"Mist Ninja Village… Has it become so weak?"
Uchiha Setsuna's voice was barely a whisper, his disbelief shared by the others in the room.
The Mist Village—once feared throughout the ninja world—had fallen. The tales of the Seven Swordsmen, legendary warriors who could level armies, still haunted the memories of many. Once a place where bloodshed was an art and where only the strong survived, Mist Village had gained a notorious reputation for brutality. Its hidden jutsu and elite swordsmen made it one of the five great nations, a place no one dared to cross.
But now? Now it was crumbling, a shadow of its former self. It was almost unthinkable.
"The Mist Village, which had ruled with an iron fist for decades, is now weakened to such an extent? How did it fall so low?" Setsuna continued, shaking his head.
The other clansmen remained silent, their faces reflecting the same shock. The Mist, which had once been a place that produced the likes of Zabuza, Kisame, and other notorious figures, was now comparable to a smaller, weaker village like Taki. The dread that hung in the air was palpable as they grappled with this unexpected reality.
For a long time, no one spoke. The weight of the situation was sinking in.
But then, a sinister gleam flickered in Setsuna's eyes. "This… this is an opportunity."
The shock that had paralyzed the room began to morph into something darker, something more desperate. Uchiha Setsuna's lips curled into a thin smile. "This is a godsend for Uchiha."
The shift in the atmosphere was almost immediate. The clan members, moments before stunned by disbelief, now had eyes burning with ambition and greed.
"How? Do you still think I'm lying?" Kaito's voice sliced through the tension like a blade, his tone dripping with irony.
Setsuna's face flushed with embarrassment. "I-I was foolish to doubt you, Patriarch," he stammered. "If you've thought this far, then surely you've got a plan for everything."
The other clansmen, still uneasy, nodded in awkward agreement. They had to believe in something—anything—that could lead them out of their current misery. And right now, Kaito was that beacon.
Kaito, seeing their doubt turn into submission, allowed a small smile to creep across his face. "You don't even know the half of it."
He stood, the weight of his presence commanding the room. His voice turned cold and serious as he continued, "The Mist may have crumbled, but we will not strike it down with brute force alone. What we want is not just its land or its resources. What we want is its soul. We will take the Mist Village's soldiers, its legacy, and bend them to our will."
The room fell silent again. His words were laced with both menace and allure, painting a grim future not only for the Mist Village but for the entire ninja world.
"Violence alone is not enough. The Mist's remnants must fear us, but they must also serve us. We will become the masters of this fallen empire."
Kaito laid out his plan, detailing every step. It was a mix of cold strategy and raw ambition, a chilling blueprint for domination. The Mist's famed legacy—their brutal graduation rituals, their obsession with strength—would be manipulated and twisted, all for the benefit of the Uchiha.
And then, Kaito's voice dropped to a near whisper. "But this… this is only the beginning. There's something else that will truly make Uchiha unstoppable."
With deliberate care, Kaito pushed a black scroll forward on the table. The room tensed, eyes darting between the scroll and Kaito, as if they knew this single object held unimaginable power.
Setsuna, who was closest to the scroll, hesitated. His fingers hovered just above it, trembling, before he finally dared to pick it up.
"This scroll," Kaito began, "contains a secret. A secret that can change the fate of our clan forever. It holds the key to unlocking the full potential of the Sharingan."
The entire room froze at his words.
"The Mangekyou Sharingan," Kaito continued, his voice laced with intensity. "You all know what it takes to awaken it. Loss. Pain. Trauma. Every one of us who wields the Sharingan has had to pay a terrible price."
Several members of the Uchiha nodded solemnly, memories of their own suffering flashing in their minds. The Sharingan, though powerful, came with the unbearable weight of tragedy.
"But what if," Kaito's eyes gleamed with cold determination, "what if we didn't have to wait for that suffering? What if we could awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan without the need for loss?"
A murmur of disbelief spread through the room. The Mangekyou was the pinnacle of Uchiha power, something that came at a terrible cost. To hear that there might be another way...
Setsuna , still holding the scroll, looked at Kaito with wide eyes. "Is… is this true?"
"Read it for yourself," Kaito replied, leaning back and watching with satisfaction as Penghai unrolled the scroll.
As Setsuna skimmed through the contents, his expression shifted from skepticism to awe. His hands shook as he looked up at Kaito, barely able to find his voice. "This… this method… it's real!"
Kaito nodded. "With this, even the most ordinary of Uchiha can awaken the Sharingan by age six, reach the third tomoe by twelve, and unlock the Mangekyou by eighteen. And for those truly dedicated, the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan by thirty."
The room exploded with gasps and whispers. This was power beyond anything they had imagined.
"But that's not all," Kaito said, his tone dropping lower, more sinister. "This method not only allows for the awakening of the Mangekyou, but even if one were to fall into blindness from overuse… by continuing to train, they could regain their sight. No longer would we be shackled by the limits of our eyes."
The room descended into a stunned silence, the weight of his words settling in. The idea of their clan no longer bound by the curse of blindness, the ability to wield the Mangekyou freely without fear... It was as if Kaito had handed them the world on a silver platter.
"This… is how we conquer not just the Mist, but the entire ninja world," Kaito finished, his voice carrying the dark promise of what was to come.
Setsuna, still holding the scroll, looked around the room, eyes blazing. "With this, in twenty-five years, we'll have 600 pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan. No one will be able to stand in our way!"
"Twenty-five years is too long," Kaito cut in sharply, his cold gaze sweeping the room. "We won't wait that long. We will strike within the year. And in ten years, the ninja world will kneel before Uchiha."
The Uchiha clansmen erupted in cheers, their morale soaring. The dread that once filled the room had transformed into an unquenchable thirst for power.
But then, as the roar of voices quieted, Uchiha Feng's expression darkened. "There's news from Konoha," he said, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Last night… Itachi slaughtered those who chose to remain behind."
The room fell into a grim silence, as the weight of Itachi's betrayal settled over them like a storm.
Kaito's smile, sharp and cruel, broke the silence. "So, the weak have fallen. All the better. What remains now is strength... and we will seize it."