"Kei, is this really appropriate?"
After Black Zetsu left, the Great Elder looked at Ueno Kei, who stood quietly beside him, and frowned. That deal just now had undoubtedly been a deal with the devil. Their greatest enemy—it was poison wrapped in sugar!
"...Sigh." Ueno Kei let out a heavy sigh. He knew perfectly well that this deal might be a hidden threat to him—no, perhaps to this entire world! Wouldn't the best course have been to kill Black Zetsu outright just now?
But the temptation of that thing was simply far too great for Ueno Kei. Moreover, it did not conflict with what Hamura had asked him to do. Those were the two important reasons why Ueno Kei had ultimately agreed!
"Great Elder, I don't know whether what I'm doing is truly right either. But if I don't do this, I'm afraid I won't be able to accept it right now," Ueno Kei said in a somewhat low voice. "As for the future, we'll deal with it when it comes. In our current situation, we can only take things one step at a time, can't we?"
Ueno Kei's words carried a helplessness that was utterly unlike the confidence he normally showed before others. It was as though he felt anxiety and unease toward the future. If Naruto or anyone else familiar with Ueno Kei had seen him like this, they would likely have been astonished—no, even shocked.
Why did Konoha's ninja and citizens trust Ueno Kei so deeply? It was because he possessed a calmness and maturity far beyond his age. That composure, that confidence that everything was under control, was the key reason everyone acknowledged him as someone capable of becoming Konoha's pillar!
The ninja of other villages throughout the Ninja World feared Ueno Kei because of his