Chapter 205 – Ambition
The Police Force would take time to rebuild. Fortunately, Kei already had a plan and had chosen the right people to reorganize the squads.
He had even secured one functioning unit beforehand, so the department's collapse and restructuring, while disruptive, wasn't crippling.
The only one truly suffering was Imai Kenta.
With the other two squads effectively paralyzed, the entire burden of operations fell on his shoulders. Still, Kei offered generous compensation. Kenta's subordinates were tempted, their morale buoyed by both wealth and honor—after all, Kei had held their team up as the model squad for others to emulate.
Satisfied in both spirit and substance, they worked themselves to exhaustion, yet brimmed with energy.
Kenta could only sigh. Kei had trapped him completely—reward, recognition, and responsibility, all bound together.
Kenta grumbled often, though never to Kei's face. Outwardly, he wore the same harmless smile, a mask so false it disgusted those who knew him well. Kei had no doubt: if Kenta ever decided to betray someone, he'd probably keep that same smile while driving a blade into their back.
But Kei didn't have the luxury to dwell on Kenta's inner thoughts. He had more pressing matters.
Uchiha Shuu had been forced to awaken his Sharingan under pressure from Kei and Fugaku, then stripped of consciousness. Months had passed since then. Kei had kept watch, but the demands of leadership left him less attentive than Uchiha Yuu, who oversaw the details.
Now that most pressing affairs were handled, Kei finally turned his attention back to Shuu.
"It's been long enough," Kei murmured as he descended into the underground chamber. "His physical reports should be ready by now."
He entered the room where the two brothers were stored. Hinata Ayaka was already waiting.
She had accepted Kei's invitation willingly. After her meeting with Hyūga Hiashi, certain restrictions on her had eased, giving her more freedom. In the months without missions, her progress in medical ninjutsu had been astonishing. Kei was certain she could already hold her own in the Medical Corps. Her talent was undeniable.
"You're here." Ayaka sensed his approach, lifting her head to pass him a report. "I've gathered the data you wanted."
"Thank you. You've worked hard." Kei nodded and took the report.
Unlike the files compiled by Fugaku's faction, Ayaka's focused where he had directed her. Fugaku's group had studied chakra capacity and flow, following the precedent of Uchiha Yuu. But Shuu showed no remarkable progress there, leaving them puzzled. They suspected his enhancements lay in spiritual strength.
They hadn't even thought to examine his body's coordination. After all, the Sharingan was said to sharpen chakra and spirit, not flesh.
But Kei knew better. He had his own experience—and Madara's words—to draw from. So he had tasked Ayaka with studying Shuu's physiology: muscle activation, coordination, speed. Her Byakugan made such examinations effortless.
And her findings did not disappoint.
"Incredible," Kei murmured, scanning the report. "Even stripped of will and movement, his muscle vitality has improved on its own."
Ayaka gave a low sigh. "If he were awake, capturing him would have been nearly impossible for you."
"Not 'you'—we," Kei corrected smoothly, tucking the report away. "You're part of this now."
He leaned back against the wall. "And this is just the surface. Coordination doesn't rely only on muscle—it's neural. Which means his nervous system, and by extension his spirit, has been strengthened as well. His coma hides it, but it's there."
Ayaka's brow furrowed. "How do you know that?"
Her eyes widened as realization dawned. "Wait… do you mean… he's like you?"
"Oh? You noticed?" Kei chuckled. "Not bad. Your perception is quick."
Ayaka's expression steadied. "I never saw Yuu's full reports. But with my Byakugan, I saw Shuu's body. His chakra is still growing—its quality as well as quantity—even in his coma."
Kei exhaled softly. "And higher chakra quality means stronger jutsu. His eyes are evolving—not just in raw chakra, but in their techniques."
He hadn't intended to share so much, but better to prepare her now. She'd discover the truth soon enough, and letting her think he trusted her was useful.
"Greater chakra. Stronger bodies. Perfect coordination," Ayaka murmured. Her gaze sharpened. "Then these eyes… they're not ordinary at all."
"That's right." Kei's smile widened as he sat casually on a nearby bench. His voice dropped low, heavy with conviction.
"Why do you think I attacked the brothers? Why, after claiming their eyes, did I still need them alive?
Because one pair of eyes isn't enough. I need something more. I need a complete pair. I need eyes far stronger than anything this clan has ever known."
His composure cracked, if only briefly. Ten years of secrecy, ten years of ambition, spilled into his words.
Even someone like him—an extremely rational man—sometimes needed an outlet.
But his outlet could not be Uchiha Fugaku. That man shared the same eyes as him and, on top of that, their interests were intertwined. Confiding in Fugaku would only invite unnecessary complications, and Uchiha Kei wasn't foolish enough to make such a mistake.
As for Imai Kenta, he was never truly within Uchiha Kei's consideration. His cooperation had always been forced, and if given the choice, Imai would never have partnered with him in the first place.
Then there was Hyūga Ayaka. Kei didn't trust her either, but he held plenty of her most damning secrets. She, in turn, also knew a few unsavory things about him—but Kei was confident he could deal with her more easily if it ever came to that.
Given the depth of their current cooperation, telling her the truth was a necessary step.
"Two pairs of eyes, is that really the only way?" Ayaka frowned. "Why not use Uchiha Yuu's eyes? His abilities are completely different from yours—wouldn't that balance things out?"
"There's something you need to understand," Kei sighed. "This kind of thing only works between blood relatives. True blood kin. Ideally within the same generation. Even a parent-child bond carries a high chance of failure.
"As for me and the brothers Uchiha Shuu and his line… yes, we share blood, but it's already diluted to the point of being useless. Besides, I have no intention of using their eyes."
He paused, and in the next instant, his eyes turned a deep, menacing crimson.
Three tomoe spun rapidly within his Sharingan before merging together, forming a new and ominous pattern that finally came to a halt.
Ayaka instinctively stepped back when she saw those eyes. Kei's gaze was calm—terrifyingly calm. Yet within that calmness lingered the scent of death, sharp and suffocating. That chilling, lethal aura only heightened her wariness of such eyes.
"I have my own eyes," Kei said flatly. "I don't intend to rely on anyone else's. But if I am to take the next step forward, I have a plan—a bold plan."
"Through cellular and genetic techniques… to analyze the differences in a newly awakened pair of eyes?" Ayaka pondered aloud, connecting his words to the knowledge he'd pushed her to study. She was beginning to grasp his intent.
"And then… use those new eyes as a medium. Extract the genetic changes—whether awakening or evolution—and transfer them into yourself?"
"Exactly." Kei slowly closed his Sharingan.
"That's why I need your help. And in return, I'll do everything I can to help you. In some ways, we're the same kind of people. The only difference is that I've taken the first step ahead of you."
"…I'll help you," Ayaka finally sighed after a long silence. "But remember what you've said. Because in helping you, I'm also helping myself."
"Good," Kei nodded. "When you finish studying the material on genetic-based ninjutsu, I'll prove to you that I've been honest with you all along."
"Prove? How?"
"Hyūga Hiashi," Kei said calmly. "What do you think of him?"