Get Ready to Burn!

The Bloody Incident Sparked by a Barbecue!

Recalling the headline he had prepared for the Konoha Daily, Uchiha Jin couldn't help smiling with satisfaction as he sat inside the Akimichi Yakitori House.

That was right!

Though Uchiha Jin had never deployed the weapon that was mass media, that didn't mean that a man trained in the art of statecraft had come unprepared.

What era was this? Still relying on spreading rumors to manipulate public opinion? Such crude methods left Uchiha Jin at a loss for words.

What left him most speechless was that Danzo's little tricks worked remarkably well.

It was hard to tell whether he should marvel at Danzo's luck or conclude that the people who had sacrificed their lives over this were simply too fragile.

If he wanted to exploit just this one angle, Uchiha Jin could use the Police Force's authority in Konoha to publicly tear the so-called Konoha F4 to shreds.

Still, though this world's technology was rather bizarre, it was ultimately a place where strength ruled.

Public opinion could only bully simple people like White Fang. Uchiha Jin didn't believe Sarutobi Hiruzen lacked the courage to wipe spit off his face and carry on.

And Danzo?

That guy could probably lick his own face clean... Ugh.

Just imagining the disgusting scene made Uchiha Jin shudder.

Public opinion might not be all that useful, but it was more than enough to make Sarutobi Hiruzen and the other old schemers uncomfortable—and it would also help expand on today's victory.

The thought of Sarutobi Hiruzen being unable to speak up, forced to swallow his pride and back down for the sake of the so-called Will of Fire, eased some of the frustration Uchiha Jin had built up over the past two years.

People could be strange. Sometimes they pretended for so long that they ended up fooling even themselves.

A person was defined by what they did. Sarutobi Hiruzen's past actions might not have been unforgivable, but he had certainly shown the polished face of a scheming politician.

And the more someone was like that, the more they tended to move themselves with their own righteousness, dressing themselves up in grand words until they forgot every dark thing they had done.

Even when faced with another dark choice, they would wrap it in those same grand words. That was one of the most basic, yet most effective, tricks in the art of statecraft.

Normally, this wouldn't count as a weakness. In a Ninja World so lacking in political awareness, it could even be called a peerless secret art.

But Uchiha Jin knew that when someone wore a mask long enough, taking it off became difficult, even if they wanted to.

The mask of the Will of Fire had certainly given Sarutobi Hiruzen plenty of advantages, but it had also become a shackle, binding his conduct.

That was why Uchiha Jin could act without restraint, while Sarutobi Hiruzen—despite holding Konoha's real power and possessing strength at the peak of Kage Level—could only silently endure the insults and mockery.

"Waiter!"

Uchiha Jin's smiling gaze swept over the many triumphant Uchiha jonin, as well as the Akimichi Clan ninja who now stood stiffly, forced to serve as waiters at a moment's notice.

That was right!

The Akimichi Yakitori House looked especially familiar now. Aside from Akimichi Choza, seated behind the register and occasionally shoving a few pairs of skewers into his mouth, many of the remaining waiters had been facing off against the Uchiha Clan not long ago.

Once the Police Force's operation to root out "hidden spies" came to an end, the Uchiha group had set off in a grand procession for the famous Akimichi Yakitori House in Konoha.

The others still found it hard to believe that the Uchiha Clan had only wanted to grab some barbecue—and had first ground the Darkness of the Ninja World underfoot, then given Konoha's "strongest Hokage" a thorough tongue-lashing.

But since they supported the Hokage faction, and the Uchiha Clan's destination was the Akimichi Yakitori House owned by their clan leader, they naturally couldn't let their suspicions and vigilance lapse.

And so...

The Akimichi ninja assigned to watch over the place and stay on guard had suddenly found themselves short-staffed. They resolutely took on the duty of waiting tables.

Mm!

No exaggeration—the Akimichi Clan really did have a gift for food!

No wonder they were the "Pig" of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio...

Uh...

Right, the "Butterfly" of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

Looking at the broad-backed, thick-waisted Akimichi waiters before him, Uchiha Jin felt his image of a "butterfly" take another devastating blow.

The Multi-Size Technique and the Butterfly Mode Technique...

As he silently observed the more than twenty Akimichi jonin who had become full-time waiters, Uchiha Jin gained an even clearer understanding of the strength of Konoha, the strongest ninja village.

It wasn't that Konoha was weak. It was that its leaders were useless!

Just as the Uchiha Clan had Fugaku and the Grand Elder Setsuna, two men who had drawn an incredible starting hand, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō were no better off than they were.

With either Wolong or Fengchu, you could conquer the world. But what could you do when all four showed up at once? No wonder Konoha was beset by disaster!

"Bring the drinks!"

Uchiha Jin sprang to his feet and addressed the Uchiha gathered before him, brimming with pride.

"Eat and drink your fill, everyone! The clan leader's picking up the tab for everything tonight!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"...

The Uchiha were already thrilled after finally getting their moment in the sun. Uchiha Jin's words sent the joyous atmosphere soaring to a new high.

Mm, and the Akimichi were busy again...

Far away at the Uchiha Clan Compound, Clan Leader Fugaku suddenly sneezed again for no apparent reason. For a moment, he wondered if he really was getting old...

(Fugaku: Damn it! Someone's definitely trying to get me!)

Amid all the laughter and cheers, however, Uchiha Jin's expression gradually settled. His deep eyes slowly shifted north, toward the iconic Hokage Building beneath Kage Rock.

A lot had happened tonight. Uchiha Jin had even accomplished what many people in the past would never have dared dream of.

But Uchiha Jin knew that his goal had never been to help the Uchiha Clan get revenge on Danzo or seize Sarutobi Hiruzen's position as Hokage.

To Uchiha Jin, those things were merely secondary. They were what he did as an Uchiha elder, as a member of the Uchiha family.

On a deeper level, as the system's host, all this was just a matter of giving his own leeks better conditions to grow—loosening the soil and pulling weeds along the way.

Torturing Danzo and humiliating Sarutobi didn't matter!

From beginning to end, Uchiha Jin had only one goal!

Shisui!

That "Body Flicker Shisui" whom Uchiha Jin had kicked flying again and again not long ago. That didn't mean Shisui was truly so useless.

Quite the opposite.

Shisui's strength had been confirmed by those repeated "kicks." The reason things had turned out that way was simply that Shisui, caught between the village and the clan, instinctively wanted to escape that feeling of helplessness.

Uchiha Jin had no killing intent, and Shisui had no will to fight... It was like Zhou Yu and Huang Gai: one willing to strike, the other willing to take it!

So!

As that wretched old face appeared before him once more, Uchiha Jin stood by the bonfire and couldn't help fanning the direction of the Hokage Building, stirring the sparks as they drifted and burst.

"Danzo, get ready to burn!"