Naruto: Orochimaru's Disciple

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones of Great Qin

Chapter 269: Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones of Great Qin

”What can we do?” Shisui asked.

He and Kenichi walked along the dirt road outside the village. Shisui glanced at him, his tone heavy.

Itachi and Sasuke had already gone back. Itachi needed to settle Sasuke first. Sasuke was still too young, and for now, he could not follow his brother out to search for their mother. That responsibility fell on Itachi’s shoulders, while Sasuke had to be entrusted to clan members in the village.

Kenichi stroked his chin, thinking. ”First, we set up departments. An Intelligence Department, an Operations Command, a Combat Department, and so on.”

Of course, he understood what Shisui was really asking.

Itachi was not foolish, and neither was Shisui. Shisui clearly knew Kenichi’s long term help could not be without a purpose, especially when Kenichi had never demanded any reward like gold or jewels. A debt of gratitude was the hardest to repay.

Shisui studied Kenichi more carefully. He had heard Kenichi speak about his ideals back on the airship, but seeing him now, Shisui realized Kenichi was truly serious.

Was he really planning to establish a new country?

Shisui felt a little dazed. He had never even considered building a country. All he had wanted was a simple village, a self sufficient village where his clan could live peacefully.

Yet Kenichi spoke as if he intended to unify the entire world.

”Do you remember what I told you?” Kenichi glanced at Shisui. ”If the shinobi world wants long term stability and peace, without war, without all the things that breed pain and hatred, then it has to be unified.”

Using personal favors could make the Uchiha work for him, but the best outcome was for them to work willingly. Only people who shared the same goal could truly walk the same road.

Just like the Akatsuki that Nagato and Yahiko founded. It began as a utopian organization, but it was that very ideal that made it dangerous enough for Hanzō to fear. If Kenichi wanted to establish a country, then he also needed a goal, something big enough to ignite people, something they would be willing to die for.

And peace was the bait he offered.

In his previous life, Kenichi had not fully understood how precious peace was. He had faced threats, but his country’s strength was enough for him to live steadily.

After coming to the shinobi world, he finally understood.

This world seemed to live in constant turbulence. Major wars erupted from time to time, and small conflicts never truly stopped. That was why the Akatsuki’s ideal could resonate. People were sick of endless war.

And compared to Nagato and Yahiko’s approach, Kenichi believed his own plan was more feasible. Once a country was established, there would be no more divisions between nations. After a period of stability, maintaining peace would become far easier.

There was precedent.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States eras, countless states fought each other. Then Qin Shi Huang unified them, and people from different states lived under one rule. After a long period of stability in the Han era, the overall structure remained steady.

Yes, there were still remnants of the old nobility who wanted restoration, but as long as the environment did not change, they could not stir up much. Most commoners yearned for peace, and that shared identity gradually became the Han people.

Once a unified identity formed, the sense of belonging to the country became stronger. Unless a ruler lost his mind and forced the people into rebellion through unbearable hardship, peace could last a long time.

This was the ultimate weapon Kenichi had pulled out after careful thought: a ready made, workable bait.

And that bait was destined to attract countless shinobi and commoners who would be willing to die for it.

He could even try to persuade Nagato, and make the Akatsuki serve him.

But if he wanted to reach that point, then there were two people he had to deal with.

No, three.

Obito. Black Zetsu. Madara.

”...Are you serious?” Shisui asked. He had heard Kenichi say it before, but no matter when he heard it, it still sounded insane.

Unifying the Five Great Ninja Villages and the Five Great Nations, along with all those smaller countries, was not something that could be done with words.

And the Uchiha did not have many people. Even challenging Konoha alone was difficult, let alone confronting the entire shinobi world.

It was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot.

”Of course.” Kenichi nodded as if it were obvious. ”I even have a draft plan.”

He was not teasing Shisui. He truly intended to unify the shinobi world, and then walk an even farther path.

This world was too small for endless conflict. What he wanted was the sea of stars, the place the Ōtsutsuki came from.

What could be more exciting than leading the shinobi world into an interstellar age?

”How do you plan to do it?” Shisui asked, genuinely curious now. He wanted to judge how credible Kenichi’s thoughts were. The ideal was too grand. Even if the Uchiha owed Kenichi a favor, they still had to weigh it carefully.

”It’s simple.” Kenichi understood Shisui’s caution, so he shared part of his thinking. ”First, we need to take control of a ninja village.”

In his view, unifying the shinobi world could not be done by charging at everything head on, or by shouting about villages, bonds, comrades, and ninja ways while provoking the Five Great Nations all at once.

His method was to befriend distant targets and strike nearby ones, breaking them down step by step.

”Kirigakure in the Land of Water is a good starting point,” Kenichi said. ”We take control of Kirigakure first, then occupy the Land of Water, and use it as a base. From there, we keep infiltrating Sunagakure, then extend into the Land of Earth, and finally reach Kumogakure and Konoha.”

He kept it brief.

Partly because he did not know whether Black Zetsu might be listening.

More importantly, explaining everything would take far too long, possibly days.

Of course, he had another option. He could copy Madara’s method and use absolute military might to crush all resistance, challenge the allied forces of the Five Great Nations, defeat the Five Kage, and unify the world in one blow.

But that required him to be as strong as Madara, or stronger.

And he was still some distance from that.

Shisui did not answer immediately. He fell into thought, weighing whether Kenichi’s plan could truly be realized.

Kirigakure really was a good target. The Land of Water was isolated overseas. Information traveled slowly there, and even if news spread, it would not spread easily.

And the Land of Water was one of the Five Great Nations. If they could take it, the pressure later would be far smaller. After that, Sunagakure was a reasonable second target, since it was one of the weaker great villages.

”You really are serious,” Shisui said finally, looking at Kenichi.

He had once thought Kenichi was joking. He had even believed that before. But Kenichi had already considered a basic method.

That meant he had always been serious.

”Naturally,” Kenichi replied.

After coming to the shinobi world, he had thought long and hard about what he wanted to do. In the end, his goal was to walk into the sea of stars, to see whether the galaxies here were the same as the ones he understood in his previous life, to seek out the Ōtsutsuki, plunder enough technology and military power to arm himself, and finally establish a galactic empire.

”Then we’ll do our part,” Shisui said.

He hesitated briefly, then nodded with resolve.

He was tired of endless war too. He did not want his clan, or future generations, to live in a world soaked in hatred and conflict.

Kenichi smiled, then continued discussing future plans with him. Once a strategy existed, it had to be executed. Empty words meant nothing.

When they returned to the village, the atmosphere had changed.

Even the commoners who were not Uchiha had gone quiet. On the road, Uchiha faces were filled with sorrow. The villagers they passed no longer looked like the cheerful crowd from earlier.

”It looks like Itachi announced the news,” Kenichi said, observing.

”Yes,” Shisui replied, taking a slow breath. He had asked Itachi to do it.

The Uchiha had lived too comfortably here. So comfortably that they had nearly forgotten what they were.

Uchiha.

Shinobi.

They had almost forgotten shinobi rules. They had not even sent people out to gather intelligence.

That was why the remaining Uchiha in Konoha could be wiped out, and they only learned about it from an outsider like Kenichi.

Shisui wanted this pain to force the clan awake.

To make them rally, accept what they were, and accept the destiny of living as shinobi.

”What do you plan to do?” Kenichi asked, glancing at Shisui. ”Find people first?”

Shisui was the village’s leader. In practice, he was its Kage.

”Yes. First we find the clan members who left Konoha, bring them back, and then...” Shisui trailed off. He had not thought much further than retrieving them.

Kenichi tilted his head. ”Have you considered that if you bring them back now, they might demand revenge, or insist on doing something extreme?”

Shisui froze. He clearly had not considered that.

Kenichi himself could not be sure what those Uchiha would do, but the chance of immediate trouble felt low. The Uchiha had not provoked Konoha for a long time. Mikoto likely had something to do with that.

Or the simplest answer was that Fugaku had warned them beforehand not to seek revenge for him.

”You’re the Kage of this village now,” Kenichi said, patting Shisui’s shoulder. ”You need to think carefully, weigh the pros and cons, and only then act. That’s not an easy job.”

In that regard, Hiruzen did it well. He was the most politician like Hokage Konoha had right now. Many criticized his actions, but at the very least, his original intention had been to make the village better.

”Yes,” Shisui said quietly, then nodded. He truly had not thought everything through. Since his clan had followed him out, he was responsible for what they did. He still had to grow.

”Everyone, listen to me...” Shisui walked forward and gathered the clan.

They were going out to search for their families. There would be obstacles and danger, but they would endure it.

Kenichi watched from the side, resting his chin on his hand.

Shisui’s strength was solid, and his character was excellent. In Kenichi’s eyes, with proper training, Shisui could one day share the burden of governing.

Because even if Kenichi unified the shinobi world and established a country, he did not intend to sit on the throne forever. He did not want to be chained down by endless administrative nonsense. Minato had once said how exhausting being Hokage was.

What Kenichi truly wanted was to pursue truth and science in his laboratory.

That meant he needed capable people who could shoulder governance, and he needed a complete political system for the future empire.

”Hm... the people in the Pure Land have plenty of experience too,” Kenichi mused, stroking his chin. ”If I can use them...”

An idea surfaced.

A Heroic Spirit system.

If talented individuals could serve him even after death, the future would become far easier.

While he was thinking, two figures stopped in front of him.

Kenichi looked up.

Itachi and Sasuke.

Itachi’s expression looked a little awkward.

.....

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