As the leader of a clan, Fugaku had naturally conducted a comprehensive comparison of the strength between the Uchiha and the Leaf's high-ranking officials.
The current Uchiha clan was no longer in its prime, lacking a powerhouse of Madara Uchiha's caliber to anchor them.
Unlike the average clansman, Fugaku weighed many factors. Aside from the looming possibility of a coup, he had been working tirelessly in other directions, including attempting to mediate the growing friction between the clan and the village.
Regrettably, since the Nine-Tails incident, the rift between the two sides had become an unbridgeable chasm.
Fugaku felt increasingly exhausted and helpless, as if he were trapped in a stalemate with no way out.
In contrast, the paths chosen by Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Kaede seemed to offer more hope of breaking the deadlock.
Fugaku calculated that as long as Itachi's true intentions remained ambiguous, a partnership with Kaede would increase their combat effectiveness but do little to change the overall strategic disadvantage.
Therefore, his immediate goal was to at least secure Itachi's neutrality.
As long as Itachi remained uninvolved, Fugaku planned for either himself or Kaede to use their Mangekyo to control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, unleashing the full power of the Fox as a war asset for a decapitation strike. This might actually yield a victory.
Unfortunately, this method would inevitably be opposed by Itachi, which was the primary reason the rift between father and son continued to widen.
As the Uchiha Patriarch, Fugaku felt a profound sense of sorrow. He and his wife had been forcibly strapped to the clan's war machine of rebellion, and their own son was now fully devoted to the Leaf. There was no greater tragedy in the human world than this.
With Kaede's recent "commitment," Fugaku felt significantly more at ease. After all, Kaede represented a formidable pillar of support.
The Sharingan Orb
"By deliberately giving Fugaku the wrong impression and accelerating the tension, aren't you just speeding up the Uchiha's extinction? Why not find a way to recruit them as assets for the Sand?"
Inside the mental subspace, Houzuki Kaigetsu raised this question. Uchiha Kaede shook his head in response. "Most of this clan are arrogant and untamable by nature. Men like Fugaku are actually the rare exceptions."
Subjugating the Uchiha was easier said than done. If the Leaf couldn't tame a pack of lunatics whose mental states were prone to total collapse, the Sand stood even less of a chance.
"The genetic data for the Sharingan has already been largely collected," Kaede continued. "In the future, if there is a need, we can simply perform cell culture and engineer a brand-new Uchiha clan."
Furthermore, since integrating Ace's cells, Kaede felt his constitution breaking past its inherent limits. "Ever since I awakened the Mangekyo, the System's 'Traits' interface appeared. The hidden power within those traits is likely immense."
At the mention of the Traits, Kaigetsu looked thoughtful. "So you suspect that the Sharingan bloodline can trigger even more unique traits?"
"Yes. According to the supercomputer's projections, the main body and I have decided to forge a specialized ninja tool in the near future."
As Kaede spoke, a 3D holographic model appeared in the center of the mental square. Its shape was somewhat similar to the White Snake Princess's Dragon Ball, but its surface was densely embedded with countless Sharingan.
Thirty-six eyes formed the prototype of a tool codenamed the Sharingan Orb. The intricate data readouts, probability calculations, and the complex network of artificial blood vessels would make anyone—even those without trypophobia—feel their skin crawl.
The Sharingan Orb was intended to be the next generation of specialized tools following the Seven Treasures Tree. Its core function was to act as a "Trait Activator," amplifying the unique abilities of Shiraishi and his split consciousnesses.
With mastery over Yin-Yang Release and Inorganic Reincarnation, Shiraishi possessed an unparalleled advantage in developing such esoteric equipment.
The Truth of the First Mirror
While the split consciousnesses held their discussion, the mirror marked with the Fire Fist sigil in Shiraishi's mental space finally completed its memory reconstruction. A complete life story unfolded before Shiraishi's eyes.
Just as he had theorized, this owner of the Glasses System was a transmigrator from Earth. He had traveled into the world of the One Piece manga and became a Marine.
Knowing the plot, this transmigrator attempted to use his "prophetic" knowledge to become the strongest being in that world.
Because he arrived early, he defected from the Marines and spent years scouring Skypeia, searching for the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit).
He ended up wasting years on the Sky Island because the original manga never specified the fruit's exact location.
Being a "Blue Sea" dweller unfamiliar with the terrain, he found nothing. Eventually, his ego got the better of him; he was chased off the island after attempting to harass the local women and fled back to the Blue Sea in disgrace.
Upon his return, he was taken in by a pirate ship. Still refusing to give up, he began plotting to use his "plot advantage" to make a big move. However, he was suddenly incinerated by a wave of monstrous flames.
In his haste to return, he hadn't noticed that his ship belonged to Baroque Works.
At that time, Fire Fist Ace was in Arabasta helping his brother Luffy. Before leaving, Ace unleashed a single "Fire Fist" that obliterated several Baroque Works ships. The transmigrator was on one of them.
The man was incredibly unlucky; he was killed instantly by Ace's signature move. This explained why the Fire Fist sigil was etched onto his memory mirror—their fates were inextricably linked.
The memory reconstruction was finished, but useful information was scarce. The only noteworthy detail was that aside from One Piece, the memories also mentioned the world of Naruto.
However, the man's knowledge of the Naruto plot was limited to a very general outline.
While it was now confirmed that this world had evolved from a manga story, Shiraishi wasn't particularly bothered. Since this world was real and he lived in it, it didn't matter if it had its roots in fiction.
Furthermore, the memories of "Naruto" contained absolutely no mention of a "Shiraishi." Clearly, his presence had long since diverted the story into a completely new world-building path.
With the first mirror reconstructed, Shiraishi turned his gaze to the remaining ones. It was clear each mirror represented a different world. A thought occurred to him:
If I use the memory coordinates within these mirrors to open spatial barriers again, could I potentially 'farm' other recently deceased people from different worlds?
The idea was tempting, but considering the law of Equivalent Exchange, he would need something at least on the level of the Deep-Sea Mithril Gauntlet to facilitate such a trade.
The Plan
"Senior Orochimaru..."
In Shiraishi's office, Orochimaru appeared in his "Otogakure Jonin" disguise. Shiraishi asked with interest, "So many years have passed. Are you still insisting on your 'Konoha Crush' plan?"
"Hehe... the plan is still being refined. I intend to ally with the Hidden Stone in the upcoming Chunin Exams..."
Looking at Orochimaru's confident smirk, Shiraishi realized that after consuming the White Snake Sage, Orochimaru might actually be a match for that old man Ohnoki.
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