Kyoichi was a little thrown off, not quite following. And out of nowhere, just like that? He stood there blankly for a while, then finally asked: "Did Shisui tell you something?" "Uh, no, you misunderstand. Shisui only said... that you’d never mistreat your own. I figured, since you recruited me into the ANBU, you must already see me and the Uchiha as part of the village—not like that Danzō..." Danzō, that bastard, walked the same path as the Second Hokage—and in some ways, was even worse. At least Senju Tobirama’s methods were division: fostering one faction while suppressing another. He hadn’t mastered strength or tactics, but when it came to oppression, torment, and exploiting others for his own gain, he surpassed Tobirama. Kanda Kyoichi was different still. Yes, he suppressed the Uchiha too. Kyoichi didn’t play guessing games. Most of the time, when he wanted to do something, he made it clear enough. Rewards came swiftly, without stinginess. Everything he did was even-handed. He never singled them out just because they were Uchiha. Sure, the Uchiha had lost the Police Force. But in the Academy, in ANBU—Uchiha numbers were visibly rising. They received the same treatment as everyone else. And to Shisui, Inabi, and the others—that was the best treatment of all. Latest content publıshed on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽 Special privileges and favoritism, on the other hand, always reeked of hidden agendas. That was why Inahori was willing to take this step. Kyoichi understood. He fell silent for a few moments. It wasn’t that he didn’t dare accept. For the first time, he was faced with something completely outside his expectations. Honestly, his plan had simply been for Inabi to help unify the traitors’ minds, bring them back to spread Konoha’s merits, and get the Uchiha moving together with the village. In a war, maybe that would even spark one or two Mangekyō Sharingan. But this move from Inabi... he hadn’t foreseen it at all, and it caught him completely off guard. Eyes were no trivial matter. Even Shisui might not have dared make such a decision. "Don’t worry. The clan head... doesn’t know. These eyes belonged to a comrade. A former comrade." Inabi’s words halted at the end. Kyoichi could guess what had happened. Inabi had never done anything in the original timeline. That meant his own presence had changed events. The comrade must have been from Inabi’s old team, one of the defectors, whom Inahori himself had slain. After a moment of thought, Kyoichi said: "To be honest, a three-tomoe Sharingan doesn’t do much for me. I can take it or leave it." "Didn’t even Madara’s eyes lack the Mangekyō? If you had a Sharingan, at least in genjutsu, you wouldn’t need to fear him." Inabi’s voice was earnest. The Uchiha couldn’t count on Madara. Their only chance was Kanda Kyoichi. Only by killing Madara could they truly survive. To Madara, they were just tools to be summoned or discarded at will, never truly seen as kin. Kyoichi, at the very least, treated them as villagers. Shisui was his disciple. If one day Shisui became clan head, and Kyoichi became Hokage, that bond might even give Shisui a shot at becoming Hokage himself. What future was there in following Madara? At last, Inahori produced a sealed jar containing the eyes. Kyoichi hesitated, but then accepted it. "Alright, then I won’t be polite. But I promise you this—these eyes will never pass into anyone else’s hands." "Thank you, Kyoichi-sama!" Kyoichi’s thoughts were conflicted. This was the same Inabi who had once been firmly in the rebel camp. Yet under his influence, the man was now offering him a pair of Sharingan with his own hands. The feeling was... almost surreal. "I’ll take my leave, then." "Wait—take this scroll with you." Catching the scroll Kyoichi tossed him, Inabi blinked. He had noticed it earlier, sitting in the corner of the desk, assuming it was classified intel. But now... it was for him? "Some of my own material. You can teach it to the other Uchiha. You know the conditions. But... since you’ve just given me a pair of eyes, I suppose this isn’t quite enough. Once you’ve mastered it, I’ll teach you something new." "Thank you greatly! Ah—Kyoichi-sama, may I ask something?" "Why is Madara doing this? By all logic, even if we didn’t follow him back then, we’re still of the same blood. And given how we’ve fallen out with Konoha over the years—if he hadn’t acted this way, surely we’d have supported him." Inabi looked genuinely confused. To him, the clan and oneself were inseparable. Yes, things had gone wrong back then, but choosing to stay in Konoha had been reasonable. After all, the truth was plain—Madara had been no match for Hashirama. If they had followed him, they might all have perished. "To a true strong man, the clan is only a backdrop. The Uchiha are strong because of me, Madara—not I strong because of the clan." The clan is strong because of me... Inabi’s mind instantly leapt to Shisui. Lately, Shisui had done nothing but train, not meddling in clan politics at all. Even this time, it had been Inabi who went to him for answers. And now he understood, a little. "Enough. If you don’t understand something, ask me or Shisui. Just say I told you to." "Yes. Thank you, Kyoichi-sama!" Inabi bowed again and withdrew. Kyoichi studied the jar of eyes. He wasn’t sure what to do with them just yet. But if he transplanted them, the chakra burden would mean little to him. His body was already close to a Sage’s constitution. With Senju bloodline in him, he could bear the Sharingan without needing any cell transplants. Even the Rinnegan wouldn’t be a problem. Uchiha abilities were plug-and-play for him now. If the day came that he couldn’t beat Madara, he could always go borrow a pair of Rinnegan from Nagato. Not that it was likely. Practically zero chance. If he couldn’t even handle an aging Madara without his original eyes, what right would he have to lead Konoha? Might as well retire early and wait for Naruto. After Inabi left, Kyoichi used Flying Thunder God to send the eyes to his true body. At the moment, his main body was still at the research institute. The Gedo Statue wasn’t of much use for actual study. What Kyoichi needed most was for the statue to serve as inspiration for others—after all, even the trees born from Hashirama’s cells were treasures. *************************** Read advanced Chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.