Uchiha Kai's face was dark.
Yes.
He wasn't stupid.
This situation clearly reeked of trouble.
In fact, if it weren't for his friendship with Nara Kazama, he would have kicked those Ino-Shika-Cho lot straight out.
Damn it.
Under Kai's management, the Uchiha territory had long since become like an iron-clad stronghold.
Almost—one could say—that nothing happening inside the Uchiha clan, whether in Root or the Anbu, could be probed by outsiders.
Hell, if it weren't for keeping a sliver of face with the village, he'd have been tempted to simply seal the entire Uchiha territory from the sky with barrier jutsu!
Under such circumstances, who knew whether these Ino-Shika-Cho were friends or enemies — maybe they were even puppets of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He certainly dared not accept them!
So, instead of immediately cutting them off, he gave Kazama a chance to explain.
That was already more magnanimous than usual for him!
Otherwise, true to Uchiha Kai's temper, none of those people would have been allowed anywhere near the Uchiha grounds.
"Did you see that, Kōji?" Nara Kazama shrugged. "Told you — Kai isn't someone you can toy with."
"You can't just assume things. You have to make your position clear; you can't wait for others to volunteer an explanation."
"Even if you do confess first, who knows whether people will believe you."
"So why bother?"
"Remember what I said before: why can't the Ino-Shika-Cho ever truly become the core members of an alliance, no matter which clan is in charge?"
"Too clever by half!"
He hung his head.
He looked utterly helpless, and when he glanced at Nara Kōji his eyes brimmed with reproach.
Yes.
Before he went to the Uchiha, he'd told his clan uncle not to play games with Uchiha Kai.
Kai wouldn't fall for such tricks!
He'd been around Kai long enough to know how ruthless and scheming the man was.
But, unfortunately, his clan uncle insisted on testing Kai's mettle — which left him exasperated.
We fled to the Uchiha, and you're the one making the mistake here, for god's sake.
With that thought he didn't bother dealing with his uncle and spoke straight to Uchiha Kai.
"Kai, don't be angry."
"I can guarantee there's nothing wrong with these Ino-Shika-Cho."
"Now that they've come to the Uchiha, when it comes to fighting our enemies, none of them will slack off."
"It's just… this matter is complicated."
"Explaining it is messy — you've got to give me some time."
"You can't blame me either."
"To be honest, I'm shocked too. Those bastards are despicable."
"I only learned of this last night. Let me think about how to start explaining, okay?"
Nara Kazama was miserable.
Yes.
He fretted especially because something that should have been simple had been made so complicated — it was driving him up the wall.
What a load of nonsense!
On the other side, Uchiha Kai gave a faint nod.
For the sake of his old friend, he was showing face.
Yes.
This was too important; he had a duty to the Aburame, the Inuzuka and the other clans who'd put themselves under the Uchiha's wing.
So the matter had to be clarified.
At the same time, since Kazama was his friend, it was fine to give him time to organize his thoughts.
Kazama wasted no time. He explained everything that had happened since he returned to his clan last night — held nothing back. Whatever had occurred, he told Kai straight out.
Uchiha Kai: "..."
He was stunned.
He'd thought of countless possibilities — but he had never imagined this.
Damn.
Is this really the Nara clan?
They'd straight-up learned the old aristocratic stratagems of the late Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms eras to a tee!
Scatter family disciples pledge themselves to different powers.
No matter who ends up triumphant, the great houses still survive intact.
But the problem was—
This kind of tactic might work in a low-martial or non-ninja world, but in the shinobi world, where strength rules, turncoats die the quickest.
Could the supposedly clever Ino-Shika-Cho really not see that?
He couldn't comprehend it and was thoroughly shocked.
After a long silence he finally spoke.
"I'm baffled."
"I don't know what to say about the brains of your Nara clan."
"Kazama, if your old enemy Nara Shikaku was still around, it looks like he wouldn't need to bother avenging himself now."
"How should I put this?"
"The way your Ino-Shika-Cho behaves looks like a death wish to me!"
"If I can sense something wrong, wouldn't someone as sharp as Hiruzen Sarutobi be able to see through you a lot?"
"He's not stupid — how could he fall for your lies?"
"In my opinion, you need to think this through."
"Either join the Uchiha or throw in with the Sarutobi."
"That's the best advice I can give you as a friend."
"When two sides clash, the first to be dealt with are the fence-sitters."
"Your approach won't work."
Uchiha Kai shook his head helplessly.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered to reason with them at all.
But because of the bond between him and Kazama, he still felt compelled to warn his friend.
Even if the Ino-Shika-Cho went over to Hiruzen, Kai believed that with his current strength it wouldn't be hard to eliminate Hiruzen and the others — the only difference would be whether the Leaf he controlled remained whole or was left in pieces.
Nara Kazama started to speak again.
But before he could, Nara Kōji cut him off.
Taking a deep breath, Kōji spoke solemnly.
"Kazama, let me handle this."
"First, thanks to Kai for his counsel. On behalf of the Ino-Shika-Cho I offer our gratitude."
"I'll introduce myself. My name is Nara Kōji — I'm the leader of this Ino-Shika-Cho."
"As to whether Hiruzen Sarutobi trusts Shikaku and the others, the Ino-Shika-Cho honestly don't care. We never intended to be a true core of any power."
"As long as we're useful, Hiruzen won't have a choice."
"Frankly, we're just keeping a fallback."
"For us, to survive in peace is the greatest pursuit."
"So, Kai, you can rest assured — those from the Ino-Shika-Cho who have come to the Uchiha will be completely loyal to the Uchiha."
"Until death!"
"We'll even use lethal force against Shikaku and the like if necessary; we won't be held back by clan ties."
"The Ino-Shika-Cho aren't a bloodline clan, so if the clan is to continue, that's what we need to do."
"Also—"
"This time we come under the Uchiha's banner with a gift for the Uchiha."
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