Since he couldn't hide anything from this old man anyway, Gisei decided to just open the skylight and speak frankly, pouring out all his thoughts directly.
After listening to Gisei's tirade, Shuichi rubbed his forehead, truly feeling a headache coming on.
Not wanting to be Hokage but wanting to destroy the village—he really didn't know what to say.
"Anyway, I won't live for many more days. You and Anna can discuss things later. I'm actually helping you by doing this today."
Helping me?
Gisei really couldn't see what benefit this secret meeting had for him.
"It was wrong for you not to associate with them before. Since you want to destroy this village, you should know better than anyone that dismantling it from the inside is the most effective method."
"Fortunately, you performed well today. They acknowledged you. In the future, you must associate with them more; this way, they can be at ease."
Gisei grumbled, "Associate with them? I'm afraid they'll drag me into a pit. A bunch of useless teammates."
Shuichi glared at him. "Listen to me until I finish. They indeed want to use you, but why can't you turn around and use them?"
Gisei frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Since you want to revive the clan, you cannot do it without their support. If you lack money or people, go find them."
"Maybe even if you don't look for them, they will come to your door voluntarily. And there is another benefit: letting them be scapegoats."
Scapegoats?
A gleam flashed in Gisei's eyes, and his expression suddenly became animated.
He looked at Shuichi and asked, "Was this your plan from the beginning?"
"Otherwise, why do you think I wanted you to have a good relationship with them? Since going to the battlefield is inevitable, why can't we let more of them die so fewer of our clansmen die?"
Gisei was thoroughly convinced by this old man.
Those clan heads only saw the benefits of the alliance and were anxious to scheme against him, but they never imagined they had already been outmaneuvered by Shuichi Takemoto.
Behind a group of old schemers was an even more insidious one. It was simply blinding to behold.
He really was still too green.
"Then what about the butterfly seeds?"
"Once they experience the benefits of the butterfly seeds themselves, they will come begging you on their own initiative. I told them the butterfly seeds can be sealed—otherwise, do you think they are really that stupid?"
"Let them experience the benefits of the butterfly seeds..."
Gisei's eyes lit up, understanding Shuichi's meaning perfectly.
"You mean later on, they will bring their own clansmen to beg me to give them butterfly seeds?"
Shuichi nodded. "Every family hopes to have experts in the clan who can hold the fort. Butterfly seeds are the best shortcut to becoming an expert."
"Moreover, once the war starts, they won't care about the drawbacks of the butterfly seeds; they will only see the benefits. If they want them, you give them. At that time, if they don't want to follow you in a coup, they won't have a choice."
Gisei looked at Shuichi, and the old man winked at him.
"How are you so insidious?"
"Brat, I'm doing this for your own good."
"I find it strange. How is a guy like you not the head of the Butterfly Users, but instead became the head of a branch family?"
"Of course, it's because I wasn't as strong as your grandfather, nor as bad as him."
Gisei's mouth twitched. "Just what kind of person was my grandfather exactly?"
"Your grandfather was a guy who, even if he was selfish, could be so selfish that it left people speechless."
After figuring out Shuichi's intentions, Gisei finally put his heart back in his stomach.
At the same time, he raised his vigilance against these old foxes who had basically become spirits.
Shuichi had probably planned this from the very beginning. Not only did he want Gisei to leech off those ninja clans and suck their blood, but he also wanted to make them scapegoats.
Killing two birds with one stone?
It was more than just that. Shuichi definitely had something else he hadn't said, and Gisei couldn't be bothered to guess.
Judging by the reactions of those clan heads, entering the administrative department was ten-to-one unlikely to happen.
Tomorrow he would go report to the Third Hokage, resign, and go home to focus on raising pigs.
As long as he had power in his hands, sooner or later he would make those ninja clans submit obediently.
"Remember, you must interact with them more in the future. After all, even if it's sending them to their deaths, you have to make them willing to die."
Seeing Gisei nod, Shuichi added, "In short, never let others detect your thoughts. It's no good for you."
Gisei left.
Shuichi called Anna Takemoto to his side.
Anna dared not look into her grandfather's eyes. Her thoughts could never be hidden from him.
"Consider this the last thing I do for you. When he moves back, you follow him there."
Anna smiled bitterly. "Is Grandfather angry with me?"
"Why should I be angry with you? That you could make him turn back is already doing well enough. Otherwise, this family would have been buried by your father sooner or later."
"Actually, he doesn't like me. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part, or maybe he just wants someone to accompany him."
"It's not important. What's important is later—the future."
Anna remained silent.
"I have a premonition that his thoughts aren't just about destroying Konoha. I'm afraid there's an even bigger goal."
"You must make sure he walks on the right path in the future. Don't let him drag you into a ditch if you aren't careful."
Anna smiled bitterly in her heart. She didn't know if she could do it.
Gisei had too many uncertainties. Being able to barely stay by his side was already good enough for her now.
...
After returning home, Gisei sat on a reclining chair, closing his eyes to rest his mind.
From today's two secret meetings, he had figured it out. Their alliance of interests was roughly divided into four circles.
Those on the outside were the clan heads who didn't attend the second secret meeting. Those who attended the second secret meeting were the third circle.
The second circle was the Takemoto family and the Kawai family.
The first circle was the Butterfly Users and the Takemoto family.
The fact that the Takemoto family was a branch of the Butterfly Users wasn't known by many, even within the Takemoto family itself.
The ordinary members of the Takemoto family only knew that the Takemoto family and the Butterfly Users had always been close, with many intermarriages between the two clans.
After clarifying the various relationships within, Gisei took out a map and began to examine his own clan land.
He wanted to rebuild the clan land from scratch on the original foundation.
The clan school would be established right next to the clan land. He also planned to erect a Longevity Monument to record all the clan members who died in battle.
Moreover, he didn't have many true clansmen right now. At best, there were nearly three hundred people, and most were old, weak, sick, or disabled.
Increasing the population was imperative. Gisei scratched his head. Should he establish a newborn subsidy?
It wasn't impossible, just that his wallet might not be able to handle it.
The number of ninjas in the clan was too small, only twenty-something people, and there was only one Jonin. It was truly pathetic to the extreme.
Hoping to rely on clansmen doing missions to make money was wishful thinking. Currently, he could only subsidize them.
It seemed he really had to build good relationships with those ninja clans. Even landlords don't have surplus grain.