Although the outcome of the Ninja Clan Summit didn't satisfy everyone, at least no one openly opposed it on the spot. For the leaders of Konoha, that was good enough.
After all, tensions had already reached the point of nearly tearing apart relations with the clans—only a step away from full-scale internal conflict. So being able to separate peacefully by making concessions and offering benefits was actually a positive move.
However, stationing clan ninja along the borders wouldn't happen overnight. Whether it involved recalling active-duty ninja back to the village or having clan ninja take over their duties, it would take time to gradually transition responsibilities and ensure a smooth handover.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't in any hurry to push those clans who accepted the feudal assignments to send out their main forces immediately. After all, the overall trend was irreversible by individual effort alone.
During this period, Mahiru Uchiha officially held his wedding ceremony with Hyuga Soushu.
On the auspicious day of August 10th in the Year 39 of Konoha, Hyuga Soushu, the most legendary hero of the Hyuga Clan, hailed as an unprecedented Tennin warrior and spiritual leader of Konoha's martial faction, married Mahiru Uchiha in a grand ceremony.
The scale of the event went without saying—it was undoubtedly the largest celebration in the history of the Hidden Villages era, even surpassing the historic alliance through marriage between the Senju and Uzumaki prior to Konoha's founding. Both Konoha's own clans and ninja from other Hidden Villages sent diplomatic delegations days in advance to attend the ceremony.
Even Kumo, locked in fierce conflict with Kirigakure in the northern region of the Land of Lightning, dispatched an envoy to attend the wedding. While congratulating the couple, they also requested military support from Konoha. Mist, too, showed no lack of sincerity—one of its most revered elder figures traveled despite his old age, personally leading a large delegation including the Kaguya leader under the guise of attending the wedding ceremony.
Likewise, Iwagakure, which had just restarted peace talks, came together with the Earth Daimyo's emissary in a large, highly visible entourage arriving grandly in Konoha, ensuring they didn't miss this rare gathering of the ninja world.
Even Sunagakure, currently mobilizing troops toward the Bird Country, did not dare be negligent. The Third Kazekage also dispatched...
In no time, Konoha became the diplomatic center of the Ninja World, revolving around Hyuga Soushu's wedding. Under the guise of attending the ceremony, various factions struck secret alliances, each seeking to benefit from Konoha's impending transformation.
No one could foresee the impact these powerful Konoha-based clans would have once deployed to border regions, and no one was willing to lower their guard during such unstable times. Thus, while the wedding itself drew attention, the various clans stationed across the regions were also receiving requests for meetings from interested parties hoping to explore potential opportunities.
However, based on the suggestions of Hyuga Soushu and Uchiha Clan Leader, all the ninja clans refused to engage in preliminary talks with these foreign powers.
"The interests of the ninja clans are aligned. If negotiations are to take place, they must be conducted collectively. Any who dare disregard our clans' rights shall become an enemy to all!"
That was the firm warning issued by Hyuga Soushu.
"And just with those few words, all the ninja clans of Konoha closed their doors to visitors, refusing any external forces from making contact or probing further."
With no choice but to accept the rejection, diplomatic envoys from across the Ninja World had no option but to anxiously await the upcoming wedding of the era.
At Hyūga Soushu's request, the marriage would follow a traditional Shinto wedding, even replacing the main honored deity with the Rabbit Hour Goddess—a long-forgotten deity.
Although these arrangements indeed appeared novel to the visiting envoys, and despite the fact that the Hyūga Clan demonstrated impressive generosity and aristocratic decorum worthy of its reputation, the guests weren't truly impressed. They simply followed the procedures step by step as dictated by the officiant.
Besides the wedding itself and the attending guests, what drew the most attention was the unusually large number of Uchiha ninja present at the ceremony.
Among the attendees, besides the Hyūga ninja themselves, the largest group of clan representatives came from the Uchiha Clan.
More than a hundred in number, all wearing matching Policing Department vests, displaying strict discipline and order, and showing deep reverence when Mahiru Uchiha made her appearance—every detail clearly conveyed the Uchiha Clan's stance.
"The Uchiha are aligning with the Hyūga."
This was the shared thought in every attendee's mind.
No one could make sense of what this would lead to.
After the wedding concluded, Hyūga Soushu announced that he would receive various envoy groups and heads of Konoha's ninja clans collectively the next day through a roundtable meeting aimed at openly discussing the future of the Ninja World.
"What a noble cause—'the future of the Ninja World' indeed!"
Upon hearing about Hyūga Soushu's declaration, Danzo became so enraged within the Hokage Tower that he began smashing things inside the Hokage Office, shouting furiously, "He's nothing more than a branch house brat who lucked into power! How dare he act like this?!"
"What on earth are you doing?!"
The Third Hokage Sarutobi inwardly understood his friend's frustration over losing influence and wanted him to vent a bit, but seeing that Danzō was about to start using chakra to cause damage, he quickly shouted to stop him, "Even if you're not convinced, what can you do? This is now the trend of the times—we must go along with it!"
"Hiruzen! It's precisely because of your weakness that we find ourselves in this situation!"
Danzo gritted his teeth in fury, "If you'd listened to me earlier and summoned the Anbu and Root Division immediately on that fateful night of the Hyūga upheaval—to storm the Hyūga District and arrest that despicable Branch House upstart—none of today's humiliation would have happened!"
"You've probably worn yourself out. Why don't you go home and cool off for now?"
Although Hiruzen felt quite displeased with his friend's remarks, he still held back his anger and said this before ringing the bell on his desk to summon an Anbu ninja, instructing him to escort Danzō away.
"You still refuse to admit your own mistakes and incompetence!"
Waving off the Anbu ninja trying to assist him, Danzo spoke with deep resentment in his voice, "If back then Master Tobirama hadn't played favorites—that never should've given you the chance to—"
"Silence!"
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi roared in anger, smashing his fist onto the desk before him, shattering it into splinters. His aged eyes burned with an unusual sharpness as he glared at Danzo's careless words. "Don't forget—I am the Hokage!"
"You!"
Though Danzo wanted to argue further, when he met his old friend's gaze—openly filled with killing intent—he recoiled just like he had done decades ago.
An Anbu ninja stepped up again, gently but firmly guiding Danzo out of the Hokage Office.
Waiting outside the door, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane walked straight in, passing Danzo without exchanging a word or even a glance.
As the three crossed paths, not a single word passed between them, nor did their eyes meet for even a second.
"You're here. How did it go?"
After Danzo left, the Third Hokage sank into his chair, clearly drained.
"The atmosphere was buzzing!"
Homura stated what was already clear to everyone.
"The event was extravagantly luxurious beyond measure," added Koharu.
"That's all?"
The Third Hokage continued pressing.
Clearly, the two elder advisors' answer about Hyuga Soushu's grand wedding left him unsatisfied.
"Uh…"
Homura and Koharu exchanged glances, unsure what else to say.
They couldn't possibly state outright that the opposition clans, aside from the Hokage faction, had already united with ambitious intentions to make their move.
Nor could they plainly admit that the old divide-and-rule tactics no longer worked—that even with the Central-Southern Border Forces under the Hokage faction keeping the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan separated, nothing could stop these two clans from joining forces.
Saying things like that would only infuriate the old monkey even more.
"Actually, I watched everything from beginning to end."
Hiruzen stood up with his back facing the two elders, gazing out the window. "I just needed to seek some reassurance."
A master of ninjutsu like him had no trouble using the Telescope Technique. He easily observed the unprecedented grand ceremony held in the Hyuga District. Although getting caught using such spying techniques would be pretty humiliating, in order to ease his inner anxiety, he had no choice but to go ahead and do it anyway.
Although Homura and Koharu both understood that the old man had the habit of mixing official duties with symbolic projects, what surprised them most was the fact that the Third actually admitted to his unease?
"This…"
Adjusting his slipping glasses on his nose bridge, Homura hesitated, caught between speaking and silence.
A Hokage actually admitting fault? That was shocking.
"How many clan members do you intend to assign to the Central-Southern Border Forces?"
The Third Hokage swiftly changed the subject.
Those sincere words from earlier were gone, as if they'd never been spoken.
"Seventy!"
Homura declared.
"One hundred!"
Koharu followed quickly.
"Not bad."
The Third Hokage slowly nodded, clearly unsurprised by this response.
The Mitotou and Utatane were both minor ninja clans in Konoha, with heritages and resources barely surpassing those of ordinary ninja families. That they could now mobilize dozens or even over a hundred clan ninja was largely due to the two elders securing benefits for their own clans since becoming village advisors.
"The Sarutobi Clan will deploy six hundred, while Ino-Shika-Cho each will contribute two hundred. Danzo's Shimura household will also send about one hundred and fifty."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Combined with other clans, we should be able to assemble a standing ninja army of roughly two thousand."
"With Rain Country unable to fight back, that number should suffice."
Homura Mitokado swiftly changed the topic.
Unlike the other three elders' clans, due to the peculiar presence of Mitotou Takahiro—a supporter of the Martial Faction—within the Mitotou clan, there were already dozens of Mitotou members serving under Hyuga Soushu. This was something Homura couldn't do anything about; after all, as the younger generation grew up, elders could no longer prepare everything they desired or seize it for them. They had no choice but to let these young people go out and strive for themselves.
There was also a hidden motive behind pushing the clans to set up bases outside the village: many young clan members envied how Soushu had profited handsomely through direct control of Lightning Country's occupied territories. Unlike the past when they could rely on tantrums to get their way with village merchants, these young nobles now had to earn things themselves. Thus, understanding how Soushu rose to power, they chose to follow the same path and fight their own way up.
As to whether they would succeed or end up in chaos—or rise suddenly as an unexpected force—that was something only the Sage of Six Paths could tell.
"But figuring out how to quickly generate returns does require careful consideration,"
Koharu Utatane followed up immediately.
"If we rely solely on village military funding—even skimming off empty positions wouldn't amount to much."
Homura pointed out the key issue.
"What exactly are you thinking?" Hiruzen was genuinely shocked.
"We stationed our people in the South-Central region to stop the alliance between Hyuga and Uchiha. When did this turn into discussing profit?"
"Either march northward into Rain Country to restore order in the Southeast Occupied Territories, or turn inward and collect protection fees from border guardian nobles,"
Homura continued unperturbed. "Otherwise, our own clansmen will grow discontented."
"Witnessing the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans making huge profits while constantly expanding their influence is far more agonizing than suffering personal losses!" Koharu added.
"Hiruzen, times have changed!"
Their perfectly synchronized remarks showed they had clearly planned this ahead of time.
For once, Hiruzen found himself at a loss.
He looked from one advisor to the other, disbelief etched across his face.
He had merely asked them to attend on his behalf at the Hyuga Clan's historic wedding. How had these two suddenly become like this?
And how could such crassly profit-driven remarks come from two noble-minded senior advisors who were always known for their integrity?
"They don't even bother hiding anymore!"
The most critical point was that during the entire ceremony, while observing every detail of the Hyuga wedding through the Crystal Ball of the Telescope Technique, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi saw no interaction or communication between *them* and Hyuga Soushu or anyone else in attendance.
Then how—
"What's going on with this ninja world?"
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, a deep sense of helplessness rising within him.
"We picked up a few things at Soushu's wedding that might catch your attention, Hiruzen—see if there's any truth to them," said Koharu Utatane.
Then she signaled with her eyes for Homura Mitokado to continue.
"It's never been rivals eliminating old powers—it's always been the era itself."
Homura Mitokado swallowed hard, doing his best to steady his voice. "And—"
"All are in a frenzy chasing profit; when two Gold Kans lie side by side, neither holds a higher moral ground than the other."
"So..."
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly lowered himself into a chair, gripping its armrests tightly. The upright posture he had maintained moments ago now gave way to a weary slump.
"So this is your reason for abandoning our teacher's ideals and betraying the Will of Fire?"
"Hiruzen, we're only trying to make up for our shortcomings," Koharu stated bluntly.
"Admittedly, Tobirama-sensei's teachings are absolutely correct, but—"
"The times have changed!" Homura cut in immediately. "Hiruzen! Open your eyes! This isn't the age of earning bloody wages through missions anymore—it's the era of bold expansion!"
"If we rely solely on charity from noble daimyos, our strength will never grow fast enough!"
"Only by cutting out all the middlemen and diving straight in—act first, deal with consequences later!"
At this moment, Homura Mitokado—who was usually so calm and composed—was beginning to look increasingly frenzied.
"You two may leave for now. Let me be alone."
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly closed his eyes.
The two advisory elders exchanged glances before turning and exiting the room.
Inside the Hokage office, which lay in disarray, silence returned once again.
After a long time, a faint voice drifted into the emptiness:
"All rush about for profit."
"Sigh..."
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