Immerse yourself in the darkness of the Mangekyo Sharingan!

This guy...

Did he even realize what he was saying?!

At that moment, Hyuga Hiashi felt nothing but shock.

He had never imagined Bai Ye would harbor such grand ambitions.

They completely overturned everything Hyuga Hiashi had been taught since childhood.

Even his own desire to change the relationship between the Main Family and the Branch Family...

Had only emerged when Hizashi Hyuga chose to die in his place.

It was only then that Hyuga Hiashi realized just how unfair the Caged Bird Seal might be to the Hyuga Branch Family.

But he had no way to change any of it.

The main problem was that the Byakugan was an even more extraordinary kekkei genkai than the Sharingan. It lacked the weakness of heavy chakra consumption, so once the Caged Bird Seal was removed...

Unlike the Byakugan, awakening the Sharingan generally brought an increase in combat strength.

Ordinary members of the Uchiha Clan could not awaken it.

The Hyuga Clan was different. Almost everyone had the Byakugan.

And ultimately, the Caged Bird Seal was a form of protection, too.

Without it, the clan's civilians would be the first to suffer. They had no ability to protect themselves.

So although he wanted change, it was far from simple.

That was also his main reason for coming along with Bai Ye this time.

But Hyuga Hiashi had never expected Bai Ye's proposal to go so far beyond anything he had imagined!

What was he trying to do?!

"Um... Lord Hokage, I don't quite understand what you're saying... What are we supposed to do? Hand out eggs?"

Shisui scratched his head, turning Bai Ye's words over in his mind for a long time.

He felt as though this went beyond anything he knew.

"What eggs? With that many people, how could we possibly hand them all out?!"

Bai Ye was dumbfounded!

How did Shisui's brain even work...?

Seeing Shisui and Hyuga Hiashi's reactions, he knew that neither of them had likely understood what he meant.

Bai Ye continued, "It's actually very simple. I want to create a world where everyone is relatively equal.

"We won't need Daimyo anymore. Just like the Elders Council I reestablished in Konoha, everyone will have a chance to participate in decision-making."

"People say shinobi don't produce anything, but look at it another way. Do the Daimyo produce anything?!

"Those nobles rely on ordinary people to survive, too. They aren't the ones actually doing the productive work.

"So they're no different from shinobi-actually, they're even more useless. Why should people like that rule us?!"

There had always been a false premise in the Hokage World.

People claimed that shinobi did no productive work, but did the Daimyo?!

The Daimyo did not produce anything either, did they?!

Those nobles were no different. In fact, they seemingly knew nothing beyond enjoying themselves. Didn't that make them even worse than shinobi?!

Bai Ye had never really understood it.

Why did people with tremendous abilities obey an ordinary person in a shinobi world filled with supernatural power?

Especially when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha founded the village.

If they had simply had Madara Uchiha control the Land of Fire's Daimyo back then, or even the Daimyo backing the other villages...

Then swept through the Shinobi World and established one unified Ninja Village...

Perhaps there really would not have been so many conflicts.

There would still have been internal scheming and plenty of disputes, but the three great shinobi wars might never have broken out.

"So you want to overthrow the current system and remove the Daimyo from power, right?!"

Hyuga Hiashi finally caught on.

He now understood what Bai Ye had in mind.

Bai Ye wanted to overthrow the Daimyo!

It was an outrageous idea, enough to leave Hyuga Hiashi reeling for a hundred years.

But thinking it over, if they really could establish a world where everyone was relatively equal...

Perhaps it truly would be something worth longing for.

"But once word of this gets out, the other villages will definitely join forces against us!"

It would not necessarily be because those villages wanted to fight.

Rather, the Daimyo of the other nations would never allow this to happen.

After all, if everyone started following Konoha's example...

What would that make them?!

What purpose would their existence serve?!

They would never permit it. Konoha would become the target of the entire Shinobi World, and every available fighting force would come to attack them.

At that point, their enemies would do nothing else but prepare two coffins: one for themselves and one for Konoha.

"So I plan to control the Daimyo first, gradually unify the other villages, then get rid of all the Daimyo and ultimately establish a world without overarching unification!"

"..."

What?!

Hyuga Hiashi stared at Bai Ye in astonishment, struck speechless by his insane ideas.

He had already guessed that Bai Ye had enormous ambitions.

But he actually wanted to unify the entire world.

"We can even take the fight to the moon later."

"?"

Take the fight to the moon?!

Hyuga Hiashi suddenly felt numb. In the end, he could not voice any of the countless words on his mind.

This land was no longer enough to satisfy Bai Ye's ambitions. He even wanted to attack the moon.

"So what does any of this have to do with our clan's Caged Bird Seal?!"

Hyuga Hiashi finally came back to his senses.

Wait!!!

Bai Ye had said so much, but there was still one thing he had not explained.

None of what Bai Ye had said seemed to have anything to do with the Caged Bird Seal!

After all, his goal was to stop members of the Hyuga Clan from having the Caged Bird Seal placed on them.

"I don't think the Caged Bird Secret Technique should simply be removed. It protects your clan, after all. But we can find a new Sealing Jutsu that automatically renders the eyes useless once they're gouged out. Something like Danzo's Reverse Four Symbols Seal that swallows the eyes directly..."

To break the Caged Bird Seal, they would have to overwrite it with another Sealing Jutsu.

Otherwise, there was simply no way.

After all, how ridiculously powerful was the Byakugan?!

It consumed little chakra and offered tremendous enhancements. The main problem was that the Hyuga Clan had not developed its potential properly.

The Byakugan was an ability inherited from the Ōtsutsuki Clan. How could it possibly be weak?!

The Sharingan originated from the power of the Ten-Tails, whereas the Byakugan was the Ōtsutsuki Clan's true inherited power.

In fact, the Hyuga Clan occupied a rather awkward position in the Hokage World.

The main issue was their underwhelming combat capabilities. The Byakugan only served a supporting role, and its sole evolution was into the Tenseigan.

It was nothing like the Sharingan, which had a fully developed progression: one-tomoe, two-tomoe, three-tomoe Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, eternal eyes, and finally the Rinnegan.

As a result, although the Tenseigan was an ocular jutsu ranked alongside the Rinnegan...

There were too many missing steps between them. Others advanced one step at a time, while the Byakugan had to shoot straight up like a rocket. The difficulty was easy to imagine.

Besides, obtaining the Tenseigan was incredibly difficult for the Hyuga Clan. They would first have to visit the moon, and they also needed a pure bloodline.

Who knew how diluted the Ōtsutsuki bloodline had become in the current Hyuga Clan?

Another awkward point was that the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan actually paired very well with Shikotsumyaku.

If the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku had been given to the Hyuga Clan...

The Byakugan could identify weaknesses, and since it was already designed to complement Taijutsu, Shikotsumyaku would fit it perfectly.

Shikotsumyaku also offered ranged attacks that the Byakugan could support. Its ability to leave enemies nowhere to hide would pair well with Dance of the Seedling Fern.

Shikotsumyaku was practically tailor-made for the Hyuga Clan.

Unfortunately, those abilities had been divided between the Hyuga and Kaguya Clans.

Ultimately, the Caged Bird Seal existed to prevent the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan from falling into outsiders' hands, with some Main Family members perhaps also using it to control the Branch Family.

That was why it had continued to be passed down.

And if protection was the goal, why not devise a Sealing Jutsu instead?

Once a Byakugan was gouged out, the seal would automatically swallow the eye, perhaps even swallowing the person who took it along with it.

That would effectively prevent such theft.

Of course, someone would still need the ability to undo the seal. Eyes sometimes developed problems and required surgery, after all; they could not make surgery impossible.

This would ensure that the Hyuga Clan no longer needed the Caged Bird Seal while keeping its bloodline ability from leaking out.

It would also free them completely from the Caged Bird Seal.

"Sealing Jutsu..."

Hyuga Hiashi murmured the words. If such a Sealing Jutsu really existed, he believed he could make this work.

Bai Ye's words had given him some confidence.

At least they made Hyuga Hiashi realize that Bai Ye was not simply acting recklessly.

If Bai Ye had suggested removing every seal and claimed that nobody would steal the Byakugan once the world was united, he would never have believed him!

After all, hadn't Konoha itself produced someone like Danzo?!

He even wondered whether Danzo had once considered stealing the Byakugan, only to be thwarted by the Caged Bird Seal.

At least every Uchiha Clan member with a Sharingan could fight. The Hyuga Clan was different, and the Sharingan's enormous weakness also deterred plenty of would-be thieves.

But if this Sealing Jutsu really worked like the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, killing the thief the instant a Byakugan was gouged out...

Then it seemed like a decent option.

It would consign the Cursed Seal that restricted the Hyuga Clan's geniuses to history, allowing more talented individuals to emerge, just as they did in the Uchiha Clan.

And it would keep people from coveting the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

Only...

There seemed to be another problem.

"But who's going to develop this Sealing Jutsu for us?!"

The clan that specialized in Sealing Jutsu had already been wiped out.

Now, only Naruto Uzumaki remained here.

And Naruto Uzumaki...

He meant no offense, but surely that was impossible?!

"There's no need to rush. Once we know the approach, we can take our time. Besides, although the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out, the secret techniques they left behind still exist.

"We can study them gradually, can't we?"

Although the Uzumaki Clan had been destroyed, its Sealing Jutsu had not been lost.

They were recorded in the Scroll of Seals.

Still, should I look for some Uzumaki Clan members scattered across the Shinobi World?

Nagato was one, but bringing him to Konoha would probably mean inviting pain.

Karin Uzumaki, however, was in Kusagakure.

Thinking about it, Kusagakure was not the only place to look.

There were people he could recruit from Kirigakure, too.

Kimimaro, Haku, and even Suigetsu, for instance.

Shinobi from those Bloodline Families were now extremely rare in Kirigakure.

Under Obito's blood mist policy, those clans had probably all been wiped out.

The survivors were all in hiding. Bringing them back seemed like a good way to strengthen Konoha.

Most importantly, Orochimaru probably had not taken them away yet.

Orochimaru was still in the Akatsuki.

He could even take Jugo. Orochimaru's people were all quite useful.

"I understand. I'll follow your lead on this."

Hyuga Hiashi nodded. After hearing Bai Ye's explanation, he at least felt more confident.

Bai Ye had genuinely considered how to solve the Hyuga Clan's problems.

And he really could not afford to rush things.

"As for the Daimyo, do whatever you think is best. I won't interfere."

Hyuga Hiashi knew that saying this essentially made him Bai Ye's accomplice.

But he did not think Bai Ye had done or said anything wrong.

Indeed...

Perhaps the Shinobi World needed a revolution, if Bai Ye could truly pull it off.

It was crazy, but he was willing to try for the sake of changing the Hyuga Clan.

Even if he merely gave his tacit consent and did nothing, leaving everything to Bai Ye...

As long as he turned a blind eye, he would be helping Bai Ye.

Of course, Hyuga Hiashi really did not want to take a Kotoamatsukami.

"All right."

The two reached an agreement.

Then, only after Bai Ye and the others had spent two full days in the Land of Fire's capital did the Land of Fire Daimyo summon them.

Seated high above them, the Land of Fire Daimyo and the nobles around him all looked down their noses at Bai Ye.

The Land of Fire Daimyo spoke bluntly. "Should I call you the Uchiha Clan Head or the Fifth Hokage?!"

There was a hint of mockery in the Daimyo's tone as he looked at Bai Ye, and displeasure showed in his eyes.

This guy...

He had thought that if he left Bai Ye waiting for a while before summoning him, Bai Ye would come before him in fear and trepidation, knowing he could not get by without him.

But now, seeing Bai Ye's demeanor, he suddenly felt that Bai Ye did not seem to think that at all.

If that was the case... then this was not what he wanted.

What he wanted was to keep Konoha under his control, or at least make it dependent on the Land of Fire behind the scenes.

"The Fifth Hokage, then. Though I don't think there's any need for us to discuss such things anymore..."

"What do you mean?!"

The Daimyo froze for a moment, wondering what Bai Ye meant by that.

The nobles beside him glared at Bai Ye. "Bai Ye, watch your attitude!!!"

"You're nothing but a Hokage who seized his position illegitimately! Do you really think you can hold on to that seat without our support!!?"

"We will never support his rise to power!!"

"Exactly!! Could Konoha have won this war without our Land of Fire!!? Don't forget who was supporting you!!! Watch your attitude!!!"

Everyone present was brimming with righteous indignation.

The Daimyo's expression had also soured.

He was glad that Uchiha Bai Ye had come, but he disliked his tone intensely.

Just as he was about to say something, everyone around him froze as though someone had pressed pause. Even the members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja lurking in the shadows stood rooted to the spot.

"Sink into the darkness of the Mangekyo Sharingan..."