Chapter 350: Four Fundamental Conditions
Sometimes, the worse you imagine a situation to be, the more relentlessly reality moves in exactly that direction.
Kei's attitude had already said everything.
Kazuma could never have imagined—even in his wildest dreams—that a boy who looked barely fifteen or sixteen years old would possess not only such terrifying strength, but also such unfathomable depth of scheming.
There was no way he could convince himself that everything unfolding before him was a coincidence.
Especially after Kei spoke those words—and produced that scroll.
At that moment, Kazuma became completely convinced that he had been calculated against from the very beginning by this group of Konoha shinobi.
Kei, however, didn't spare him so much as a glance.
Noticing Kazuma still trying to struggle despite being paralyzed by Lightning Release, Kei calmly stepped on his back, pinning him to the ground.
Then he shifted his gaze toward Chiriku in the distance. After a brief pause, he spoke:
"Chiriku, was it? I wonder—do you know that this teammate of yours has some… rather interesting techniques?"
"Interesting techniques?" Chiriku clutched his chest and thought carefully.
He didn't understand why Kei was questioning him at all—especially when the Daimyō was being ignored entirely—but he still answered honestly. After a moment, he shook his head helplessly.
"I'm sorry. I don't know. And Chief Kei… could it be that Kengo was—"
"According to our intelligence," Kei cut him off calmly,
"Kazuma has either been developing—or has already mastered—a technique."
"Earth Release: Reanimation."
"It's said that this technique can turn the dead into war puppets while retaining their abilities from when they were alive."
The moment those words left his mouth, the faces of Chiriku and the others went deathly pale.
Meanwhile, the Daimyō, seated on his chair, looked as though all color had drained from him.
This technique was nothing short of catastrophic.
Setting aside the moral issue of disturbing the dead, the phrase 'war puppet' alone already carried an unmistakable implication.
Combined with the terrifying tailed-beast chakra from earlier, the situation had fully crossed into a realm that was catastrophically unfavorable for the Daimyō.
The Daimyō wasn't a shinobi.
He had far more to consider.
He began to calculate—frantically—what kind of consequences this situation would bring upon him.
Yet the more he thought, the heavier his heart became.
This matter had already been defined.
That cursed man who constantly preached that "the Daimyō is the true 'King'"—
He was trying to drag him to his death.
If Kazuma had at least kept a low profile, that would have been one thing. But instead, his actions had drawn Konoha's attention.
Worse still, decisive evidence had been uncovered, and Konoha shinobi had been dispatched directly to the capital of the Land of Fire.
It was a disaster.
A complete and utter disaster.
And the most infuriating part was that the Daimyō hadn't even known any of this was happening.
If ambition had at least matched power, perhaps it would have been forgivable.
But clearly, Kazuma's strength and his ambitions weren't even remotely on the same level.
Three people.
Just three Konoha shinobi.
They had effortlessly crushed eleven Guardian Ninja.
What right did such people have to plot anything at all?
Still, this was not the time for anger.
Whether or not Uchiha Kei could produce further decisive evidence no longer mattered.
If the Daimyō wanted to preserve his position—or even more humbly, to preserve his life—then today's events needed a single, unwavering conclusion:
He knew nothing.
Everything had been done by these damned men.
Whatever decision Konoha made, he would accept it.
He was even willing to provide additional funding, dissolve the Guardian Ninja entirely, and hand all defensive responsibilities over to Konoha if necessary.
Uchiha Kei, of course, had no idea what the Daimyō was thinking.
Ignoring the shock on Chiriku's face, he continued indifferently:
"Whether you knew about this technique or not doesn't really matter. What matters is that this technique has a very interesting prerequisite."
"It requires a corpse."
"A corpse…" Chiriku froze, then realization dawned.
"You mean… this technique needs a body?"
"I don't know how he explained it to you," Kei said coldly.
"But if you know me—or if you ask any shinobi who does—they'll tell you exactly how I deal with corpses left on the battlefield."
"I burn them."
"All of them."
"I leave no trace behind."
"Kazuma… Kazuma said the same thing."
Chiriku couldn't help adding that, his eyes unconsciously shifting toward Kazuma.
"He said you killed Kengo and used Fire Release to incinerate the body completely… leaving no evidence behind."
Kei paused for a moment when he heard that, then looked down at Kazuma beneath his foot with an amused expression.
He hadn't expected this man to actually give him a hand at the last moment.
But that worked out nicely—saving him the trouble of explaining a bunch of unnecessary details.
Kakashi, meanwhile, cast Kei a mildly resentful glance. After all, Nohara Rin's body had been handled in exactly the same way.
Still, Kakashi wasn't angry. He understood the situation back then—if he hadn't done it, Rin's remains might very well have fallen into the hands of the Mist shinobi.
"Is that so? Then that's truly interesting."
Kei lifted his foot from Kazuma's back and kicked him directly toward Chiriku.
"Search him properly. If you're lucky, you might still be able to give your teammate a proper burial."
"Th–this…"
Chiriku exchanged glances with the still-conscious Kitane and Nanwu, then stood up and walked over to Kazuma.
Under Kazuma's increasingly despairing gaze, Chiriku reached out and began searching his body.
There were quite a few scrolls on Kazuma—probably because some of them contained records of ninjutsu.
Kakashi glanced at Kei with some confusion, but he was starting to understand.
So last night, besides obtaining the scroll that sealed the Nine-Tails' chakra, Kei must have discovered quite a few other "interesting" things as well.
"Kei and I went out last night," Ayaka said calmly, stepping in without hesitation and naturally covering for him.
"We happened to run into Kubo Kengo. Coincidentally, we noticed him heading out of the city, so we followed him—and ended up seeing quite the spectacle."
"You went out last night?" Kakashi nodded instinctively.
"No wonder… No wonder you were able to uncover something so decisive."
Ayaka ignored Kakashi's remark and continued,
"We saw it with our own eyes. Kazuma killed his own teammate, Kubo Kengo, and sealed his body inside a scroll."
Kei stood silently to the side.
He was already used to misunderstandings and had no intention of clarifying further. Besides, Ayaka had conveniently concealed certain details—he had no desire for the secret of his Sharingan being able to read memories through genjutsu to become common knowledge.
Chiriku and the other two searched quickly. After a while, they finally found a scroll engraved with the character 'Corpse'.
Under Kazuma's violent struggle, they broke the seal.
Kubo Kengo's body appeared before them.
Kei let out a soft chuckle and lifted his gaze toward the Daimyō.
The Daimyō was completely stunned now—and in his heart, he had already made his decision.
If he'd still been clinging to some faint hope earlier—hoping Kei didn't have conclusive proof, hoping Konoha might still "reason things out"—
Then now, there was no hope left at all.
At this point, whatever Konoha did would be entirely justified.
On the other hand, the Daimyō's side had lost all legitimacy. They looked nothing short of reckless, ambitious conspirators.
"Do I still need to say anything more?"
Kei's voice softened, almost gentle—those who knew him well understood that this was when he was most dangerous.
"Daimyō-sama, isn't such ambition… a little excessive?"
"I really didn't know about any of this!"
The Daimyō felt as though he'd fallen into an icy abyss and shouted immediately.
"Chief Kei, I swear it!"
"Daimyō-sama, saying that only makes things more difficult for me."
Kei walked slowly toward him.
"The Sand Village tore up its alliance with Konoha and went straight to war. Do you really think oaths carry any weight?"
"I truly had no such intentions…"
The Daimyō's body trembled. Then suddenly, something seemed to occur to him.
He clenched his fists, his face pale yet resolute.
"Chief Kei… I think it's time we talk properly. About what truly matters right now."
Kei watched him quietly.
This Daimyō was, at the very least, decisive.
Still, changing locations to talk privately—away from the Guardian Ninja—would be pointless. Kei still wanted to see whether Kakashi could "persuade" them.
He knew this approach might bring negative repercussions.
But within the Land of Fire, the relationship between Konoha and the Daimyō had to be made absolutely clear.
Since the time of the First Hokage, the Hokage had always occupied the dominant position.
By the Third Hokage's era, Danzō could silence the Daimyō with a single glance.
Now it was the era of the Fourth Hokage—and that reality could not be allowed to change.
Not under Namikaze Minato.
And certainly not while Uchiha Kei was here.
This was, after all, a world of shinobi.
A world ruled by strength.
"I don't think we need to move elsewhere," Kei said with a soft smile.
"I'll state my conditions right here."
His calm voice echoed through the shattered palace.
"First: From now on, the Daimyō's personal protection will be handled by Konoha. There will be no need to employ people whose ambitions even you don't fully understand."
"No problem!" the Daimyō blurted out immediately.
"Don't rush," Kei said, shaking his head.
"Let me finish."
"Second: This incident must be made public. As the rumors spread outside, you, Daimyō-sama, will need to issue a statement explaining what really happened."
"Third: Inviting Konoha shinobi to 'suppress a rebellion' requires mission compensation. I believe you understand this better than anyone."
"Fourth: To better safeguard both the Daimyō and the interests of the Land of Fire, Konoha's future funding must increase by thirty percent."
After listing these terms, Kei smiled at the Daimyō, whose face had turned deathly pale.
His smile grew even brighter.
"Of course, these are only the four basic conditions. Any additional matters will require Daimyō-sama to personally visit Konoha and discuss them with the Hokage."
"And naturally, if you feel these terms are excessive, that's fine as well."
"You may send one of your children in your place."
"I trust they'll be able to make a reasonable decision on your behalf… wouldn't you agree, Daimyō-sama?"