05 Many times, we've traveled so far, yet

Often, we forgot why we set out.

So, in that moment, Kei threw caution to the wind and drew cards, using up all the summoning scrolls he'd saved for more than half a year in one go.

As for who objected, who wanted to know where all these Uchiha had come from, how these ninja had gotten through Konoha's seals and into the village, and whether there were any others besides them, Kei couldn't worry about any of that.

All Kei could think was: either you kill me, or you find a reasonable explanation for yourselves.

I, Uchiha Kei, have lived my life as I pleased. Why should I have to explain myself? You can choose whether to question me or fight me.

He was acting like a man who didn't care if the world went to hell after he died.

Then, after a flash of light just like the Flying Thunder God, more than sixty ninja appeared.

There were six purple cards, more than a dozen blue cards, and the rest were green.

The purple cards had the Three-Comma Pattern, the blue cards had the Two-Comma Pattern, and the green cards had only just awakened.

The comma patterns were Magatama.

An uproar like that naturally shocked the village's higher-ups.

But the surprising thing was that matters didn't take the worst possible turn.

Suspicion always made schemers hesitate.

Especially when the person they suspected was an unattached orphan who could do whatever he pleased. Before they had complete information, the powerful figures chose to wait and see.

Now that Kei had risen to a position of power, he could understand what had happened back then.

At the time, the village couldn't tolerate the Uchiha, while Fugaku, as clan head, lacked the means to resist. When dozens of unmistakable Uchiha appeared, each with at least one tomoe, it didn't matter who they were. They were Uchiha.

Fugaku had wandered around for a long time with a few trusted subordinates near Kei and the newly arrived Uchiha. But, true to his indecisive nature, he ultimately decided to leave them alone.

He didn't even enter the courtyard where Uchiha Kei was standing guard, ready for battle.

Fugaku had thought that there were only a few dozen of them, and sooner or later they would have to contact the clan. If nothing else, he could make life difficult for them by controlling their food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

Just as the Daimyo held the ninja in check.

So Fugaku first shielded them from the village's scrutiny, telling everyone that they were clan members who had lived in seclusion elsewhere and were now returning. Then he waited, perfectly at ease, for them to approach him, their clan head, before deciding what to do.

Of course, Fugaku had also meant to bluff a little!

Damn it, the Hokage dared to bully the Uchiha like this because he thought he knew all our cards and could control us completely.

Now that this group of Uchiha had suddenly appeared, Fugaku believed the clan would have an easier time for a while. Uncertainty had entered the equation. I, Fugaku, was no longer someone the Hokage could see through.

Now even I couldn't see through myself. I didn't believe the Hokage could see through me.

Fugaku was right. The Hokage left him alone for quite a while because of this incident.

The Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had believed it was only a matter of time before the Uchiha were broken apart. He thought he knew exactly how much strength the clan had left.

For one thing, Uchiha Shisui, one of the clan's strongest fighters, was on his side. On top of that, Shisui had even turned Uchiha Itachi, the clan head's son, against his own clan.

To help Shisui, Sarutobi had even gone around proclaiming that young Uchiha Itachi had the potential to become Hokage.

How could anyone tell that a five-year-old had the potential to be Hokage? It only took one word from the Hokage!

As Sarutobi saw it, he knew your strength, restricted your growth, and still gave you hope. How could the Uchiha possibly rise against him?

You, Uchiha Fugaku, wanted to outlast me. Maybe I, Sarutobi, wouldn't live as long as you, young Fugaku, but under the circumstances, I figured your Uchiha Clan wouldn't outlive me.

Without knowing what was going on, Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to stay silent. He trusted that someone else would make the first move.

That someone was Danzo.

Danzo was reckless enough to send out several members of Root in a flash.

They were supposed to interrogate the Uchiha, and they even went over Fugaku's head.

But Kei, who had watched Naruto, knew that Root was a hidden branch of Anbu. Few people besides the higher-ups and jonin even knew it existed.

Its ninja weren't officially registered. Those who acknowledged Root understood what it was, but to those who didn't, its members had no authority to enforce the law.

Especially under those circumstances, Kei had been ready for an all-out war.

The ninja he'd drawn included Gen, the leader of the Iga Clan, and Danjō, the leader of the Koga Clan.

Three or five members of Root thought they could interrogate them?

That was like a bunch of thugs trying to rob an armory.

So that night, the Root members who'd come to interrogate them finally got their wish: they found a comfortable tree root in which to bury their lives, hidden from the light of day.

Clearly, Danzo had overestimated his own influence. He'd thought everyone in Konoha had to show him respect. Surely no one would dare start a war in the village?

But he hadn't expected that these newly arrived ninja had been summoned by a man willing to start a war just to make sure orphans had enough to eat.

One side wanted a major war; the other assumed their opponent wouldn't dare to fight. That was how the misunderstanding began.

Just as old gangsters often met their end at the hands of reckless young punks. Just as Zhang Haoran had died at Zhang Yue's hands.

The moment he felt the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal disappear, Danzo realized that someone really had dared to show him no respect.

Furious, Danzo considered leading Root in another reckless assault. But after calming down, he realized that although Root had plenty of people, almost none of them could fight.

All their past misdeeds had been backed by the Hokage. People hadn't been showing Danzo respect; they'd been showing respect to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who held the Hokage Position and had three formidable disciples.

With no other choice, Danzo went to pressure Sarutobi Hiruzen again, demanding that he punish the Uchiha for what they'd done.

But Sarutobi figured Danzo's move had served as a test. If Uchiha Fugaku was still weak, he could push him even harder. If Fugaku wasn't, then Danzo could take the blame.

Faced with the unknown Uchiha, whose arrival had already caused a great deal of bloodshed, Sarutobi backed down.

Breaking the Uchiha apart was the right way forward. Fighting them was the worst option.

So the two men disagreed once again.

The incident ended with another exchange: "Sarutobi, you'll regret this!"

"Danzo, I'm the Hokage."

Kei had no idea that his actions had dragged the entire Uchiha Clan into the mess.

In the end, everyone in the Uchiha Clan and throughout Konoha, whether they liked it or not, accepted that a branch of the Uchiha had been living elsewhere and was gradually moving back to Konoha.

After some time passed without further trouble, the lovable Hokage faction had already begun instilling the Will of Fire in the orphans who had arrived with Uchiha Kei.

The young Uchiha, who had never known warmth, were finally basking in the Will of Fire under the Hokage's rule.

The Hokage repeatedly visited orphans across the village, including those of the Uchiha Clan, under the pretext of showing concern for the children of heroes.

Unfortunately, he never saw Kei.

But children were easy to win over, after all.

Kei had no idea how many of those orphans had come to side with the Hokage.

He could understand. The Hokage was the legitimate authority, after all.

Putting himself in their place, if his ordinary self from his previous life had suddenly received a visit from a high-ranking official, his loyalty to the organization would surely have grown by a notch.

But understanding it didn't mean he could accept it.

Uchiha Kei, who had once resolutely put himself in danger so the orphans could have a hot meal, saw it as betrayal.

A betrayal by his own class.

Those dozen or so orphans had been counted among Kei's followers, but they had grown closer to Shisui's faction. Like human message boards, they constantly relayed the Will of Fire to Uchiha Kei.

And Kei stopped trying to change the world for the sake of orphans. Instead, he couldn't stop moving forward for the sake of his career.

Many times, we've traveled so far, yet often forgotten why we set out.

To outsiders, Uchiha Kei, the newly appointed elder who was the center of attention, seemed surrounded by admirers. In truth, he was a lonely man who could only keep company with "paper people."

Kei could only laugh helplessly. Did life always have to turn out so differently from what you expected?

Kei even began to doubt himself. Was there really something wrong with the way I treated people? If the system hadn't forced every character I drew to bear a clear Thought Seal, making them serve Lord Uchiha Kei, would these paper people have disliked me too?

If Kei had been a native of the Naruto world, the rejection caused by this betrayal alone would have been enough to crush his spirit, just as it had once crushed the mighty White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo.

There was no denying it: when it came to destroying someone's spirit, the Hokage knew what he was doing.

He understood human nature far too well!