Untying the Bandages

Untying the Bandages

"How many did you say?"

The two of them looked over at the same time.

As the saying went, provisions had to be prepared before troops could move.

An armed coup likewise required a vast amount of money to support it.

The Uchiha's current overall trajectory was toward an armed coup. Unless the Uchiha were given a Hokage now, it could not be stopped.

In that case, money and supplies became crucial.

Unfortunately, not long had passed since the end of the Third Shinobi World War. With certain people causing trouble, the Uchiha could only be said to have just barely recovered.

That assessment was far too generous.

For a ninja of his level to feel an intense sense of danger every moment during battle was simply unbelievable.

Fugaku let out a heavy snort.

For ninja at their level, even a brief exchange was enough to reveal many things.

He arrived at a secluded corner of the Uchiha Clan Compound, a place rarely visited by anyone.

Kazuki jumped straight in.

"Yes, it's that important!" Setsuna sneered. "I dream of killing him. Damn Danzo!"

Thus, upon hearing about one million Explosive Tags, Setsuna's heart trembled.

Yet his gaze only grew fiercer.

He had admitted it himself: he had a plan.

It looked like an underground prison cell, yet it was not locked. No, even the door was not closed.

Setsuna said something that nearly made Kazuki's jaw drop.

"Ah!"

Kazuki?

Clan head?

Two million Explosive Tags—Fugaku would be secretly delighted if he could buy them for one billion ryo.

Elder!

Elder Setsuna!

Did you take the wrong medicine?

"I hope I misunderstood what you meant."

"Cough, cough!"

After opening it, Kazuki strolled inside. He pressed a switch on the wall, and the floor slowly rose, revealing a large hole.

Explosive Tags were strategic materials. Normally, you could buy a small amount at weapon shops, but once the quantity grew too large, you simply could not get any.

"Forget it!"

Where had Kazuki gotten so many?

This would be an enormous help to the Uchiha's plans.

That smile made Fugaku's Three Tomoe emerge in an instant.

In fact, weapon shops in Konoha would never sell the Uchiha this many either.

Kazuki adjusted his glasses, smiled, and said, "Today, I will finally have my wish fulfilled. The most beautiful back in the ninja world, you are mine."

Kazuki smiled at the person before him. "Long time no see. On your side... hmm, the smell of corpses is strong. Looks like quite a few people have come here recently."

The two who had been won over by Explosive Tags clearly did not have much hope for this.

"Deal!"

"Then it's settled. I'll deliver them to you in batches." Kazuki rose and said, "Put Itachi in the position, then support him. Let's see whether injecting some fresh blood into the clan's leadership will bring any changes."

"Let's try it!"

At the deepest part of the dungeon, candlelight flickered.

In the unsteady glow, a graceful figure sat quietly, holding a book. A small table stood beside her, with tea on it.

It was the first time those words had come from Fugaku's mouth.

Setsuna looked at Fugaku and slowly asked, "You're very wary of him?"

It was hard to imagine such a scene.

At Konoha's current price for Explosive Tags, one cost roughly three hundred ryo.

"How could you possibly have such an idea?"

Fugaku: "..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now that's the feeling!"

The ninja of this world did not understand such things.

Unfortunately, Kazuki was someone extremely difficult to grasp. You had no idea what he was thinking.

Setsuna's face twitched.

Setsuna cleared his throat and said, "Itachi is just a child. What kind of deputy clan head could he be? As an elder of the clan, I object."

At that moment, Fugaku and Setsuna's minds went blank, leaving only one thought.

He actually had such an idea.

At that moment, Fugaku actually showed a trace of fear.

Fugaku nodded repeatedly as well.

"You..."

As for two-fifty... what was that?

Two million Explosive Tags!

That was two million of them!

This was absolutely no small amount.

If he fought Kazuki and won, there would be no benefit. If he lost, he would be humiliated before the entire clan.

"And besides..."

Before Fugaku could erupt, Kazuki used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Kazuki was even more decisive than he was.

If this guy became clan head, he would truly torment people to death. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō would probably cry too!

In public, they would burst into tears!

Eh?

Thinking about it that way, maybe it was not impossible!

Kazuki laughed outright. "Elder Setsuna, when you got anxious, the person you thought of was Danzo? Tsk, tsk, is he that important to you?"

"Very satisfied, very satisfied!"

"Heh heh!"

Fugaku was even more direct. "The deputy clan head of the Uchiha—can that be measured in money? Kazuki, you underestimate us too much. We Uchiha are a ninja clan with a thousand-year history."

Setsuna looked at Fugaku uncertainly.

After their brief spar just now, he truly had little confidence in facing Kazuki.

Fugaku fell silent.

Fugaku smiled and shook his head. "Forget I said anything."

Fugaku hesitated, then said, "What do you think about making Kazuki the Uchiha clan head?"

"Hmph!"

"Don't tell me you want to raise the price at the last minute." Kazuki gave a half-smile. "I really dare to beat people up. I'll do it right in front of the jonin. As long as I don't beat them to death, I'll beat them half to death."

Fugaku's expression turned grave. "During that battle just now, I had a feeling that I was in his palm. If he merely closed his hand, I would be caught in his grasp."

Their strength was far inferior even to what it had been before the ninja world war.

Kazuki did not return to the Cremation Shop, nor did he go to Kurenai's house.

The woman sighed helplessly. "You came. You finally came."

The price of Explosive Tags varied across different periods.

They were regulated.

"...Yes!" Fugaku said decisively. "Two million Explosive Tags, and I'll overcome all opposition to agree to Itachi becoming deputy clan head."

At the cheap end, one could be bought for two hundred ryo. At the expensive end, they could cost over a thousand, enough to make many Chunin green with envy.

Damn it, I asked for too little!

"Uchiha Kazuki is unfathomable!"

Setsuna fell silent. After a long while, he said, "This really is..."

One person, one table, one pot of tea.

He sneakily glanced at Mikoto, who was tidying up the house some distance away, and chuckled.

And!

Kazuki looked at the two of them and said, "I'm giving you a two-fifty, and you're still not satisfied?"

What was his plan?

Fugaku smiled freely. "At least he bears the Uchiha name! Even if all of us fail, as long as Kazuki lives, the Uchiha will not perish."

"Everything I have done is for Konoha!"

Setsuna was so startled that he nearly stood up.

Bang!

Setsuna's old face wrinkled into a chrysanthemum-like smile.

Setsuna rubbed his brow in pain. "I was just anxious. For a moment, I thought of Danzo."

"Yes, I came!"

There was only a stone house there.

"Kazuki, you..."

"Ah, for that damned Danzo, I'll add another five hundred thousand Explosive Tags. Consider them burial gifts for Danzo."

Who did not know your family was preparing to make trouble?

Kazuki gave a half-smile. "What, have you two formed a team now? Planning to scam me out of something big?"

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

And besides.

With his unprecedentedly furious voice, he roared, "Fire Style..."

Kazuki frowned. "Clan Head Fugaku, Itachi is your son, not mine. Of course..."

Kazuki looked at him sidelong. "So I need to add more money, right?"

Kazuki was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at Setsuna for a long while before saying, "Elder Setsuna, has Danzo taken over your body?!"

"From today onward, both your body and heart will belong to me!"

With that, he began untying the bandages around his face.