Wind and sand rattled against the glass, creating a soft hissing sound. In the distance, a pale light broke through the yellow haze, filtering into a run-down little house.
Taida opened his eyes and sprang from his narrow bed with a swift motion. He pushed open the cramped door and headed to the bathroom, turning on the shower. In Sunagakure, where water was so precious, it was remarkable to find a shower—even in Taida's tiny, shabby home.
After washing up and feeling refreshed, Taida opened his moth-eaten wardrobe and pulled out a high-quality robe. He wasn't poor—you could tell from both his shower and his clothes. Yet he still chose to live in this cramped little house on the village's outskirts.
Once properly dressed, Taida stepped outside, locked his door with a rusty padlock, and strode energetically toward the village center.
Among all the Eighteen Seats, he was the only one still living in such modest conditions. It wasn't for lack of money—his ambitions simply reached far beyond material comfort. He'd climbed up from the very bottom, step by step. While Lord Kaza's support had helped, most of his success came from his own relentless effort.
He was deeply ambitious. Being one of the Eighteen Seats wasn't his ultimate goal—he wanted to become someone like Lord Kaza.
With this thought, Taida instinctively patted his briefcase, pulled out a file, and read while walking. The document contained no confidential intelligence—just everything he'd collected about Lord Kaza: When he ate, when he slept, how he treated different visitors, his daily routines...
Though these were mere fragments of information, to Taida they were as valuable as forbidden jutsu to a ninja.
In his view, Lord Kaza, despite being born into the Suna Clan, possessed only slightly more talent than himself. Back then, the Municipal Ministry had been nothing but a powerless, idle department. Even starting from such dire circumstances, without influence or authority, Lord Kaza had led the ministry to its current heights. Truly impressive!
Taida admired him—but yearned even more to surpass his idol.
With this in mind, he habitually began analyzing Lord Kaza's strengths, searching for qualities he could emulate.
To him, Kaza's steady grip on power stemmed from two key factors: wisdom and fairness. Wisdom wasn't just about brilliant ideas—it was also about management strategy. The Eighteen Seats, divided by two, made nine. Every time the "cake" was distributed, aside from Kaza as the "chef," it could be perfectly divided into nine portions. This meant half the people received shares while the other half, lacking the numbers to cause real trouble, remained quiet. The nine who did receive shares belonged to different factions, so when managing the factories, there was little chance of anyone deceiving those above—effectively reducing Lord Kaza's workload.
Since the Eighteen Seats' foundation was shared profit, revenue was split nine ways. Finances remained as transparent as glass, ensuring open competition and preventing any single faction from dominating.
You had to admit—so much thought and wisdom lay hidden behind those simple seats.
Combined with Lord Kaza's remarkably fair management style—he never interfered in profit discussions— over time, everyone naturally accepted his authority and decisions.
Realizing this, Taida quickly pulled out a notebook and, ignoring the curious stares from passersby, jotted down his insights.
As his pen moved across the paper, Taida felt that Lord Kaza was truly the village's uncrowned king, leading Sunagakure toward prosperity. As for the Kazekage's office? You could stick a pig in that position and it would still coast to victory.
Lost in his note-taking, he even envisioned himself one day sitting in the ministry's largest office, leisurely sipping tea. Cling to Lord Kaza's coattails, secretly collaborate with that "pig" in the Kazekage's office, use the pig's power to become his surface-level representative, then demonstrate his own capabilities while waiting for Kaza to retire— finally taking over as Minister and becoming the second uncrowned king.
Just as Taida put away his notebook and strode excitedly toward the ministry—
In Amegakure, Rinjin sat leisurely on the steps outside the guardhouse, cradling a cup of hot tea. Not far away, Kagami approached, leading a little boy with dark red hair.
"Yo~ Kagami, good morning! And good morning to our handsome little Shisui!"
From a distance, Rinjin waved cheerfully.
Kagami completely ignored him, heading off to change shifts. Beside him, five-year-old Shisui broke free from his grandfather's hand and dashed over to Rinjin, greeting him sweetly:
"Good morning, Grandpa Rinjin!"
Rinjin nodded kindly, set his teacup aside, and gently ruffled the boy's dark red hair.
"You know, when you were little, your hair was bright red. How come it's getting darker as you grow?"
"Hehe~" Shisui giggled adorably, touching his reddish hair. "Grandpa says it's because Dad's Uchiha blood is overpowering Mom's Uzumaki blood, so my hair keeps getting darker."
"So has our little handsome guy awakened his eyes yet?"
"Nope!" Shisui replied proudly. "I can use Adamantine Sealing Chains, and I can do Fire Release: Great Fireball! Grandpa says I don't need pain, and I don't need to awaken my eyes."
Hearing this, Rinjin nodded with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Kagami finished seeing off the night shift worker and came to sit beside Rinjin, beginning his guard duty.
Ignoring the drowsy Kagami, Rinjin continued teasing the adorable child.
"Our little hero is so talented! So what's your dream for the future?"
"I want to save the Uchiha clan!" little Shisui declared, clenching his chubby fists with determination.
At this, Rinjin burst out laughing and asked curiously, "Why do you say that? Have you been to Konoha, little man?"
"I have!" Shisui nodded vigorously. "Grandpa took me there during his vacation."
"And how was it?" Rinjin pressed.
"Terrible!" Shisui blurted out with childish honesty. "It was so boring! Most of our clan members are completely different from us—their eyes aren't even on their faces, they're stuck on top of their heads! Just like... just like that arrogant protagonist in the books, acting all high and mighty. But there was this one little kid who was really interesting—shy and humble. I really liked him."
Watching Shisui chatter away, Rinjin was left speechless. This kid was only five years old—why did he sound like such an old soul?
Beside them, Kagami nodded with satisfaction. His son might have been a lost cause, but his grandson filled him with pride. Just look at this boy—he was exactly like Rinjin as a child: mature beyond his years and full of ideas.
This kid would definitely become the Uchiha clan's savior!
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