Chapter 25

A large group of assassins had ambushed the Uchiha clan head outside the Land of Lightning. The incident had shocked the Ninja World—no, the entire continent. The Uchiha were the de facto rulers of the Land of Lightning and controlled a group that held the continent's economic lifeline in its grasp. If the Uchiha caught a cold, the whole continent would sneeze.

The Uchiha Clan announced that they would investigate the matter thoroughly. The Land of Vegetables, which had suffered this undeserved calamity, apologized in fear and begged for forgiveness, doing everything it could to clear its name. "We're sorry. We failed to keep a close watch and let these petty villains slip through the cracks..." The daimyo of the Land of Vegetables lost sleep for more than half a month. He spent his days shrouded in gloom, and if he hadn't had some regard for the dignity of a noble, he would have loved to kneel at Uchiha Madara's feet and weep bitterly.

After receiving the Uchiha's demands, the daimyo, Fujiwara Nobuyuki, sent letters to the various factions, calling on them to jointly condemn those responsible. The factions replied with condemnations of their own, some sincere and others not, expressing their support. No matter what their usual relationships were like, they would make sure to put on a good show of solidarity. Even Akabane Hatome, concealing his fear, sent a letter condemning the attack with all due solemnity. Then Fujiwara Nobuyuki ordered the incident announced throughout the country.

A single stone had stirred up a thousand ripples. The power of public opinion was now on full display. The Uchiha had an excellent reputation in the Land of Lightning, and public sentiment overwhelmingly favored them. The attack had happened less than five miles from the Land of Lightning. The Land of Vegetables and the Land of Lightning had fairly good relations, and some people from the Land of Lightning traveled there in their spare time to visit relatives or sightsee, enjoying the superiority of citizens from a suzerain state in one of its vassals. To avoid leaving any witnesses, the attackers had killed every nearby civilian, young and old, men, women, and children alike. Inevitably, some people from the Land of Lightning had been caught up in it.

"My Kyoko went to the Land of Vegetables and never came back!" A woman covered her face and wept. "Kyoko, my daughter! How could you leave your mother behind?"

"You beasts!" An old man pounded the ground with his cane, cursing them furiously.

"They even attacked Lord Madara!" Though the attackers had failed and been wiped out instead, everyone collectively ignored that part. "Unforgivable!"

"Right! We can't let the culprits get away!"

"We have to avenge them!"

"That's right, revenge!"

The Uchiha Clan Compound remained as quiet and peaceful as ever. Summer's splendor was drawing to a close. The colors of the plants and trees shifted from vibrant to somber, and the deepening green carried the coolness of a lake. Half-green maple leaves drifted quietly onto the stone path, their stunning, serene beauty seeming to shut out the noise and chaos of the world.

Yet those who lived here knew full well that they could not escape the shackles of the world. They had driven this turbulent situation forward with their own hands, all to secure the most advantageous position within those shackles.

"Grandpa, you've been busy for over a month. How are things going?"

"The people are ready to be rallied."

He had learned that phrase from the clan head. How could they minimize the people's resistance to war? Give them hatred and fear, and create an enemy for them! Uchiha Koichi was long accustomed to his grandfather's cryptic remarks and disjointed answers. He quickly pieced together what it meant. "...Is it about to begin?"

Uchiha Tai stacked the documents and tapped their edges into alignment. He bound them with a strip of red paper, marked them with a number, and rose without a word. Returning to the inner hall, he drew aside a curtain on the northernmost wall. From among the hundreds of compartments, he selected the one at the fifth row and the twenty-sixth column, then placed the bundle of red-sealed documents inside.

Uchiha Koichi followed him. "Grandpa?"

"Shh." Uchiha Tai held up a finger to his lips. "No need to ask."

That phrase was a common code within the clan. It meant "classified mission" and "carry it out without objection."

Not answering was an answer in itself. It meant the clan leadership had already made up its mind and would either issue no formal notice or would never issue one at all. It also meant the whole matter was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface. Uchiha Koichi put the pieces together and immediately understood.

"Could it be—" His lowered voice could not hide his shock. "Could the clan head have planned the attack himself?"

"He merely went with the flow. How could we let a gift like that, delivered right to our door, go to waste?" Uchiha Tai sighed and patted his grandson on the head. "That's what it means to adapt to the place and the moment. You should watch and learn."

More turbulent than the situation across the continent were the feelings of the daimyo of the Land of Fire and his advisors.

Akabane Hatome's hands trembled so badly that he could barely grip the ornamental sword at his waist. Its cold blade brought him no courage at all. Instead, it sent shivers through him.

It had been a complete failure...

"My lord, it was all that brat's fault!" One of the advisors raised his voice, breaking the silence. "We can't let him off!"

"Exactly!" Another advisor shot the boy a sidelong glance. "He got a few clever ideas and started thinking he knew everything. Look at all the trouble he's caused you!"

The boy remained calm, but inwardly he curled his lip in disdain. A bunch of fools who could only run their mouths after the fact. Where were they before?

"What else is there to say?" Akabane Hatome stared at him.

"What are you afraid of?" the boy asked in return.

His secret weakness had been exposed, and Akabane Hatome immediately grew angry. "How dare you!"

The boy acted as if he hadn't heard and continued, "Their influence in the Land of Fire has already been reduced by sixty percent. Although you lost some men, you've managed to take complete control of power. Your position is now nothing like what it was before. If the Uchiha wanted to kill you, they would have covered up the attack and then planned an assassination. Now that the whole world knows about it, they would surely give people grounds to condemn them if your life were in danger. Aside from the threat to your life, what else are you afraid of?"

What was he afraid of? Akabane Hatome asked himself. In the past, he had dared to challenge the Uchiha, who held power over an entire country, and looked down on the other ninja because of his close relationship with the Senju Clan. Later, he had misjudged the situation and become too full of himself, letting his ties with the Senju grow distant. As a result, the Uchiha's influence had nearly stripped him of all his power and left him utterly humiliated. After that, he had regained some composure and tried to repair his relationship with Senju Hashirama. But Uchiha Madara had gotten there first, and the two clans had successfully formed an alliance. The Senju could no longer be relied upon to help him stand against the other ninja clans.

Even at this point, the situation was not yet beyond saving.

The world of Naruto had been in chaos for a long time. The circumstances of the various countries rose and fell, alliances formed and broke apart, but there was always a group of people who remained at the top, whether they held real power or ruled as figureheads. On the strength of their so-called royal blood, they openly enjoyed the people's taxes and demanded their subjects' loyalty. This world was modeled largely on Japanese culture, and there was no shortage of people blindly loyal to their rulers. That applied not only to commoners; even the most powerful ninja had to bow to them. Akabane Hatome was proud and arrogant, and despised ninja for their lowly origins. Even his friendship with Senju Hashirama had been built on the premise that he was "graciously honoring a worthy man."

But that attitude had collapsed the moment he met Uchiha Madara.

It wasn't just Akabane Hatome. Every noble who had met Uchiha Madara felt fear deep in their bones. It wasn't because of the Sharingan's fearsome reputation, but because of the elegance and majesty that seemed to radiate from his very being, refined by the weight of centuries. He seemed born to stand above all others, and even the lowly status of a ninja could not diminish him in the slightest. He made the nobles feel inferior, and even stirred up jealousy they couldn't help. And his methods were even more unsettling than his power.

The return of an emperor... If an emperor had truly returned, what would that mean for them, the "daimyo"? The boy was right. Akabane Hatome was afraid, but not of the ninja. He was afraid of a fate he could not predict.

"It isn't as simple as you think," he said at last, shaking his head. The boy before him was perceptive and sharp-eyed, truly a rare talent. But his humble origins meant that there were many things he didn't understand.

"We already have some control over the situation," the boy protested, confused. "At a time like this, we should..."

"Go. Head back for now." Akabane Hatome changed his mind at the last moment. The boy was a talent, after all. He might still be useful in the future.

"My lord?!" The boy's face was full of shock. He couldn't understand why the other man was reacting this way. Everything should have been going according to his plan!

"I'll summon you if there's anything." Akabane Hatome cut him off and had the samurai escort him out.

Even after the door slammed shut behind him, the boy still hadn't recovered.

He had been exceptionally clever from a young age. His deductions after observing a situation were almost never wrong, and even his older brother praised him as a born strategist. This time, he had taken on the Uchiha as his opponent. Though their response had been beyond his expectations, the outcome had not been too far from what he'd predicted.

How could this have happened? Damn it, where had he gone wrong?

"Hey! Why are you still standing around? Move along!" A samurai at the entrance to the daimyo's residence scolded him. The boy snorted and darted away.

"Takoyaki~ Delicious takoyaki~"

"Dango~ Sweet dango, now in a new flavor~"

He was so hungry... The scents wafted through the air. The boy sniffed, rubbed his stomach, felt around in his pockets, and finally puffed out his cheeks.

Why hadn't the daimyo even provided lunch? What a cheapskate! Without the feigned maturity he'd put on at the daimyo's residence, the boy looked so cute that passersby smiled at him.

Suddenly, his cheek grew warm. A soft sensation came through the paper bag. The boy turned around in surprise, and his bravado instantly crumbled.

"Brother?"

Plop. The paper bag landed in his hand, its aroma filling his nostrils. The boy held the food and swallowed, then glanced guiltily at his older brother. The young man was tall and slender, his simple hunting robe hanging loosely on his lean frame. Dark green hair fell to his shoulders. "Go ahead and eat."

The boy's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled out a bun and bit into it. Chewing, he asked indistinctly, "When did you get here, Brother?"

The young man smiled gently. "If I hadn't come to find you, you'd be dead by now."

"Nothing happened..." the boy mumbled. He glanced left and right, looked up at the sky and down at the bun, but refused to look at his brother.

"Hmm?" The young man suddenly tightened his grip. The boy yelped in pain and tilted his head to free his ear. "Stop, stop! Brother! That hurts!"

"So you know what pain feels like." He let go, his face turning stern as his smile faded. "Zhan, who told you to get involved in this? You had no idea how high the sky was!"

The boy shrank back, looking aggrieved. "I didn't..."

"Hoshino Zhan!"

"Oh, Brother~ Dear brother~" The boy tugged on his sleeve, pleading. "We learned all those things so we could put them to use, didn't we?"

Hoshino Yu was both amused and worried. "Are you really that eager to make a name for yourself?"

"Wrong! I want to be remembered throughout history!" Hoshino Zhan lifted his chin.

Hoshino Yu stopped walking and looked his younger brother in the eyes. After a moment, he sighed. "Then come with me to the Land of Lightning."