Of all those present, Namikaze Minato understood Uchiha Kei the best. And right now, he voiced the question on everyone's mind:
"Kei, you already have a plan for this, don't you?"
Uchiha Kei nodded. "Yeah. I do have an idea, and I need everyone's input. Time is short, so I'll be direct. Madara Uchiha does still have the power to act—but he's old now. And it seems he's hiding something. He doesn't want to reveal his identity, so he's been in disguise."
"I was able to identify him because of exclusive intel—or rather, it's related to my genjutsu game. After all, he's played quite a bit of it."
Everyone blinked in surprise. The image of a crusty old Madara Uchiha tearing it up in a genjutsu game surfaced in their minds… and strangely enough, it kind of worked.
Leave it to Kei's game to hook even someone like Madara.
As for Kei's claim that Madara had some grand scheme? No one doubted it. This was the man who once rivaled the First Hokage. The fact that he had faked his death and remained hidden all this time proved he was a master of patience and long-term planning.
The real issue wasn't Madara's plot—it was that his presence complicated Kei's efforts to bring down Danzō Shimura. That would have serious consequences down the line. For now, everyone agreed to set aside Madara's scheming.
Everyone except one being.
The Nine-Tails.
He'd seen Madara with his own eyes. He'd been controlled by him. Played with like some summoned pet. And from the moment he learned Madara was alive, the whole fox had gone into full mental shutdown.
Since then, he'd remained mostly silent, occasionally chiming in, quietly simmering.
But now, hearing that Madara had a secret plan… the Nine-Tails' anxiety and fury reignited. His chaotic chakra began to leak.
Kushina Uzumaki sensed it. She blinked, then glanced down at her own chest.
"Nine-Tails… what's wrong?"
(Actually, she wanted to look at her belly, but… well, her other assets got in the way, so the chest it was.)
The Nine-Tails growled.
"You people have never met Madara Uchiha. You don't know how evil he truly is. Compared to him, Danzō Shimura is nothing!"
Kushina blinked in confusion. Then, after a pause, she asked hesitantly:
"Nine-Tails… were you… beaten by him?"
BOOM—instant explosion.
"What do you mean beaten?! I was NOT beaten!!"
"He used his cursed Sharingan to control me! If we'd actually fought, I would've crushed him!"
Yep. Full-blown denial, intense emotional reaction, desperate self-assertion.
To Kushina, this just confirmed everything. It was the most suspicious overreaction she'd ever seen. Her curiosity flared.
But the Nine-Tails, realizing his slip-up, went silent. Playing dead now.
And finally, he muttered:
"If that evil man is targeting Danzō… then Danzō is doomed."
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kei had already laid out his new plan.
Since Madara wanted to keep his identity hidden, they'd play along. No one would expose him.
They wouldn't even tell the Third Hokage.
The original plan remained the same: bring Hiruzen and the others to the showdown. The only addition? A "mysterious masked man" beats the living daylights out of Danzō.
Everyone had different reactions, but all shared one thought:
"Kei really knows how to stir the pot."
Play along with Madara? Pretend not to recognize him? It was bold. And went totally against Konoha's strict shinobi code.
Especially considering the plan involved deceiving the Third Hokage himself.
Sure, Hiruzen was close to retirement. He had already handed off most of his duties and authority to Tsunade. In all but name, she was already acting Hokage.
But still—he hadn't officially stepped down. As long as he remained in office, he was *the* Hokage.
Had anyone else suggested this plan, everyone would have doubted their motives.
But because it came from Kei… no one voiced any objections.
Despite all the raised eyebrows, the plan was extremely feasible.
And since their real goal was Danzō—not Madara—this absurd theater actually had a lot of potential.
No one could predict how things would play out. But one thing was clear:
As long as Madara's identity remained hidden, even if he beat Danzō to death, it wouldn't hurt the Uchiha—or Kei.
That was what mattered most.
This entire operation had one core requirement: *Do NOT drag the Uchiha clan into it.*
Which was a tall order, because…
"If it really is Madara, then even if he's wearing a mask, you can't hide the Sharingan. If he uses it in battle, won't it still implicate the Uchiha?"
Jiraiya raised the key question.
And Kei grinned in the group chat.
"Who told you the Sharingan only belongs to the Uchiha?"
Everyone froze.
Jiraiya: "Wait… are you saying there are people outside the Uchiha who have the Sharingan?"
His intel said no such thing.
Kei replied in the chat:
"Relax. If all goes as expected, Danzō Shimura himself will explain to the world that the Sharingan doesn't belong to the Uchiha alone. Nor are they the only ones who can use it."
"After all, in all of Konoha, the one who both hates and covets the Uchiha's power the most… is Danzō."