Chapter 294 – You'd Better Think Carefully
When the three masked intruders appeared before him, Kaguya Shigemitsu—the head of the Kaguya clan—didn't flinch.
There was no fear in his eyes, only a spark of feverish excitement.
He wasn't worried about his safety. The thought that he might be in danger never even crossed his mind.
To him, the guards outside were little more than decoration—symbolic, not useful.
He didn't underestimate them; after all, they were his clansmen and valuable warriors.
But the fact that these three had slipped past all of his sentries told him something important:
they were formidable.
And Shigemitsu adored fighting strong opponents.
He had no patience for schemers or politicians; to him, power was the only truth worth respecting.
So when these strangers appeared, his first instinct wasn't to question them—it was to test them.
A grin split across his face. "Who are you?" he asked lightly, though his tone carried more curiosity than caution.
But before they could answer, he decided the question didn't matter.
If they had come this far, they'd explain themselves soon enough.
For now, his blood boiled for battle.
In a flash, he lunged forward, the floorboards cracking under the force of his step.
His fist rocketed toward the nearest of the three—Uchiha Kei.
---
Kei and his two companions—Hyūga Ayaka and Imai Kenta—had anticipated many outcomes.
This wasn't one of them.
The large, muscular man before them—hair wild, crimson markings like streaks of blood on his brows—
had asked one question and then attacked without warning.
"...Tch." Kei's eyes flashed red, the Sharingan spinning to life.
In that instant, the world slowed.
Every twitch of Shigemitsu's muscles, every ripple in the air, every flicker of intent—Kei saw it all.
He shifted one step to the side. The punch cut through empty space.
Fast, Kei thought, but predictable.
In a single, fluid motion, he drew his blade Kiryoku—the steel humming with precision.
The flat of the blade struck Shigemitsu's arm with a resounding crack!
The ground split open from the redirected blow. Dust billowed, and the room trembled.
Kei's eyes narrowed. That strength… unbelievable. Did he awaken the Kekkei Genkai already?
He moved before the thought finished—stepping in, pressing his heel down hard on Shigemitsu's wrist.
The man grunted, half in pain, half in disbelief, as the Uchiha's blade found his throat.
A faint crackle of lightning burst to life around Kei's left hand—Chidori, humming like a caged storm.
---
Shigemitsu froze.
He hadn't expected to be disarmed, much less pinned so quickly.
He'd been careless, sure—he hadn't used his full power.
But still, no ordinary shinobi should have been able to stop him like this.
Then he noticed the faint glow beneath the mask—the scarlet eyes, spinning with three tomoe.
Sharingan.
It clicked instantly.
That's why this man had read his attack so perfectly.
A slow grin crept across his face even as blood trickled down his wrist.
"Interesting…" he said hoarsely. "A Konoha ninja. No—an Uchiha. Didn't think I'd see those eyes in the Land of Water."
Kei pressed the blade slightly harder against his neck, his tone cool and even.
"Attacking without a word isn't a very polite way to greet guests, Kaguya-dono.
You make things… difficult."
Shigemitsu chuckled, utterly unfazed.
"Go on then. Kill me if you want. But you and I both know you won't."
Kei's eyes flickered. "You're surprisingly perceptive."
He removed the blade from Shigemitsu's throat, letting the Chidori fade from his hand.
Outside, hurried footsteps echoed—but stopped just before reaching the door.
Kei smiled faintly. So they won't come in… not even to help their clan head.
He understood now: to the Kaguya, strength was authority.
If the clan leader couldn't defend himself, he didn't deserve to be saved.
"A fascinating culture you have," Kei murmured. "But lucky for you, I'm not here to take your seat—or your life."
Shigemitsu straightened, brushing off his arm, his eyes still wild but curious.
"You're strong, Uchiha. But that power—it's just your eyes.
I've fought your kind before. You're not invincible.
Now tell me—who are you, and why have you come?"
Kei smiled thinly. "I just want to talk. Nothing more."
He reached up, unfastened his mask, and lowered it.
"My name is Uchiha Kei."
The name hit Shigemitsu like a jolt of electricity. His pupils constricted.
He'd heard it before—everyone in the higher circles of Kirigakure had.
Uchiha Kei: the man who destroyed Kannabi Bridge, who tore through the Stone frontlines and turned the tide of the war.
The youngest ANBU captain in Konoha's history.
A name recorded even in the Mist's black files.
And the same man who, only a year ago, had clashed with Kirigakure's own ANBU in a violent and classified incident—
a battle that had left no survivors and no official report.
"You…" Shigemitsu's grin returned, sharper this time. "So the famous Uchiha Kei himself walks into my den.
Interesting. Very interesting.
Tell me—what could you possibly want from me?"
Kei's smirk deepened. "To be honest? The risks were high.
But when the rewards outweigh the danger tenfold, the gamble's worth it."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
"Isn't that right… future Mizukage?"
Shigemitsu froze.
For the first time, the confident gleam in his eyes faltered.
His secret ambition—something only hinted at within his clan—had just been spoken aloud by a stranger.
Hyūga Ayaka and Imai Kenta exchanged subtle glances, hiding their surprise.
They understood immediately what Kei was doing.
He wasn't just here for diplomacy.
He was testing, probing—and perhaps recruiting.
But more than that, he was setting the stage.
---
Shigemitsu recovered quickly, though his grin had lost some of its arrogance.
"You Konoha shinobi… really are something.
No wonder you came sneaking into Kirigakure instead of announcing yourselves."
His voice held no denial—but no admission either.
Which was as good as confirmation.
Ayaka and Kenta both realized what that meant: this clan was beyond redemption.
A family plotting rebellion could never be trusted, no matter how powerful.
Kei knew it too. But that didn't mean they couldn't be useful.
---
"So," Shigemitsu said quietly, "tell me—how did you learn of my plans?
And why me? You had other options."
"Of course we did."
Kei's mind was already racing.
He'd only learned of the Kaguya's coup minutes ago, but he'd already built his story.
"We had two choices," he said smoothly. "One, report everything to the Mizukage.
Or two, come to you—and propose a… mutually beneficial arrangement."
Shigemitsu's eyes narrowed. "Why not the Mizukage, then?
Surely he could offer more than I ever could."
Kei's lips curved faintly. "You're right. Politically, yes.
But trust… is a different matter."
His tone grew colder. "The Third Mizukage's alliance with Iwagakure nearly brought Konoha to ruin.
And his successor—your current Mizukage—is his disciple.
We don't trust that lineage."
Shigemitsu tilted his head, intrigued despite himself.
"Not a bad excuse. But it's still thin."
"Then here's another," Kei continued evenly.
"Geopolitics. The Land of Fire is far from the Land of Water.
Even if we secured promises from your Mizukage, distance makes betrayal easy.
And I don't like empty promises."
He stepped forward, eyes gleaming like crimson glass.
"You, on the other hand, offer tangible profit.
Your clan has soldiers—fierce ones.
But what you lack are resources. Weapons. Supplies.
You're preparing for war, Kaguya-dono.
But tell me—do you even have the means to arm one?"
Shigemitsu didn't respond.
His jaw tightened ever so slightly—enough to tell Kei everything he needed to know.
A small, cold smile touched the Uchiha's lips.
"Exactly," he murmured. "You don't."
He folded his arms, his tone now calm but sharp as a blade.
"So think carefully, Kaguya Shigemitsu.
You can pretend strength will win you a nation…
Or you can admit what you already know—"
Kei's Sharingan glimmered faintly.
"—that power alone is never enough."
If that were the case, he would already have found traces of the Kaguya clan's mobilization — yet in his memory the Kaguya were wiped out cleanly, and that was supposed to happen years from now.
That could only mean one thing: something had gone wrong in their preparations.
Mobilization wasn't the issue. The problem had to be the equipment: the arms and supplies that would actually make a coup feasible.
Given Uchiha Obito's blockade of the Land of Water and the Kaguya's arrogant temperament, it wasn't hard to imagine why weapons merchants were unwilling to deal with them. Maybe a few tried to slip things in, but who would risk arming such a hotheaded faction — and who would trust getting paid afterward?
Kei, however, represented Konoha. By rank and authority he could demand terms the Kaguya could not refuse: cash for goods, delivery upon payment — no "take the goods and run" schemes. More importantly, he had them by the throat. If they reneged, it would take only a few hours for Kirigakure's ANBU to start encircling the clan lands.
Kaguya Shigemitsu's silence confirmed Kei's inference. He truly lacked the channels to procure the volume of weaponry needed to sustain a rebellion. No arms, no logistics — no chance the clan's valor alone could overcome well-equipped Mist shinobi.
Shigemitsu's gaze shifted, reconsidering the three who stood before him.
"What do you want?" he finally asked.
"Say your demands outright," Kei replied flatly. "Don't play half-answers and make me guess. I hate that."
Kei laid out the terms plainly. "We can supply weapons — at a markup, but not so high it becomes impossible. Payment must be upfront upon delivery. After you seize power, you'll sign an alliance treaty with us and remove tariffs on our trade. Finally, we'll take one-third of the mission revenue from the three nearby isles."
Kei let that hang in the air while he watched the clan head's reaction.
Shigemitsu spat out his disgust. "You're greedy! You'd sell us arms and then demand so much in return? Do you take me for a fool, Uchiha Kei?"
"The terms are negotiable," Kei said coolly. "But remember: no one helps for free. If bloodthirsty merchants smell a massive weapons order, they'll gouge you harder than I ever would — charging explosion tags for kunai, selling your order to Kirigakure's intelligence, and leaving you empty-handed and ruined."
Kei's tone hardened. "Think hard, Kaguya-dono. This is a choice between starving and arming yourself honestly — or being devoured by greed and betrayal."
(End of chapter)