NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46 - Shock Across the Ninja World!
"So, you've decided not to choose at all?"
Kaede's Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin.
"Then I'll have no choice but to make you a slave to my dōjutsu for the rest of your life."
His ocular power surged, invading Chōmei's consciousness, beginning to erase its will little by little.
As the world spun around it, panic surged within the tailed beast.
That sensation just moments ago—of being utterly controlled—was something it never wanted to experience again.
Compared to becoming an emotionless puppet, the two choices Kaede had offered now seemed merciful.
Chōmei started trying to convince itself.
Even if Kaede let it go, the other villages wouldn't. A lone tailed beast would only be hunted down and sealed inside another jinchūriki anyway.
At least Kaede had offered the option of becoming a summoned beast. That would still allow some freedom when not in battle.
Resolved, Chōmei shouted:
"Wait—wait! I'll be your summoned beast!"
Kaede sneered. "Heh. You'd rather take the punishment than drink the fine wine, huh?"
If turning Chōmei into a puppet didn't require him to control it directly, he wouldn't have bothered talking so much.
He withdrew his dōjutsu's invasive power, and Chōmei exhaled in relief.
Its consciousness had been damaged, but it didn't dare show any resentment.
Quietly, it signed a summoning contract with Kaede.
Thinking of its fate from here on, Chōmei sighed internally:
"Was our creation as tailed beasts only meant for us to become tools for humans?"
Kaede didn't care what it thought. With a casual wave of his hand:
"Go. Enjoy the freedom I'm giving you. If other villages come looking for trouble, I'll deal with it."
Chōmei nodded silently, then took to the skies in a flash, vanishing from sight.
At that moment, Naoto and the others finished inspecting the entire village.
Naoto stepped forward. "Kaede-dono, all the spies and infiltrators have been captured."
Under the Sharingan's scrutiny, no spy could hide.
"Kill them," Kaede said flatly.
Without hesitation, the Uchiha executed the order. Blades flashed, and the spies were swiftly eliminated.
Then Kaede threw a kunai and activated his eye technique.
In an instant, the Great Elder and others, far away on the Fire Country's border, appeared in Takigakure.
The Great Elder beamed with joy.
"Kaede, you already took down the entire village so quickly!"
Kaede smiled. "Rest for now. We'll hold a meeting tomorrow."
The elder nodded and enthusiastically began arranging things.
A new base needed to be built. The village's power structure had to be established. But most important of all—pacifying the civilians.
Most of them were relatives of Takigakure's ninja. If they were properly managed, the villagers would fall in line.
…
The next day.
Inside Takigakure's leadership conference room.
Kaede sat at the head of the table. Below him were the Great Elder, Naoto, six other Uchiha clansmen, Matsushiro Sakuto, and two of Takigakure's high-ranking jōnin.
Kaede spoke with a light smile. "Today, I'll only discuss three things."
Everyone sat up straight.
They knew Kaede's "three things" would define their direction going forward.
"First," Kaede began, "Naoto, take some of our people and go 'protect' the daimyo and nobles of the Land of Waterfalls."
"Yes!" Naoto answered eagerly.
He knew exactly what Kaede meant. "Protect" was code for using the Sharingan to control them.
Though it wasn't yet time to upheave the entire ninja world, Kaede wouldn't let a few figurehead nobles act above him.
Matsushiro Sakuto guessed what Kaede intended and broke into a cold sweat.
This guy was truly fearless. Wasn't he worried that the other nations' daimyo might unite and command their villages to retaliate?
But deep inside, he also felt a strange thrill—breaking the rules felt… liberating.
After all, what powerful ninja would willingly obey weak, powerless aristocrats?
Kaede continued, "Second."
He pulled out a sealing scroll.
With a pop, a pile of scrolls spilled out across the table.
"These are C- and B-rank jutsu. From now on, anyone loyal to me may study them."
"Of course, if you perform well… I've got A- and even S-rank ones too."
The moment he said this, Matsushiro's eyes lit up.
What Takigakure lacked most was jutsu—especially the powerful ones monopolized by the great villages.
Now Kaede was actually willing to share them?
For the first time, Matsushiro felt like swearing loyalty to Kaede might not be such a bad thing.
A generous and powerful leader… With him, Takigakure could very well become the sixth great ninja village.
He even began fantasizing about Takigakure's future glory.
"Third," Kaede said.
"You've all seen the state of the ninja world. Every village is trying to tear a piece off Konoha. We won't just sit and watch."
"Start preparing for war. In two days, we march on Konoha."
As he saw the shocked faces of Matsushiro and the others, Kaede said plainly:
"If you want to learn more powerful techniques, this is your chance."
"I'll have people keep records of your achievements. You can trade those for jutsu."
Aside from a few rare jutsu like Flying Thunder God or Edo Tensei, Kaede never cared for most techniques.
But using them as motivation for his subordinates? Waste not, want not.
The three Takigakure leaders exchanged glances and nodded firmly.
Let's do it!
They had long coveted the Land of Fire's wealth.
Now that Konoha was vulnerable—and with Kaede as their leader—if they didn't act now, they'd be fools.
After the meeting, everyone got to work.
In less than a day, Naoto and his team had seized control over the Land of Waterfalls' daimyo and nobility.
But such sweeping changes were hard to hide.
Before long, the news that the Uchiha had taken Takigakure spread across the ninja world.
Shock waves followed.
They'd left Konoha just days ago… and already conquered a whole territory?
Was the Uchiha truly rising?
Onoki furrowed his brow. It was time to reassess the Uchiha.
Fourth Raikage A, on the other hand, was completely unconcerned—he only had eyes for Konoha's defenses.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa didn't care either. After all, the Land of Fire lay between him and the Uchiha's new territory.
Back in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were burning with rage.
The Uchiha were gone, but now Konoha was falling into chaos because of them.
With three major villages attacking simultaneously, their forces wouldn't hold out long.
"Damn those Uchiha!" Danzo growled. "When this war ends, I'll deal with them myself!"
Though publicly under house arrest, Danzo had suffered no real consequences.
Hiruzen's declarations had only been for show—to appease the civilians.
After all, what mattered more: the people's opinion or his bond with Danzo?
Besides, Danzo was a Kage-level powerhouse. How could he be equated to mere civilians?
Anger aside, they began strategizing ways to repel the invading villages.
Then suddenly, an Anbu appeared.
"Lord Hokage! Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sama have returned!"
…
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]