Hiss—
As Uchiha Kai's words fell, the entire room was struck dumb with shock.
Everyone froze, stunned into silence.
No one had expected this.
That this was Kai's goal.
Especially the Uchiha.
For as long as they could remember, their ambition had always been singular—the Hokage seat. That had never changed.
Even Uchiha Madara's departure, if one stripped it bare, was ultimately tied to the position of Hokage.
And now?
Everything was moving in their favor. Push just a little harder, and the long-dreamed prize—the Hokage title—would be theirs.
And he wanted to… give it up?
Impossible!
It wasn't just the Uchiha. The Aburame, the Inuzuka, and the other clans present couldn't understand it either.
Why had they sided with the Uchiha?
Some sought safety. Some sought growth.
But in the end, all of it came down to interests.
And to secure those interests, the Uchiha had to seize the Hokage seat.
Now Kai was telling them he didn't want it?
Unacceptable.
The room erupted.
"Kai-kun, think this through!"
"It's not greed—there's simply no turning back now!"
"If we don't claim the Hokage position, we'll all be crushed in the reckoning that follows!"
Voices rose one after another.
Yes. At this point, they were bound together with the Uchiha.
Like ministers at the dawn of a new dynasty, even if the emperor himself wavered, the people around him would force the robe upon his shoulders.
Even Nara Hiroshi could not remain silent.
"Kai-kun, forgive me, but I can't agree with this. We have no retreat. Do you think I, a Nara wants all this trouble? Do you think I wouldn't rather spend my days in peace, enjoying the seasons? Of course I would! But at a certain point, there is no choice. And right now, we have no choice."
He understood Kai. Truly, he did.
Who wouldn't prefer an easy life?
But in this world, choices were a luxury.
Even the Uchiha themselves began to press him—cursing Setsuna, offering comfort, anything to ignite his ambition.
The Hokage seat, in their eyes, could not be abandoned.
Kai's lips twitched.
He had expected resistance, but not this fevered desperation.
On second thought, perhaps it was natural.
Had not great rulers of old faced the same?…
He could only sigh.
When at last the noise quieted, he spread his hands and spoke calmly.
"Everyone, don't be hasty. I said I don't want to be Hokage. That doesn't mean I'm surrendering power."
"There are things I should have told you earlier, but our faction was formed in haste, almost by chance. It's not too late, though. Let's take this opportunity to speak plainly."
"Tell me—what is power?"
"Is becoming Hokage truly the end of the road? That once you sit in that chair, all is secure?"
"If so, then where is the Senju clan today?"
"Think of their glory. Two Hokage from their bloodline. Konoha itself was founded by their hands. And now? What remains, save Tsunade—half-alive and disheartened?"
"To take the Hokage position is easy. If I claimed it, the Uchiha would indeed shine for thirty years. And all of you, too, would hold sway for three decades."
"But what then?"
"Even if we trained a worthy successor, what about the generation after that? Can you guarantee we would always hold the seat, and always dominate Konoha?"
"And if one day our descendants prove weak, and we lose the Hokage's office? What then?"
"Look at what Sarutobi did to the Senju after Tobirama—his own teacher!"
"The lesson is plain. To overreach is to invite ruin. Greed leads only to destruction."
"The tallest tree is the first felled by the wind. The jutting rock is eroded by the current. The man who walks above the crowd earns their hatred."
"Even merchants know better than to take the last coin from the table. Leave others some space, and you leave yourself a way out."
"The moon, once full, begins to wane. Water, once brimming, spills over."
"Our goal should be to extend our influence, to raise the strength of every allied clan, and then—simply, to be on good terms with all. That's enough."
"Our true aim is this: whoever becomes Hokage, they must court us. No matter who holds the chair—even if Konoha itself crumbles—we will remain, the hidden hand behind it all."
"That is enough."
"The Hokage seat looks glorious, looks mighty. But the higher you climb, the colder it becomes. We, instead, should bow low, and rule unseen."
"Think carefully, all of you. If you cannot shift your thinking, if you insist on the Hokage's throne, then perhaps you will shine for a few decades… but in the end, you will be purged."
"The fate of the Senju will be ours tomorrow."
Kai's voice was level, almost casual.
But the weight of his words pressed on every heart.
For he was not like them. He carried with him the education of another life, five thousand years of history imprinted in his bones.
The ninja world's history was shallow—barely a thousand years since Kaguya, Hagoromo, and Hamura. From tribe, to clan wars, to the current village system. No precedent, no true perspective.
Even the cleverest of the Nara were bound by the limits of their age.
But Kai was different.
He remembered dynasties that had risen and fallen, families that had lasted centuries, and the countless bloodstains left when the wheel of history turned.
Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming dynasty—glorious beyond measure. Yet by Chongzhen's reign, millions of Zhu descendants remained. And then? Li Zicheng and the Qing swept them all away. Not even chickens and dogs were spared.
Piles of corpses, rivers of blood—reminders etched deep into Kai's heart.
He would never tread that path.
Why fight for the title of Hokage?
The great families of old of his homeland, the great financial conglomerates of the West—they had shown him the wiser path.
Not the emperor's throne.
But the king in the shadows.
Let others take the arrows. He would rule unseen.
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