This left Uchiha Kei, who had just begun to believe his intellect had finally triumphed, utterly bewildered again.
"Come on, explain to me—what do you mean by 'possible but impossible'?" Uchiha Kei demanded.
"Possible means possible, impossible means impossible. What exactly are you trying to say?"
Uchiha Yato enjoyed watching others grow impatient in front of him—because he never did. Whoever got anxious first was the one who lost.
He wasn't in any hurry. If something urgent came up, he'd let the other person fret first, only for them to realize that panicking was pointless anyway.
(Just a bit of wordplay—those who get it, get it. Those who don't, never mind.)
Uchiha Yato continued, "The clan leader's idea is simple—use external pressure to force internal concessions."
"Thus allowing us to gain some advantages. But don't forget, Clan Leader—we are also part of the 'internal.'"
"If pushed too far, the first conflict will erupt among those on the inside."
"After all, there's a saying: 'To resist foreign aggression, one must first settle internal strife.'"
Hearing this, Uchiha Kei began to ponder.
In short, it was simple—if pushed to the brink, Sarutobi Hiruzen might tear off all pretenses and deal a heavy blow to the Uchiha Clan first. The losses would outweigh the gains.
But if that fell under the "impossible" category, then what was the "possible" alternative?
Uchiha Yato then added, "What we can do is let him peacefully enjoy his final days as the Third Hokage—and hurry up in selecting the Fourth.""With so many of Shimura Danzo's past deeds exposed while serving as Hokage, his prestige has inevitably suffered to some extent."
"If someone were to tell him now that he needs to select the Fourth Hokage while also allowing him to preserve his reputation, do you think he would do it?"
"After all, if one makes mistakes these days, there's something called the Pillar of Shame."
"I doubt many would want to end up there."
Hearing these words, Uchiha Kei began connecting Uchiha Yato's previous actions with Danzo's situation, suddenly realizing it all seemed like an intricate web.
This web was vast, encompassing the entire Hidden Leaf—including Uchiha Yato and the Uchiha Clan.
No one could escape its reach. Were it not for Uchiha Yato's firm grip on the threads and benchmarks of this web, even Kei himself feared they might be exploited by foreign spies.
Noticing Kei's distracted expression, Uchiha Yato teased, "The mighty leader of the Uchiha Clan shouldn't overthink things."
"Regardless of how events unfold, we only need to focus on one thing—protecting our clan."
At Yato's words, Kei composed himself. As Yato said, the Uchiha now had secure foundations and nothing to fear.
After some final reassurances and instructions, Yato departed—his schedule was packed today.
His next destination? One of the Three Ninja's most brilliant tactical minds.
Jiraiya!
...Just kidding.
Orochimaru.
It was time to deliver what he'd promised Orochimaru. If he happened to bump into Jiraiya along the way, even better—saving Yato an extra trip.
Yato retraced his path to Orochimaru's laboratory.
While Orochimaru's experiments weren't openly conducted on civilians, those with insight understood their nature. Unlike the original timeline, there were no large-scale controversies—the human test subjects differed significantly.
Yato had made it abundantly clear (to civilians, at least) that only foreign death-row convicts and major criminals were used.
The ninja clans knew better—most materials came from minor-nation shinobi and bandits.
By preserving the Hokage faction's dignity this way, Yato also facilitated Orochimaru's research. Though this limited Orochimaru's test subjects...
...it attracted numerous willing volunteers—actual participants, not expendables. Consequently, Orochimaru's reputation remained intact, with people greeting him calmly.
Gone was his former sinister aura. Now he carried himself with normalcy—this brighter Orochimaru didn't just appear cheerful; his actions matched.
Occasionally, he could even be seen teaching at Uchiha Kindergarten or the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy—a marked improvement.
Upon Yato's entrance, Orochimaru immediately noticed—along with one particularly sycophantic observer.That's right, that bootlicker was Jiraiya.
Uchiha Yato was particularly surprised to see Jiraiya still here.
Not letting Jiraiya speak first, Yato took the initiative and said:
"Aren't you supposed to be gone already? Logically speaking, shouldn't you have left by now?"
Hearing Yato say this first, Jiraiya was also a bit surprised and asked:
"Why are you so sure? That I should have left by now?"
Yato didn't know how to explain it either.
He couldn't very well say that since you haven't finished your book yet, you definitely have to leave Konoha, could he?
These were thoughts Yato could only keep to himself. If he actually said them out loud, there was a good chance Tsunade would beat him up.
But at this moment, Jiraiya cheekily sidled up next to Yato and said:
"Yato, you must have seen some different scenery on your trip to Sunagakure this time, right? Any material I could use for research?"
As he spoke, he looked at Yato with a lecherous grin.
While Yato hadn't personally experienced such things, he was well aware of what Jiraiya meant.
He wasn't exactly disdainful, but it was impossible for Yato to show much respect for it either.
Orochimaru had even less interest in these matters, not even glancing their way as he left. If not for Yato being here, he'd probably still be conducting experiments.
Seeing Jiraiya, Yato also smiled and said:
"I do have some, but I'm afraid you wouldn't dare take it. If I told Tsunade-nee about this, what do you think would happen to you?"
At the mention of Tsunade's name, Jiraiya instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
Like some kind of DPS instantly activating, he immediately showed a fearful expression and looked around nervously.
Seeing Tsunade wasn't present, Jiraiya relaxed but still defended himself:
"What's the big deal? She's not married to me, she can't control what I do."
"A man's gotta stand firm!"
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Yato silently stopped the recording device spinning in his hand.
Then, Yato took out a videotape and said to Jiraiya:
"Here's what you want, but you can't bother me about this anymore, got it?"
Jiraiya snatched the tape from Yato's hands in a flash.
On the tape was a special label Yato had added:
"Sunagakure Hotties Photo Collection!"
Instantly, Jiraiya vanished at light speed.