"Aren't you going home?"
At Senju Tobirama's residence, Uchiha Kagami didn't return home after dinner. Instead, he followed Renya all the way, wearing a troubled expression.
Renya frowned. Did this guy drink a little horse piss and now want to come cause drunken trouble for him?
Renya rarely drank with his companions, so he had no idea about their tolerance or behavior when drunk. If Kagami started acting up, the only option would be to knock him out and toss him out.
Everyone knew that some people changed drastically after drinking. The saying "a man's drinking habits reveal his character" wasn't always true, and Renya wasn't sure what kind of drunk Uchiha Kagami was.
"Renya-kun, the clan has become increasingly dissatisfied with Sensei's rule. I'm worried…" Kagami finally voiced the concern that had been troubling him.
A few days ago, he had already talked to Renya about this matter. But the tension between the Uchiha clan and the village hadn't improved at all. In recent days, the number of hawkish members in the clan had grown, and Clan Head Tanaka was having a hard time suppressing them.
Originally, this wasn't something he should have brought to Renya—but other than Renya, he truly had no one else to turn to.
"What are you worried about?" Renya asked back with a hint of indifference. "An Uchiha coup?"
Kagami lowered his head and said nothing. That was exactly what he feared.
If things kept developing this way, without anyone stepping in to stop it, the clan might actually choose rebellion!
"I already told you what to do," Renya said calmly, his eyes fixed on Kagami. "Just kill all the hawks, and the problem will be solved."
Clearly, Kagami had taken those words as nothing more than passing talk.
Although that approach was extremely radical, it was already the best possible solution.
You can't want to protect the village, spare your clan, and still hope for peaceful coexistence between the two. There's no such perfect outcome.
Renya could only sigh—Uchiha Kagami was far too idealistic, far too naive.
If you can't solve the problem, then solve the people causing the problem.
For Kagami, it was simple: either wipe out the clan's hawks, or side with the clan in rebellion and help the Uchiha seize the Hokage's seat.
Wanting both would only lead to anxiety and inner conflict—and solve nothing.
Even Uchiha Madara couldn't make his clan obey and leave the village. How could Kagami, a mere Hokage subordinate, possibly succeed?
The Uchiha clan wouldn't listen to Kagami's advice. Deep down, they were far more likely to distrust him instead.
"Is that really the only way?" Kagami looked pained. He could never bring himself to slaughter his own clan.
Even if he were to kill them for the sake of the village, he wasn't strong enough to take on those hawks.
There were many Jōnin-level hawks in the clan—he couldn't handle them alone.
"You could just wait until the Uchiha actually launch their coup and go to war with the village," Renya said coldly. "When both sides are crippled, we'll see if they even succeed in rebelling. That'll depend on fate."
He sighed helplessly at Kagami's personality. For someone who had survived countless battles, Kagami still harbored such naive hope about something so realistic…
Anyone else would've chosen a side—either clan or village. But Kagami was stuck in the middle, unable to commit.
Kagami lowered his head, his expression unreadable, fists unconsciously tightening.
His heart was torn in two—on one side, the clan that raised him; on the other, the village he loved. No matter which he chose, it felt wrong.
"With a personality like yours, you shouldn't meddle in this kind of thing," Renya said in annoyance.
"Leave this to the Uchiha clan head and the Hokage."
Tobirama that old bastard, and Tanaka that fool—neither of them were saying anything. So why was Kagami worrying himself to death?
Clearly, he had too much free time and nothing better to do.
"I understand, Renya-kun," Kagami said with a bitter smile, his eyes hollow as he turned away like a man who'd lost his soul.
...
"Tch, Uchiha really are a clan full of problem children," Renya muttered speechlessly as he watched Kagami's fading silhouette.
Despite being known as the clan of 'love,' that love only extended to family and friends. Toward anyone else, they always carried that arrogant, condescending air.
They might not bully the weak, but they always kept people at arm's length—no wonder others didn't like associating with them.
As a result, the Uchiha's reputation in the village had grown worse and worse in recent years. Yet they blamed it all on Senju Tobirama.
They believed that if only they became Hokage, everything would change.
Arrogant, self-important, and prideful—that was the Uchiha. Any ordinary person encountering such attitudes would naturally want to stay far away.
A Uchiha like Obito, who would help an old lady cross the street, was practically an anomaly. No wonder Madara had chosen him as a pawn.
After all, only such naive fools could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Kagami's nature was the same—if he witnessed his clan and the village go to war, he'd likely awaken his own Mangekyō too.
Renya stepped in front of the mirror, staring at the reflection of his own three-tomoe Sharingan, the black tomoe slowly rotating.
"When will I awaken mine?"
Everything in his life had gone far too smoothly—he hadn't experienced any great pain, so he hadn't met the condition to awaken the Mangekyō.
In his view, true pain only came from losing loved ones or being powerless to change fate—that burning sense of frustration.
Only then could one open the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But Renya had never faced such circumstances. As long as Uchiha Madara didn't interfere, Tobirama, Danzō, Hiruzen, and the others would never die…
Of course, there was another way to awaken it—facing a deadly crisis that triggered the survival instinct to its extreme, forcing the eyes to evolve.
For example, if he went to the Land of Earth alone, challenged Iwagakure, got surrounded by thousands of ninja, and refused to use Flying Thunder God to escape… then it would be do-or-die, and his Mangekyō might awaken.
But he wasn't an idiot—he wouldn't risk his life just to open his eyes.
"If I can't, then I can't," Renya said with a yawn as he deactivated his Sharingan.
He was content with having enough strength to protect himself.
Besides, overusing the Mangekyō led to blindness, and he didn't have a close relative with the same eyes to transplant from.
Might as well wait until Madara awakened the Rinnegan—then he could just borrow it for a few days of fun.
As that thought drifted through his mind, Renya quickly fell asleep.
For some reason, he'd been feeling unusually drowsy lately.
The courtyard soon filled only with his soft snoring.
...
No one knew how long had passed when Renya suddenly sat up from the lounge chair.
He looked up at the Hokage Building, the tallest structure in the village. Then his figure flickered and vanished.
...
Hokage's Office
Senju Tobirama was seriously reviewing documents when Renya suddenly appeared in the room. Setting his papers aside, Tobirama looked up calmly.
"You're here."
"Yeah," Renya said with a smirk. "I came to see you again."