Chapter 344: The Choice
This was a threat—
a real threat.
Every word Kei spoke struck the Daimyō like a bolt from a clear sky.
"Troublesome?"
What kind of trouble?
Was he being asked to choose between protecting himself… or protecting his subordinates?
Either choice was deadly.
If he chose himself, then from this day forward, he would never again find anyone truly willing to serve him.
And if he chose his subordinates?
Then the outcome was obvious—
either he would be dragged down from his throne, or quietly eliminated and replaced by another prince.
As for finding a legitimate reason?
Was that really troublesome at all?
The Fire Daimyō felt a chill crawl up his spine.
This kind of naked coercion was something he had never faced before.
Yet at the same time, he could clearly sense something else—
Konoha's anger.
His subordinates were secretly collecting the Nine-Tails' chakra?
He truly hadn't known about that.
Still, he did know that the Nine-Tails had once escaped within Konoha.
To be honest, when he first heard that news, a small, shameful part of him had felt anticipation—hoping Konoha might plunge into chaos.
But on second thought, if Konoha fell into turmoil, the Fire Country would lose its shield.
Even if war didn't reach him directly, it would devastate his interests.
In truth, he and Konoha were bound together.
There was no threat to his life—
but there was a threat to his wealth.
Konoha's stability benefited him as well, no matter how reluctant he was to admit it.
Still… he had once harbored a quiet fantasy.
A fantasy of becoming like the Wind Country's Daimyō—
a ruler who truly controlled his ninja village.
But the Wind Country was a barren wasteland, incapable of sustaining itself.
Its shinobi survived only by clinging to their Daimyō's purse strings, allowing him to command them freely.
The Fire Country was different.
It was the most fertile land in the entire shinobi world.
And Konoha—its true military power—was nothing like Sunagakure.
It would never allow itself to be tightly controlled by a mere Daimyō.
In fact, Konoha held absolute dominance.
If he revealed thoughts he shouldn't have had…
or took actions he never should have taken—
his fate would be unimaginably grim.
"Is… is there some kind of misunderstanding here?"
the Daimyō asked weakly, his face pale.
"I truly don't know anything about this. I swear it. I've never heard of such a thing!"
"Then listen carefully. And look carefully."
Kei's scarlet eyes remained fixed on him.
"Your Excellency, we shinobi respect you—but there is something you must understand."
"H-Head Kei… please speak."
The Daimyō stammered. His back was soaked through with cold sweat.
"The Hokage and the Daimyō are the same."
Kei's voice was gentle—almost kind.
A faint, unreadable smile appeared on his face.
"The Hokage can be re-elected.
And the Daimyō… can also be replaced."
"As long as the replacement comes from your family."
If his earlier words had been subtle, these were not.
This was the moment his fangs were fully bared.
Paired with those crimson eyes, the Fire Daimyō truly felt as if he had fallen into an abyss.
This was no longer a warning.
It was a final ultimatum.
The Fire Daimyō was no fool.
He could feel it—
the fury of all Konoha bearing down on him.
Collecting tailed-beast chakra was a line that could not be crossed.
Even if he didn't know who had done it, he understood his retainers well enough.
When he recruited those ninja, he had carefully balanced their loyalties.
Some leaned toward the Hokage.
Others leaned toward himself.
That balance was necessary—for appearances, and for his own peace of mind.
Clearly, it was those who supported him too fervently who had caused this catastrophe.
"Head… Head Kei,"
the Daimyō said through clenched teeth,
"I will handle this matter personally."
"No need to trouble yourself, Your Excellency."
To the Daimyō's surprise, Kei shook his head.
"I understand your confusion. You may think—it's just chakra. But you must understand something."
"That was tailed-beast chakra.
The Nine-Tails' chakra."
"And since we are already here, this matter will be handled by us."
"I… I understand."
The Daimyō swallowed hard and nodded helplessly.
"Rest assured, Your Excellency."
Kei closed his Sharingan, his expression softening into a refreshing, almost pleasant smile.
"We have concrete intelligence. We will place the evidence before you."
"And when that time comes—
the choice of how to proceed will be yours."
After saying that, Kei slowly stepped back from the Daimyō.
He then left together with Ayaka, giving the Daimyō a slight bow as a form of courtesy before exiting the palace.
The Daimyō watched the two of them leave. Only when the palace doors finally closed did he let out a long, shaky breath.
Moments later, he collapsed back into his seat.
A flash of resentment surfaced on his face—
but it was quickly swallowed by overwhelming fear.
He needed to calm down.
He needed to think carefully about how to deal with this situation.
And if possible…
how to take revenge on that little bastard.
---
"Kei, I'm guessing you've made both the Daimyō and his Twelve Guardian Ninjas hate you to the bone now,"
Ayaka said with a faint, amused smile as they walked away from the palace.
"He won't let this go so easily. What are you planning to do?"
"It's nothing serious," Kei replied indifferently.
"At most, he'll try to stir things up—spread some rumors he'll never publicly acknowledge."
He shrugged.
"That's why if you strike first, you have to be prepared for the backlash.
Honestly, I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction when he realizes public opinion has already shifted before he even acts."
Since Kei had agreed to Ayaka's approach, he had naturally considered every possible consequence.
Including what kind of retaliation his hardline stance might provoke.
There was really only one plausible option—
using public opinion to smear him.
Sending the Twelve Guardians to assassinate him?
That would practically be an admission that the Daimyō himself was behind the collection of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
The Daimyō wasn't that stupid.
With his status in the Fire Country, manipulating narratives and rumors would be far more effective.
And that was precisely what Kei wanted—to escalate things.
The Daimyō might assume that Konoha's silence meant they intended to resolve the matter quietly.
If so, he might think he still had room to maneuver.
Unfortunately for him, he had completely misjudged both Konoha—and Uchiha Kei.
"Enough about that," Kei said, shaking his head.
"Now it's up to Kakashi. What about you? You've been observing all this time—you must've noticed something."
"Didn't you already see it yourself?" Ayaka tilted her head slightly.
"Kazuma's entire squad is loyal to the Daimyō.
Chiriku is in a separate team—its exact alignment is unclear, but that'll likely be our responsibility.
And the four Lightning Release users are together—that's Kakashi's assignment."
"Not bad luck," Kei said with a casual smile.
"At least Chiriku and Kazuma aren't in the same squad. Saves us a lot of trouble.
Convincing people really isn't my specialty."
"I distinctly remember your speaking skills being quite impressive," Ayaka said, giving him a strange look.
"When did you start losing confidence?"
Kei's words had indeed left an impression on Ayaka.
Some of his speeches—spoken privately to people like Kakashi, or during gatherings with their peers—had spread quietly through Konoha.
Phrases like:
'Living is harder than dying.'
'True strength isn't power, but the ability to carry the will of fallen comrades and keep moving forward.'
Those lines had become something of a mantra.
Many shinobi even quoted them as personal mottos, often prefacing them with:
"Lord Kei once said…"
Kei knew all of this.
He found it mildly amusing, but didn't mind.
Influence was influence—and he had no reason to reject it.
"It's not a lack of confidence," Kei said dismissively.
"It's just not worth wasting breath."
"Leave persuasion to you and Kakashi.
As for me—I'll focus on dealing with that bastard Kazuma."
"By the way," Ayaka suddenly asked,
"when you used genjutsu earlier—were you searching his memories?"
"I remember you could already do that back in the Land of Water."
"That's right," Kei nodded.
"There's a lot of uncertainty involved, but my luck was good this time. I saw what I needed."
Ever since returning from the Land of Water, Kei had continued refining his Sharingan.
Progress was slow—but noticeable.
The technique was still passive, allowing him only to glimpse the most important memories in a target's mind.
But for Kazuma, the most important thing was obvious—
The Nine-Tails' chakra.
From those memories, Kei learned that Kazuma didn't yet have a unified plan.
But the chakra had already been collected.
And more importantly—
Kei now knew exactly where it was.
"When do you plan to make a move?" Ayaka asked bluntly.
"Some things can be relocated."
"That's true," Kei replied with a smile.
"But I think we'll wait a little."
"I gave Kakashi two days. Before that, I plan to secure the evidence first."
"You're not worried Kazuma will get paranoid and check his stash?"
"First, I doubt the Daimyō will warn them.
Second—even if Kazuma does grow suspicious, I'll make sure my disguise is flawless."