Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv at unhinged_uchiha
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Morning of the next day—
At the entrance of his house, as soon as Kanzou finished putting on his shinobi sandals, he cupped Mikoto's face with both hands, tilted her head up, and gave her a deep, possessive kiss.
Mikoto naturally leaned in... letting him kiss her while she kissed him back.
When he finally pulled back, her eyes were hazy with lingering pleasure and devotion, her lips slightly parted and glistening.
"Have a good day, Kanzou-sama…" she whispered softly, biting her lip as a shy, satisfied flush colored her cheeks.
He stroked her cheek tenderly and reminded her in a low, manipulative voice, "Be sure to think of what I told you... how you can finally become worthy of becoming my wife..."
Her smile stiffened at the reminder. She looked down, stammering, "I... I will..."
He hummed softly, noticing the fear that flickered in her eyes at the mere thought of what it would take to become worthy of him… to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, but he didn't say anything more.
He was not in a hurry for her to make that decision. If she truly wanted to be his wife, then she would have to make the choice herself. He certainly hoped she would make the one he wanted… but he wasn't in any rush at the moment.
With that, he turned around and walked out of the mansion, beginning his way toward the Uchiha Police Station.
It was just another routine day.
This walk from his mansion to the police station was a habit he had maintained for many years. Whether as the Deputy captain, Captain, or now also the Patriarch, the path remained the same.
Normally, as he passed by, Uchiha clansmen who happened to be passing by would stop to bow him politely and greet him with respect. They had done so even before he became Patriarch. Now, their respect ran even deeper.
Today was no different.
"Patriarch."
"Lord Kanzou."
The clansmen bowed one after another as he walked through the compound. Their tones were respectful, their postures proper. Yet Kanzou noticed something else, a subtle strangeness lingering in many of their eyes.
Some looked at him with clear hesitation. Others had faint traces of unease, curiosity, or perhaps should it be said judgmental look hidden behind their respectful expressions.
With his sharp eyes, Kanzou caught every little detail. He raised an eyebrow slightly but continued walking without breaking stride, his expression calm and unreadable.
'I wonder why I'm getting those judgmental looks…' he thought, curious and confused but didn't really care too much about it and simply headed to the Police Station.
At the Police station, as he settled into the chair of his office, he finally learned the cause of those somewhat judgmental eyes that he received not only from the fellow Uchihas... but also from the rest of the village...
Learning the news, Kanzou murmured thoughtfully, "So that's it. Such rumors have spread in the village?"
"Yes, they seemed to have appeared out of nowhere yesterday and spread out very quickly." Hazuki nodded. She had already investigated the matter a little on her own.
"Damn… people spreading false rumors about me… how could they?" Kanzou pouted, looking offended for a moment.
Hazuki looked at him, pursing her lips. "Aren't they true, though?"
Kanzou shook his head. "No, they aren't," he explained with a shrug. "I am not having a secret affair; the affair isn't secret at all. If they were going to spread such a rumor, they should have simply said I am having an affair. Why say that it's a secret affair? It makes me look bad. It's as if I am deceiving Mikoto. Obviously, I am not doing that."
Hazuki rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "Kanzou-sama, it's not a laughing matter…"
"Why is it not a laughing matter?" Kanzou asked, looking quite carefree about the whole situation.
"W-well, it could cause problems, you know," Hazuki said worriedly. In her opinion, this wasn't a good thing at all.
"It's fine, there won't be any problem," Kanzou replied confidently. "It's not like polygamy is illegal or something, and as the Uchiha Patriarch, it's not too much for me to have more than one woman, right? Not to mention, I never intended to keep these affairs of mine secret to begin with."
If that was what he had intended, Kanzou wouldn't have made his intentions absolutely clear to Mikoto either… and he would have been more careful not to get spotted with Natsuhi. But he didn't care and openly held her even in public… obviously because there was no intention of hiding anything.
As someone destined to have dozens of women in his harem, there was no possibility of keeping these affairs secret at all. So why bother in the first place?
More than anything, Kanzou wasn't really married to Mikoto, nor was he even officially dating her. Currently, her identity is just that of a maid serving him, who wishes to marry him, and who he is sleeping with… that's it. She is nothing more than that, so it wasn't even an affair or anything. He wasn't cheating at all. Besides, even if he was cheating… so what?
'Ahh, on that note, maybe I shouldn't have made my intentions clear to Mikoto. In that case, cheating could have been used to earn Evil Points. Shit man, missed an opportunity there,' he thought, feeling a pang of regret.
On the other hand, Hazuki was a little speechless at his shamelessness, but she couldn't really disagree with him. In fact, a small part of her felt secretly happy. After all, if Kanzou had any intention of staying monogamous, that would have eventually become a problem for her too.
But putting that thought aside, she asked him seriously, "Even if that's the case, do you not want to do anything about the circulating rumors?"
"Well… now that you mention it…" Kanzou murmured, leaning back in his chair, his expression slightly irritated.
While he had never planned to keep his relationships with his women a secret, it was still his business. The fact that rumors were spreading so openly and rapidly across the village did irk him. Moreover, the speed was suspicious. It hadn't even been a full 48 hours since he spent the night with Natsuhi, and the incident hadn't even occurred in Konoha. Yet the gossip had already reached this level of detail within the village?
If he can't guess that someone is pulling strings from behind the scenes, Kanzou might as well write idiot on his forehead.
Considering the style of playing... he can even guess who might be spreading the rumors.
'It has to be those four fuckers of Konoha...' he thought, but still ordered Hazuki, "Investigate the matter for me. Find the source of these rumors."
"There is no need to investigate." She shook her head and immediately took out a sealed scroll from her sleeve, placing it on the desk in front of him.
Kanzou raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised. "Oh? Have you already looked into it? As expected of you."
Hazuki blushed faintly but quickly corrected him, "I… I didn't investigate the matter. Before I could do so, this scroll was already delivered by the spy..."
She wasn't insecure enough to take credit for someone else's work.
"I see…" Kanzou murmured, a small smile playing on his lips. "...Uroko, is it?"
He reached forward and unfolded the scroll, his eyes scanning the written information with interest.
The scroll contained three points of information.
The first point was the source of the rapidly spreading rumors; unsurprisingly, it pointed directly to—
"As expected, it's Sarutobi Hiruzen," he murmured, his lips curving slightly as he continued reading.
The second point of information detailed exactly how the Sandaime Hokage had learned about his night with Natsuhi.
"Through Jiraiya?" Kanzou blinked, a little surprised
Kanzou had heard from the proprietress that a certain pervert was trying to peek at the sacred scenery when Kanzou and Natsuhi were giving classes to the women at the Hot spring... It's just that Kanzou didn't expect that person to be Jiraiya.
'I guess, he was using transformation Jutsu...' he thought, because the features that the people who chased him away described to Kanzou were not those of Jiraiya.
'I see... so he must have also been using Transformation Jutsu when he spotted me at the Izakaya...' he nodded to himself. With normal eyes, it's difficult to see through Transformation Jutsu at a glance. If Kanzou had looked around with his Sharingan, he'd have noticed. It's just that he hadn't been trying to stay alert; his attention had been completely occupied by the Yakuza men whom he face-slapped, Natsuhi, and the fun they were going to have. As a result, Jiraiya went unnoticed.
But just because Jiraiya had gone unnoticed that night didn't mean Kanzou would drop the matter so easily.
He tapped his fingers on the desk as a cold smirk formed on his lips.
"Send someone to follow Jiraiya," he ordered Hazuki. "With his nature, if he doesn't peek at bathing women, he can't rest easy."
Hazuki was stunned. "Sannin Jiraiya… does he have that kind of habit?"
She didn't doubt Kanzou's words for a second. Still, the revelation left her feeling deeply disgusted. The thought of one of the legendary Sannin sneaking around like a pathetic pervert to spy on naked women made her skin crawl.
"Yeah, he has that hobby," Kanzou confirmed. "Get a few pictures of him during the act. They'll be quite useful for ruining his reputation when the time is right."
"Alright…" Hazuki nodded.
No woman in the village would ever have a good impression of a man who likes to peek at women bathing in the bathhouse. In her mind, Jiraiya instantly became a creep. At the same time, a sense of relief washed over her.
'Now that I think about it, Kanzou-sama never allowed me to go to Konoha's public bath… is this the reason…?' she thought, a small realization dawning on her.
She had never truly understood the reason before and had simply accepted the order. But now, it made perfect sense. He was protecting her from creeps like Jiraiya. It made her happy.
Kanzou noticed the subtle shift in Hazuki's expression and chuckled lightly, clearly amused by her thoughts.
"Make sure the person you send is skilled. We don't need them getting caught. Just collect solid evidence," he said, reminding her.
"Understood, Kanzou-sama," she replied, bowing her head respectfully.
With that, the matter of Jiraiya was put aside, and Kanzou focused on Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Even though I warned him just the day before yesterday, he still wants to jump around like this and harm my reputation."
In fact, Kanzou could clearly see that harming his reputation was probably only part of Hiruzen's goal. More than anything, the old monkey is probably trying to drive a wedge between him and Mikoto.
The current Mikoto is just a canary trapped in his cage who wants to evolve into a Black Swan and marry him. But to outsiders who didn't know the truth, she might as well already be his wife, even if they weren't married officially.
In the eyes of the public, Elder Tadayoshi's strong support for Kanzou stemmed largely from his relationship with Mikoto. It's because Mikoto 'loves' him and lives with him that Elder Tadayoshi supports him, and it's only through Elder Tadayoshi's support that he became the Patriarch.
In such a situation, from the perspective of outsiders who don't know the truth, if rumors of him having a 'secret affair' behind Mikoto's back spread widely, it should create friction and conflict between the two. And if that conflict escalated, Elder Tadayoshi would almost certainly step in for the sake of his beloved granddaughter and cause problems for him.
And if Elder Tadayoshi creates a problem for him, that could destabilize his position as the Patriarch.
'That's probably what the old monkey is hoping for… Fufu... if only he knew the truth,' Kanzou thought, his lips curling into a cold, amused smile.
Something like that would never actually become a real problem for him. No matter how much Elder Tadayoshi tried to jump around and interfere, it wouldn't matter. Heck, he couldn't do shit even when he learnt of what Kanzou did to his granddaughter in his very house, in her very bedroom... so what else could he do?
Create a problem for him or destabilize his position as the Patriarch? Yeah, right. Only in his best dreams. If he tries any of that... the one to make the Elder stop wouldn't be him... it'd be Mikoto.
For the sake of his beloved granddaughter, Tadayoshi would not take the risk because the consequences wouldn't be on him, but on Mikoto.
In fact, if Elder Tadayoshi tries to create trouble, Kanzou would only be happy about it, as that would make things easier for him.
After all, Kanzou had already begun making preparations for the elder's eventual death, and if everything went according to his plan, that death would come at Mikoto's own hands. So any problem the old man tried to stir up would actually benefit Kanzou in the long run.
'Fufu... I sure hope Tadayoshi-sama does something upon hearing these rumors,' he thought, leaning back in his chair.
"But that aside…" he murmured, eyes narrowing, "I still need to return the favor to Hiruzen."
Although he was a little irked that rumors about his business were circulating, he was also amused by the situation, by Hiruzen's attempt to create trouble for him.
If the old Hokage, or anyone else, doesn't try to stir up trouble, how would he ever have fun slapping faces? The world would be far too boring if there weren't people foolish enough to amuse him.
After all, he couldn't spend all his time slapping women's asses… occasionally, some old monkeys' faces needed slapping too for a fulfilling life.
This was such an opportunity. Kanzou once again had the chance to face slap Hiruzen. Well, not literally... but...
"Since Sarutobi Hiruzen wants to harm my reputation in this manner…" Kanzou continued, his tone turning colder and more calculating, "Then how can I not return the favor?"
Hazuki watched him carefully, noting the dangerous glint in his eyes. After a moment, she tilted her head slightly and asked, "How do you plan to do that?"
He stroked his chin thoughtfully for a second before his lips curved into a wicked smile.
"It has to be in the same way… about him also having a secret affair or something," he said casually.
She was stunned. "Him… having a secret affair? Who'd he be having a secret affair with?"
Kanzou thought for a moment before his eyes lit up, "That old slut Utatane Koharu seems right..."
Hazuki choked on her own breath. "W-What? Utatane Koharu…?"
Utatane Koharu, that's one of the elder advisor, and Kanzou, he actually wants to include her in the rumors?
"Fufu… yeah," he chuckled, enjoying the way this is going. "Spread the rumor that even though Sarutobi Hiruzen is married to Sarutobi Biwako, he's also been fucking around with Utatane Koharu for years. And not just her, there ought to be other women as well."
She stared at him, momentarily speechless. "People aren't going to believe that…"
"Nah," He waved his hand dismissively, cackling. "People will eat that stuff up because the rumors are going to question that old slut's position as one of the Elder Advisors despite being a civilian."
Hazuki blinked, her eyes widening slightly as the implications sank in, "You... You don't mean…" Now that she thought about it... it seemed to make some sense.
"Fufu…" His eyes sparkled maliciously as he leaned forward, giving instructions for other components of the rumor. "There's also—"
Hazuki listened to it all, and the more she listened to what he was cooking up in that evil brain of his, the more stunned and speechless she became.
The things he was ordering her to spread in the rumors... they were dirty, vicious, and perfectly calculated to spread like wildfire and would definitely create a lot of problems for Hiruzen. Not only would his reputation be affected, but also his relationship with his wife might be ruined.
"Make sure the details are juicy... Let the villagers' imaginations run wild," he said.
"I… I see…" Hazuki nodded. Yet beneath her composed exterior, a faint thrill of excitement ran through her. She bowed respectfully and quickly left the office to pass on both orders to the Zodiacs, ensuring the rumors about Hiruzen and the surveillance on Jiraiya would be handled efficiently.
Once the door closed behind her, Kanzou was left alone in the quiet office. He picked up the scroll again and continued reading the third and final point of information.
'Uzumaki Kushina is out of Konoha and the purpose... huh?"
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A/N:
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Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv: unhinged_uchiha
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