"A Will of Fire that the Uchiha accept?"

  Kyoichi's shadow e paused for a moment before pting for a few seds. Then he said, "That depends on your target audience."

  "They’re kids—one is ten, the other no older than fifteen!"

  Shisui had pletely fotten that at this moment, Kyoichi himself was only sixteen—

  But in his mind, his teacher was omnipotent.

  "Then it’s simple. o make it plicated. You just have to help them uand that the Uchiha and Konoha are iricably linked."

  Without much thought, Kyoichi tinued, "For example, the Uchiha are founding elders of Konoha. This vilge and the Uchiha’s is are iwined. We fight among ourselves all we want, but we ’t just stand by and watch outsiders destroy our own property, right?"

  "That makes sense. Anything else?"

  Shisui nodded repeatedly. It was a solid argument.

  Acc to records, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were once close friends, and there was even a adara to bee Hokage. Even the old geezers in the would have to aowledge this logic.

  Using this against kids? A piece of cake.

  As expected of Sensei!

  "Establish a on enemy, unify the front, and give them a target to vent their frustrations on—find ban struggle and solidarity."

  "Got it! I already followed your previous teags on that."

  Shisui then briefly reted his enter with Tekka and how he had "reasoned" with him.

  Kyoiodded in approval.

  The "Scapegoat Hokage"—in a way, as long as Sarutobi bore the bme, things wouldn’t go too far off track.

  Divide and quer—Shisui had done well.

  After some thought, Kyoichi added, "Remind them that there are too many opposing forces right now. They shouldn’t be too overt. Tell them not to inform their families. And most importantly, let them ‘realize’ the Will of Fire on their own."

  "Right, right! That way, the impression will be much stronger!"

  Shisui cpped excitedly.

  People might question ideas forced upon them, but no one would doubt something they came to uand on their own.

  "Childrehe future of the Uchiha, but waiting for them to grow up takes too long and brings too many uainties.

  For now, we must proceed cautiously. First, wihe younger geion in the . Work from the bottom up. Don’t target the adults just yet."

  "Uood. Thank you so much! Teacher, I’m waiting for news on my end, so I’ll take my leave."

  With that, Shisui dispelled his e.

  Kyoichi, now alone, fell into deep thought.

  He remembered that iure, many of the Uchiha kids from this geion would go on to achieve great things. Even Tekka, the one Shisui had just persuaded, would eventually awakehree Tomoe Sharingan. He might not be exceptional, but at least he wasn’t weak.

  If he could steer this group of young Uchiha, they would eventually have enough influeo shift the ’s decisions.

  However…

  There was still Uchiha Madara lurking in the shadows.

  Even if Kyoichi could prevent Obitoing astray, who knew if Madara would find another pawn—someone like Tekka or another susceptible child?

  After all, the Uchiha were numerous, and there was no she of impulsive individuals like Obito.

  Madara could easily piother target.

  Still…

  There was no other way.

  At Madara’s level, if he wao py the vilin, no one could stop him. But if the Uchiha as a whole aligned with Konoha, Madara—half-dead as he was—would have a much harder time stirring up trouble.

  "Whatever. That’s a headache for my real body. Back to reading."

  Kyoichi picked up a notebook and tiudying.

  Meanwhile…

  Shisui hadn’t found Kurenai but had e across Rin Nohara and had her heal his injuries.

  After some treatment a, both he and Tekka returo the outskirts of the Uchiha pound.

  "Did you e up with a pn?"

  "I have some ideas, but I’m still a bit unsure. How about we discuss it together first?"

  "Sure…"

  Shisui then shared some of the points Kyoichi had taught him.

  "The core of the Will of Fire is proteg the vilge and its future. That doesn’t actually flict with Uchiha’s is."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Our aors were among Konoha’s founders, and that’s why we serve as the vilge’s police force. In a way, this vilge is our property. The on folk and smaller s are like our business partners. Proteg our partners—isn’t that only natural?"

  "Hmm… that kinda makes sense, but they don’t see us that way."

  Tekka was momentarily stunned.

  It… made a lot of sense!

  But the civilians and minor s didn’t see the Uchiha as their partners.

  "That’s why we o break down misuandings and show them the real Uchiha."

  "That… makes sense…"

  Shisui had put it in such a simple way that even Tekka, despite his limited perspective, could uand the logic.

  "You ’t bee Hokage through brute force… At least, that’s what the leader says."

  Seeing how quickly Tekka accepted the idea, Shisui felt even more assured.

  "Exactly! If brute force could do it, our aor Madara would have succeeded. But we’re nowhere near his level—if he couldn’t take Hokage by force, how could we?"

  Tekka nodded repeatedly.

  Hokage…

  That was the Uchiha’s ultimate goal, wasn’t it?

  The elders' ideas were too simplistic. If brute force alone was enough, then after Hashirama and Madara died, the Uchiha should have easily seized trol.

  But obviously, Madara had realized it wasn’t possible and chose a more extreme path instead.

  They couldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

  The leader was wise!

  He had enlighte!

  A momeekka felt a bit ashamed.

  Shisui, only five years old, had already grasped all this, while he had ohought Shisui wasn’t doing enough for the .

  Then, with a thud, he dropped to his knees.

  "Shisui, I misjudged you. I’m truly sorry!"

  "We’re all rades. No need for apologies—get up. As for your brother, my advice is to gradually introduce these ideas to him in daily life."

  "Uood…"

  "Good. I’ll also find some relevant books for you. Read them and occasionally ask your brother questions. Over time, he’ll naturally uand."

  Shisui thought about it—just having Tekka talk might not be reliable.

  This guy wasly the best speaker.

  It was better to guide him step by step.

  ...

  Meanwhile, on Kyoichi’s side…

  [Mission pleted: "Ideological Indoation"]

  [Evaluation: Excellent]

  [Reward: Genjutsu – Crow Ephemera]

  Huh? Where did that e from?

  Since his shadow e hadn’t been dispelled yet, Kyoichi was momentarily fused, pletely unaware of what had transpired.

  But…

  He was very pleased with the reward.

  Crow Ephemera…

  In the ahis Genjutsu could be triggered by simply moving one’s fingers or using crows as a medium. It could also be cast through the Sharingan. While not particurly powerful, it was extremely versatile.

  Kyoichi had been eyeing this teique for a long time. He had po research finger-gesture-based Genjutsu, but never had the time.

  Now, he had saved himself the trouble.

  With this, even in low-light ditions, he could ie Genjutsu into his swordpy.

  The only downside…

  In plete darkness or thick mist, where visibility was ent, this Genjutsu still wouldn’t work.

  Truly…

  No one uood the Uchiha better than Tobirama Senju!

  Kyoichi had no idea that after returning, Shisui went on a persuasion spree. With patient guidance, he actually got Tekka to fully buy into the idea.

  And…

  The two of them were now brainst how to rope in Inaho as well.

  At this point, they were already putting theory into practice.

  For now, there was still some time for Shisui to carry out his pns. In a few days, however, Kyoichi might have no choice but to take them to the eastern border of the Land of Fire to guard against Kirigakure’s ninja.

  And possibly—

  Not just Kirigakure ninja, but also those from Kumogakure, ing from the northeast.

  The pressure was immense.

  Of course…

  Kyoichi wasn’t the only one under pressure.

  Hiruzen Sarutobi was, too.

  After all, entrusting Kyoichi with leading the eastern front was seen as a risky move by certain individuals.

  Gcell