"This family really is just like the ones depicted in the comics—cold-blooded and ruthless..."
As Qi left the Hyuga Clan's mansion, a trace of disdain welled up in his heart.
A family's cohesion lies in caring for its members, but this family only cares for the Main Family, and if needed, even members of the Main Family can be used as bargaining chips.
Perhaps this is a tradition of so-called large families, but Qi secretly vowed that he would never let the Huiyue Clan become like the Hyuga Clan.
While it's unknown what Hyuga Hiashi would think if he knew what Qi was thinking, at least, after hearing that Hyuga Hiashi was using this as a bargaining chip, Qi's initial intention to play Hyuga Clan faded considerably...
In his view, a family that would trade even its own members was absolutely untrustworthy.
"Fine, I was greedy after all. Humph, if you're going to turn on someone, you should do it properly. How long can you fool people with just one act..."
Having made up his mind about a new idea, Qi turned and walked towards the Uchiha territory again...
Compared to the Hyuga Clan, the communication on the Uchiha side was extremely relaxed, which was the direct reason why the Feudal Lord of Fire urged Qi Jianzu to establish his clan.
What made Qi feel most comfortable was that the Uchiha's speech was much more substantial than the Hyuga Clan's, and there was no nonsense like "I'll give you a woman," which made him feel very comfortable.
Hyuga Clan, neither the Uchiha were his most important concerns at the moment. Therefore, after finishing his visits to both clans, he entered the Root's underground base and stood before his current teacher, Danzo.
"Are you really going to do as the Daimyo wishes?"
Danzo looked at his only disciple, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
" Konoha is Konoha after all. These are our internal affairs. Promise the Daimyo, lower your stance, and based on that alone, even if things eventually come to that, it won't be our responsibility. Why bother with all this?"
"Teacher, you overestimate me."
Qi groaned.
"I have my own ideas and I won't follow in other people's footsteps."
I know exactly what you're thinking. If I could, I wouldn't like this kind of thing either, but the choice isn't in our hands.
Qi's words did not make Danzo feel relieved. Instead, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"You are my heir, learn to be ruthless. It's not enough to just lock wild beasts in cages, they have to be killed."
"Does the teacher mean I am very compassionate?"
Upon hearing this, Qi couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"It takes two to tango. Isn't it because we were a little too harsh on them that they got to this point?"
"This is the choice they have."
Danzo's expression turned cold. His gaze passed over Qi and turned in a certain direction.
"If you lose, of course you have to pay the price. Otherwise, what do you think the ninja village is?"
"It seems that the teacher and I have a big disagreement on this point. In that case, let's wait for the final result. If things develop as the teacher expects, I will obey orders."
At this point, Qi finally understood the source of his disagreement with Danzo.
Danzo viewed Konoha as the Senju Clan's private property, while he viewed Konoha as the military branch of the Land of Fire. With such diametrically opposed perspectives, their conclusions would naturally differ.
But overall, this isn't a major disagreement. After all, ninja villages are highly independent; they are essentially countries within a country, so it's not entirely impossible.
"Oh, you mean you want to make a bet with me?"
Hearing Qi's words, Danzo couldn't help but feel a little amused, and his mood improved considerably.
"That's good too. You're stubborn, and you can't be convinced by words alone. Hmm, this is good."
He burst into laughter.
"Is there anything else? Let's do it all at once."
"Hmm, there are two more."
Qi smiled, then his smile faded, and he continued quite seriously.
"Firstly, it's about my people. I want them to focus on developing within the 'roots' and not go to other departments. Secondly..."
He gave a sinister smile and said something somewhat ambiguous.
"I plan to borrow some heads to establish my authority."
"Whose head do you want to borrow?"
Upon hearing this, Danzo immediately became interested, and he looked at Qi with great interest.
"It's rare that you've taken the initiative to offer this to me, right? As long as it's within my power, then there's no problem."
"Does the teacher still remember what happened in Land of Waterfalls a while ago?"
Qi didn't answer but instead asked a question.
Although it didn't continue, a faint hint of murderous intent flashed in his pupils...
"Tsk, your request might be a bit difficult to fulfill..."
To his surprise, Danzo actually said something like that.
"Why?"
He simply couldn't understand it. Given Danzo's personality, shouldn't he have been worried about whether Danzo had secretly sent people to wipe them all out?
"Because, at present, the overall strength of the Five Great Shinobi Villages is roughly equal."
Danzo finally revealed the reason, but his words left Qi Lei completely dumbfounded...
However, the old man didn't notice and continued doing what he was doing.
"Don't be fooled by the fact that Konoha seems to have the strongest overall strength. Its geographical environment is also the worst. Because the Land of Fire has no natural defenses, we are always the first to be attacked in every Shinobi World War. It's unlikely that you can retaliate against them right now, unless their ninjas leave their country. That would make things easier. Otherwise, if you attack on their homeland, you won't be able to come back alive."
"..."
Danzo remained Danzo, but Qi grimaced in disbelief...
He genuinely didn't understand why Danzo thought he wanted revenge against those three major villages. Did he really look like such a brainless idiot...?
"Teacher..."
He interrupted Danzo's rambling with an unfriendly expression.
"It's not them I'm referring to, it's those people."
"Huh? Oh..."
Danzo's expression actually looked somewhat disappointed.
"I thought you were from three big villages..."
"..."
Qi began to take deep breaths...
"Can you find out their identities?"
"There's no problem with that; we've been investigating it for a while now."
Danzo nodded, his face, which was anything but kind, now contorted with malice.
"However, their composition is too complex, and it will take time to find out everything in a short period of time. You should focus on training your people first. When the time comes, I will entrust the entire task to you and your family."
His mood was now quite different from before; he was now rather cheerful.
In the heart of this violent maniac, it was truly gratifying that his disciple would take the initiative to ask him for the mission of exterminating his clan.
"I've met your clansmen. They're quite good. It's clear that the Land of Water has given them a solid foundation in ninjas. With a little training, they can quickly become a formidable fighting force. Don't waste this golden opportunity. Make them stronger quickly. If you can truly get a large number of your clansmen to establish themselves within 'Root'..."
He suddenly sighed.
"Then I'll take the liberty of separating 'Root' from the Anbu and making it a department under the complete control of your Huiyue Clan!"