On the Uchiha's side—
Everyone wore excitement on their faces, but more than that, a sense of frustration.
Yes.
Uchiha Kai's words just now had struck straight into their hearts.
Peace was fought for!
And Hiruzen Sarutobi's so-called Five Kage Summit—was that worthy of all the Konoha shinobi who had given their lives on the battlefield?
What right did he have to forgive the enemy on everyone's behalf?
"Kai-kun, your words earlier were incredible!"
"I'm still fired up from it—even if it's a shame about the result."
"Exactly! Sarutobi Hiruzen is no man at all!"
"…!"
The crowd spoke one after another, venting their discontent. After all, what Hiruzen had done felt like a betrayal.
But Kai himself remained calm.
He had never expected that a few words alone could suppress Hiruzen.
In this world, strength reigned supreme.
Tricks and rhetoric could add polish, but to rely on them to defeat an enemy?
Heh. Better go dream.
After a moment's thought, he finally spoke slowly:
"Everyone, quiet down."
"First of all, I never thought that our votes alone could truly stop them. I simply wanted to make the Uchiha's stance clear."
"So don't overthink it. Whether or not the war ends is not what we should be concerned about."
"Our true goal is only one: to draw in as many as possible, and make our power grow stronger and stronger."
"Everything else is secondary."
"In fact, we should thank the Hokage for giving us such a fine stage."
"So, prepare yourselves."
"I expect many clans and individuals will soon be joining us."
"And one more thing."
"Have the Uchiha Police Force spread my words today across every corner of Konoha as quickly as possible."
"It would be a shame to waste such an opportunity."
Kai's tone was light.
Unlike most, he, having lived two lives, understood clearly what the primary contradiction was and what was secondary. Every step he took was methodical.
Hearing his instructions, the others finally came to their senses.
And as always, they obeyed at once.
In today's Uchiha, Kai's word was law. His commands were carried out instantly, the clan functioning like a finely tuned machine. Ever since purging the radicals of the Eighth Generation and Setsuna's faction, the Uchiha's unity had reached terrifying levels.
And so it proved.
Once the Jounin assembly ended, Kai's speech spread across every street of Konoha.
In no time at all—
Everyone was talking about Uchiha Kai!
At first, people were skeptical.
But when one civilian Jounin after another vouched for him, public opinion flipped completely.
Everyone began saying the Uchiha were right.
His words lit a fire in them.
And so, in just one day after the assembly, countless civilian Jounin and minor clans began paying visits.
The Uchiha accepted all comers—so long as their character wasn't too foul, they were welcomed.
On the Hokage's side—
Of course Hiruzen and his allies wanted to act.
But, unfortunately—
The Anbu captain Sarutobi Shinnosuke had just died. Inoichi Yamanaka and Uchiha Shisui had only just taken over. Simply stabilizing the Anbu was already a challenge.
As for Root?
With the current state of Hiruzen and Danzo's relationship, the fact that they hadn't come to blows was already a miracle.
Cooperate?
What a joke.
Thus, with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Uchiha truly stood at the wind's crest.
As the saying goes, even a pig can fly if it stands at the wind's peak.
And this was Uchiha Kai's Uchiha.
Seizing the moment, the clan went all-out in promoting Kai.
In short order—
Public opinion flipped!
The Uchiha's reputation soared, while Hiruzen's plummeted.
The reason was simple.
Even though the Uchiha's campaign never uttered a bad word about Hiruzen, the contrast was enough.
Set beside Kai's rousing words, Hiruzen seemed weak and uninspiring.
Of course, as Hokage, Hiruzen understood this all too well.
And it infuriated him!
But no matter his anger, there was nothing he could do to stop them.
The Anbu were still in disarray, and Root refused to cooperate.
Yes—Danzo hated the Uchiha, but he hated Hiruzen even more.
Robbed of the Hokage seat years ago, humiliated at the recent assembly, why wouldn't Danzo be happy to see Hiruzen's embarrassment?
It wasn't until the third day, when the shinobi from the Hidden Blood Mist Village front returned, that the "Uchiha hot topic" was finally pushed aside.
Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.
Naturally, there was a grand welcoming ceremony, followed by a memorial at the stone monument.
With the return of the front-line forces, the village grew lively again.
For a while, both sides—Hokage and Uchiha—made no further moves.
The village was busy preparing for the Five Kage Summit.
So far, Konoha, Hidden Sand Village, Hidden Blood Mist Village, and Hidden Stone VIllage were confirmed participants.
Only Hidden Cloud Village had yet to reply.
Thus Hiruzen busied himself with preparations, leaving no energy to spare for the Uchiha.
And on their side, the Uchiha were equally busy.
Thanks to Kai's words, they had won many hearts.
Civilian shinobi and small clans continued trickling in, and the Uchiha were focused on integrating their growing forces.
Neither side had time to provoke the other.
The village entered an odd, uneasy calm.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kai was meeting with two of his old comrades—Hyuga Aya and Nara Kazama.
At the Akimichi barbecue restaurant—
Kai had reserved a private room, and the three of them were eating and drinking merrily.
"All that's missing is Shisui," one said.
"Then our squad would finally be complete."
"What a pity."
Hyuga Aya sighed.
Nara Kazama took a sip of sake before speaking with resignation:
"There's nothing to be done. Shisui has his duties. He can't reunite with us for now."
"I know," Aya said with a bitter smile.
"It's just… who knows when we'll meet again? That's what feels so regrettable."
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