46 Noncommittal

Orochimaru would sooner believe a ghost's words than Kei's; Uchiha Kei was simply not the type of person to possess such noble sentiments.

Yet, the words and actions of this morally bankrupt man were, at this moment, far too infectious. Even Orochimaru's heart, which had long since shed all human emotion, could not help but waver in response to Kei's speech.

Even though Orochimaru firmly believed that this scoundrel Uchiha Kei was just stirring up trouble and lying through his teeth, he was still swayed by his rhetoric.

Perhaps if he were ten years younger, he would have surely followed in Kei's footsteps to witness this cause that aimed to pierce the very clouds.

Alas, he was no longer that youth of the past; Orochimaru had seen far too many politicians like Kei, who spoke of nothing but justice.

"Kei-kun, if you continue like this, I shall begin to doubt your sincerity toward our alliance."

Kei, having finished his grandstanding, was displeased. I wasn't putting on this show for your benefit; can't you at least play along?

If you have an issue, say it in private. No wonder you're a villain; you're truly unlikeable. You deserve to be beaten to death and back again in the future.

"Orochimaru, what is that supposed to mean!"

Seeing Kei's irritation, Orochimaru remained unruffled. Having grown familiar with Kei, he allowed a rare flicker of human emotion to surface, smiling as he spoke.

"Kei-kun, while I may not know you well, I do know that you have never been a man who lives for the sake of the masses. Allies should at least be somewhat candid with one another. You must let me understand what you are planning before I can cooperate with you."

Kei, having been seen through, felt no embarrassment. He returned to the room, closed the door, and muttered to Orochimaru in a low voice.

"Fine, you're right! I just want to take the tactics the Third Hokage intends to use on me and return them to the old man. I noticed your teacher hadn't raised a banner of justice yet, so I decided to wave my own banner of justice first to put some pressure on the Third, lest he make no progress at all!"

Indeed, Kei believed that since they were already enemies, he had to choose his slogans carefully—they had to be the most righteous-sounding ones possible, otherwise, he would easily be painted as the villain and attacked from all sides.

Thus, Kei had preempted the Third Hokage by establishing his own political platform: fighting for upward mobility for all mediocre ninjas.

As for whether he would turn around and ride on the backs of those same ninjas once he succeeded, that was a matter for after the revolution was won.

He certainly couldn't be like the Third Hokage, who was on the verge of war while his own subordinates still didn't understand what they were fighting for. That was a recipe for betrayal.

In any case, Kei held the Third Hokage in utter contempt. If they were to swap positions, and if Kei were the Third, he would have had the entire Uchiha clan attending their own funerals within three days, yet the Third had dragged this out for months.

After all that effort, all he had managed to arrange for Uchiha Kei was a farce of provocation, betrayal, and enmity!

Such petty schemes were only surprising the moment they succeeded, and their success rate was low, with far too many variables.

Therefore, Kei intended to teach the Third Hokage a lesson: use the momentum of the masses to pressure him, use military intimidation, and leave him with no room to maneuver.

Seeing Kei speak so casually about his plans to target the Third Hokage, Orochimaru was speechless. So, you, Uchiha Kei, are actually hoping for the war to start early.

"It seems Kei-kun is quite impatient for civil war. Does Kei-kun have absolute certainty of victory?"

Regarding raw strength, Orochimaru still did not favor Kei.

Kei looked indifferent. "Not at all. I just want to see how Sarutobi will apologize to the public under the dual pressure of civil and foreign war."

"Hm?" Orochimaru was a bit lost; he had been too busy escaping reality through experiments lately and was lacking some intelligence.

Kei felt a surge of pride. This was the advantage of a broad perspective; one could not focus on just one point, for who knew which cloud would bring the rain?

"Haha, perhaps Mr. Orochimaru is unaware, but the Sunagakure and Kirigakure ninjas are about to attack. I wonder what chips Konoha intends to use to end the war this time."

Orochimaru suddenly understood. So that was it—Konoha not only had internal enemies but also external threats. It seemed the tides of fate were not on the Third Hokage's side.

However, Kei was being overly confident. The combined national strength of the Land of Wind and the Land of Water did not equal that of the Land of Fire, especially when the war was being fought on the Land of Fire's own soil.

"Kei-kun, we have successfully repelled the siege of four nations before. Mere Sunagakure and Kirigakure ninjas are not enough to force Konoha to go all out!"

Kei nodded. "Yes, that is true. The Sunagakure and Kirigakure ninjas might gain some small advantages, but there is absolutely no possibility of them defeating Konoha. However, what chips does Konoha have to deal with a joint attack from both?"

"Hm!" Orochimaru was momentarily speechless, perhaps digesting the implications of Kei's words.

The meaning of Sunagakure and Kirigakure attacking Konoha was entirely different from them attacking Konoha in alliance.

Regardless of the situation, it would require dividing the Third Hokage's forces, meaning he would lack the absolute military power to resolve the problem posed by Uchiha Kei.

"Kei-kun, must you go so far? You are dragging Konoha down to the grave with you!"

Kei shook his head. "Of course not. I have said before that Konoha is the Uchiha's Konoha; I am merely teaching its administrator, Sarutobi, a lesson."

"What kind of lesson?"

"I want to make Lord Sarutobi understand that no matter how he boasts, Konoha has never won a war under his leadership."

Kei added another cryptic remark.

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru pressed.

"I simply want to make Sarutobi understand one truth: anyone can start a war, but only the victor can end it. The Second Great Ninja War was not ended by Konoha, so if Sarutobi insists on starting a civil war, it will not be a war that Sarutobi can end just because he wants to."

"You want to erase the Third Hokage's achievement of leading Konoha to victory in the Second War!" Orochimaru was startled. "Why does Kei-kun think the teacher will compromise with you?"

Kei did not feel he was being delusional.

"Because the Third's weakness is too obvious. He cares far more about Konoha than I do."

Indeed, Uchiha Kei had the resolve to drag Konoha down with him, but did the Third?

Despite Kei calling himself the master of Konoha, he didn't care about its survival at all, whereas the Third Hokage was forced to care—it was the political legacy he had spent decades maintaining.

Thinking of this, Orochimaru realized that the Third would eventually compromise.

For reasons unknown, Orochimaru felt a sense of pleasure and twisted his neck; perhaps it was the knowledge that Konoha would remain unscathed while his teacher would be humiliated.

With the topic having reached this point, it seemed their meeting should come to an end. Orochimaru rose to his feet.

"I suddenly feel that standing on the side of the victor is an excellent choice. So, what else does Qi need me to do?"

As an ally, one must have value, otherwise, what is the difference between us and Italy?

Orochimaru hoped to add some weight to his own value.

"Nothing else is needed, Mr. Orochimaru. Take some time to study the Tailed Beasts; perhaps one day we will have use for them!" Qi said, though he still made the request despite his words.

Orochimaru nodded.

"Then farewell, Qi."

Qi also saw Orochimaru off.

"Farewell, Mr. Orochimaru."

The meeting ended just like that. Watching Orochimaru's receding figure, Qi suddenly felt a bit tired.

At this moment, a plea filled with bitterness drifted through the air.

"Qi, if it is possible, please grant Master Sarutobi a dignified end!"

Qi remained noncommittal.