Digging beneath the Hidden Leaf's roots

Kazama Nara's words hit Jin Uchiha hard enough to leave him stunned.

Well, damn.

Here I am figuring out how to survive the night of the massacre, and this guy's already worrying about future generations.

The brains of the Nara Household really did think far ahead.

But after giving it another moment's thought, even he lowered his head and began to ponder.

Kazama Nara had a point. His own plans had been far too narrow.

With the threat of extermination and death bearing down on him, he had no room to think much further.

But what about afterward?

As Kazama Nara had just said, could he really go his entire life without marrying or having children?

Continuing the family line was an instinct bred into the body.

Could he really stay away from women?

Bullshit.

At least he had lived in peaceful times in his previous life, but the astronomical bride price alone had crushed a wage slave like him.

Now that he had another shot at life, was he supposed to stay a bachelor again?

Not a chance.

He knew perfectly well that once he had firmly established himself, he would definitely get married.

And that was where the trouble began.

Once he had a wife and children, could he protect them for the rest of their lives?

Impossible.

Never mind what happened after his death. Even while he was alive, he couldn't stay home twenty-four hours a day.

In this chaotic world, he could be called out to fight and kill at any moment.

What would happen to his wife and children the moment he left?

So when he got to the root of the matter, there was no second path available to him.

He had to build a force of his own to protect his family.

Wasn't that precisely why the lineages of the Warring States era, and the great villages of the Shinobi World today, had been established?

Once his mind worked its way around that bend, he looked up at Kazama Nara with a different gaze.

He couldn't help it.

This Nara really had an incredible mind. They were the same age, yet he could think this far ahead.

Even Jin, who had lived two lives, had fallen a little behind.

That alone made him a worthwhile ally.

With that thought, he drawled out his response.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"But there's still something I don't get. How can you trust an Uchiha like me so much?"

"Forget it. I won't ask."

"You've convinced me. Tell me what you have in mind first."

That was right.

It was admittedly early to discuss these things, considering they were both just twelve-year-old kids.

But Kazama Nara was right. The sooner they planned for something like this, the better.

He genuinely wanted to hear exactly what Kazama Nara was calculating.

Only after seeing him nod did Kazama Nara finally breathe easily.

His gaze turned serious, and every trace of drunkenness vanished from his face as he lowered his voice and began laying out the substance of his plan.

"First, the Uchiha are strong."

"Yes, Uchiha clansmen have their faults, but nobody can deny they'd be powerful allies."

"The Uchiha are failing now purely because their clan leader, Fugaku, is too stupid. He hasn't got a shred of leadership ability."

"There isn't much I can say about your Uchiha. I know too little about what goes on inside."

"But I believe you have a way, Jin. That side will be up to you. Find a way to bring over everyone you can and build a force that answers only to you."

"As for the three Ino–Shika–Cho lineages, I know them inside out."

"I have lists of plenty of clansmen who've been suppressed by those above them, treated with suspicion, or even secretly disposed of."

"I'll find a way to bring them over, one by one, and make them a real part of our operation."

"As for the civilians, Shin Kudo can definitely handle them."

"He has both the character and the ability. He's just too fragile right now."

"Once he really comes into his own, he'll become one of our right-hand men sooner or later."

"Then there are the Aburame, the Inuzuka, and the other clans."

"Every clan is the same. They all have plenty of dissenting voices hidden inside. It's not much different from your Uchiha, just a matter of how many."

"As long as we handle things carefully, we can pull a group over from any of them."

"Given our age, we have plenty of time to lay the groundwork slowly. By the day our operation really takes shape..."

"If we decide to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and take power ourselves, we can recruit another batch of people with grudges against the Third Hokage's faction. Danzo's Root has taken plenty of people from the clans over the years. They've made enemies everywhere."

"As for the rest, even if they don't join us, I can find ways to keep them neutral."

"And even if we take another step back..."

"If we feel that move is too risky, we can secretly move the people we've gathered over the years out of the Hidden Leaf in batches and hide them."

"There are plenty of ways. Dying on a mission, getting killed by an enemy who comes seeking revenge..."

"Excuses are a dime a dozen."

"Especially during a war. We could pull them out in batch after batch."

"As long as we have enough people under our command, and enough heavy hitters, the Hidden Leaf won't dare openly turn against us."

"Otherwise, even if they wipe us out, the crippled Hidden Leaf they'd have left couldn't withstand the four great shinobi villages closing in."

"Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't a complete idiot. He wouldn't dare do it."

"These are only rough approaches for now. If we actually follow through, we'll have to keep refining them."

"But if we move forward along these lines, we probably won't go far wrong."

Jin Uchiha closed his eyes and turned it over in his mind several times.

He couldn't deny it.

If they could carry this plan through from beginning to end, they could build a force not much weaker than the Hidden Leaf in the shortest possible time.

But, damn it.

This was fucking digging out the Hidden Leaf's roots.

If their scheme came to light, there wouldn't even be bones left of them.

At that thought, his gaze gained several layers of complexity as he looked at Kazama Nara again.

Then again...

As long as they could pull this off—even half of it, never mind the whole thing—they would be able to strike when advancing and fall back when retreating.

After brooding over it for a while, he slowly nodded.

"All right. I have a handle on it now."

"Let's make that civilian shinobi, Shin Kudo, our opening move."

"You handle it."

Kazama Nara didn't even hesitate.

He accepted without giving it a second thought.

"That's nothing."

"But let's wait a little longer. Wait until he really runs into trouble and comes to us for help."

"People don't value what's pushed on them. We can't look too eager."

"And there's no need to worry that he won't come. Civilian shinobi have frighteningly slim odds of surviving a war to begin with."

"He has a decent temperament and some ability. At least he isn't a stubborn blockhead."

"Of course, if he still won't ask us for help when he's breathing his last, then forget it. That's as far as his potential goes."

"If he dies, he dies."

Jin Uchiha had no objections either.

Since he had assigned the matter to Kazama Nara, he couldn't be bothered to ask more questions.

Whatever twists and turns the process took, he only wanted results.

It was a trick he had picked up from the capitalists in his previous life.

Afterward, the two chatted about a few other things, and their provisional alliance was settled.

Although, at this point, they were still a million miles from truly trusting each other.

Still, they had made a good start. Everything after that could only be left for time to work out.