching thong, the fabric so thin it barely veiled the alluring curves of her body.
Feeling his predator-like hungry gaze linger on her, Mikoto's blush deepened, the tips of her ears turning crimson. Yet beneath the embarrassment, a flicker of pride warmed her chest. After all, what wife wouldn't like that predatory look from her husband towards her? She certainly liked it, and it made her heart flutter.
Smiling softly, she stepped carefully through the cluttered room until she stood by his side.
"Look at you…" Kanzou murmured, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her onto his lap.
Mikoto didn't resist; she settled gracefully on his thigh, wrapping one arm around his neck and leaning into his chest as she gazed up at him.
The moment their eyes met, the air between them thickened. They both leaned in, and before she could even think, Kanzou claimed her lips in a deep, hungry kiss. She didn't pull away; instead, she melted into him, returning the kiss with equal, if not greater, passion.
Chu~
Wet sounds filled the study as their lips and tongue moved in sync, tasting each other for a long, breath-stealing minute before they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily.
"How come you're wearing this…?" he asked, his voice low and teasing as his hand glided over the warm, smooth skin of her bare back.
"I just felt like wearing this before going to sleep," Mikoto replied casually.
"Just felt like it?" Kanzou raised an eyebrow, his gaze sliding over her again. "Are you sure you wore something like this just because you felt like it…" he murmured, leaning close to her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "And not because you wanted to seduce me?"
Mikoto bit her lip before replying softly, "T-to seduce you, Kan-sama…" She couldn't lie to him, of course, she'd worn it to tempt him.
"Fufu…" Kanzou chuckled, clearly amused.
Pouting, Mikoto traced lazy circles on his chest with her finger and said, "It's all Kan-sama's fault… you've been so focused on creating that Fuinjutsu, ignoring everything else, even me. What choice did I have but to try and seduce you?"
"Uh… yeah… I guess I've been too preoccupied with this, haven't I?" Kanzou murmured, glancing at the scattered notes on his desk.
Mikoto nodded softly. "Yes… far too much."
He really hadn't been paying attention to anything else, leaving most matters to her and his other subordinates while he shut himself away in his study, so focused he hadn't even come out to fuck her like he used to.
The neglect had left Mikoto feeling lonely… lonely enough to try and seduce him just to pull him away from his work.
"What are you even trying to create?" she asked gently, peeking over her shoulder at his notes, before shaking her head, "I don't understand most of it…"
She had no idea what exactly he was working on, only that it was some sort of Fuinjutsu formula. Even when she glanced at his notes, the intricate symbols and calculations were a bit difficult for her to understand since her own knowledge of Fuinjutsu wasn't deep enough to make sense of it.
"As for what I'm trying to create… I can't reveal it yet as it's a bit of a surprise," Kanzou replied, offering no further explanation.
Hearing that, Mikoto's eyes brightened with curiosity. "Surprise? Is it for me?" she asked eagerly.
"I suppose you could say that," Kanzou nodded with a faint smile.
Although the surprise wasn't exclusively for her, the mark of ownership he is designing would indeed be placed on her, after all, she is one of the women he owns.
"Then… when will it be complete?" she asked, already looking forward to the surprise.
"I can't say for sure… It's turning out to be far more complicated than I expected and might take a lot of time," Kanzou admitted with a sigh. "And honestly, it's starting to frustrate me."
He hadn't expected it to be this difficult; the Mark of Ownership had even him stumped. It was proving far more complex than he'd anticipated.
Then again, it was a Fuinjutsu on a level surpassing even the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal. And while Kanzou is talented, he wasn't the world's greatest Fuinjutsu master or something, at least, not yet. Creating a seal this intricate, one that met his exact requirements, was bound to take time.
Still, the process wasn't without merit. Each trial deepened his understanding of the sealing art. In a way, this was the best way to master Fuinjutsu, through creation, not just theory.
It reminded him of his past life, of coding projects, how real learning came not from studying syntax or rules of the language, but from building something that actually worked. Every failure taught more than a hundred lessons ever could.
Yet, the slow progress gnawed at him. A wry thought crossed his mind. 'This feels just like those long nights staring at my laptop, trying to debug a line of code…' He grimaced slightly, pushing away the memory of those bleak days, days that had ended with a rope and a ceiling fan.
Just then, Mikoto blinked in surprise as she met his eyes. For a brief moment, she saw something she'd never seen before in his eyes, a flicker of emotion, a glimpse of truth, something raw and human buried deep within Kanzou. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving her wondering if she'd imagined it.
'Was that… just my imagination?' she thought, but didn't ask him about it at the moment. Instead, she suggested softly, "Then why don't you rest for a while, Kan-sama?"
Seeing his frustration and restlessness filled Mikoto with sadness. All she wanted was to ease his weariness, bring him some comfort, and lift his spirits.
"You've been working nonstop on this fūinjutsu, ignoring everything else," she said softly but firmly. "Maybe that's why you're not making much progress. Sometimes, taking a break helps you think more clearly."
"Yeah… I guess you're right," Kanzou admitted with a nod. He knew that taking breaks helped; it's just that he had a habit of losing himself completely in his work when he found it too interesting, which often caused him to forget everything else, even rest.
Mikoto smiled softly, pleased that he agreed. "Then, Kan-sama, why not take a break now, rest a little, and maybe pay some attention to me as well?" she suggested gently. "You can always continue your work tomorrow."
After a brief pause, a faint blush warmed her cheeks as she added, "To help you relax properly… I'll even give you a massage."
"A massage…?" Kanzou echoed, glancing up at her.
"Yes," she nodded quickly, her hands reaching for his shoulders as she began to caress them gently. "Look at your shoulders, they're so stiff from sitting in one place for so long. I'm sure your back and waist must be the same," she added with concern. "To relax all that tension, you definitely need a full-body massage."
"I suppose I do," Kanzou murmured, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he decided to humor her.
"Then… shall we go?" she asked, looking up at him expectantly.
"Yeah… let's go," Kanzou replied with a nod, keeping his arm wrapped around her as he rose to his feet and led her out of the study.
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Drop Power Stonessssssssss!
[Read up to 69 Chapters in advance on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]