Chapter 481: Kajiyama Ri's Diplomatic Mission to Konoha
Orochimaru quickly guessed it was Ishiro pulling the strings from behind the scenes, but Orochimaru's tolerance was extraordinary.
If Ishiro had used such a petty trick on Danzō, Danzō would have been furious. But Orochimaru simply laughed it off.
The fact that Ishiro could plot against him only proved that Ishiro was insidious, and that he himself had not been cautious enough. It wasn't worth getting angry over.
Besides, through a strange twist of fate, he had managed to glimpse some of the secrets of the Caged Bird Seal.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru walked out of his laboratory and went to the office of the Snake Den Village's leader, a place he rarely visited.
Sitting in the office, he considered the bargaining chips he could offer.
Orochimaru wrote a letter, then summoned several subordinates. "As envoys of the village," he instructed, "make a trip to Iwagakure and present this letter to the Tsuchikage in person."
"Yes, sir," they replied respectfully.
These subordinates were not part of Orochimaru's core circle, so he gave no further instructions and simply waved them away.
In addition to expressing his desire for cooperation with Orochimaru, Ishiro also conveyed similar intentions to Fugaku Uchiha.
However, his approach with Fugaku was much gentler.
On this day, the Iwagakure diplomatic mission, sent to Konoha to discuss cooperation, entered the village.
The head of the delegation was none other than the Tsuchikage's own disciple, Kajiyama Ri.
As one of Ishiro's first disciples, from the same generation as Kawakita and Megumi, Kajiyama Ri's status was not considered low in the eyes of the Konoha ninja.
The delegation had gone through official channels. Both the Daimyo of the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire were watching. Konoha couldn't refuse to receive them, nor could they offer a low-level reception.
So, after the first day of meetings, Tsunade assigned her assistant, Shizune, to be personally responsible for hosting Kajiyama Ri and his group.
Although he had come under the banner of diplomacy to discuss cooperation, Kajiyama Ri continuously delayed the negotiations.
According to Ishiro, Kajiyama Ri had three tasks on this trip.
The first was simply to annoy Konoha's high command and make them uncomfortable. This was accomplished the moment he set foot in Konoha. At the very least, because of his arrival, Tsunade had to process a dozen extra documents every day, and none of them could be casually glanced over. The mental energy spent trying to decipher Kajiyama Ri's bizarre daily actions was enough to drive her mad.
Kajiyama Ri knew that Ishiro loved seeing Konoha's leadership hate him but be powerless to do anything about it.
Kajiyama Ri's second task was to contact Fugaku Uchiha—not through a clandestine meeting, but via a very formal, public visit.
He had already made this request openly to Konoha many times.
Tsunade, naturally, refused every single time.
But Kajiyama Ri was unfazed. He neither caused trouble nor insisted. As soon as Tsunade refused, he would nod in agreement, and then submit the same application the next day.
Furthermore, aside from the occasional so-called "negotiations" with Konoha's leadership, he spent his days wandering Konoha, loudly asking everyone he met about the Uchiha clan.
He was conveying Iwagakure's goodwill toward the Uchiha clan to all of Konoha's ninja and civilians.
This made Tsunade very uncomfortable. With the village's internal problems still unresolved, she did not want to confront Iwagakure. Yet Iwa was repeatedly obstructing her attempts to resolve those internal problems.
Naka Shrine. Fugaku Uchiha and many three-tomoe Sharingan users were holding a clan meeting.
Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha were not present. The two of them had been ostracized by the entire clan.
"Lord Fugaku, the Iwa delegation's arrival in Konoha is our chance!"
"Yes, Lord Fugaku! Allying with Iwa to oppose Konoha's leadership is in our best interest!"
"The village actually sent the Anbu to block us from approaching the Iwa delegation! It's outrageous!"
"Exactly! The village is trying to cut us off from the outside world! Their intentions are punishable by death!"
"Lord Fugaku, let's ally with Iwa and rebel!"
The Uchiha clan meeting was, as always, a noisy and unruly affair.
And Fugaku Uchiha, as always, wore his usual stone-faced expression, believing it made him look as majestic as jade.
Usually, he would wait until everyone had tired themselves out from arguing before he had a chance to say a few words that sounded like a summary but were listened to by no one.
But today, Fugaku was acting unusually. He didn't wait. He found a lull in the noise and said, "I need to find out the reason why Iwa has come to the village so publicly and has been insisting on seeing me."
He scanned the room. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he nodded in satisfaction.
He then called out a name directly: "Tekka, this mission is yours. Pick five three-tomoe users. Tonight, you will meet with that Tsuchikage's disciple."
Uchiha Tekka was overjoyed. "Yes, Lord Fugaku! Rest assured, I will complete the mission!"
He immediately began picking his assistants from the crowd. All of the clan's three-tomoe users were present.
The group then launched into a bustling, enthusiastic discussion about Tekka's mission for the night. Fugaku was once again sidelined.
He was used to it and paid it no mind, remaining seated majestically at the head of the room.
After a detailed plan of action had been hashed out, the meeting quickly concluded.
Uchiha Tekka and his chosen men immediately began to prepare. Not that there was much to prepare. They were intimately familiar with Konoha's streets. As the clan in charge of the Police Force, who didn't know the village?
After dark, amidst the farewells of their fellow Uchiha, Uchiha Tekka and his five subordinates quietly left the clan grounds.
At this time, Fugaku was standing in his own courtyard, contemplating the likely reaction of the village leadership.
Fugaku lacked decisiveness, but he wasn't a fool. If he had truly wanted to meet Kajiyama Ri in secret, he would never have brought it up at the clan meeting.
He just wanted to see how Konoha's leadership would react to his move.
At the same time, he did genuinely want to know what Iwagakure—or rather, Ishiro—was planning by sending Kajiyama Ri to Konoha.
After a while, his eldest son, Itachi—the son he was most satisfied with and proud of—walked out of the house.
"Father," Itachi called out softly.
Fugaku turned his head slightly to look at him. Itachi rarely initiated conversations. He wanted to hear what his son had to say.
"Father, you let Tekka and the others go and contact the Iwa delegation? Don't you know this is forbidden by the village leadership?" Itachi said, his tone tinged with disappointment.
Fugaku just frowned slightly and did not reply.
Itachi continued, "Father, don't let the clansmen continue to run amok. If this continues, it will bring disaster upon the entire clan one day."
Fugaku asked, his voice calm and majestic, "Itachi, what kind of disaster do you think it will be?"
Without much thought, Itachi replied directly, "The disaster of clan annihilation."
Fugaku's brow furrowed sharply.
He wasn't shocked by Itachi's words, but by his tone.
As the head of the Uchiha clan for so many years, having awakened his own Mangekyo Sharingan, and having learned the details of how Shisui, Sōkai, and Izumi had awakened theirs, Fugaku's understanding of the Mangekyo was profound. In this, even the Itachi of the original story, at the time of his death, could not compare.
The naive Itachi had thought that one only needed to witness the death of someone they cared about to awaken the Mangekyo. He had subjected Sasuke to Tsukuyomi again and again, to absolutely no effect.
But Fugaku had gradually come to understand the true reason for awakening the Mangekyo, and why the dōjutsu of each were different.
So when he heard Itachi speak the words "clan annihilation" with such firm, cold decisiveness, an ominous premonition grew in his heart.
No, Itachi is still young. His way of thinking can be changed. I cannot let him go down this path, Fugaku thought, his mind racing. His chakra fluctuated, and he could barely maintain his stone-faced expression.
"Itachi, you're still young. Don't get involved in these things. Resign from Root. Join the Police Force tomorrow."
Fugaku intended to personally instill some correct ideas into his brilliant son.
But unfortunately, his pride and joy did not give him the chance.
Itachi said emotionally, "Father, do you also share the same narrow-minded ideas as those clansmen? One day, you will regret this."
With that, Itachi left the house, disappearing from Fugaku's sight in a few leaps.
Fugaku opened his mouth several times but couldn't say a word. Only one voice echoed in his mind: "You will regret this!"
"I will regret this. Itachi, is that what you truly think?"
Fugaku took a deep breath, wanting to use his Mangekyo dōjutsu to see the future. But after a moment's hesitation, he gave up the idea. He no longer trusted the futures he saw.
Uchiha Tekka and his five clansmen quickly approached the inn where Kajiyama Ri and the Iwa ninja were staying. They used a Sharingan genjutsu to easily subdue a nearby Anbu surveillance squad.
Leaving the five to stand guard, Tekka entered the inn alone.
What Tekka and his men didn't know was that a kilometer away, two pairs of Byakugan were fixed on this exact location.
Soon, their actions were reported to Tsunade and the other high-ranking officials.
The moment Tekka entered the inn, Kajiyama Ri opened his eyes. He got up and went to the reception room, waiting openly.
Seeing this, Tekka frowned slightly but said nothing. The mighty Uchiha feared no conspiracy. No matter what tricks Kajiyama Ri tried to play, he was not afraid.
Seeing Tekka was not wearing a mask, Kajiyama Ri compared his face with the intelligence file. "You are the Uchiha clan's elite jonin, Uchiha Tekka?"
Tekka nodded. "That's right. And you are Kajiyama Ri?"
Kajiyama Ri did not get angry at Tekka's arrogant tone.
Before he left, Ishiro had repeatedly warned him that the Uchiha were a bunch of psychopaths. When dealing with them, never oppose them. Always go along with whatever they said.
This Uchiha Tekka clearly looked like a fool who thought he was the best in the world.
Tekka got straight to the point. "Kajiyama Ri, you Iwa ninja requested to see our clan head. What is it about?"
Kajiyama Ri gathered himself, telling himself to stay calm and not get angry. "We wish to cooperate with Konoha. However, Konoha's leadership has become corrupt. Therefore, we hope to cooperate with Konoha's most vibrant and powerful clan, the Uchiha."
Uchiha Tekka didn't think Kajiyama Ri was just flattering him, because he was speaking the absolute truth. That's what all the Uchiha believed.
Tekka asked, "How does the Tsuchikage propose to cooperate?"
Kajiyama Ri replied, "We can help the Uchiha clan take back control of Konoha. After you regain power, you can work with Iwagakure to maintain order in the shinobi world."
As he spoke these shameless words Ishiro had taught him, he forced himself to remain calm and show no strange expression.
And Uchiha Tekka simply nodded. He was very satisfied with Kajiyama Ri's words.
"How much combat power can Iwa commit?" Tekka asked.
Kajiyama Ri nearly bit his tongue. Who negotiates like this? Neither of our bosses are here, and we're already discussing such in-depth questions? Do you think we're planning a battle strategy?
Forcibly suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Kajiyama Ri, while brainwashing himself, replied, "My teacher, the Fourth Tsuchikage, will personally take action. Sōkai will also take action. In addition, our Lord Third and Lord Kawakita can tie down some of Konoha's forces at the border."
He tried his best to offer what he thought was the greatest sincerity.
But Uchiha Tekka was dissatisfied. "Why isn't Iwa committing its full strength? Don't you still have two Jinchuriki?"
Kajiyama Ri resisted the urge to slap him. "Our situation in Iwagakure is also difficult. We are still facing threats from Kumo and Suna. Kumo has a perfect Jinchuriki. We don't have the powerful Sharingan of your clan. We still need to rely on our Jinchuriki to deal with theirs."
He spouted this serious-sounding nonsense.
Tekka nodded in satisfaction. "I understand. I will relay Iwagakure's request to the clan. You wait here for news."
Geez, so you know you're not the one in charge, Kajiyama Ri complained internally. From the way you were talking, I thought you had already awakened the Mangekyo and replaced Fugaku as the new clan head.
With that, Uchiha Tekka, believing he had received a satisfactory answer, turned and left.
Only after Tekka was gone did Kajiyama Ri let out a long breath. Man, that was more exhausting than a big battle.
At that moment, several people entered from outside. They were other members of the Iwa delegation, and they had heard the entire conversation.
One of them started, "Lord Kajiyama, you just..."
Kajiyama Ri waved his hand, signaling he needed a moment. He was too drained to speak.
Another person said, "That Uchiha Tekka is too much of an oddball. For a second, I thought Lord Tsuchikage and Lord Fugaku were in here planning an immediate coup."
"Exactly! And it didn't feel like a discussion. It felt like Lord Tsuchikage was reporting his work to Lord Fugaku," another added.
The others laughed.
Kajiyama Ri finally recovered. "According to my teacher, it's not just this Uchiha. All of them are a problem. If my teacher hadn't taught me some of their bizarre conversation patterns before I came, I wouldn't have been able to keep up."
"Right, what's the situation with Konoha's leadership?"
The first person who had spoken replied, "The ninja monitoring us from a kilometer away sent someone toward the Hokage Tower. The Hokage should know about Tekka forcing his way in by now."
"Good. We won't make any rash moves. We can instigate, but we won't get involved. With our numbers, we can't make any waves in Konoha."
"Yes, sir," the others replied in unison. These were all good-tempered ninja Ishiro had hand-picked. They wouldn't do anything rash even without being told.
What Kajiyama Ri didn't expect was that the next day, another Uchiha elite jonin came.
"Uchiha Yashiro?" Kajiyama Ri asked, confused.
"That's right. I am Uchiha Yashiro."
"Where is Uchiha Tekka?" Kajiyama Ri asked, wondering if Tekka had been taken down by Konoha's leadership, or if the Uchiha clan had become suspicious of the terms he brought back.
His mind raced, but the next moment, Yashiro gave the reason: "Tekka came yesterday, so it's my turn today."
Kajiyama Ri: ...
For a moment, his high-speed thoughts just... stopped.
In the next room, the other Iwa ninja who were eavesdropping clamped their hands over their mouths, nearly bursting out laughing.
Then, Uchiha Yashiro and Kajiyama Ri had a very harmonious meeting.
In the end, Kajiyama Ri stated that Iwagakure could, on top of the forces promised to Uchiha Tekka, add one more Kage-level fighter. Originally, Kajiyama Ri had proposed Kitsuchi, but at Yashiro's insistence, he relented and changed it to Ikura.
After Yashiro left, the Iwa ninja next door could no longer hold back and burst out laughing.
They came into the reception room, still laughing. "Excuse me, Lord Tsuchikage, what agreement did you reach with the Uchiha clan head this time?"
Kajiyama Ri rolled his eyes, then couldn't help but laugh himself. He was the one who had been holding it in the longest.
On the third day, at the request of Uchiha Inabi, Kajiyama Ri added another reinforcement: Kitsuchi.
Half a month later, after yet another Uchiha elite jonin had secretly come to see Kajiyama Ri and then secretly left, the promised Iwa support force for the Uchiha now included all of Iwa's Kage-level experts, both Jinchuriki, all their famous ninja, and an army of thirteen thousand.
Kajiyama Ri couldn't help but sigh. He really wanted to go back and talk to his junior, Sōkai, to see if he was also like this.
But if the Uchiha clan are all this kind of person, is there any point in Teacher supporting them? Kajiyama Ri wondered.
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