I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 17

Zetsu couldn't understand it at all. Why did this guy keep saying things no one could make sense of?

Could it be that being a rogue ninja meant you couldn't buy tea leaves?

"Let's talk about your real business first. Why aren't you going back to the Leaf Village, Obito?" Uchiha Shingen asked. "You don't look like you're planning to live under an assumed name, either."

"I can't go back." Uchiha Obito's gaze turned cold. "Listen, Shingen. This is a world that produces trash. One day, you'll become trash too. I've had enough. Grandma is gone, and I don't need to endure it anymore."

"Such heavy words don't sound like a conclusion you came to on your own," Uchiha Shingen said with certainty. "After all, you're a hot-blooded idiot."

"I really was an idiot before. Didn't you tell me not to be so hot-blooded? Then isn't this change in me exactly what we once called a 'real ninja'?"

"I'll give you full marks for reading comprehension. But from where I'm standing..." Uchiha Shingen finally had a chance to get to the point, and the transition was flawless. "You've met the real Clan Head Madara. He trained you into what you are now."

Before the startled Uchiha Obito could respond, Uchiha Shingen pointed at Zetsu and asked, "So what is this thing? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem human."

"I am Lord Madara's will, Uchiha Shingen." Zetsu bared its teeth. "So the one standing before you is not your former companion, but Uchiha Madara. And you could become the same."

"Unless you make me Hokage, I won't let anyone else make use of my identity." Uchiha Shingen waved a hand. "You claim to be Clan Head Madara's will, but words alone prove nothing. I'll test you."

"Huh?"

Zetsu froze. What was this guy trying to pull now?

And this Uchiha wanted to be Hokage too?

"Tell me this: what was Clan Head Madara's first comment on the scroll that recorded Flying Raijin?"

"Is that all..." Zetsu's eyes rolled around. "Lord Madara said, 'This technique draws upon the Uzumaki Clan's knowledge. It is easier to understand if you regard the target as something being sealed.' Is that what you wanted to ask?"

"Oh?" Uchiha Shingen stroked his chin. "You didn't sneak into our library and read it, did you?"

Zetsu suddenly felt that Uchiha Obito was much easier to deal with.

"Enough with these boring games." Uchiha Obito cut in, coldly interrupting the exchange between Uchiha Shingen and Zetsu. "Shingen, don't waste your life on meaningless things. Come to my side, and I'll tell you how to unleash the Uchiha Clan's true power. Don't you want that?"

"You mean the Rinnegan?" Uchiha Shingen grinned. Finally, they were talking about this.

"You even know about the Rinnegan?" Uchiha Obito began to take his former neighbor seriously.

The ninja world referred to the Rinnegan, Sharingan, and Byakugan as the three great ocular techniques. Even the Uchiha Clan itself saw no issue with that description.

That proved that even the Uchiha Clan did not believe the Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan.

Had Uchiha Obito not encountered Uchiha Madara, he would never have believed that the Sharingan possessed such power.

So how did Uchiha Shingen know?

"Why shouldn't I know?" Uchiha Shingen said calmly. "Since the Uchiha Clan are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, and the Rinnegan is said to have been the Sage of Six Paths' ocular technique, wouldn't it be stranger if it had nothing to do with the Sharingan?"

He summed it up. "Inheriting the Sage's eyes yet believing the Rinnegan has nothing to do with the Sharingan—thinking that way is what's truly abnormal."

Negotiations Reached

"Is that really all? I doubt it," Zetsu suddenly said.

It couldn't be mistaken. Uchiha Shingen was not the kind of person who would become certain of something based on mere speculation.

"As expected of someone claiming to be the incarnation of Clan Head Madara's will. Of course I wasn't relying on guesses." Uchiha Shingen gave it an extremely "appreciative" look. "With Clan Head Madara's ocular power, he must have seen much more on that stone tablet."

"How far did you see?" Zetsu raised its voice, and even Uchiha Obito couldn't help giving it a sidelong glance.

Though he only treated this thing Uchiha Madara had created in front of him as a tool, after three years he had become familiar with it—this guy's emotions were remarkably stable, so stable that it barely displayed any emotional fluctuations at all.

In Uchiha Obito's understanding, what Uchiha Madara meant by "incarnation of will" was—Even after I die, I'll make something to keep an eye on you.

Hmph. What a shallow old man. Once Uchiha Obito made up his mind, he never turned back.

"The two opposing powers interact as one, giving rise to all things." Uchiha Shingen's acting had passed its initial awkward stage and was gradually gaining flavor. "I thought about it for a long time before I understood what it meant."

"You... can actually see that line?" Zetsu was genuinely shocked.

Though it had made extensive alterations to the tablet, that was because its true body, Black Zetsu, had been created by Kaguya Otsutsuki with powerful Yin-Yang Release. Its unique ability could not be replicated.

The amount of the tablet's contents one could see was directly tied to the level of one's Yin Release power. For an Uchiha to see that sentence, their Sharingan had to reach the Mangekyo level.

Uchiha Shingen absolutely did not possess the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"It was all right. I stared at it for an entire night; my eyes were sore afterward," Uchiha Shingen said wistfully.

He really had seen that line back then.

The Uchiha Clan's ocular power did not first emerge at the Mangekyo Sharingan stage. Rather, it was a special chakra formed purely from Yin Release power. Uchiha were born with ocular power, but its initial quantity was small, allowing them to use only the Sharingan's basic abilities.

At the Mangekyo Sharingan stage, the amount of ocular power would not only reach a level comparable to one's own chakra, but because it was directly connected to its owner's spirit, it would also give birth to unique ocular techniques according to the desires within their heart. That was the origin of the so-called "eyes that reflect the heart."

Uchiha Shingen's ocular power naturally had not reached the Mangekyo Sharingan level, but it far exceeded the level a three-tomoe Sharingan should possess. In recent years, the Yang Release within his body and his Sharingan seemed to have undergone some kind of "chemical reaction." Once that "chemical reaction" began...

His Yang Release training was now progressing even faster than it had when he was a Senju in his first life, while his Yin Release was also noticeably faster than that of an ordinary Uchiha.

And Zetsu was truly stunned.

The last time it had been this surprised was when it discovered that Uchiha Madara had survived his battle with Senju Hashirama—and had bitten off a piece of Senju Hashirama's flesh.

It wasn't easy to surprise it.

Could this guy have really done it?

Zetsu understood better than anyone that the present-day Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan was incomplete.

"The two opposing forces interact as one, giving rise to all things." He had not changed a single word, only the context.

A good lie consisted of nine truths and one falsehood. When Zetsu altered the contents of the stone tablet, most of it had been genuine information.

It realized that it might have been wrong.

Rather than becoming a second Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Shingen was more likely to become a second Indra.

[His potential surpasses even Madara's...]

Already wavering inwardly, Zetsu decided to try carrying out that bold idea it had previously considered.

Whether it was Uchiha Madara or Uchiha Obito, Zetsu itself had no ability to control them. It could only guide them through lies made of nine truths and one falsehood.

It still needed to leave itself a way out. It had no desire to endure another thousand years.

No sooner thought than done, it began its performance.

"You can speak of the 'Eternal Mangekyo,' which shows that you know the secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan. But that still isn't the truth."

"Oh?" Uchiha Shingen's eyes lit up.

It's here! It's here! It came striding over at the speed of someone rushing to freeload!

"From beginning to end, there was never anything 'eternal.' The Mangekyo Sharingan never had such a weakness to begin with. Once our ancestor Indra awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, he could use the Complete Body Susanoo."

"Complete Body..." Uchiha Shingen's gaze burned.

This ocular technique brought Yin Release's ability to shape something from nothing to its utmost limit. At the same time, it was an extension of its user's body. Uchiha Sasuke had once used senjutsu through Susanoo, and had also used it as a vessel for the power of all nine Tailed Beasts.

"That's right. There is also Izanagi. The Sharingan is an imperfect Sage Eye, which is why it comes at the cost of exhausting one's ocular power."

"Then how can it be made perfect?" Uchiha Shingen stared fixedly at Zetsu.

"That is the real matter we need to discuss." Zetsu looked at Uchiha Obito. "Lord Madara, what do you think?"

As a qualified veteran actor, Zetsu knew well that it absolutely could not let the guest become the host.

The initiative of chess pieces depended entirely on whether they believed themselves to be the "master."

That had been true of every reincarnation of Indra and Ashura.

It was also true of Uchiha Obito.

And it would treat Uchiha Shingen the same way.

It had never been the "master." It was merely a diligent tool that answered its "masters'" questions and uncovered the truth for them.

And all of this was so that nobility and greatness could descend upon this world once more.

Zetsu's behavior pleased Uchiha Obito greatly.

He gave Zetsu a look that said, "You're still a decent tool," then turned to Uchiha Shingen.

"Shingen, you like deals, so I'll make a deal with you." Uchiha Obito's tone was calm. "If you want to obtain the power of all things, then help me obtain what I want."

"Let's hear it."

"I want the Nine-Tails."

"What?" Uchiha Shingen was "shocked" at just the right moment. "But she's already married!"

Uchiha Obito froze, then rage surged up from his sides.

Meanwhile, the dog-man across from him was still spouting nonsense about how it was improper to covet one's teacher's wife.

"I want the Nine-Tails, not its jinchuriki!" Uchiha Obito trembled with anger. "What the hell do you think about all day!?"

"Looks like you really don't intend to go back." The smile on Uchiha Shingen's face gradually faded. "The Hokage is the Hokage, the Leaf Village is the Leaf Village. I'm an Uchiha, so naturally I don't care about such things. But you're different, aren't you? You're going after your own teacher?"

"It is a necessary sacrifice." Uchiha Obito's expression was icy. "It is also the fate of the Uzumaki Clan."

Another red-haired boy appeared in his mind.

That Uzumaki clansman, who had obtained Uchiha Madara's eyes, had already followed his plan onto that path.

Everything had gone smoothly. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had also been summoned without issue.

Yahiko's way of realizing his dream was worthless, because this was a thoroughly rotten world. That method would only end in failure.

The fact that the Rain Village and the Leaf Village would move against Dawn was proof enough.

Only the Eye of the Moon could bring an end to all of this.

"Is that so..." Uchiha Shingen did not pursue the subject. After all, he was only good at physical persuasion. "We are both Uchiha, so let's do things the Uchiha way. The current Fourth Hokage is beneficial to the Uchiha Clan. For the time being, I can't stand with you against the Fourth."

"Then I'll take that as your agreement to the deal." Uchiha Obito glanced outside. The rain was about to stop. "The Hokage is still the Hokage. It is only a matter of time before he moves against the Uchiha Clan."

"If there are signs of that, then naturally we should strike first." Uchiha Shingen had little objection to that point. He had great faith in the Hokage, after all. "But if you make your move at an inappropriate time, I will stop you."

"That's fine. Then we can settle it with another contest when the time comes." Uchiha Obito was brimming with confidence.

After that, Uchiha Shingen and Uchiha Obito did not waste any more words. Once they had settled on a means of communication, they each went their separate ways.

After returning to the Rain Daimyo's palace, Uchiha Shingen first went to see the Rain Daimyo. He casually made up reasons such as "we need to be cautious" and "we need to reinforce the sensory ninjutsu arrangements," giving a fairly reasonable explanation for his outing this time.

There was no reason for anyone to think there was anything wrong with what he had done.

As time passed, the mission to protect the Rain Daimyo was nearing its end.

During that time, the Rain Daimyo had been well protected, eating well and sleeping soundly.

With two Hidden Leaf jonin guarding him, most ninja organizations outside the Five Great Villages had given up any ideas, while the other four major ninja villages would not assassinate a daimyo either.

When a nation's daimyo was involved, the Five Great Ninja Villages did not accept assassination missions—only protection missions.

After spending the final day in perfect peace, Uchiha Shingen and Uchiha Shisui bid the Rain Daimyo farewell and set off for the village.

Having been away from home for three months, Uchiha Shisui dearly missed the Hidden Leaf Village's snack street.

Uchiha Shingen also greatly missed the specialty snacks from several particular shops.

Protecting a national leader had been ridiculously stressful. Once they got back, they needed to put together a gathering to blow off some steam.

The two men longing for hometown food raced along the road back as though they had unleashed their inner cosmos.

When the gates of the Hidden Leaf came into view, both of them felt genuinely at ease.

After entering the village, they first went to the Hokage Building to register the mission.

They had to register it where they had accepted it, so after three months apart, the two saw Namikaze Minato again.

This time, the Hokage seemed much busier, sitting properly at his desk as he reviewed documents.

Because the First Hokage had been the type to dump all his work on others, the Hidden Leaf Village had established the position of Hokage Assistant from the very beginning and formed an advisory council. The advisory council served as the preliminary decision-making body and was managed by the elder advisors.

The Hokage, the Hokage Assistant, and the elder advisors together formed the Hidden Leaf Village's leadership.

Therefore, an experienced Hokage could not possibly spend long periods sitting at a desk reviewing documents.

"You're back."

The novice Hokage raised his head from the pile of paperwork. He looked happy, but there were dark circles beneath his eyes.