In a dimly lit room, just before the chaos had erupted, Satoru sat across from the Uchiha elder, his posture calm but alert. The elder, a man of cold calculation, had been meticulously reviewing Satoru's plan. He leaned back, his fingers steepled as he considered the adjustments he would make.
"You've done well," the elder said, his voice low and measured. "But there's room for refinement."
Satoru listened carefully as the elder outlined the changes. "We will change the original plan," the elder began. "Instead of merely poisoning them, we'll make it seem like a hostile takeover orchestrated by Rei's brother to seize control of the Yotsuki clan. Let the chaos be perceived as an internal power struggle, a civil war among their own members."
Satoru's expression remained impassive, though his mind raced with the implications. "How will we justify their arrests and ensure I'm safe?" Satoru asked, his tone inquisitive but calm.
The elder smirked slightly, leaning forward. "The Uchiha police force will plant evidence—poison, drugs—it will all be staged to make it look like this was a coup from within. The narrative will be that the Yotsuki clan was tearing itself apart from the inside. As for your safety..." The elder paused, locking eyes with Satoru. "You will be a victim in all this. Once the chaos erupts, hurt yourself—nothing severe, just enough to appear as though you were caught in the crossfire. Hide among the children. Act like you're one of the innocents swept up in the madness."
Satoru processed the strategy, understanding how each piece fit into the larger picture. "And after the arrests?" he asked, pushing for clarity on the final step.
The elder's voice took on a colder edge. "The police will arrest everyone they can, branding the Yotsuki as an unstable and unreliable clan. With their reputation ruined, their companies will start bleeding profits. That's when we strike. We'll buy their businesses for pennies on the ryo, leaving the Yotsuki clan powerless and stranded."
Satoru nodded, absorbing the elder's words. Every detail had been accounted for. The Uchiha wouldn't just crush the Yotsuki politically—they would take over economically, leaving nothing behind but the ashes of a once-proud clan.
---
Satoru lay still in the hospital bed, his body aching as he opened his eyes to see familiar faces gathered around him. Tatsuo, Keiko, Hiten, and Hajime stood near his bed, their expressions a mix of concern and curiosity. Tatsuo stepped forward first, his face etched with worry.
"What happened to you, Satoru?" Tatsuo asked, leaning in close.
Satoru blinked, his face carefully set into an expression of confusion. "I... I was working for one of my clients," he began slowly, his voice soft and uncertain. "Then suddenly, there was shouting, people fighting. I tried to get out, but someone attacked me. After that, I don't remember anything."
Keiko moved closer, her eyes filled with sympathy. She gently kissed his forehead. "You'll be alright, Satoru. Just rest and get better soon."
Satoru offered a small, grateful smile. "Thanks, Keiko."
Before any more could be said, a nurse entered the room, her presence stern yet polite. "I'm afraid visiting hours are over," she said firmly. "Please let him rest."
One by one, his friends left the room, but not before Hajime cast a lingering, almost knowing look in Satoru's direction.
The door clicked shut, and the nurse, instead of leaving, locked the door from the inside. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into Hajime, his face now cold and focused.
Satoru's expression didn't change. He had expected this.
"So," Satoru said quietly, "what happened? Did we succeed?"
Hajime, now standing beside the bed, folded his arms and looked at Satoru with a calculating gaze. "Yes, we succeeded," he replied, his tone clipped. "The Uchiha police force carried out the arrests. The Yotsuki clan is in shambles, just as we planned. They're being torn apart by internal accusations of a hostile takeover orchestrated by Rei's brother."
Satoru nodded, absorbing the details. "And the businesses?"
"Not yet," Hajime answered. "But it's only a matter of time. Their reputation is destroyed. No one will want to work with them after this, and when they start collapsing, we'll acquire their companies easily."
Satoru leaned back against the pillow, feeling a slight sense of relief. "Good," he murmured. "Everything's on track."
Hajime regarded him carefully. "Don't get too comfortable, Satoru. You've done well, but you're not entirely in the clear. Some of the elders still don't fully trust you. They're watching."
Satoru's lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. "That's fine. Let them watch, I dont care."
Satisfied with the conversation, Hajime nodded and transformed back into the nurse before slipping out of the room, leaving Satoru to his thoughts.
---
After being healed, Satoru made his way to the Uchiha clan compound, feeling the weight of anticipation building with each step. His reward awaited. He opened the door and found Hajime and the elder sitting calmly, their expressions unreadable. Satoru stepped inside, greeted them with a sarcastic tone, and sat down.
"Ah, the great masterminds," Satoru began, his voice dripping with irony. "Why didn't the Yotsuki clan use high-grade ninjutsu during the chaos? I was expecting more of a challenge."
The elder met his gaze, unflinching. "We gave you one extra poison," he said calmly. "One even you weren't aware of. It settles into the chakra pathway system, making it difficult for anyone to use chakra-intensive ninjutsu. Their ability to perform large-scale techniques was suppressed from the start."
Satoru's eyebrows lifted, intrigued. "Smart. So you crippled them before they even knew what was happening."
Hajime leaned forward, a grin playing on his lips. "It was crucial to control the situation. But that's not all. You're wondering how we managed to gather their clan's secret jutsus, aren't you?"
Satoru's eyes narrowed. "Of course."
"We used a technique we copied from the Yamanaka clan," Hajime explained. "We read the minds of the corpses, extracting all the knowledge they carried. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. We also employed genjutsu on the intoxicated survivors, forcing them to reveal everything—right down to the locations where they hid their secret techniques."
Satoru smirked, impressed. "You've covered all the bases then. No wonder things went as smoothly as they did."
The elder nodded slowly. "We don't leave loose ends. And now, thanks to your involvement, the Yotsuki clan's collapse is nearly complete."
Satoru leaned back, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the elder. "It's time for my reward," he said coolly.
The elder handed him two scrolls, one for money and one for jutsus. Satoru quickly checked them, his expression darkening. "This isn't what we agreed on. We settled on 10 million ryo and a variety of poison and medical ninjutsu," he said, his voice edged with offense. "This scroll contains only 1 million and the recipes for, what, five basic poisons?"
The elder smirked, dismissive. "If you think you deserve more than this, you're delusional," he said, his tone dripping with condescension. It was clear to Satoru that the elder thought he could cheat him and walk away with minimal consequences. The old man's ego was flaring, as if he believed Satoru was a mere pawn who could be discarded for pocket change.
Hajime, who had been silent until now, frowned and stood up. "I want no part in this," he said, turning to leave the room. Satoru could see that Hajime disapproved of the elder's underhanded tactics, but he didn't try to stop him. His focus was on the elder.
Satoru's eyes narrowed. "I demand what was agreed upon."
The elder's expression hardened. "You're not getting any more than what I've given you. Consider yourself lucky you got anything at all."
Satoru's patience was wearing thin. "Does the clan head know about this little scam of yours?"
The elder chuckled, shaking his head. "The clan head doesn't care about small-timers like the Yotsuki anymore. He has bigger things to worry about. All of this was under my control."
Satoru muttered to himself,
"Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Without warning, he reached into his mouth and pulled out a small voice recorder. The elder's eyes widened, his smirk faltering as he realized what it meant.
Satoru casually pressed play on the recorder. The elder's voice filled the room, clearly explaining the entire plan to Satoru, painting a vivid picture that the true masterminds were the Uchiha. The elder's smug expression turned to shock as he realized what this meant.
Satoru smirked, his voice low but firm. "You see, if this reaches Danzo, the Uchiha clan won't survive for long. He'd love to know the Uchiha are orchestrating hostile takeovers using poisons and manipulation. What do you think he'd do with that information?"
The elder's composure cracked. He hadn't expected this turn of events. "You've… swallowed it? What is wrong with you?" His voice faltered, but he quickly regained his usual demeanor, attempting a forced smile. "We can still uphold the original deal. You keep this to yourself, and I'll make sure you get what was promised."
Satoru shook his head, his eyes cold. "I don't care about the original deal anymore. I want more. Much, much more."
The elder's anger flared, his voice rising. "You insolent brat! I've been generous enough to offer the original amount, and now you're asking for more? Don't think I can't have you killed at a moment's notice."
Satoru chuckled, his laughter echoing in the room. "Oh, is that so? The problem is, you're not talking to the real me. This is just a shadow clone. The real me? He's with Danzo-sama right now." The elder's eyes widened, realizing Satoru wasn't bluffing. In fact, the real Satoru was with Danzo, preparing for a worst-case scenario.
The elder's bravado crumbled, and he backed off, his tone shifting. "What do you want?"
Satoru leaned forward, his voice cold and precise. "Twenty million ryo. Copies of all Yotsuki poison and medical ninjutsu. And two of the Yotsuki clan's secret techniques."
Hajime, hearing the shouting from the other room, entered and looked between Satoru and the elder. "What's going on here?"
Satoru, leaning back with a smirk, casually explained the situation. Hajime's expression shifted from confusion to concern as he listened to the details of Satoru's demands.
When the elder heard about the twenty million ryo and the two secret techniques, the elder immediately declined, calling it absurd.
But Satoru, offered an alternative. "How about a pair of Sharingan instead? If Danzo finds out about all this, I can just take as many dead Uchiha eyes as I want."
Hajime, realizing how serious the threat was, quickly intervened before things escalated further. "Wait. Let's negotiate," he said, his voice calm but firm. "We'll give you all the money and jutsu you want. But the Uchiha will decide which two secret techniques you get in return for the recorder."
Satoru paused, considering it for a moment. "Deal," he finally said.
The elder, clearly displeased but with no other option, sent for the necessary scrolls.
After a short wait, Satoru received a new scroll containing the agreed-upon money, poisons recipes, medical ninjutsu, and the two secret techniques chosen by the Uchiha. He checked it, then tossed the recorder onto the table.
"Pleasure doing business," he said with a grin, before leaving the compound.
The elder, still fuming from being cornered, quietly seethed. "We should send someone after him. Steal the scrolls from his clone and kill the real one."
Before he could take another step, Hajime activated his Sharingan and fixed the elder with a cold stare. "If anything happens to Satoru, you die. Do you understand?"
The elder, feeling the weight of Hajime's threat, backed off, his face pale with anger but knowing he had no choice but to let Satoru go.