Before setting off, however, there was one more issue to resolve.
"Do we have the results of the selection for the Uchiha clan members?"
The convenient functions of the Sharingan had been on Gisei Shiraishi's mind for a long time. In fact, he had already procured several pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan, and his research had begun quite a while ago.
The problem was that he currently had no way to solve the rejection reaction that occurred with Sharingan transplants.
Furthermore, his idea of using the butterfly larvae to control the Uchiha had hit a wall.
After researching the larvae, he discovered that their dependency on humans was far too severe. Not only did they rely on a host for physical growth, but even the formation of their consciousness depended heavily on human interaction.
If he sealed the human consciousness and merely maintained the body's functions to let the larva form its own mind, the process would take at least five times longer.
In the end, the butterfly larvae were still a parasitic species. They needed to parasitize normal, functioning humans to grow quickly; a human with a sealed consciousness provided almost no benefit to the larva's development.
Because of this, Gisei decided to select suitable candidates from among the Uchiha for cooperation.
Of course, this "cooperation" was merely a means to help the butterfly larvae grow. Once the larvae matured, he would use them to control the Uchiha anyway.
However, doing it this way meant the butterfly larvae parasitizing the Uchiha would lose most of their growth potential. It wasn't that they couldn't grow at all, but the rate would be excruciatingly slow.
Fortunately, Gisei only wanted to use the Uchiha's Sharingan; whether the butterflies grew or not didn't matter to him in the slightest.
"Through two years of observation, only three people were selected. Among them, only one has siblings: Akizawa Uchiha."
Gisei's interest piqued. "Tell me the details."
"Akizawa Uchiha, fifteen years old. His parents died early. He possesses a two-tomoe Sharingan. The only family he has left is a twelve-year-old sister, Reika Uchiha."
"The brother and sister rely on each other for survival, and their bond is very deep. Moreover..."
Rie's expression turned a bit strange at this point.
Gisei quickly asked, "Why did you stop?"
"Through our observation, the intelligence personnel suspect that Akizawa has... unusual feelings for his sister."
Gisei was stunned, his expression twisting into something peculiar. "He likes his own biological sister?"
Incest?
Hmm... The Uchiha were originally crazy anyway, so I guess it isn't that surprising for a freak like this to pop up.
"We can't be certain, but the relationship between the siblings is... excessively close."
Gisei pinched his chin, a peculiar smile forming on his lips. "It seems my luck isn't bad. Is Akizawa serving in the Police Force?"
"That's right."
"Alright. Pay attention to his every move. If he has a mission outside the village, notify me immediately."
Rie nodded, but then hesitated. "Does the Clan Head intend to make a move on Akizawa Uchiha?"
Gisei raised an eyebrow. "What, do you disagree?"
"Although the Uchiha are ostracized in the village, they are still comrades of the village..."
Comrades?
Hearing that word from Rie's mouth left a bad taste in Gisei's mouth. He hadn't hidden his policies or intentions from her. She should be very clear about his thoughts. How could she say something so naive?
"Rie, did someone say something strange to you?"
Rie smiled bitterly and shook her head. "I know what the Clan Head means. I just feel that doing this isn't good. If someone finds out..."
Gisei frowned. "Are you doubting my methods?"
"Our relationship with the village has eased a lot recently. I feel that the Clan Head doesn't need to resort to this kind of thing to become Hokage."
Hokage...
To stabilize the hearts of the people within the clan, he had told them he wanted to become Hokage. He didn't expect that lie to come back and bite him in the ass.
Rie was supposed to be his confidant. If she thought like this, he could only imagine what the other clan members were thinking.
Sure enough, as long as this village isn't destroyed, the Will of Fire won't be extinguished.
Even if he really became Hokage, he would have to uphold that damned Will of Fire. Just thinking about it made Gisei feel nauseous.
After considering it, Gisei decided it was better to set the record straight with Rie.
"Rie, actually, I don't care about being Hokage at all. You must know that both my parents and yours sacrificed themselves because of this so-called Will of Fire."
"Of course, parents sacrificing themselves to protect their children is seen as very noble. It's just that... I detest that kind of sacrifice. Although I am grateful, I cannot accept it. Do you understand what I mean?"
Rie was silent for a long time. Finally, she spoke softly. "I understand, and I feel the same way. When I was young, I was in so much pain that I wanted to destroy the whole world. It was Uncle Eisawa who saved me."
"After Uncle Eisawa died, I thought there was no one left in the world who cared about me. Then... you appeared."
Rie's eyes shone with an inexplicable light. That gaze was too intense, burning so hot that Gisei didn't dare to look her in the eye.
"I just did what I should have done. You don't need to mind it too much."
Rie glanced toward the inner room, her face flushing red as she whispered, "You don't know what that means—the taste of someone caring... Of course, I don't have any other thoughts. After all, I'm not good-looking either."
Hey... what kind of magical development is this?
Gisei jumped up from his reclining chair with a start, thoroughly flustered.
He was clearly just listening to a subordinate's report and trying to brainwash her a little along the way. How did it turn into this?
Does this count as a confession?
Gisei scratched his head awkwardly, completely at a loss for words.
At that moment, Anna Takemoto walked out of the room.
Seeing her emerge, Rie quickly bowed, turned around, and fled.
"Someone is really popular, huh?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Gisei smelled the sour scent of jealousy.
"You heard everything?"
"Hehe~ Poaching right in front of my face. What do you think I should do?"
Gisei sighed. "I think it's better if you pretend you don't know. Rie has no bad intentions... Um... anyway, don't make it too awkward. You have to see her every day. If this gets out..."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me to turn a blind eye? Do you have some strange ideas in your heart?"
Gisei put on a righteous expression. "I absolutely have no ideas about her."
"Because she's not as good-looking as me?"
"..."
Gisei felt he couldn't win this conversation. What did looks have to do with anything? He wasn't some kind of breeding animal.
Seeing Gisei speechless, Anna sighed.
"Actually, it's not just Rie. The young girls in the Butterfly User Clan are all drooling over you."
"...Can you speak normally?"
"I think we should get married."
Married?
"Isn't it a bit too early to talk about this now? Let's talk about it in a few years."
Anna glared at him. "I'm already twenty-one. Do you want to wait until I'm thirty to get married?"
"..."
"Why do you think I was in such a hurry to move in? It's because the way others look at you isn't right."
"Fortunately, you're dense. Otherwise, your soul would have been hooked away long ago. Getting married early is also a good way to dispel other people's thoughts."
Facing a dead-serious Anna, Gisei could only raise his hands in surrender.
After signing a series of unequal treaties, the two finally set the wedding date for two years later.
Seeing Anna's satisfied expression, Gisei looked up at the sky, his expression melancholic.
Freedom... was indeed getting further and further away from him.