Here's the full English translation of the story portion of Chapter 184 (excluding the website interface text and ads):
---
Chapter 184: Neither Left nor Right — Tobirama Senju, Are You Trying to Play Both Sides? That Never Ends Well!
The senior officials of the Hidden Waterfall Village were grumbling among themselves.
A group of shinobi gathered around them, all wearing conflicted expressions.
There are some thoughts that can't be spoken aloud — only written in a diary.
But most of them didn't like writing diaries, so they buried those thoughts deep inside.
Still, keeping things bottled up for too long… was truly suffocating.
Today was a rare opportunity.
Letting out a little frustration once in a while surely wouldn't cause any trouble!
One ninja in the crowd quickly stepped forward and began recounting a ridiculous noble he had once encountered on a mission.
"Damn it, those bastards were loaded! Yet when they hired our village's shinobi for a bodyguard mission, they still tried to haggle down the price!"
"This mission's rate has been the same for years!"
"As if their constant complaining along the way wasn't bad enough, when we stopped at an inn, they even made us pay for the rooms first!"
Normally, nobles already had their own guards when traveling.
Those guards might not be shinobi, but they were strong, well-trained warriors — capable enough to deal with emergencies.
And bandits or rogue ninja wouldn't normally target nobles — too risky, since it could easily bring retaliation from real shinobi.
Merchants were the easier prey — rich but lacking social status, the perfect fat sheep to shear.
So nobles rarely needed to hire shinobi for protection — unless they had offended the wrong people.
That was why escort missions were considered dangerous — usually rated C or B rank — with a higher pay scale.
It was literally paying for safety!
But when even hotel fees had to be covered by the ninja — that level of stinginess was outrageous!
The complaining ninja grew more heated, his tone turning into outright cursing. "They're filthy rich but stingy as hell!"
Another ninja cut in:
"You think that's bad? At least yours paid in the end — even if you had to front the money. The one I met was a real piece of work. I should never have saved her!"
"That stupid woman was arrogant beyond belief. She somehow managed to offend a bunch of rogue ninja during her travels!"
"She came to our village begging for help. I was unlucky enough to take the job because the reward looked generous."
"I fought those assassins for three days and nights without sleep to protect her. And in the end, she claimed I had a bad attitude and didn't provide her with enough emotional support!"
"Damn it, I nearly died out there! My blade was chipped from all the fighting, and she wanted me to smile and chat with her?"
"In the end, she left a bad review and slashed my payment! Later I heard she was a repeat offender — always posting overpriced missions so she could choose the best ninja, then deducting the pay later for stupid reasons. And she could get away with it because her husband was a daimyo!"
"I swear, I wanted to—!"
The scar-faced ninja clenched his fists, seething with anger.
Over the years, he'd dealt with all kinds of clients — but she was the only one who ever made him want to kill.
Another shinobi chimed in bitterly:
"Come on, at least you were dealing with humans! I once had to escort some bigwig's dog."
"That's right — a dog!"
"And the pay was low!"
"That noble treated his mutt like his son and demanded I carry it the whole way. That bastard's dog was a male poodle — not neutered! — and I had to hold it the entire trip. Ugh!!"
"I nearly snapped its neck right there!"
The kunoichi in the crowd wrapped her arms around herself, her face twisted with disgust.
She had once told herself that being a ninja meant enduring humiliation… but as everyone kept venting, she lost that restraint.
"I'd rather escort a dog than deal with some of those nobles! You don't know how twisted some of them are!"
"Ugly, fat, and disgusting!"
"I once had a noble client sneak into my tent in the middle of the night!"
Another ninja — a strikingly beautiful one — clenched his fists.
His lips were as pink as cherry petals, eyes bright and clear, skin as pale as fresh snow.
He had long, silky black hair that flowed down to his waist.
Small, fragrant, soft — but he was actually a man.
Because of the cruel shinobi world, he'd been forced into war from a young age. After one mission that required him to disguise himself as a woman, he grew accustomed — even fond — of dressing that way. He didn't mind men either… but being groped by a fat noble still made him snap.
"Wait— you're a guy?!"
"Bro, you smell too good!"
"I'm clenching up just hearing that story… but what happened next?"
"The mission was to deliver him safely to his destination. But, well… accidents happen. Let's just say he lost something precious along the way."
The atmosphere grew rowdier.
Every profession had its share of idiots — and the shinobi world was no exception.
Everyone had stories of annoying or abusive clients.
The frustration that came with being a ninja — long hours, danger, no outlet for stress — was boiling over.
One person started, others followed.
Once emotions surged, there was no stopping them.
Even those who hadn't planned to speak slammed their hands on the table and joined in.
"Let me go first—"
"No, me! My client was the worst!"
Complaints echoed all around.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Makoto snacked quietly, watching the rising energy of the crowd with an amused smile.
He hadn't expected his spur-of-the-moment idea to resonate so deeply.
But really, it made sense.
Ninjas, for all their power, didn't own any means of production — they survived by selling their labor. They were elite mercenaries — the working class of the shinobi world.
And this world was cruel — rigid class hierarchies divided everyone. The elites at the top enjoyed endless wealth and comfort, while those below barely scraped by.
Normally, people don't realize the injustice until they see it up close.
And shinobi, through their missions, did see it — glimpses of noble life that only deepened their resentment.
Their lives might have been better than commoners', but compared to the nobility, they still lived pitifully.
The lavish feast before them — most shinobi rarely ate like this even once.
But nobles? They dined like this every day.
Why did nobles get to live so much better?
Were they stronger? Did they know sage arts or possess the Sharingan?
Of course not!
They were weak, ordinary — a single shuriken could take down ten of them!
Uchiha Makoto smirked quietly.
The atmosphere had turned strangely harmonious.
Ninjas from different villages — usually wary of each other — now shared the same identity: ninja.
This was the power of grand narrative — personal grudges vanished.
Even the Iwagakure shinobi who'd been glaring at Kirigakure ninjas earlier now looked at them with softened eyes.
But Tobirama Senju was not pleased.
To him, this wasn't harmony — it was the birth of resentment.
He could feel the rising malice like smoke in the air, and it made him tremble.
The other ninjas didn't understand what Uchiha Makoto was really doing…
But Tobirama did.
"I knew it… that evil-born Uchiha brat never has good intentions!"
"He secretly gathered the Waterfall ninjas earlier — so this is what he was planning…"
"And now this 'Six Shadows Tower'— don't tell me it's going to become a propaganda hub! Damn it, what have I done agreeing to build it in Akatsuki Village?!"
"If this keeps up, these gatherings will only grow — and the talk will become more extreme!"
In his mind, Tobirama could already see it.
The Six Shadows Council — meant to be a platform for managing shinobi affairs — would slowly evolve into a stage for Uchiha Makoto's ideology.
He wouldn't even need to speak himself.
Like today — a few profit-seeking Waterfall shinobi, unknowingly serving as his mouthpieces.
The conversation was already turning against the nobles and daimyo of every nation.
For now, they only vented about individual nobles.
But with Uchiha Makoto's influence, soon their anger would spread — from individuals to entire classes.
The next time Akatsuki traded with other villages, offering them real benefits, those villages too would start clashing with their domestic aristocrats.
It would spread — like fire catching dry grass.
And Uchiha Makoto would give them a regular outlet — a chance to gather and curse their oppressors together.
"Follow you to the end, Lord Makoto!"
"Down with the daimyo!"
"Down with the nobles!"
Tobirama could barely breathe.
This was just his imagination — but the possibility felt real enough to make his head throb.
It shattered everything he'd ever believed in, forcing him to rebuild his values from the rubble — painfully, unwillingly.
And even then, could he truly follow Uchiha Makoto?
Between "following Makoto" and "eating shit in a latrine," Tobirama honestly wasn't sure which he'd choose.
Even worse, how would he face his elder brother, Hashirama Senju?
Hashirama was a staunch conservative — kind and compromising, yes, but never when it came to tearing down the entire world order.
If Makoto's revolution ever set the world ablaze, the Thousand-Armed True Tree Technique would surely descend from the heavens.
And no matter how foolish his brother could be, Tobirama could never betray him.
As everyone kept chatting, Tobirama's thoughts drifted farther and farther, like slipping on a watermelon peel.
The more he thought about the future, the more agitated he became.
"Damn it all!"
"Uchiha Makoto, I swear I'll kill you!"
Tobirama was an old hand at this — if he couldn't solve the problem, he could at least eliminate the one who caused it.
That method had always worked before.
But now?
He couldn't solve the problem — and he couldn't kill Uchiha Makoto either.
All he could do was glare daggers at him, murderous intent in his eyes.
"???"
"What the— why's that old Senju bastard giving me that look again?" Makoto blinked, confused.
Everyone was laughing and having fun, venting about nobles together — why was Tobirama so angry?
"How strange!"
Makoto gave a dramatic thumbs-up, turned it upside down, and jabbed it downward.
"Uchiha Makoto, you bastard! Don't play dumb — I know exactly what you're doing!"
"The Six Shadows Council isn't meant to spread extremist ideology!"
"Oh~ is that so? But I haven't done anything. Everyone's just venting about their lives. You can't expect me to silence them, can you?"
"Besides — everything they said is true."
Makoto suddenly understood.
The real two-faced one was right beside him.
Tobirama wanted progress, but not the price that came with it.
And people like that — were always the most miserable.
(End of Chapter)
---
Would you like me to make the translation more literary and polished (like a novel) or keep it literal and faithful to the original tone and structure?