A Wager and Its Stakes

"..."

Sakurako Uchiha fell silent, as if time had frozen in that moment.

Indeed, purely from a sensory standpoint, she found Uchiha Tenshu's lecherous gaze utterly repulsive.

He had once stared at her with that look. If not for the elder's orders, she would have taught him a lesson he'd never forget.

When had she first started paying attention to him and come to loathe him? It seemed to have been when he approached Yukino.

From that moment on, she had thought him cunning and devious, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

Though his actions were so secretive, they still couldn't escape her notice. His little schemes within the clan were even more impossible to hide.

Especially his so-called "Bomen Lixue" and "Tenshu Fenli," along with a series of other acts, which only made Sakurako Uchiha think that, despite being clever and quick-witted, he was utterly hypocritical, like the moon reflected in water or flowers in a mirror—beautiful at a glance, but unreal.

Because of this, Sakurako Uchiha immediately reported Uchiha Tenshu's ambitions and scheming to Elder Raimon. She had thought Elder Raimon would give him a warning or drive him out.

"...But who would've thought Elder Raimon would completely ignore you and still trust you so much? And in the face of Miss Yukino's coldness, you're actually unmoved, deliberately putting on an act in front of her, ..." At this point, Sakurako Uchiha was utterly baffled. Why would Elder Raimon still keep such a hypocritical person by his side and personally train him as an heir? Was she not afraid he would hurt Miss Yukino?

At this, Uchiha Tenshu glanced at her, feeling speechless. She'd been paying attention to me so early on? Too bad that back then, Elder Raimon had relied on me to solve her problems. After I'd backed her into a corner last time, there was no way out. And later, there was even less to say—there were no heirs in her branch. You girls were all women, so you couldn't become heirs. Just being female meant the Uchiha clan looked down on you by default. Even if you had great strength and awakened the Sharingan, you still wouldn't be valued.

Not to mention the huge profits from alcohol and the earnings ledger that had to be revised every month. Elder Raimon couldn't do without my cooperation. Later, there was even less to say—Yukino had already been won over by me, step by step, and couldn't do without me.

There was naturally no need to say more about what happened next.

There were no male heirs, and the only daughter had been won over. She had considerable talent. Put that way, so-called scheming and hypocrisy weren't shortcomings at all; they were excellent instincts for a ninja surviving in the darkness.

Uchiha Tenshu naturally had no need to explain any of this to Uchiha Eiko. He only smiled and said nothing.

Sakurako Uchiha continued, "Actually, do you know? Ever since you approached Miss Yukino, Miss Ryougetsu assigned me to keep an eye on you and gather information about you. You could say there's no one in the whole of Konoha who knows you better than I do. Whether you were telling stories beside Miss Yukino or training alone, I was always watching you in silence!"

As Sakurako Uchiha spoke, she leaned forward, moving closer to Uchiha Tenshu and adding to the pressure.

"You could say there's no one in the whole of Konoha Village who understands you better than I do. You hide it well, but I can see that you've never set your heart on the village or the clan. You've always wanted to leave!"

"..." Uchiha Tenshu suddenly stopped, his brows furrowing. But before he could speak,

Sakurako Uchiha asked again, "Why? Why do you want to leave so badly? Didn't you promise to protect Miss Yukino and Miss Ryougetsu for the rest of your life?" Her face was full of confusion; she couldn't understand Uchiha Tenshu's way of thinking at all.

"Ah! Perhaps."

"As far as I'm concerned, I won't deny what I've done or the promises I've made, but that doesn't mean I have to stay in Konoha Village for the rest of my life to do all that."

"What do you mean? Are you saying you want to take Yukino and the others with you when you leave?" Sakurako Uchiha couldn't understand.

"Do you know?" Uchiha Tenshu began. He didn't explain or confirm anything, only glanced at her. "Most people can only see the buoys on the water's surface, not the currents below. They focus on the beauty of the present and refuse to examine the future. Even the clan elders with the Sharingan often direct all their visual prowess at the here and now. How far can your eyes see?"

"From the moment this village was founded, the so-called Will of Fire was destined to burn every clan in Konoha like firewood. The system of interests between ninjas and the daimyo also meant that one side was bound to overpower the other. That's the root of disaster. Sooner or later, Konoha Village will be dragged into endless wars, depleted again and again until every clan and every ninja in the entire village has vanished."

"Not to mention the Uchiha clan, which devotes all its energy to battle. They've never seen the truth. Peace has never come; this is only a temporary ceasefire. In comfort and peace, they'll sooner or later be misled by the enemy's actions and end up protecting the enemy's interests with everything they have."

"Konoha isn't our home, either. It's a honeyed trap laid by the enemy to deceive us, and it's full of poison. One bite might bring satisfaction, but taking that bite will lead to the complete destruction of the Uchiha clan."

"In such a dangerous situation, if we don't think about leaving, there's only one path: death!" Uchiha Tenshu looked at Sakurako Uchiha, his eyes perfectly calm. He didn't care at all that words like these, which amounted to treason against the village, had slipped out.

This was simply how the clan saw things now. Even if all of this were revealed to outsiders, a trusted elite ninja trained by the clan would only report it to Elder Uchiha Raimon.

And Elder Raimon herself had already been jolted awake by Uchiha Tenshu after being ambushed and assassinated. Even if she told the elder, it wouldn't change anything.

"Do you have any proof?" Sakurako Uchiha's eyes widened. She clenched her fists and hurriedly pressed him.

"After winter, next year, Senju Tobirama will be named the Second. The result is obvious: in their eyes, the Uchiha clan was never an equal founder of Konoha Shinobi Village, established through reconciliation! In the Senju clan's eyes, the Uchiha are only the defeated. Elder Raimon's serious injury earlier was caused by Senju Tobirama's actions, not to mention..."

"Not to mention, he's been splitting the clan's power all along, placing someone like Uchiha Akira in a position where he can communicate between the clan and the village. He's trying to numb the Uchiha clan while constantly scheming against us. Believe me, he wants more than just the Hokage's position. To silence the Uchiha and the other clans, he'll surely give the Uchiha clan a position that looks glorious on the surface but will only earn the enmity of every clan and civilian in the village. That way, we'll lose the Hokage position for generations and be isolated by Konoha Village."

"When that time comes, the Uchiha clan's fate will be to risk their lives again and again in wars caused by this so-called Konoha Village, paying with their lives to protect someone else's estate. And even then, they won't accept us. It's utterly ridiculous!"

Uchiha Tenshu sneered at his clanmates' behavior, his mind's eye seeming to already see the future that was bound to unfold.

"How could this be..." Sakurako Uchiha couldn't even imagine that their own Uchiha clan could be so foolish.

"So, want to bet?"

"Yeah. Let's see whether the selection for Hokage, proposed when Konoha was founded by Senju Tobirama, the second most important figure in the Senju clan, really will require everyone's approval—or whether that principle is only applied to the Uchiha clan!"

Uchiha Tenshu smiled as he spoke.

"Fine, I'll take that bet!"

Stung by his words, Sakurako Uchiha nodded, as if she'd made up her mind. "If things really happen as you say, and the Second position still goes to Senju Tobirama of the Senju clan, then that'll prove they've only been treating the Uchiha clan like clowns!"

"Then I'll obey your orders completely!"