Shimura Danzo: "Hiruzen, now the dangers of the genjutsu game have started to show. While this thing may bring many benefits, it can also turn a top-tier asset like Tsunade into a cripple."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned at Danzo. "Danzo, you should know well—Tsunade's hemophobia long predates the genjutsu game. It wasn't caused by it—it was merely a trigger."
Danzo nodded. "True, I admit that. But understand this, Hiruzen. When the Leaf faces a crisis requiring Tsunade to act—be it healing mass casualties or solving major illnesses—and all of Konoha pins its hopes on her, only for her to be unable to respond, how do you think the people will feel?"
"When that disappointment turns into rage and negative sentiment spreads, do you think they'll care about your explanation?"
Following Danzo's logic, Hiruzen realized the danger. Should that scenario unfold, public resentment could rise against not only the genjutsu game but the entire Uchiha Clan. All the progress they had made could collapse.
He looked up and fixed Danzo with a stern glare. "Danzo, you must not act recklessly in this matter."
Danzo snorted. "Relax! I won't use this incident to go after the Uchiha."
With that, he turned and left the Hokage's Office.
"Instead of warning me, Hiruzen, maybe you should focus on fixing Tsunade's issue."
As he exited, Hiruzen remained behind, deep in thought.
Outside, Danzo's expression betrayed a subtle smirk.
He hadn't come to target the Uchiha directly, nor to oppose the genjutsu game. After days of observation, he finally understood—the Uchiha had bound the other great clans, and even the entire Leaf, to their vision via this genjutsu game, forming a vast interest group.
Such a powerful entity couldn't be shaken by Root, or even the full might of the village elders—especially when many of those elders now sided with the Uchiha.
So Danzo decided to sheath his fangs—for now—and slowly guide this structure toward internal collapse.
And he didn't even need to do it himself. Tsunade's hemophobia, triggered by the genjutsu game, was already a planted time bomb.
Danzo's only task now was to wait patiently.
As long as the next great ninja war erupted and Konoha was dragged into the flames once more, the Uchiha's fortress would crumble from within.
This—was the ultimate answer Danzo had uncovered after long contemplation.
Now, more than ever, Danzo eagerly awaited the next ninja war.
————
Unaware of the upper echelon's discussion, Uchiha Kei was hanging out with Minato's team. Obito, wearing a smug grin, was proudly flaunting his new three-tomoe + two-tomoe Sharingan combo.
Left eye: three tomoe. Right eye: two tomoe.
His right eye had begun evolving toward the Mangekyō Sharingan during the genjutsu game yesterday.
However, the evolution failed, and now his eyes looked mismatched—an imbalance sure to trigger anyone with OCD.
But for Obito, this was the happiest day of his life. He could now show off to Kakashi, and ditch the title of "Uchiha disgrace." He was hyped beyond belief—jumping around Kakashi, boasting that Kakashi was no longer his match.
Kakashi was extremely annoyed, and the two soon started bickering, then agreed to settle things at the training field with a proper fight.
Minato and Rin were both exasperated, but Minato was also curious about Obito's new abilities. So he allowed the match.
He was confident he could stop either of them before things got too serious. Rin, seeing Minato agree, didn't object and stood by with medical ninjutsu ready.
The match began.
Kakashi unsheathed the White Fang blade passed down from his father. Obito wielded kunai.
Normally, Obito would've been no match. He'd get steamrolled.
But with his newly awakened Sharingan combo, things changed.
Now, he could hold his own. The Sharingan's enhanced perception and dynamic vision closed the gap in skill—Obito was holding his own against Kakashi.
The power surge thrilled him. He felt the might of Uchiha blood awaken. Mid-battle, he couldn't help but laugh wildly and yell, "See this, arrogant Kakashi? I'm not who I used to be! This is Uchiha power! Hahaha—urk…"
His joy turned to pain. Getting too cocky, he left an opening, and Kakashi slipped behind him with the Body Flicker Technique. The back of the White Fang blade smacked Obito's spine hard.
He'd seen it coming—but couldn't react in time. He was flung across the ground.
Kakashi scoffed. "Even with the Sharingan, you're still just a dropout. Lose focus like that in a real fight, and you're dead."
"Damn you, smug Kakashi!" Obito roared, scrambling to his feet and charging again.
Their duel continued, metal clashing.
Minato watched with admiration. "The Sharingan is amazing. The gap between them was huge, but now Obito can fight Kakashi evenly."
"If his fundamentals were better, he might even surpass him."
Standing beside him, Kei folded his arms. "Of course. The Uchiha Clan has a thousand-year legacy. If you trace the bloodline far enough, it goes back to the Sage of Six Paths. They couldn't have survived this long without something exceptional."
Minato blinked. "Wait, you mean the Uchiha can be traced to the Sage of Six Paths? Isn't he just a myth?"
Kei countered, "Did you receive the Mount Myōboku inheritance from Jiraiya-senpai?"
Minato nodded. "Yes, even the Sage Mode training. But the Great Toad Sage said my talent for it was poor—I can't maintain it long. I can use Rasengan once, then drop out."
He smiled wryly.
No false modesty—compared to Naruto or Jiraiya, his Sage Mode duration was pitiful.
Even with prep time, it wasn't worth it. Better to save chakra for Flying Raijin or Rasenshuriken.
Kei didn't comment, only said, "The Great Toad Sage is from the Sage of Six Paths' era. They were friends."
Minato's eyes widened. "Seriously?! Even Jiraiya-sensei doesn't know that! Kei, how do you know this? Is it in Uchiha records?"
Kei shook his head. "Not from clan records. I have… other sources. Like how I know about the Nine Tails."
Minato thought for a moment, then nodded. He didn't press—after seeing Kei's genjutsu world, even a Six Paths revelation seemed tame.
Then he asked, "Kei, who do you think will achieve more—Kakashi or Obito?"
Kei replied, "If Kakashi gets the full White Fang inheritance, his future's bright. But Sakumo died too early. Kakashi is piecing together the sword style on his own, and he's not the most gifted with blades. That limits him."
"As for Obito—he awakened two tomoe instantly, and now one eye's at three. Unless something unexpected happens, he'll awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan one day."
Minato: "So you think Obito will surpass Kakashi?"
Kei shook his head. "No. Without a miracle, Obito will shine briefly and then burn out."
Minato frowned. "Why? Does the Mangekyō have drawbacks?"
Kei nodded. "Yes. Using its power causes vision loss. The more you use it, the faster it deteriorates. Eventually, even with care, you'll go blind."
Minato's expression darkened. "Can't the Uchiha do anything to fix that?"
Kei nodded again. "There is a solution—but it's brutal. It doesn't work for someone like Obito, who has no direct relatives."
"So rather than hope for the Uchiha to help, we should hope Orochimaru makes progress in his research."
"But knowing him, curing blindness will be easy. Worst case, he'll just clone a new pair of Sharingan and replace the originals."
Minato understood cloning tech—it was part of the shinobi world's darker science.
He was stunned. "Clone Sharingan? Can Orochimaru really do that?"
Kei smiled cryptically. "Minato, trust me—Orochimaru-dono holds the core of shinobi technology."
"S-Snake-sensei?" Minato sweatdropped. He didn't know how to respond to Kei's nickname, so he let the topic drop.
Soon after, the fight between Obito and Kakashi ended. Before they got too heated, Minato stepped in and stopped the match.
Even with the duel over, the two bickered nonstop—classic frenemies.
And in the middle of their quarrel, two new arrivals showed up—drawn by the noise.
Kei immediately recognized them—green jumpsuits were hard to miss.
It was Might Duy, the Eternal Genin, and his freshly graduated son, Might Guy!