Shisui fell into silence.
His expression flickered, his mind locked in violent turmoil.
Clearly—
The path Uchiha Kai had spoken of was not in line with his convictions.
But he had to admit,
Even though it went against everything he believed in, the chance of success was undeniably high.
How to change the clan?
It was something he had pondered since childhood. His early graduation from the Academy a few years ago had been for the very purpose of finding a way forward faster.
And yes, he had gained something from it.
Through his studies of the "Will of Fire," coupled with being the grandson of Uchiha Kagami, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had extended an olive branch.
He promised to help him. But years had passed, and within the clan, nothing had changed.
There had been times when Shisui felt lost.
Yet after that brief confusion, he chose to believe in the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Because—he had no other choice.
But now, things are different.
Now, he has Uchiha Kai. A new path.
Unlike Hiruzen's vague promises, the path Kai pointed out, though full of blood and slaughter, was one Shisui could see clearly.
He knew that if he succeeded, the clan would truly change.
In contrast, it suddenly became clear to him.
Hiruzen never intended to help him, nor to help the Uchiha clan. He merely wanted to use him to achieve his own hidden goals.
At that thought, Shisui drew a deep breath.
"I understand.
I will walk this path with unshakable conviction. As long as it can truly save the clan, I—Uchiha Shisui—am willing to give everything.
Blood and slaughter cannot break me!"
His face grew solemn.
Yes.
Once, he had been lost because no road lay before him. But now that he had found one, no matter how difficult, he would tread it to the end.
Uchiha Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
Hearing Shisui's words, he finally let out a long breath of relief.
Good thing.
All that speech he had just given hadn't gone to waste.
But just as he was sighing with relief, Shisui spoke again.
"Kai, what kind of slogan should I use?" Shisui asked awkwardly, looking embarrassed. "And… who should I even recruit?
I barely have any friends in the clan!
And both the radicals and moderates are hostile toward me.
It's really giving me a headache. Kai, do you have any ideas?"
Uchiha Kai: "…"
He almost sprained his back in disbelief.
Good grief!
He had guided him step by step, spoon-fed him all the way up to his lips—and this guy still couldn't do it?!
A black line ran down Kai's face, and he let out a long sigh.
Fine.
It seemed the Uchiha had put all their evolutionary points into those eyes of theirs, and not a single one into their brains. Their IQ could probably rival that big idiot Senju Hashirama.
Still, it couldn't be helped.
Since Shisui was working for him now, Kai could only shake his head helplessly and explain patiently:
"Shisui, you're forgetting one group.
Besides the radicals and moderates, there's still a large number of marginalized Uchiha.
They only enjoy the clan's basic welfare—otherwise, they're no different from civilian shinobi.
Offer them a C-rank ninjutsu scroll, and they'll follow you without hesitation. If you're willing to hand out a B-rank scroll, they'd even sell you their lives.
Your background is too high—you can't imagine how hard it is for those at the very bottom.
But of course, don't just hand everything out at once.
Even if they're clansmen, that way lies ruin.
Any power needs rules and systems.
On this matter, take the village as a reference.
Without rules, relying on sentiment alone—does that work?
So if you want to build a faction, you can't be swayed by emotions. They must earn what they want through deeds. The more they do, the more they get.
As for a slogan, I suggest you ask Hiruzen directly.
Tell him the radicals are impossible to win over, and even the moderates have their own agendas—they can't be swayed completely toward the village.
So you've decided to form your own faction.
Since you're Hiruzen's man, he'll definitely believe you.
He won't just give you a slogan—he'll probably even send Anbu to help you. That way, building your faction will be much easier.
And remember this, Shisui:
There are no eternal friends or enemies—only eternal interests.
Make your enemies many when needed, and few when necessary.
Always draw the line between friend and foe clearly, because they can switch at any moment.
Take Hiruzen, for example. While he's helping you form your faction, he's your friend. But once you succeed, once you fully control the Uchiha clan—he becomes your enemy."
Kai had been quite earnest.
After all, if Nara Kazama's plan was to be executed, then the Uchiha would become extremely important.
Their brains might be questionable, but properly used, they were among the best fighters one could ask for.
On the other side, Shisui's face was filled with shock.
He had never imagined there were so many intricacies in this.
Thinking it over, it all made sense.
Only now did he realize just how naïve he had been.
Drawing a deep breath, he spoke solemnly:
"Alright, I understand.
Let's end the idle talk here—let's get back to business.
Regarding the arrangement of your squad, the clan head and Nara Shikaku have already decided.
You and Nara Kazama will join my squad, and we'll also be assigned a member of the Hyuga clan.
Our squad will be considered an elite unit.
As for Kudo Shin,
He'll be assigned to a regular squad, serving as its captain.
Get ready. At the latest, the day after tomorrow, we'll be moving out!"
Uchiha Kai was dumbfounded.
He froze.
He was just a bystander—so how had he ended up assigned to Shisui's squad?
Wasn't this too sudden?
How did a professional slacker like him suddenly get classed as elite?!
Wait—hold on.
In the original story, Nara Shikaku was supposed to head to the Rain Country front!
As a top-tier strategist, why was he here against Hidden Blood Mist Village instead of facing Hidden Stone Village and Hidden Cloud Village?
"Wait, Shisui.
Did you mean Nara Shikaku, the Jounin squad leader and clan head of the Nara?"
Shisui blinked, a little taken aback.
He couldn't understand—
Why was Kai so fixated on this point?
Even so, he nodded.
"Clan Head Fugaku is the overall commander, and Nara Shikaku is the deputy commander.
I heard the village originally intended to send the Nara clan head to the Rain front, but he personally requested to come to the Mist front instead.
The Hokage was persuaded."
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